Do I close my eyes and start tossing?

Need to clean out the old pig shed, a wasteland for everything and anything from the Previous owners.

I really hate to just start tossing things because there may be things of more value than scrap plus it would be nice if someone could use some item for restoration project etc.

I have a timeframe and have only scratched the surface.....it’s a nightmare.

What would you do? and how would you go about knowing what to keep?

Thanks....Jeff
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That's a lot of stuff. Any good old-style plow parts, good baler needles, stuff like that, people will want. Old but good wrenches and other tools have a market. Old farm, oil and gas, automobile advertising, tin or wood packaging, thermometers, etc., if in good shape, has a market. But for everything you find that's worth something you'll have 10 things that aren't. BTDT.
 
Be logical about it. There are a lot of antique items laying around. Start a pile for scrap, a pile for antique items and a pile of fab iron that can be reused and a pile for junk. The scrap pile might need to be subdivided into copper, aluminum and iron piles. Just wade in and make a path through the middle of it. If you don't know if an item is worth something just take a picture of it and post it. There will be someone who can tell you whether to keep it or not. I'm sure after your selection piles are made you can find a local antique dealer that would love to get his hands on some of those items and pay for all your hard work.
 
here what you are saying. but seams like i always need a piece of iron for something.hard for me to throw any iron away.
 
I can see some flat stock,box iron and rod that I'd keep for welding stock,but to be realistic,things like those old drinkers and other odds and ends would be on the trailer and headed to the salvage yard.
 
I see a seat that might be the style i am looking for and that cart wheel set is something that people would use. looks like theres good, but not overly valauble stuff in there.

Thing is, how much effort are you willing to put into selling it all? A lot of 10, 15, 25 dollar items, about all you can do is take em to a swap and see what sells.
 
Looks like a lot more keep than toss. At least it would be at my place anyway. If you have room for it and it looks usable, keep it. Make a keep pile, a junk iron pile, and a dump pile. I'll bet the keep pile will be bigger.
 
Thanks for the replies, some good info. yesterday we purchased 16 55 gal drums and cut the tops out this morning, have those staged by the door as I type and just taking a break from sorting, lots of brass copper and lead. thousands of nuts and bolts; most with the square nuts. Just found a pail full of 3/4 inch SS nuts and bolts.

So far I have a 2x2 area sorted.....lets see at that rate......Hmm I need this shed in 6 days for the pigs; think some hard decisions will have to made.

The worst part about it is I am a tinkerer as well and really hate throwing stuff out, but I'm 53 now so projects need prioritizing.

I do have things I would identified if possible, should they be posted here or......

Thanks for all the advise guys appreciate every one of them!!

Cheers - Jeff
 
Spare parts repository and treasure chest. Go ahead and throw it out- I will guarantee you that you'll need it next week---
 
I tossed a bunch of stuff a couple years ago after selling some stuff for what I thought was cheap and trying unsuccessfully to sell other stuff. There isn't the market for old/used/obsolete stuff out there that many folks claim there is. I have a few bucks from the scrappers, a lot less clutter, and a whole lot more useable space. First time in 40 years of driving I have a place to park my truck under cover in winter, and I'm pretty happy with that.
 
Take a word of advice. Just start throwing. I have moved crap from one place to annother for years. Didnt need it before I moved it the first time and still dont need it! Those items that maybe saleable you still need someone to buy it. I am gonna start pitching everything so I can get crap out of here and sell the place.
 
All depends....are you a lifer? Gonna stay there for awhile? So you need the shed, ok,got a spot to put the "good" stuff? Only you know what things might come in handy down the road. My Dad once told me, " If it won't rot, put it on the stone pile." Well, I still find somethin' good out there once in awhile and it saves me a couple of bucks. And it feels good knowing that I used a piece of "junk" to get by. Put the real junk in those barrels.
 
Call the local auctioneer and have him come by and look. Those guys know the value of EVERYTING. Dig it out with a fel and let him watch for good stuff. If you start sorting nuts and bolts it will take you forever and you will end up keeping a majority of it. Look at it as a liability, and lost labor rather than treasure. You have zero invested so don't worry about a loss on some two bit item.
 
Forgot to say, great pictures! What fun looking through them! Maybe you could check ebay to get an idea if something is worthwhile.
 
Guys on here might be interested in tractor related parts. I see a knife off a sickle bar mower in the back leaning against the wall. If it's off a tractor mounted mower, someone on here might be interested in it. Could be off a horse drawn mower, though.
 
A lot of purist would be interested in the square nuts for tractor restorations.A lot of the old tractors used those.
 
If push comes to shove, just pile it up outside and sort through it later. It won't rust that much more over the summer months. There is quite a bit of good stuff there. The two steel wheels on top of the pile, a cant hook w/o handle, a mowing scythe w/o handle, a cow bell, several car/truck hubcaps.
there IS a market for a lot of that stuff, you just have to be familiar with where it is. Good luck.
 
Well you do need to know what is worth more than scrap. If you don't know, then you need to have in person help with that as you go through the items. From item to item. Looks to me like alot of it is scrap metal bound though. I would get rid of the for sure scrap iron first, which might be alot of it. Thats what you need to do if your wanting it gone. Then figure out how you are going to sell the remainder of good items, wich might not be all that much stuff. My 2 cents
 
I'd separate into useable and junk. Saw some steel tube and a couple of looks like trailer axles. Sounds like a fun project.

Larry
 
The set of steel wheels and axle in Amish area $50 min. the trailer axles always sell very good at consignment auction, then the cant hook and welding table magnet. And that square steel tubing I need to go to scrap yard right now to buy some.
 

Since you need to clear it out quick, I would call a scrapper and have him back up to it leaving room to toss keepers to the side, then start throwing onto the truck and you call which way to throw.
 
Jeff in WI,

I'd set aside anything neat/old/rusty and take it (or at least photos of the items) to an antique shop...to see what they might offer you.

Or if you have the time/interest in selling on ebay... I just watched a rusty old mailbox sell for $27 dollars PLUS shipping costs.

While being A LOT of work... it sure would be fun to help sort through that - just to see the old, rusty stuff!!

NEAT STUFF THAT I SEE AT A GLANCE:

old cans like the Liquid wrench

old oil can (looks like it could be one style of IHC)

steel wheels

that huge glass jug (everything is plastic now)

clawfoot tub - especially if it has the feet on it

old hub caps (some people use them for art in a rec room... have also seen a guy make clocks out of them)

rust cow stations - people buy them for yard/garden art (I'd even hang one on wall in the house if I had room)

belt pulley wheel

looks like some type of pan-seat

even those rusty bolts and galvanized buckets that hold the bolts
 
Unless you find something you want to keep yourself as you rifle through it... I'd just load it all in a heap where it's all accessible to the scrap truck... and send it for scrap because that's what most of it appears to be, at least from here.

Rod
 
For the things that you do not have a use for, but you are not sure if they have any value, set them aside and haul them to an auction or sale barn.

Most auctioneers have an eye for what will sell. They will separate out the valuable items and sell them individually to get the best price. The junk will be combined into increasingly larger lots until it sells for $1 or scrap price, the auctioneer knows which is higher. You have to take home the stuff that doesn't get a bid,so ask the autioneer if there is anything you shouldn't bother unloading.

You won't get top dollar, and be prepared for 30 percent commissions, but it is "disposed of" and you have extra money in your pocket compared to scrapping it.
 
(quoted from post at 13:33:38 04/10/14) Need to clean out the old pig shed, a wasteland for everything and anything from the Previous owners.

I really hate to just start tossing things because there may be things of more value than scrap plus it would be nice if someone could use some item for restoration project etc.

I have a timeframe and have only scratched the surface.....it’s a nightmare.

What would you do? and how would you go about knowing what to keep?

Thanks....Jeff
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Jeff, you do realize that there are plenty of guys here who would come and pay you for the privilege of helping you to sort through all those treasures.
 
In the second series of photos, the one with the conduit and the sickle mower bar, if that racetrack shaped handle is the handle on a branding iron, that could be worth north of 300 dollars.
 
GordoSD,
That is a handle to a dynamite spoon/shovel about 6 foot long, there are several here, we found over 40 full cases of dynamite in a old travel trailer, bomb squad was brought in. they burned to the ground. :-(
 
Jeff In Wisconsin; Uffda!!

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That white enamel basin looks cool. I also saw legs for an old ice cream table or chair.

I imagine Sweetfeet has packed for the weekend and is heading your way; camera in tow and an empty trailer.
 
This has been one of the most interesting topics I"ve read yet. I"ve spent upwards of half an hour looking and reading! Really great pictures! The before and after pictures are wonderful. Maybe we could all send in pictures of our "store" rooms? Good luck.
 
Al in WI,

You're right...
It is a basin - not a tub! :)

If it was nearby, I'd go gladly help just for the photo op and the fun of seeing it all firsthand... and I'd bring a little money for a rusty momento or two.
 

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