gerstner.jpg

Boxes Of Wood

Posted by 141drew Posted onJul 25, 2014 at 2:01 PM and filed under News & Editorial


A few years ago, a good friend gave me an old Gerstner machinist chest as a gift. I’ve used as a watch box (another sickness of mine), but also as a starting point for another obsession – I love these old things – both classic Gerstners as well as more obscure and home made boxes.

Anyway, let’s see your wood tool boxes.


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Stuart in MN

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Did you see Davefr's gorgeous watchmaker's cabinet in the junker to jewel picture thread?

P1030701.jpg


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243029&page=3
 
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Terranova

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I've got my Great Great grand fathers. I tried to redo the leatherette, and failed.

View media item 42187
I also interviewed to work there twice. I even got to interview with Mr. Campbell, the descendant of H Gerstner. Probably a good thing I didn't get the job, cause I have the same infatuation you do.
 
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Falcon67

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>Did you see Davefr's gorgeous watchmaker's cabinet in the junker to jewel picture thread?

Wow, that is nice!
 
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Russ G

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I would love to find one of these at a yard sale or something. Could not afford a genuine Gerstner. Princess Auto used to sell a small version. Looked very similar to the small chest that Harbor freight still offers. The one at Princess Auto was not of very good quality ,though. One of these boxes would make a good winter project.
 
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gripen

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Ryan said:
gerstner.jpg


A few years ago, a good friend gave me an old Gerstner machinist chest as a gift. I've used as a watch box (another sickness of mine), but also as a starting point for a...
To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of using these as a watch box. More details on your watch sickness please! I've recently been infected.


Falcon67 said:
>Did you see Davefr's gorgeous watchmaker's cabinet in the junker to jewel picture thread?
Click to expand...

Nice!
 
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fortyfour

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Nice thread - love machinist chests. When I was building out the shop, I was also on the hunt for one of these. Found it on Craigslist in Mass. and it was pretty beat up. Took some time and a little TLC but it turned out nicely. Finally have a place for all the precision bits.





 
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Outlander

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This was handed down to me by my Dad (RIP) having been built by my Uncle (RIP). It really would look better with a wooden machinist's box on top!

Mess does not do it justice.
 

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NUTTSGT

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I have no box of wood (other than my kindling box) and I'm jealous. There is something to be said about the craftsmanship that goes into making something like these.
 
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Russ G

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fortyfour said:
Nice thread - love machinist chests. When I was building out the shop, I was also on the hunt for one of these. Found it on Craigslist in Mass. and it was pretty beat up. Took some time and a little TLC but it turned out nicely. Finally have a place for all the precision bits.





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Nice work. Looks like a brand new chest. That's what I'm hoping to find. Something used that I can make a project of refurbishing.
 
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marty_p

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Like Eric, I WISH I had a box of wood of which to post a pic.

My favorite will always be Dad's olive green wooden Army trunk. Since returning home after WWII, he used it to house his circular saw, jig saw, sander, and hand saws. My sister and I decided the box should go my active duty Marine Sgt. nephew, and I would have the tools.
 
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LeonardY

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Friend of mine got a large Gerstner at a swap meet for $200 in excellent condition. The guy who was selling it was retiring from being a machinist. He was selling everything he owned for cheap. Said he had no use for it anymore. Then he dumped the contents on the ground and my friend walked away with it.
It was kind of sad.
 
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softailgarage

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To me, I've always felt that wood exudes class and elegance, one of the reasons I think Gerstners is King of toolboxes (yes, even above Snap On). It's quality and hand crafted adds to that elegance, it's not just some mass produced box with a well known logo slapped on it. This is a Gerstner #41 that belonged to my dad, who was a machinist and he bought it right after the end of WWII as an apprentice. It's also the first toolbox I restored and what led me to Garage Journal. It's the little things about Gerstner's I like, such as the pencil numbering and the tin on the bottom of the drawers and of course the big "Gerstners" stamp. The mechanical drawing pictured, I have no explanation for. I found it between the drawers and it appears to be a blueprint of a drawer, I don't know if it's something that got left in there during production or something dad put in. Anyways, here's my wood box...

After 30 years in a machine shop and 10 years in the garage
IMG_0952.JPG

After restoration
IMG_1111.JPG

IMG_0947.JPG
IMG_0949.JPG
IMG_0950.JPG
IMG_0951.JPG
 
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Cyclone_racer

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Russ G said:
I would love to find one of these at a yard sale or something. Could not afford a genuine Gerstner. Princess Auto used to sell a small version. Looked very similar to the small chest that Harbor freight still offers. The one at Princess Auto was not of very good quality ,though. One of these boxes would make a good winter project.
Click to expand...

Check this ebay store http://stores.ebay.com/MACHINISTBOX...l?_fsub=2&_sid=15497206&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

This guy offers Gerstner tool boxes as well as metal tool boxes including spare parts for restoration.

Cheers

Ralf
 
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TOOL_MONGER

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.... c'mon.... now I have something else I got to have because of this forum... what are the chances of finding 2.. one for the shop n one for the reloading room...
 
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Terranova

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mdbeck1

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Terranova said:
TM, if you check their website they make special boxes for shooters. All tasty and quality, but with a price of course...

http://gerstnerusa.com/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=169

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Edit: sorry mdbeck, did see you threw up the link there....
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Great minds think alike on the link. In fact I showed my wife the same box and she started talking about ideas for Christmas.

Sometimes I just go to their website and drool. One of these days... ...I will own the base to to the top box.
 
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fortyfour

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If you are patient, you can pick them up occasionally on your local Craigslist. That's how I found mine - seller was selling two of his fathers at the time and I grabbed this one for about $150.00. There's some veneer damage on the back from water, but other than that, it was a fun project to fix and bring back to life.

Whenever I pick something like this up, including all my precision tools that are second hand, I think to myself: "Back into Service. Rescued."

Gerstner's are still made here in the USA.
 
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Russ G

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Cyclone_racer said:
Check this ebay store http://stores.ebay.com/MACHINISTBOX...l?_fsub=2&_sid=15497206&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

This guy offers Gerstner tool boxes as well as metal tool boxes including spare parts for restoration.

Cheers

Ralf
Click to expand...

Hi Ralf. Thanks for the link. He has some nice stuff. I bought a box from Gerstner's web site this morning. They are having a mid summer sale right now and there are some good savings to be had. I have always wanted a nice chest and I figured I would go ahead and do it as the day will come when I won't be able to spend money on stuff like this. Shipping up to Canada was pricey, though. I'm looking at it like an unexpected car repair or veterinarian bill. It had to be done and the money is gone.
 
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Kevin54

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Russ G;4128102[B said:
]I would love to find one of these at a yard sale or something. Could not afford a genuine Gerstner[/B]. Princess Auto used to sell a small version. Looked very similar to the small chest that Harbor freight still offers. The one at Princess Auto was not of very good quality ,though. One of these boxes would make a good winter project.
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised. Look around for one of the old leather covered Gerstners. Once the leather gets very worn, and the leather handle goes to ****, they can be bought for around $100. My buddy that I was training at shop, just happened to pick one up for $75. He peeled the leather off, sanded everything down, put a clear poly on it, then added all new green felt to it. The box looked fantastic afterwards. The only difference between the leather bound Gerstner's and the all wood Gerstner's is that the wood under the leather is a cheaper wood. but it still looks nice when sanded and poly'd. And it is a Gerstner.
 
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Russ G

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Kevin54 said:
You'd be surprised. Look around for one of the old leather covered Gerstners. Once the leather gets very worn, and the leather handle goes to ****, they can be bought for around $100. My buddy that I was training at shop, just happened to pick one up for $75. He peeled the leather off, sanded everything down, put a clear poly on it, then added all new green felt to it. The box looked fantastic afterwards. The only difference between the leather bound Gerstner's and the all wood Gerstner's is that the wood under the leather is a cheaper wood. but it still looks nice when sanded and poly'd. And it is a Gerstner.
Click to expand...

Hi Kevin.Happy Monday ! I've been looking for a while now . I just bought a new one about an hour ago. ( see message above ) But if I ever do come across a used one I am going to grab it just to have a project . Not that I haven't got enough as it is....
 
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woodbox

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Not exactly a tool box, but one I made for my daughter to keep her equipment in.
 

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mtnwalton

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20131230_161022_resized.jpg

I've posted this before; sorry for the quality of the picture. I made it about 40 years ago, one of my first woodworking projects. I copied the design from one of the machinists I worked with during my apprenticeship at a small job shop. It's made of maple.
 
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Jonmustang

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What strange timing this thread is for me -- just this morning, I finished fabricating a steel dolly with casters for my great grandfather's oak parts cabinet. I've been wanting to make a mobile base for it for years now, but didn't want to add too much height to an already tall cabinet, so a wooden base was out. I learned how to weld this last Spring and finally fabbed one up out of steel instead.

Baseball in the photo is for scale :thumbup:

wp_20140729_23_05_41_pro+%25282%2529.jpg
 
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Russ G

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mtnwalton said:
20131230_161022_resized.jpg

I've posted this before; sorry for the quality of the picture. I made it about 40 years ago, one of my first woodworking projects. I copied the design from one of the machinists I worked with during my apprenticeship at a small job shop. It's made of maple.
Click to expand...

Excellent work on that chest.
 
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mtnwalton

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Thanks; It's not perfect but I really enjoy a project like this, all the way through. It just shows that anyone can do it if you have the desire.
 
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Ric in Richmond

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Couple of years back found a machinist box on CL about 200 miles away with "some tools" for $350.00

I drove down to get it and found it had a home made bottom box and it was filled with Starett and Mitotoyu tools as well as hundreds of end mills. Total new cost of everything I could find a model number for was well over $3500 dollars. not to mention some of the vintage stuff that is just so cool (all in original boxes)

Also had lots of the tool and die makers personal stuff in it. Photos, marbles, pocket knives, hand rolling machine for smokes.

Sad thing was he was still alive, but not really aware from what I understood and his kids didn't see the need for any of this "stuff".

I wished I could have told the kids that everything they ever wore, drove, ate or lived in came from their dads hands through this Gerstner Box and his tools.

Show a little respect.

Box had the original Machinist handbook with an inscription from the tool and die makers dad to him in 1962. What do you want to bet it was a big deal back then?
 
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chadman

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Ric in Richmond said:
Show a little respect.

Box had the original Machinist handbook with an inscription from the tool and die makers dad to him in 1962. What do you want to bet it was a big deal back then?
Click to expand...

The sad thing is that there was a time when the tool & die maker profession was one that commanded great respect. Unfortunately nowadays when someone asks what you do for a living and you tell them "I'm a tool & die maker" they just look at you with a blank stare and you know even if they don't ask that they have no clue what you're talking about.

Oh well, my grandma still thinks it's a big deal that I'm a journeyman die maker. At least she's impressed :dunno:

I'll have to snap a few pics of my Gerstner's when I get a chance. I have a leatherette 041 at work and a walnut 92XL with matching base in my home machine shop.
 
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Ryan

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This is my 52 that I use as a watch box...
 

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OrneryDuck

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I love the old wood boxes though I doubt I'll ever have one just because of how clapped out second-hand items tend to be in Florida... Something new like woodbox made below is pretty fantastic though. With a bit of height and some front drawers, it'd be a practical unit that looks every-bit as precise as the machinists tools to be contained within.

woodbox said:
Not exactly a tool box, but one I made for my daughter to keep her equipment in.
Click to expand...

Peanut Slabs and L&P chocolate!? You must be a Kiwi. Our (US) chocolates just cannot compare.
 
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C96

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Wow, those are beautiful boxes. I don’t have anything close to being that nice, but I do have a small cedar box from my father that sits on my night stand. I keep my watch, rings etc. in it. Its very special to me.
 
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