Picked this up ( barely, it is a bit heavy).....even had the original price..

Back in 1957, that is....and..IF you wanted to buy the complete sanding kit....it was a whopping $2 more...

So...how much did I spend?

That's a lot better...so, what is this thing?

Not sure what that silver knob was for...push button start.   1/3 sheetsander....inline, at that...

Used to have a Weller soldering gun that looked like this case....sanding pad?

You use a screwdriver to loosen the clamps to install the sandpaper.  

There was also this in the box...

This was it for power tools, today.....I also picked a $1.50 handsaw....big spender, today...

4 hours ago, steven newman said:

Not sure what that silver knob was for.

 

Vibration speed adjustment. 

Yep, that silver knob turns the speed up and down.  We had one in a paint shop back in the 1970's that was pneumatic.  It had a paddle on top and you could adjust the speed by pressing down on the paddle or releasing it some.  These are wonderful sanders.  We just cut sheets of sandpaper to fit the pad.  Great tool.