Aero 1946 Toolbox

Posted by 141drew Oct 13, 2011 at 2:37 PM and filed under Reviews & Features

This is cooler than hell… A guy named Rolf makes these tool boxes by hand somewhere in Europe. I haven’t gotten many details out of him yet, but I’m hoping I can get him to register and fill us all in. Regardless, a lot of people believe carry-all boxes like these are obsolete in this era of specialization. I completely disagree and love my handled boxes. This one looks to be to die for. More images here.

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boostedgt

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

very cool

dittle fart around

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Checked out the web site for Aero-1946. He's got photos of his shop and works in progress. Some pretty cool stuff.
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Machobuck

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

OMG Now thats what I'm talking about

FJ 432

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Cool Stuff.

mgilde13

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Very cool looking but I'd be afraid that I'd dent it the first time I toss my hammer in there.

bluebolt

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Wow that is art!

Jayincali

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Sorry for the stupid question, but what are those rods sticking out used for? Do they hold the part in place so you can get a few rivits in there?

Terry454

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

They are called Cleco fasteners and as you surmise they are to hold the panels in place temporarily until a few of the rivets are set.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/sheetholder.php

Terry

Dan'sGarage

Active member

Oct 13, 2011

Wow...Most Excellent!!! My father had something like (made form wood of course) that he used when I was growing up. Now I just use Bucket Boss bags. something really speacial and nostalgic about those. Gives me an idea for another project though!

TWX

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

I like it. It's a much more useful ratio of side height to handle height too. I have a wood tool carrier that I made as a cub scout from a template that we all used, and the handle is too close to the sides, making it impractical to actually use. This thing looks much better proportioned.

ZRX61

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Hmmm.. not too difficult to copy

fergus

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

must. have. it.

that's it. i'm learning how to rivet.

Charles (in GA)

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

At work practically everyone has a "home made" (known as a "G" job) tote tray, many very similar to the one shown in Ryan's post. They are, for the most part, riveted together with scraps and ends from the sheet metal cutting area, and whatever you can scrounge up.

Charles

ZRX61

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

He made an *** of that join between the bottom & the back of cabinet...

Jayincali said:
Sorry for the stupid question, but what are those rods sticking out used for? Do they hold the part in place so you can get a few rivits in there?

geotek

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

I definately want to get that tool box.

Stephenw

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

That's really nice.

Brad54

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

mgilde13 said:
Very cool looking but I'd be afraid that I'd dent it the first time I toss my hammer in there.

That's why I'd put it in my house as a liquor cabinet!

-Brad

Brad54

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Anyone see the low-budget press and die he uses to stamp those end plates?

I learned a lot on that site.

-Brad

gahrajmahal

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Wunderbar!

To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

ElectroLight

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

Anybody got a link to his site? My Google skills are failing me now...

NUTTSGT

Super Moderator

Staff member

Oct 13, 2011

That stuff is cool but I hope it's a hobby that's making some side cash. As much time that they have involved in that stuff, could they really make a living building that stuff ?

SpiderGearsMan

Banned

Oct 13, 2011

Brad54 said:
That's why I'd put it in my house as a liquor cabinet!

-Brad

the pretty paint lobby speaks up

ZRX61

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

ElectroLight said:
Anybody got a link to his site? My Google skills are failing me now...

http://www.aero-1946.de/werkzeugkiste/werkzeugkiste.html

sr71

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

.... there is a pile of work in them for sure .... anyone notice the cyclo polisher ? ...the polishing alone takes a few hours.....man ..that is decent craftsmanship .

ZRX61

Well-known member

Oct 13, 2011

NUTTSGT said:
That stuff is cool but I hope it's a hobby that's making some side cash. As much time that they have involved in that stuff, could they really make a living building that stuff ?

Translation says 100 hours in that cabinet & it's just a side line for them... so if that was me knocking it out you'd be paying over $6K for it if I did it at home

NUTTSGT

Super Moderator

Staff member

Oct 13, 2011

ZRX61 said:
Translation says 100 hours in that cabinet & it's just a side line for them... so if that was me knocking it out you'd be paying over $6K for it if I did it at home

I know exactly what you mean, but what kind of money do you think they get out of something like that? I mean that's some serious hours involved in it, what would your time be worth ? You're figuring $60/hr, and I can see people paying 6 grand for that cabinet but how many would you sell ? :headscrat

showroomgarage

Active member

Oct 14, 2011

Fantastic looking design and quality of construction. There no doubt is a substantial amount of time, skill and love that goes into fabricating these kinds of items. It is encouraing to see this quality of hand metalcrafting, which unfortunately is becoming a dying artform in our country.

AZAV8

Well-known member

Oct 14, 2011

Ryan,
Cool find! I visited the site and had a lot of trouble recalling my high school German. However, since a picture is worth a thousand words, it was interesting to see how they hand stamp the ends and rivet their products together. Excellent German craftsmanship. We Americans can match or exceed their quality. Maybe somebody here will start fabricating and selling an American version. That's where real jobs come from.

Phil

ZRX61

Well-known member

Oct 14, 2011

NUTTSGT said:
I know exactly what you mean, but what kind of money do you think they get out of something like that? I mean that's some serious hours involved in it, what would your time be worth ? You're figuring $60/hr, and I can see people paying 6 grand for that cabinet but how many would you sell ?

If it was just a *saturday* deal it wouldn't matter how many. If I was needing to sell them to make a living it would be 4 or 5 a month...

Alamedasam

Well-known member

Oct 15, 2011

Id like to see some of the boxes the guys at your work have put together! How about some pics?

hydramatic

Well-known member

Oct 15, 2011

I`m thinking I`ll get that small tote box...If the comptroller of the currency say`s so...

NUTTSGT

Super Moderator

Staff member

Oct 15, 2011

ZRX61 said:
If it was just a *saturday* deal it wouldn't matter how many. If I was needing to sell them to make a living it would be 4 or 5 a month...

True, very true. It would make some good winter work out in the garage to keep from getting stir crazy. :willy_nil

4Tigers

Well-known member

Oct 15, 2011

Ryan, That was a good find and post Let's see how many pop up from the talented crew of the Garage Journal May be it would be fun to make it a contest of sorts

Tman

Well-known member

Oct 17, 2011

Very nice, dad and I still have a couple wooden ones I made 20 years ago. Nowhere as swaky as that however!

Zrexxer

Well-known member

Oct 17, 2011

AZAV8 said:
Excellent German craftsmanship. We Americans can match or exceed their quality. Maybe somebody here will start fabricating and selling an American version. That's where real jobs come from.

Real jobs come from stealing someone else's innovation?

Oh wait, it worked for China...