Found In the Woods

[slosh]

Never know what you'll find when you get off the beaten path, which happens a lot running squirrel dogs. They treed and I had to go up a steep bank off of a logging road on some of my family's property. At the top I tripped over a metal toolbox. It wasn't a super old design -- probably mid 2000's or later -- but it was super heavy. Turns out it was full of tools AND water.

It was obviously not a small amount of tools, and while they were beat up I figured someone would want them. I checked with all of the cousins that use the land -- not theirs. I checked with a couple other folks, nobody claimed it. I then contacted local law enforcement to see if it had been reported stolen at any point (some low-lifes had ditched a stolen car near that spot and tried to burn it a couple of years back). They came and checked it out, said it was mine if I wanted it. So now I get to divvy these tools up between the shop, the boat, and 4 Toyotas in the driveway -- after I get them all cleaned up. Mostly mid-grade tools in there, lots of Gearwrench (including a couple sets of ratcheting wrenches that worked fine even before cleaning), some old Craftsman stuff, plenty of HF stuff too. I'd love to know how long that box sat in the woods. My only remaining guess is that loggers left it there, and they haven't logged that tract in over 10 years.

[MACflyer]

Looks like they cleaned up well. Glad you found them before they became unusable.

[jgp12000]

How did you clean the tools?

[happyhooker]

That must've been fun!

Frank

[slosh]

How did you clean the tools?

Believe it or not, for most of them I just applied a little Rem oil, let soak a bit, then wiped them clean. A lot of the rust was from cheaper tools in the box that shed rust into the water.
For some of the pliers and other worse of stuff, I soaked with pb blaster then buzzed in the ultrasonic before applying a final light coat of Rem Oil.

[foakes]

Nice find, and an excellent clean up!

Best, Fred

[Hardy Boy]

Cool find. Too bad is was not full of gold bars !!

Cheers 

Todd

[Jighead]

jackpot

[boon]

What a score. Quality ratcheting ring spanners are not cheap! Would be at least a couple hundred dollars worth of tools there by my estimatation.