Anybody get any good deals lately?

[MooseMan]

Today after work I had to face the madhouse that is Safeway right before Christmas. Of course it was busy but I managed. Then since there were only 2 checkouts open, each with a long line, I had to use self check. Because I was using self check I had to walk past the coinstar machine. Whenever I walk past the coin star I always have to check it for any coins left behind in the tray. Coinstar is very good at rejecting foreign coins but something else they reject are silver American coins, so it pays to check them.

Today was a good day because I reached in and got a whole handful of coins and could see by the edges I had at least one silver dime

Instead of stopping and looking through them I put all the coins in my pocket and waited until I got home to check them. It turns out there were actually two silver dimes, a 1951 and a pretty nice 1943 Mercury.
Dimes 23 Dec 23-C.png
This may be my first Mercury and is definitely my first one from a coin star. In addition to those there were a couple of Canadian dimes and a little over a dollar in mixed coins.

Holy hell Cranky, you got Silver coins from the reject pot of a change machine?!?!??!
I've heard it all now, and will never walk past one again without checking.

I have to spend days walking around fields with a metal detector and digging little holes to get mine! Hahahaha

[Snackson]

Cranky, many years ago when I was working at a Subway at a truck stop, a teenager came in and purchased sandwiches with two tools of dimes. One roll of uncirculated Roosevelt silver dimes and one of uncirculated Mercury dimes. We held them for a few weeks thinking a parent would come by to claim but nothing. The manager and I bought them at face value and split them up. I still have them to this day.

[Saltbush Bill]

20 bucks for this, 50L all stainless , even the screw on legs.
It's got the most heavy duty threaded 4 inch bung I've ever seen.
Made by an apprentice tradie learning to weld stainless in a sugar mill.
More low wines or white dog storage.
The stainless tap has to be worth close to $20.

[Twisted Brick]

What an elegant alternative to a carboy, Bill. Great score.

[MooseMan]

20 bucks!

That's the find of the year already Bill! Wow

[Stags]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... gK1BvD_BwE

TSC purple corn 35% off…

[Bushman]

Great get on the keg. Years ago I found at a garage sale two kegs for 30 bucks, they took 20. I use one of the kegs for my vm but cut the other one open for my 4” CM still. Both kegs are in great condition but getting the accessories you got on your keg SBB is a great deal.

[zach]

milkcan.jpg (3.15 KiB) Viewed 2404 times

I found this old 5 gallon milk can for $20

Not sure if I will use it for storage or to make a small boiler.

I have enough copper that could make a cap. An oak lid would work nice for storage.

[MooseMan]

Sweet score Zach.

If you have the oak and the skills, it would make a very nice Badmo style ageing vessel.

[cranky]

Not distilling related but a good deal just the same

I've been keeping an eye on my local BigLots ever since Christmas waiting for their Christmas stuff so finally reduce in price. 2 weeks ago they finally dropped to 75% off and I bought some really nice pop up snow men and some other outdoor decorations and a few LED lights. I've been checking back every so often since, waiting for further reductions.

Today when I was in there the tags still said 75% off but they had some nice doormats and I decided $2.50 was cheap enough that I could use them for our back porch so Mrs Cranky doesn't slip and hurt herself when she goes out to run the dog and feed and pet the outside cats. So I bought 2 and they rang up 99 Cents each Doing some quick math I realized they have reduced all their Christmas stuff to 90% off but didn't tell anybody Including their own employees

So I went back and bought the other doormat as well. Then doing some more quick math it meant the LED Sync lights are now $1.69 a box instead of $16.99

So...Mrs Cranky isn't exactly happy with me right now because I bought 34 boxes of them She said "WHYDOYOUNEEDMORELIGHTSWHENYOUALREADYHAVEALIFETIMESUPPLYOFTHEM!!!"

Ummmm because I don't...I expect to live forever so a lifetime supply would be an infinite amount of lights, Duh!

So if anybody else is a cheap bastard like me but wants to do some serious decorating for next Christmas you might go have a look at your local BigLots before I get to them

[Bradster68]

Not distilling related but a good deal just the same

I've been keeping an eye on my local BigLots ever since Christmas waiting for their Christmas stuff so finally reduce in price. 2 weeks ago they finally dropped to 75% off and I bought some really nice pop up snow men and some other outdoor decorations and a few LED lights. I've been checking back every so often since, waiting for further reductions.

Today when I was in there the tags still said 75% off but they had some nice doormats and I decided $2.50 was cheap enough that I could use them for our back porch so Mrs Cranky doesn't slip and hurt herself when she goes out to run the dog and feed and pet the outside cats. So I bought 2 and they rang up 99 Cents each Doing some quick math I realized they have reduced all their Christmas stuff to 90% off but didn't tell anybody Including their own employees

So I went back and bought the other doormat as well. Then doing some more quick math it meant the LED Sync lights are now $1.69 a box instead of $16.99

So...Mrs Cranky isn't exactly happy with me right now because I bought 34 boxes of them She said "WHYDOYOUNEEDMORELIGHTSWHENYOUALREADYHAVEALIFETIMESUPPLYOFTHEM!!!"

Ummmm because I don't...I expect to live forever so a lifetime supply would be an infinite amount of lights, Duh!

So if anybody else is a cheap bastard like me but wants to do some serious decorating for next Christmas you might go have a look at your local BigLots before I get to them

Too funny. It sounds like you've got a very understanding wife cranky. Maybe some pics of the lights in action .

[cranky]

Another good deal I got recently was from Safeway. They had a bunch of some fancy, expensive, good pasta in the discount bin, normally $6 a lbs marked 1/2 off. Pasta choices are pretty limited at my local Safeways and I often buy whatever is discounted to see if I can find something we like better than Barilla. In truth I like American Beauty better than Barilla but Wal Mart was the only one carrying it and now they have stopped. So, I picked up a couple packages, looked at the label and unlike a whole lot of pastas it had one ingredient, Durum Wheat Semolina. A lot of pastas claim they only use Durum or Semolina but when you see additional ingredients on the label it usually indicates they are also using other cheaper wheat flowers but not admitting it.

So I grab two packages of this now $3 a pound pasta and they rang up $1.47 with half off bringing them to 73 cents each

So After trying it at home and finding it exceptional, I went back and bought the rest

While putting the pasta in storage I removed the emergency pasta we bought during the pandemic, when all that was available was Safeway brand and generic ones from Cash and Carry which were only available in 4 pound bags. We don't really care for either so they have been sitting in the emergency storage, just in case and it's time to get rid of them.

So, We now have 10 or 12 lbs of pasta that is past it's sell by date but still good and I can't bring myself to throw out. I'm thinking I may just have to see about turning it into pandemic wheat whiskey

[joschi]

Got some nice bottles in different sizes.
one had about 3 liters spirit in it, the label says: plum, 2016, 53 %, couldn't resist to try it, it tastes very good, and smooth, even at 53 %. (Would YOU drink it, i guess I will ... ?)
And there is one plastic canister, i guess it's heads, no label on it, but it has 70%, can a use this for sac run?
Also included: a big enamel funnel, an big earthware jug, a metal bucket, 200 l plastik barrel/fermentor (bit dirty, maybe just for rainwater?), and last but not least, one death mouse in one of the bottles *yieks*

Total price: about 120.- and a bit more than 2 hours driving.

[Bradster68]

Thatsa good score. And a road trip to boot

[subbrew]

I like those mesh or wire covers for moving the carboys around. Would be a lot safer.

[Bushman]

I like those mesh or wire covers for moving the carboys around. Would be a lot safer.

They sell handles for car boys that also make it easier and safer.
https://www.brewinternational.com/carbo ... PQEALw_wcB
Probably get them cheaper on Amazon.

[cranky]

Got this vintage china hutch today for $5

But it took $20 in gas to go get it

It's been sitting in a barn/10 car garage for a number of years and is very dirty and the drawers are stuck, I'm guessing due to humidity but it matches Mrs Cranky's and my buffet and other furniture perfectly so I couldn't pass it up. We'll get it cleaned up and I'm guessing the drawers will free up once it's been inside for a bit, or maybe this summer. once it warms up and is less humid. Once I get them open I'll wax the runners good to make them work smoothly.

I think it will look very nice filled with bottles of likker

[MooseMan]

Lovely little project there cranky.

I'm sure the drawers will free up easy enough, but stuffing every open space with scrunched up paper should speed that up, especially if you place it in a warm spot with airflow.

Good scrape on all the drawer running surfaces and a Carnauba wax finish, lovely!

I can already see lines of bottles all filled to the top.

[Bushman]

Cranky I bought at a garage sale a 3 piece hutch for very little (been a couple years so don’t remember the amount). It is in my workout room with all my booze and the absinse fountain Mash Rookie made forbe when he was alive and a professional glass blower.

[cranky]

In actuality the new one will be replacing this one

As you can see it's a little too small for the antiques even though we have pared down the accumulation considerable recently. So the smaller one will be getting the booze and decanters, although I've also recently sold off all of the less valuable ones.

Around here china cabinets don't sell for much at auction, we have actually passed up quite a few bargains just because they were too big for our house. Smaller display stuff tends to bring more of a premium.

[cranky]

I got the drawers out today and found there are pins that stick up at the back of the drawers to prevent them from coming out accidentally. The pins were a little high and just needed a little shaving and they fit fine now. That's one thing I like about old furniture, the fits tend to be far superior to newer stuff.

Next step is wax the sliding surfaces, fortunately I still have over 4 lbs of Johnson's wax so I'm all set on that.

[NorthWoodsAb]

Cranky, Mrs Northwoods bought something very close to that last year just b4 Xmas, I thought $100 was a good deal.
Cheers

[MooseMan]

That's one thing I like about old furniture, the fits tend to be far superior to newer stuff.

Oh there is no comparison!
Stuff made 100 years ago still with tight, hand cut joints and perfectly square corners, you've got to admire that level of skill with hand tools.

I have a c.1930s Singer treadle sewing machine in an English oak and cast iron frame that my late mother inherited from her great aunt, it has made, and repaired, probably hundreds of items of clothing, seen 4 families and at least 8 different houses come and go, and it's still working smoothly and as solid as a rock.

[NormandieStill]

As I mentioned in a different post, I picked up a 25kg sack of Vienna malt for 20€. Sadly, additional bags would have added another 15€ in postage per bag, and while I briefly considered getting a quote for pallet shipping and taking their whole stock, I don't really have anywhere to store the sacks where I won't just be buying expensive rat food, and I'm certain I won't have the time to work through 500kg of malt any time soon!

[cranky]

Cranky, Mrs Northwoods bought something very close to that last year just b4 Xmas, I thought $100 was a good deal.
Cheers

That was actually a very good price, I'm just a cheap bastard and pretty good at finding super bargains.

[cranky]

That's one thing I like about old furniture, the fits tend to be far superior to newer stuff.

Oh there is no comparison!
Stuff made 100 years ago still with tight, hand cut joints and perfectly square corners, you've got to admire that level of skill with hand tools.

I have a c.1930s Singer treadle sewing machine in an English oak and cast iron frame that my late mother inherited from her great aunt, it has made, and repaired, probably hundreds of items of clothing, seen 4 families and at least 8 different houses come and go, and it's still working smoothly and as solid as a rock.

I had a Victorian house once that I paid $600 for that I used for storage. It had absolutely amazing woodwork. The banister was over 6 inches inch wide made from a single piece of walnut with all the balusters dove tailed to the stairs at the bottom and drilled in at the top. It was an amazing piece of workmanship.

I found an exterior door covered up by siding on the outside and plaster on the inside at some point in it's life. The gaps were so precise and tight you couldn't fit a credit card in them. When I inserted a knob and turned it it worked perfectly.

The old treadle singers are nice. We once has a really nice singer red eye but we let it go when we left Kansas.

[Bradster68]

Got 2 ,8 foot lengths of 3 inch copper out of an old house I'm restoring. I guess coming out of retirement for this job wasn't so bad.
I think I got 26 feet of 3 inch now

[Salt Must Flow]

Got 2 ,8 foot lengths of 3 inch copper out of an old house I'm restoring. I guess coming out of retirement for this job wasn't so bad.
I think I got 26 feet of 3 inch now

That's an amazing score!

[Bradster68]

Got 2 ,8 foot lengths of 3 inch copper out of an old house I'm restoring. I guess coming out of retirement for this job wasn't so bad.
I think I got 26 feet of 3 inch now

That's an amazing score!

Im pretty pumped. I actually feel I could donate some,somehow to someone not so fortunate. I'll never use it all,so why not. Not sure what shipping would cost though.
Or how to even go about that.

[Bradster68]

I also got a bunch of inch and a half in the pic. Not sure what it's good for yet