Show us your Thrift and/or yard sale finds

[I Adore Film Noir]

goodwill,

I took it apart yesterday, waxed the bakelite, turns out the top two screws are stripped on the female ends on the bakelite so finding a replacement case might be a bit of an issue.

Anyone know if I can plug this into a current house outlet or would it fry it?

Very cool clock but the wire is frayed with insulation popping out of it. I'd have it rewired.

 

[tonyb]

Thanks thats a great idea. Yes the top of the treads are still there, it's the bottoms of them that are broken off... and I'd have to find the set of screws that match.... It did come with an odd plug, it's a dryer type that's three prong but in a triangle shape....

There ain't much that just plain can't be found. There's a place up here that sells nothing but fasteners -- screws, bolts, etc. -- in most every conceivable size and style. I recall once needing an oddball screw. The one they had was right in every regard except length. It was a tad too long. So I sawed it off. Worked fine.

Does it appear that the existing screws are the same size as the missing ones? If they are, that would certainly make matching 'em up at the parts counter a whole lot easier.

Regarding the damaged threads ... I wonder if something like JB Weld might do the trick. It wouldn't be visible when the clock is put back together, right? So color wouldn't matter.

 

[tonyb]

Maybe this should go in a dinette set thread, but it is a thrift-store find, so ...

Check out that groovy pedestal base ...

Flash shows those bright colors a bit truer ...

The young fellow who works at the Goodwill store and helped me load this into my van told me it had been there several days, perhaps a week or more. He also advised that there would be a sale the next day -- 30 percent off everything in the store. I didn't want to risk it selling before then, a fear which was only reinforced by the young couple who were apparently also considering buying it, and the teenage girl who was telling her mom how much she liked it. (OMG!) And then, the store itself (the Lakewood, Wash. outlet, which has been something of a goldmine for me) is about 20 miles from my home, and at the price of gas these days (and the value of my time), and the traffic I'd inevitably encounter between here and there, well, I just busted out the debit card.

It's a genuine Chromcraft, made in the USA, in very good condition -- no tears or punctures in the upholstery and only minimal signs of wear. I'm guessing it was made in the mid to late 1960s. It took a bit of elbow grease and about half a bottle of Formula 409 to be rid of a few decades of embedded grime in the vinyl.

I'd been on the lookout for something more in keeping with the modernist vibe in this space (the old table and chairs are countryfied, faux antique oak pieces -- not bad, but not right for this place).

And here's perhaps the best part (I try not to be peeved by those who think that "retro" and "vintage" are synonymous) ...

I bought this without my wife's approval -- a minor violation of our agreement not to purchase any substantial home furnishings without the other's okay. But I told myself that if she didn't like it, I could put it on craigslist and easily quadruple my money. Easily.

EDIT: The bowl on the table is a thrift-store find as well; I bought it thinking that sooner or later I'd have a table it would work with. That was a few months ago. Can't quite recall what I paid for it, but it couldn't have been more than a couple three or four bucks.

 

[PoohBang]

Very cool find Tony... I bet NOBODY else in your area has a dining set like that... You should put a fondue set on it...

 

[tonyb]

Very cool find Tony... I bet NOBODY else in your area has a dining set like that... You should put a fondue set on it...

I've seen some similar sets online, but none with the chairs in different colors.

We've been wanting to replace the ceiling fixture above the dining area (it's an "open" layout, the dining area is continuous with the living room, and, as you can see in the photos, there is no solid wall separating the kitchen from the rest), seeing how the existing fixture 1.) doesn't work, 2.) isn't worth fixing, and 3.) even it it were of a higher quality, its style is just plain wrong for this space. So, I'm on the lookout for some '60s-looking fixture, a real (as opposed to retro) one, preferably. I'll find it.

 

[I Adore Film Noir]

tonyb,

I ♥ it and hate you a little

 

[Steve Smith]

Salvation Army find. This is not a rare typewriter. What sold me on it is that the brush, oiler, key, manual, parts catalog, and even the original warranty are all there. It is a Corona model 3.

The warranty card came with it, although I think the warranty has expired. Yes, it expired about 90 years ago. Darn fine print!

[/QUOTE]

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Tony - that dining set is absolutely awesome!

 

[PoohBang]

Lovely typewriter! I think the paper work is probably worth more than the actual typewriter... What is the FIG button for ?

 

[Almost Vintage]

tonyb-what an awesome find!

Fantastic typewriter, Steve! I love finding complete things (with the manual, ect.)

I'm not sure, but I would guess perhaps FIG stands for figure? A vintage shift key, if you will.

 

[tonyb]

tonyb,

I ♥ it and hate you a little

I know the feeling. That I hesitated to purchase it, for even a moment, seems silly, now that it's been more than 24 hours since it came my way. I'm guessing it lasted as long as it did at the Goodwill store mostly because it is rather loud. It really makes a statement, you know, and perhaps a statement most people don't wish to hear. And it was kinda grungy, before I spent a couple of hours scrubbing away. But now that it's cleaned up and in this space, well, I really dig it. It's growing on me.

This house, which we bought in late '09, was built in '93, but it may as well have been '63. It's decidedly plain -- quite lacking in ornamentation. We dropped a wad replacing the original carpet (ugly to start with, and worn out and "pet" stained to boot, a deadly combination) with the oak floors. That, along with the Persian rugs and the (narrow) floor and window moldings, supply all the visual busyness this place needs. Hence the visually spare and simple furniture.

I'd like to find a Barcelona chair (yeah, I know they are something of a cliche, but I dig 'em; there's a reason they've remained so popular), but I don't like the odds of one of those turning up at the Goodwill.

 

[ejbhats]

Tony,
If you're still tracking this thread, I tried to PM you and your box was full.
Ejb

 

[tonyb]

Tony,
If you're still tracking this thread, I tried to PM you and your box was full.
Ejb

So I see. I got an email from the administration informing me of that. I freed up some space, so it oughta work now.

EDIT: I'm always tracking this thread. There's nothing like the company of kindred spirits, you know. It's a sort of brother- and sisterhood of hunters of ridiculously good deals on groovy old stuff.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Darn, this vintage 1960s dinner jacket was just a little bit too small for me so I didn't buy it. :cry:

[/IMG]

 

[Dinerman]

Thrift Shop finds. The third one, not pictured, is badly water damaged and all the veneer is peeling off. They all have metal tabs coming out of the top, which makes me think some kind of major part of them is missing. And to top it off, I don't have a car, so even though I've done a pretty good job moving furniture across town in the past, since this is three pieces instead of just one, the time involved in moving it by hand makes it not very worthwhile trying to get it, which is unfortunate, because I like the looks, and the whole thing is super-solid.

Of course just across the aisle was someone who could give me a hand.

 

[randooch]

Gotta love a well-executed pun.

That birdseye maple makes for some nice-looking furniture. Looks like that set will keep whoever buys it busy refinishing for awhile.

 

[I Adore Film Noir]

Darn, this vintage 1960s dinner jacket was just a little bit too small for me so I didn't buy it. :cry:

[/IMG]

Darn it is right!

♫ A white sport coat and a pink carnation ♫

 

[Young fogey]

My Model 500 phone



Flea-market find: two bucks.

Because of the metal dial I'd say it's from the '50s.

 

[Mr_D.]

Flea-market find: two bucks.

Because of the metal dial I'd say it's from the '50s.

Correct.

From Wikipedia:

Originally, the 500 was available only in black and had a rotary dial with a black-painted metal finger-wheel. Black remained the most popular color throughout the model's production. Within a few years the Model 500 was available in a variety of colors, and the metal finger wheel was replaced with a clear plastic rotary dial, by about 1964. The 500 was also the first phone to use the G type handset, which remains the standard handset on many phones, including public payphones.

 

[scotrace]

This is not a Student Lamp or Argand Lamp. Hurricane Lamp is the older more general term, but today they're almost always called GWTW lamps.

Argand:

Student: