Product reviews of things found in the road

I have kept my eyes out for other groundscores to review but the roads and lots nearby have been mercilessly clean. This is what I get for living in a town of treehugging hippies, right? Yeah, it's pretty nice actually. So I dug into my bottom right junk drawer of the toolbox (everyone has one right?) and grabbed a ratchet I found 6 months back.

This old Snap-on roto head. It's a uhhh ... ratchet and its got a floppy round head on the end. I will preface this with the fact that I strongly dislike round head ratchets. I am a pear head guy. One handed direction changes and being able to glance at my tool and know which way it will turn are important to me.

I popped the cartridge out and ran it through the ultrasonic cleaner for 20 minutes, lubed it up and put it back together. I intend to use it instead of my regular ratchets for a day or two to see how I feel.

Appleseed wrote: Ever wonder about all those single shoes you find on the road? Pirates.

My wife and I spot single shoes on the shoulder every time we go on a road trip! It's like a tradition now

More info on the Stanley Cup being away from it's valet? Team member on his personal Cup day?

PHeller wrote: EBOLA

While the ebola is unlikely, there's plenty of other things I'd worry about. Have fun explaining where you got herpes from to swmbo!

Ditchdigger wrote: I wasn't expecting anything special. It seemed like just another cheap chinese mug. The sides are so narrow it didn't even feel insulated. I really was tired of the Conitgo. The first few sips either tasted like dishwasher detergent or nasty yesterdays coffee mixed with soap. Never could get it clean. Yuk

Had the same issue with these cups. I just assumed it was because my wife used 10x more dish soap than needed and didn't rinse properly (as usual). No matter what I did, even used solvent at work, could not get the soap taste out.

I found a Snap on 32oz Dead Blow, Ball-Peen Hammer on the side of the road a few years back - best 6 calories I ever spent on pulling the car over, opening the door, grabbing it from my still-seated position, and placing it on the passenger seat. It scares the rust out of frozen parts, and also works well when you need to scare your brother when hes being a dick, and you want to let him know now is not the time to ask to borrow $20.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=642584&group_ID=675296

When I used to ride my road bike a lot I found tools in the road on a fairly frequent basis. Usually junky stuff, but I think I found (on separate occasions) a real Vise-Grips brand pair of vise grips and a real made in the USA Crescent brand crescent wrench. I was never lucky enough to find any Snap-on tools.

I really believe that the mechanics who are sloppy enough to leave their tools where they can fall off in the road tend to use crappy tools, and those mechanics serious enough to invest in Snap-on (or similar pro-quality) tools are more careful in their work.

Never soak a travel mug in dish water. Wash outside and inside, rinse. If stainless inner, a purple or green pad will remove coffee stains.

my best find was many yrs ago, out on a run and found a folded up $20 bill

Found a nice 1/2 - 9/16 Snap-on offset box wrench years ago at a boat launch. Used it a lot then it found its way back onto the road after I forgot about it under a truck I was working on. Hope the new owner is enjoying it!

Where the heck are you guys finding all these snap-on tools on the side of the road? The tool trucks in your areas must have faulty door latches or something!

Christmas tree.

I was following a truck loaded with them, one fell off and he never knew it.

Someone stole the Jack head off my truck's antenna. I found a Jack head with a Rams helmet on it sitting in the street that night. Picked it up and put it on. It's dirty, it's grimy, it's falling apart, but it's character. Does that count?

I rented a tent cabin in Yosemite a few years ago that came furnished with steel tube framed cots.

It appears the previous renter noticed that the ID of the tube frame was just slightly bigger than the OD of his maximum sized Maglite and used it as a handy storage location. Black frame, black flashlight, perfect fit…poor guy overlooked it when he checked out.

Anyway, I keep it on my nightstand as an intruder deterrent thinly guised as back-up lighting.

I found a deep 1/4" drive 10mm Snap-On socket on a dirt road near Park City, UT. I have no idea where it is now, it must have felt smothered and ran off.

The one Found On Road Dead product I do use regularly is a 5 gallon jerry can, helpfully spray-painted with the word GAS. It was in the middle of the road in the Colorado mountains when I was on my way to the track. Light abrasion, but nothing to be concerned with. It has now traveled across the continent several times, and it appears to be happy with me as it has not left.

bgkast wrote: Where the heck are you guys finding all these snap-on tools on the side of the road? The tool trucks in your areas must have faulty door latches or something!

They probably all live in the rust belt, gaping holes in the spare tire well and quarter panels and loose tools in the trunk will do that.

craftsman needle-nose pliers found near the mormon temple in kensington MD around 1992. still have 'em.

backpack leaf blower fell off a landscape truck that cut me off in traffic in takoma park md in 1988. traded to a friend for some cylinder head machine work.

$5 bill on a sidewalk in canton MI about 2 weeks ago, with a sticker on it that said "dear cashier, i love to suck big hairy ballsacks." sticker peeled off cleanly, and i got a free lunch at El Patio in Novi.

Sawzall blade. Found on the side of I-95. Great product, cleanly cut through a brand new tire and was still sharp enough to cut skin when removed! A+, quality product.

One night another driver came into the depot with a pizza at the end of the night. Like animals we tore into it and thanked him for his thoughtful gesture. He said he couldn't believe someone set a whole pizza on top of a dumpster and forgot it. It still wasn't bad for a free pizza.

Found a pair of straight-cut tin snips while bike commuting. They were a name brand - Wiss maybe, I don't recall now. Very fortunate since all I had in my shop was a left hand pair. They worked great once I evicted the ants from the handles and lubed them up.

This was leaning against a rubbish bin in the country on my way in.

Of course I stopped & snagged it!

My review: This framed poster contains the best advice I will hear or give today, and is applicable on any day that is spelled ending in "y".

I scored a pair of knipex side cutters about 12 months ago. Was going around a roundabout and saw the familiar blue and red handles, quickly pulled into the service station on the exit of the roundabout and ran over and picked them up. Theyre great.

A couple of years ago I scored 2 2.5t ratchet straps from the road side, they now live in my Ute and see regular service.

I love roadside freebies.

Took my kids for a beach walk on Key Biscayne back in the 80's. Found a soggy 100.00 bill. Probably had cocaine residue on it. Didn't care.