Your best roadside tool find

This isn't an actual "tool" find. It's "raw materials."


After an election, I'll go around picking up campaign signs from "beside the road". Since the law requires their removal within a few days after the election, I'm doing both the candidates and myself a favor!

Nowadays all the signs are made of "corroplast" (cellular/corrugated plastic), either ~3/16" or ~5/16" and 4 ft square or larger. This waterproof material has a number of uses. And here in the Phoenix area, nobody seems to use wooden stakes. Each sign is held up with 2 or 3 pieces of 1/2" or 5/8" rebar, anywhere from 5ft to 6ft long.

After a big election, I can go out for an hour or two with a side cutters (for the "bailing wire") and vise-grips and collect a huge number of signs and 50-60 lbs of rebar. Rebar is easy to pull out of the ground by clamping on the vise-grips for a handle, rotating it a few turns, then pulling it upward.
 
Not roadside, but right in the middle of a T-intersection - near mint condition Ben Davis coveralls in my exact size.
 
After voting and leaving the polling place, I found a brand new, complete set of Milwaukee hole saws all snug in their case laying in the middle of the road
 
brand new fuel cans.

Saw a truck drive past my folks and these shiny things bouncing off the tailgate, walked down the road picking up sockets later...

Hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches

Truck, (large and small) car and float tires-rims

chains, binders, bungie cords

steel and lumber

coolers, ball caps, gloves, coveralls

and more
 
found a wire pulling pulley...sold for 80 bucks on ebay ;-)
 
Have not found anything recently, but driving the length and width of TX every once and a while, I have found all sorts of tools, Coolers, chains, and various other items, Just slow down backup, or pull over and walk back to get it. Occasionally have to turn around and go back to get them. But the last thing I found was not lucky. Found a nice sharp jobber 5/16 bit. Tire went flat, and when we went to pull the object out it was hard to get hold of. The sharp end was sticking out. Finally got it out and plugged the tire to last till Could go get new one. Kept the bit, and have actually used it a few times since.
 
Found a 28 inch snow blower that looked new and a 2yr old lawn mower on the side of the road. The snow blower it seems someone took the auger axle apart to grease it and put a shouldered bushing in wrong so it bound up the axle. I turned it around and put it in right and it worked great. Been using it for 3 yrs now. The mower needed a new coil and I had one from an old mower I stripped before sending to scrap. That has been working for a year now.
 
Found a stihl concrete saw laying in the middle of the road. Only thing broken was the blade guard. Started up on the first pull.
 
The best thing I have found in the road was a nice Maglite flashlight. I still use it.
 
When I was a teenager in the 60s I found a 1/2" drive Snap-on ratchet, almost new. I still use it today.
 
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