The VINTAGE toolboxes of Garage Journal!

[Beerhippie]

Finished, minus one of the Kennedy pulls that I misplaced. Pretty sure the same guy who steals my 10mm sockets made off with it, lol.

You can buy a new pull from Kennedy... for about $30. Then you'll find the lost one.

 

[IRQVET]

Well done I-V! Is that Rusto Hammered Silver?

Indeed, with some Tractor Supply clear coat I had lying around from another project.

Shot with a Harbor Freight HVLP Purple Gun in my garage.

 

[Cruzan80]

Curious why you chose the heritage badge for that. AFAIK, Kennedy never made that style for that era of Craftsman. IIRC, Union was the steel boxes, and then Waterloo for the brown machinist boxes for Crowntop (maybe it was originally a Waterloo, not a Kennedy)? Not sure who made them into the 80's+

 

[IRQVET]

Curious why you chose the heritage badge for that. AFAIK, Kennedy never made that style for that era of Craftsman. IIRC, Union was the steel boxes, and then Waterloo for the brown machinist boxes for Crowntop (maybe it was originally a Waterloo, not a Kennedy)? Not sure who made them into the 80's+

My top box was made with the heritage badge. It also has a hammered silver finish. Assumed my top box was a Kennedy, but if it's from another manufacturer, so be it, the build of all these style machinist boxes seem to be of equal built style and quality.

Here is my top box that will be sitting on the middle box I just completed. What I was going for was the two boxes to match each other. I'll include both pictures so you get the visual. I have not started on the top box yet, so it sits as I got it- little dented, little dirty, but still in great shape overall. It's next on the restoration rotation, followed by an S-K Wayne Machinist Box I have from the same era.

 

[ALLFAST]

Indeed, with some Tractor Supply clear coat I had lying around from another project.

Shot with a Harbor Freight HVLP Purple Gun in my garage.

Thank you for the scoop! Go onto Etsy. Someone there’s been offering 3D printed reproduction Kennedy style pulls ( in different colors, plus brown) for awhile now-very reasonably priced and well reviewed

 

[Cruzan80]

Yes, different manufacturers. Was also confused, as the one you repainted is wider than a heritage roller bottom, so wouldnt fit to stack that way.

Though they look similar, pretty sure there is at least 2 if not 3 different eras in there. Heritage would have been 50's, SK (Post Wayne would have been 70's), and the Kennedy (90's+). Not trying to rain on your parade, just provide context.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Hammer a few nails see which one feels better

 

[IRQVET]

Had a thought today when I was about to take my old leather recliner to the dump, something different than felt liners, lol.

 

[Old Radar]

I hope you saved some for handle re-wraps!

 

[Outlawmws]

Yep, Salvage that Leather!

 

[fishwatcher]

My top box was made with the heritage badge. It also has a hammered silver finish. Assumed my top box was a Kennedy, but if it's from another manufacturer, so be it, the build of all these style machinist boxes seem to be of equal built style and quality.

Here is my top box that will be sitting on the middle box I just completed. What I was going for was the two boxes to match each other. I'll include both pictures so you get the visual. I have not started on the top box yet, so it sits as I got it- little dented, little dirty, but still in great shape overall. It's next on the restoration rotation, followed by an S-K Wayne Machinist Box I have from the same era.

Very nice! I really like my hammered silver Kennedy top box and have been looking for a matching riser that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Even one in brown Kennedy crinkle has been hard to find at a good price.

I decided to make my own riser out of a few scraps of wood I had. I ****-jointed, glued and screwed 2x4s and plywood and some pressed board as a bottom. I used poly as a finish.


I’m waiting on Amazon to deliver a grey Durham steel empty box that should fill most of the space under the riser to hold a few more tools.

I’ll update and add a picture when the new box arrives.

 

[fishwatcher]

Very nice! I really like my hammered silver Kennedy top box and have been looking for a matching riser that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Even one in brown Kennedy crinkle has been hard to find at a good price.

I decided to make my own riser out of a few scraps of wood I had. I ****-jointed, glued and screwed 2x4s and plywood and some pressed board as a bottom. I used poly as a finish.


I’m waiting on Amazon to deliver a grey Durham steel empty box that should fill most of the space under the riser to hold a few more tools.

I’ll update and add a picture when the new box arrives.

New Durham “large” steel box under homemade riser holding my vintage Kennedy. The colors don’t match, grey vs silver. Maybe one day I’ll paint the new box hammered silver.

 

[ssjones]

I inherited my father-in-law's KR550 & KR555 boxes when he passed in 2020. He was my true auto and home mentor. He was a the service manager for our local Chrysler dealer in Hagerstown MD in the late 1960's and then managed a truck fleet for Baer Foods in the 1970's. This was full of Snap-on, MAC and Chrysler tools, many from the 1950s and 1960's. I had my own set of tools and these were worked very hard, modified, etc. Really odd wrench sizes, but the markings were very worn, so hard to use. So, most were sold and proceeds went to his estate. I saved a few pieces of things I didn't already have.

Several of the drawer slides were really loose, Snap-On sent me free replacements. The paint is worn in my places, but I like the patina it earned in a lifetime of service. I think of him often whenever I open a drawer, or grab one of his tools. My favorite is a Snap-On ratchet attachment for a breaker bar - I didn't know these existed and now use it frequently.

I put in a good liner and recently moved it from Maryland to our new home in Louisiana.

The box at his home and a shot of us together. My old Craftsman box from the early 1990's went to my son-in-law's home. We were putting a new entry door on the garage in Maryland.









He only had one sticker on the box, a Rick Mears Team 1 Indy Car team sticker.

 

[1982fxr]

Local Facebook. Not mine. No clue what that Allen company would be. Cool cart though.

 

[four.cycle]

^
Allen / Allen Electric & Equipment Co., 2101-2117 No. Pitcher St., Kalamazoo, MI / automotive tune-up equipment /

Not sure if they're still in business. They made big "engine analyzer" machines for repair shops.

 

[colmal]

There are so many rabbit holes on this site, spent a few hours looking thru this thread, got a few ideas from here also, Thankyou.

I have a few tool chests and boxes, don't really collect them they just appear somehow and use them as I cart everything I need outside under the porch when I do stuff- not leaving things outside. mainly 40's - 80's, have a couple of cheap crappy boxes, I bought for the contents, but they are chalk and cheese on quality.

One thing I am also interested in is where are the wall cabinets ? or isn't that really a thing in US ?



I regard them as lounge room wall art

 

[Ohio Andy]

There are so many rabbit holes on this site, spent a few hours looking thru this thread, got a few ideas from here also, Thankyou.

I have a few tool chests and boxes, don't really collect them they just appear somehow and use them as I cart everything I need outside under the porch when I do stuff- not leaving things outside. mainly 40's - 80's, have a couple of cheap crappy boxes, I bought for the contents, but they are chalk and cheese on quality.

One thing I am also interested in is where are the wall cabinets ? or isn't that really a thing in US ?



I regard them as lounge room wall art

I am not used to seeing wall cabinets no....

 

[Isaiah6113]

Last summer I saw an ad for these and drove a couple of hours to pick them up. The top box is a Beach B96 (6-drawer) and the bottom cabinet is a Beach B89 (12-drawer).





These boxes are hard to date. There is a Beach catalogue that does not show the B96 (9-drawer) and B89 (12-drawer) boxes. This catalogue is undated, but archive.org shows a date of 1971. The address for the company does not have a postal code. Postal codes in Canada saw nation-wide roll out between ’72-‘74. So, the catalogue could be 1974 or earlier. There is a French language catalogue that announces B96 as, “The last one to your family of high quality Beach”. That same catalogue announces the B89 as “New”. The cover of this catalogue shows a car being worked on with a 1973 Ontario plate. So given all the above I’d say the B96 & B89 were released in 1973.

Overall they are in excellent shape. I am the 3rd owner. The seller stated he bought them from a retired mechanic. Seller was a great fella, kept good care of these. They were well lubricated over the years which saved the sliders (almost like new), cabinets and drawers. They were absolutely filthy inside the boxes, years of grimy oil and grease residue (yet good for rust prevention!).

The stickers . . . oh my the stickers, front, sides and backs all covered. The vinyl ones weren’t too bad, my heat gun helped. But the rest were a nightmare. The worst were the paper stickers, and the badges, some were on with a model-glue-like substance. There was also permanent felt marker. Three products did the trick; 99% isopropyl alcohol took care of the marker. Goo Gone took care of 70% of the stickers. The remaining 30% needed Goof Off (which is basically Acetone). Be careful with acetone, it can eat paint. Interestingly, the paint on these older Beach boxes is very hard, acetone didn’t affect it and worked wonders on the stubborn adhesives. However, on my Beach boxes OEM for Mastercraft and Craftsman you have to be very careful with acetone.

Both boxes were completely disassembled, degreased and washed. Then cleaned again with Simple Green (careful with SG, it can remove paint), and then all paint buffed with NuFinish. All the handles were polished with Autosol, sliders were lubricated with silicone grease and Door Ease. I also have keys for all of them. I replaced the casters with heavy duty ball bearing caster. All four are swivel, as I need to easily move the cabinet from a doorway.









Observant readers will have noticed I have the older B96 on top of a mid-tier box on the bench. I did this to even out the heights. Not only that, the mid-tier on the bench is not a B22, but the full-sized mid-tier (18” deep vs 12”). This full-sized mid-tier box does not fit on the round cornered B89, it fits cabinets with squared corners.

The little box on the right is Beach OEM Craftsman I bought in the late 70s. Bottom shelf of the Bench is a Beach cantilever and a Beach OEM Crown-top Craftsman cantilever. Beside it is a Craftsman 6520. The box on the end is a Waterloo-made Mastercraft from the mid-90s.
Thanks for reading!

 

[Oldsnapper]

Observant readers with have noticed I have the older B96 on top of a mid-tier box on the bench. I did this to even out the heights. Not only that, the mid-tier on the bench is not a B22, but the full-sized mid-tier (18” deep vs 12”). This full-sized mid-tier box does not fit on the round cornered B89, it fits cabinets with squared corners.

Do you have a model number for the full size mid-box? I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

 

[Isaiah6113]

Do you have a model number for the full size mid-box? I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

As my son would say . . . Ain’t that a really good Q.

I have never been able to find a model number, nor have I seen it in any Beach catalogue (not that there are many Beach catalogues around).

It is designed to hold the large, full sized, square-cornered, B29, 12-drawer box. I get the feeling it was intended to sit on a bench, beside a lathe or something.

I have seen it in the wild, with a B29, atop a smaller B27-sized cabinet Beach OEM Mastercraft badged. That OEM for Mastercraft was square-cornered.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

There are so many rabbit holes on this site, spent a few hours looking thru this thread, got a few ideas from here also, Thankyou.

I have a few tool chests and boxes, don't really collect them they just appear somehow and use them as I cart everything I need outside under the porch when I do stuff- not leaving things outside. mainly 40's - 80's, have a couple of cheap crappy boxes, I bought for the contents, but they are chalk and cheese on quality.

One thing I am also interested in is where are the wall cabinets ? or isn't that really a thing in US ?



I regard them as lounge room wall art

There are plenty around not sure why more are not posted. I think the craftsman wall cabinets are quite popular and have seen a few posted lately.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

The snapon cabinets are popular, this one is for pullers but you can find them for any tool set up.

 

[colmal]

The snapon cabinets are popular, this one is for pullers but you can find them for any tool set up.

I'll post a couple of mine later, was just going to sleep so didn't feel like getting camera out.
like the craftsman one, the Snapon looks like upmarket wall art - bit posh for me.

 

[Beerhippie]

The Crafty looks like is was made to hang in a working shop. The Snappie looks like a store sales display.

Now, is there one that just says "Made in China, Taiwan or India"?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

The snap on was an old Tool truck display model. They come mostly with solid steel doors.

 

[Smokeshow69]

There are plenty around not sure why more are not posted. I think the craftsman wall cabinets are quite popular and have seen a few posted lately.

for those who wish to take a deeper dive into the craftsman wall cabinet foray...

Craftsman wall cabinet

Picked this up last night off CL for $20! No tools, but 2 keys. They list for $100-$200 on eBay. I will just hang it, maybe repaint the right door. Anyone know the general age?

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Farmer J.]

One thing I am also interested in is where are the wall cabinets ? or isn't that really a thing in US ?

Jim C. did a really nice thread on his wall cabinet:

Finally found a Craftsman wall mount cabinet

The title says it all. I’ve been looking for one of these cabinets for a while now. Jim C.

www.garagejournal.com

 

[colmal]

Jim C. did a really nice thread on his wall cabinet:

Finally found a Craftsman wall mount cabinet

The title says it all. I’ve been looking for one of these cabinets for a while now. Jim C.

www.garagejournal.com

Thankyou, there is some nice setups there.

 

[thundermug]

Been a while since I posted anything.
On Sunday I drove 8 hours round trip to pick up this KR300. They don't come up too often where I am so I jumped on it. Paid $250, and I consider that a fair price.

The K61 I picked up about a month ago. Might have paid $200. I don't remember. The exterior of the box was repainted at some point. I haven't decided if I'll leave it as is or refinish it in the correct shade of red. The K61 looks right at home with the KR300. I think these are the best-looking drawer pulls that Snap-On produced.

I know that Snap-On made a middle chest that fits under the K61, and it has the same drawer pulls. I have only seen one in photos. Most likely harder to find than the K61. It's next on my list. Would also be great if I could find the KR431 lower drawer section for the KR300. If anyone is selling one of these, send me a message.

 

[lilredex]

Do you have a model number for the full size mid-box? I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

I have never found one either. Looks to be over looked.

 

[lilredex]

To add to the Beach mysteries, there is also an eight drawer box out there, see the first picture. No other info on file.

There appears to be another version of that full size intermediate step up box that does sit on top of the rollers, see second picture.

I recently found a full size step up box that I put on top of an addressograph box (blue) that I had, it fit OK, so did not notice the square corner conflict.

Has any one else found a B64 cantilever box, after many years of searching I finally got one.

 

[lilredex]

This is sort of a toolbox, that I acquired a few years back. I asked Canada Sandpapers in Plattsville (Ontario) about it but never heard back from them. It appears to be "one of a kind". Anybody seen another one?

 

[lilredex]

Very nice! I really like my hammered silver Kennedy top box and have been looking for a matching riser that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Even one in brown Kennedy crinkle has been hard to find at a good price.

I decided to make my own riser out of a few scraps of wood I had. I ****-jointed, glued and screwed 2x4s and plywood and some pressed board as a bottom. I used poly as a finish.


I’m waiting on Amazon to deliver a grey Durham steel empty box that should fill most of the space under the riser to hold a few more tools.

I’ll update and add a picture when the new box arrives.

I thought about doing something similar for my boxes......... but did build a "garage" for my keyboard to hide in. It was made from pallet scraps and p-urethaned.

 

[knock knock]

This is for sale locally thing about picking it up.can anyone identify the top box looks to to an odd drawer set up I don’t think I have seen before?

 

[Beerhippie]

This is for sale locally thing about picking it up.can anyone identify the top box looks to to an odd drawer set up I don’t think I have seen before?

I think I have the identical chest! I've been unable to ID it, either.



Mine weighs 83 lb empty.

 

[Beerhippie]

Here's one of the handles. All steel:

 

[TheRealZeus]

That trapezoid hand with the shoulder stops I see on snap-on, and I believe Macs. Probably produced and badged by brand name.

 

[TheRealZeus]

Yours cropped, with example from Googling.

There are more examples.. Those Google reference bolts in the handle are likely post production fixes. I think it still could be on Mac boxes as well. Hopefully, someone has something more definitive for ya.

 

[FJ 432]

There are so many rabbit holes on this site, spent a few hours looking thru this thread, got a few ideas from here also, Thankyou.

I have a few tool chests and boxes, don't really collect them they just appear somehow and use them as I cart everything I need outside under the porch when I do stuff- not leaving things outside. mainly 40's - 80's, have a couple of cheap crappy boxes, I bought for the contents, but they are chalk and cheese on quality.

One thing I am also interested in is where are the wall cabinets ? or isn't that really a thing in US ?



I regard them as lounge room wall art

Can you snap some photos of these open? those are sweet!

 

[Beerhippie]

That trapezoid hand with the shoulder stops I see on snap-on, and I believe Macs. Probably produced and badged by brand name.

The drawer slides are the same (irritating) style as Snap-On chests. I've been unable to find a Snappy chest that matches.