Some Recent Estate Sale Finds

I've been averaging a couple of estate sales per weekend, and I haven't come home empty handed yet.

Here are a few acquisitions --

Two boxes of Super 8 family home movies. It's sad that people don't keep stuff like this.

The house had a bunch of equestrian stuff, and from what I can tell from the reels that have labels, a bunch of the films were shot at riding events in the late 1960s -- early 1970s.  Oddly, at another estate sale the same day I picked up an 8mm projector and screen, and that was before I found the films!

I'll try to set up the projector and try out some of these films to see what we've got.

Yellow bathroom scale for pretty cheap - it's just the right color for our basement bathroom with its light yellow and black tile.   It needs a little cleaning, but I've seen worse.  I love the diamond stenciling.

Unfinished pieces of knotty pine.  I've been in a couple of houses that featured lumber and woodworking tools.  The house I was in today had a very organized shed out back, and I noticed some tongue and groove panels up high on a rack, and sure enough, it was this knotty pine.  I got a very reasonable price on it.  It's unfinished, so while it's not quite enough to cover a wall, even if I do a short four-foot run from the floor halfway up a wall, it will be great to have if I find some more knotty pine.  We have an unfinished area in the basement where I can visualize knotty pine walls.

Vintage dishwasher.

It's the kind on wheels which you move close to the sink, connect a hose, plug in to an outlet and run.  It was cheap, bought during the last half hour of a sale where the old house will be demolished.  Our current dishwasher is broken, and I love the graphics on the face of this thing.

 Is it practical?  We'll have to see.  I hope it will fit in the hole where our current broken dishwasher resides. Worst case, maybe I can scavenge it for parts to fix the built in one we have. Fortunately they're the same brand.  (I haven't replaced our dishwasher because every time I start researching new ones and I look through online reviews by current owners, I tend to learn that the circuit board has gone bad after only a year or so.  We haven't minded hand washing the dishes, but I would like the convenience of a dishwasher again.)

I shot a few photos of things I didn't buy, including this nice aqua oven which was in the house where I found the bread box.  It was priced around $100 -- hopefully someone saved it, maybe on half price Sunday.

Yesterday I saw this 1970s table and L-shaped bench for a breakfast nook.  For just $50 it looked like a good deal for someone.  Today, Sunday half-price day, it still didn't have a taker at $25.  Sad.

This convertible loveseat/sofa was also $50, and the upholstery looked good.  It was marked sold when I arrived this morning for half-price day.

I didn't try to fold it out, but the top part of the back folds backwards and then I think the rest of the sofa flattens out to make into a bed (?).

Atomic Leftovers

A few random things I don't have enough to make a whole post about:

• Last year our Corgi puppy tore up a corner of my Kroehler-style sofa.  Yes, I allowed her to live, barely. I left it that way because I couldn't decide how to deal with the shreds, which were down low in the front corner.  Finally I rolled the dice and used some rubber cement on the wood backing and the back of the fabric.  

Worked OK, now it's hard to notice the damage unless you are looking for it.  At least I no longer have shredded fabric hanging down there.

• I have a pink bathroom scale, and I like it.

• I've had an unsolvable problem with the reproduction door lock for our Shasta camper.  I was thrilled when I found this repro piece, but the sliding bolt inside the handle was made of pot metal, which is crap!  It breaks very easily.  I tried JB Weld to epoxy the broken pot metal back together.  Major Fail.  And these original Bargman L-66 locks, or the now unavailable reproduction locks, must be made of unobtanium!  Very expensive when you can find them, and they still are likely to break, leaving you trying to bungee cord your door shut, or tape plastic to it to keep rain and snow out, which then ruins the paint when you remove the tape.  I was not happy this day.

Anyway, last week I got a wonderful email from Vintage Trailer Supply - they reproduced the sliding bolt out of billet aluminum.  Much stronger than pot metal. I ordered one immediately and installed it on Friday.  Fit well and appears to have solved the problem.  Thank you Vintage Trailer Supply!

• I've had this planter stand, minus a planter, for a while and it needed cleaning and painting.  Originally brass, it was poorly painted gold, which had begun to rust.  So I gave it the steel wool treatment, primed and painted it satin black.  Now I'm scoping the web for a fiberglass planter that might fit.  Wish me luck.  If I don't eventually find a planter, I may get a piece of glass cut and try to use it as a side table.