True surplus! We recently acquired a bunch of brand new Testors Mighty Mini™ airbrush compressor kits. Great, but why’s that surplus? Because the box says it comes with paints--and what’s missing? The paints! What’s NOT missing? The 120VAC compressor (measures 6-1/4" x 4-3/4" x 4") with a 6-foot power cord which is included, the Testors Aztek airbrush system, which includes a single-action external mix airbrush with 6-foot hose, (3) 1/2 oz jars with screw caps, two vented caps to mate with the airbrush (plus cover caps for them), and a pipette. Sweet gift!

Any way you want it. This cast aluminum wire jig for jewelry-making measures 4-3/8" x 1" x 5/8" with (4) 1” x 1/4” steel pegs, semi-circular and triangular bending points, slots at 3/32",1/8" and 3/16" wide, plus one with a small divot to one side. Includes mounting screws so you can stick it to your workbench. Not into jewelry? Bend your own fishing hooks, S-hooks and soft metal strips.  

Teensy tiny brushes for cleaning teensy tiny tubes, airbrushes, spray guns, tattoo equipment, nozzles, etc. Think miniature bottle brushes. You get a set of (5) brushes: 1/32", 1/16", 3/32", 1/8" and 3/16" dia. All have nylon bristles, are 4" long, and are on a slip ring so you won't lose them.

This set of (6) tweezers is as useful as it looks daunting. The (6) stainless steel tweezers vary in size from 4-1/2" up to 7". Two of the tweezers have serrated tips one is inverse, one has a slide latch and the others are straight flat tip. The set comes in a clear front plastic carrying case. Good for model cars, planes or hard to reach splinters.

Maybe a little eclectic for an artist with a single style, but perfect for one who's still searching for himself. Or for any hobbyist. There are no (2) brushes exactly alike in this set of (15). They all have natural bristles, color-coded wooden handles and metal ferrules, but they range from fairly fine to 1/2" wide, and 7" to 10" long. There are at least (3) different kinds of bristles, and they are round, blunt and pointed. A nice variety, and a very nice quality for this price.

Pop one of these roughly 1-1/4" dia stones into the toe of a sock, smash it with a hammer, and be the first person ever to see your real-as-Nature-makes-it geode!! Ninety percent of them have the familiar beautiful white crystals inside. Formed by volcanic action, they are found all over the world, but ours are from Mexico. There is no way to tell from the outside if they have crystal centers, but we will send you two just to raise your odds, and we haven't had a dud yet in our stores!! Much much more fun and satisfaction than buying one already cracked.

These are the so-called miracle shears. They were designed for use by paramedics and others needing quickly to cut wire, light sheet metal, or other tough stuff that might stand between them and their quarry. They are normally demonstrated cutting a penny in two. Which they will do. But not as a steady diet. Let's dispel a few myths. While these are Pakistani stainless, we're not talking any miracles in manufacturing. They are good for their purpose, and real handy to have in the old tool box. But their purpose isn't making pennies into 5-mil pieces, and you will twist or break them at about the same time you find out that you've done the same thing to U.S. laws! For sheet metal or wire or fishing leaders or tin cans or whatever, be our guests.

Just the one, actually, but it’s been sliced in half so the pair is perfectly symmetrical and mighty pretty. Although ammonites have been extinct for 65,000,000 years, we’ve got their approx 1” dia fossils for you. Our each is a book-matched pair of polished ammonites fossils of a single critter halved and polished to a bright symmetrical shininess. The colors vary from light tan to dark brown and we’ll pick because we have impeccable ammonitical color-shade taste. And yes, they’re just screaming to become cuff-links or earrings.

About 30-40 highly polished stones, all shiny, translucent, or brightly colored, ranging from 3/4" long to 1/8" long. Great for mosaics, jewelry, or aquariums.

And we did it ourselves with this self-healing cutting mat. It's hard rubber and no, we don't know how it heals itself, but it does. Measures 11-3/4" x 8-3/4" x 1/8" thick, it's marked in 1/8" and 5mm increments and 1/2" squares, with lines for 45° and 60° cuts.

..my sweet engravable you. Safeguard your stuff with this little battery-powered engraving pen. The 1/16” dia head vibrates to let you inscribe your ID on stuff  that might otherwise wander off. Surprisingly effective for a lightweight tool. Measures approx 6” long x 1” dia and works on metal, wood, glass, plastic, leather and more. Runs on (2) included “AA” batteries.

This all-purpose scissors is the favorite of everyone at A.S.&S.: Pat uses his to cut and strip wire. C.J. uses his to slit the tape on packages. Mary Ann uses hers to open bags of pretzels. It's 6-1/4" long overall, with a very sharp 2" stainless steel blade and large, comfortable handles. It would sell for $9.95 retail if it was new, but it was used for one day to cut cloth in the assembly plant of a major car company, then discarded. Quality control is a wonderful thing.

Make your own custom clock in a tick with this quartz movement. It's in a 2-3/16" square x 5/8" thick black-plastic case with a built-in hook for hanging it. Comes with minimalistic hour, minute and second hands, the latter (2) of which will extend out 2" from the clock's center; the shaft measures 5/16" Dia. and 1/2" long, but the max. thickness of material it will work through is 3/16". You supply (1) "AA" battery and the clock face.

You get (3) of these stainless steel surgical scissors, which have a shorter working length (with the hinge closer to the jaws) than regular snippers, but you still shouldn't try to remove your own appendix. Measure 4-3/8" long and are quite sharp.

Riffler files are most prized by sculptors, wood carvers, model makers and similar fashioners of precision objects. They come in a variety of flat, round and triangular shapes. They are usually pointed and always have a delicate curve toward the point which makes them particularly useful for working in tight and curvy spots. We have a set of (10) in an attractive red plastic case. They are 3 x 180 mm size (about 7"), and were made in China for the King Manufacturing Co. Very nice quality at a very nice price. They can cost as much as $4.00-$5.00 apiece in regular outlets.

But you can take this copper tape to liven up your crafts, from journals and scrapbooks to jewelry, collages and picture framing. And since one side is conductive, you can wire a dollhouse with it. Our each is (36) yards of 3/8" wide x .0015" thick actual copper tape on a 3” core. It’s self-adhesive on the non-conductive side, too.

Take these (250) little translucent beads into the sunlight and they burst into assorted colors faster than you can say "assorted colors." How do they do it? Well, they're UV-reactive, that's how. Mostly pink, purple, rose, yellow and cream and they fade to a nice pearly color inside. Amaze your friends at picnics. Beads measure 5/16" dia x 1/4" with a 5/32" bore. Come with classroom application notes. Click here for the video.

Winner of this week's "What IS That?" award. It's a watch crab, also called a spanner wrench, that's designed to remove the back from watches, lenses from telescopes, and other thin, flat components from whatever they're attached to. Heavy for its size, it's 1" x 2-3/4" x 3/8" thick, with sharp 1/4" prongs projecting from the edge. The prongs move from 2" to 7/16" apart as you spin the knurled nut between them. An impressive tool to flash in front of your brother-in-law. If he doesn't read our catalog, he won't have a clue!