Vintage craftsman machinest chest

[tyheuser]

Thought id show off my latest find, I got it for 35$ in very good condition just really greasy with nasty stinky stained green felt liner. I scrubbed the hell out of the original paint, replaced the liners with red felt, cleaned and lubed the slides, soaked it in wd40, and wiped it down. I found a exact match in a 1949 sears catalog and is stamped advertising metal co. Chicago USA and believe its a Kennedy . Its dent free and even came with a set of keys!

 

[nine4gmc]

You ****

 

[ez-duzit]

I have a beat-up version of that same box in Kennedy brown. Guessing it is around 21" long? The very shallow drawers are ideal for storing lathe tool bits.

 

[larryq]

Someone ***** around here...oh wait, that's you.

 

[jkherd]

You ****!!! Great Score

 

[RustFarmer]

Very Nice! Your chest was made in Chicago by the Advertising Metal Display Company. AMD also had their own brand of toolboxes (Remline). No relationship to Kennedy of Van Wert, Ohio.

 

[jusridin]

Nice job cleaning it up it looks great!

 

[LXCam]

Yup, no doubt about it, you **** alright. WTG bud

 

[justanengineer]

Dam, thats a pretty lil box. If you need parts, its the same as a Kennedy 520, but definitely a million times better looking. Id say you paid right at the top end for value, but considering how nice it is Id say its well worth it. Ive got a 520 sitting in a trash bag (it STINKS!!!) that Ive been thinking about redoing forever, just might have to do something similar.

 

[bluebolt]

The red felt looks great, goes better with the Craftsman emblem in my opiniontahn green felt.

And you ****!

 

[SweetD]

Really nice - great find!



Dave

 

[FJ 432]

This is the box that got me hooked on vintage tool boxes. Here's my thread:

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72802

I paid twice what you did and of course the powder coating cost but it holds all of my dremel tools, bits, etc.

Nice find.

 

[Super Sport]

I keep kicking myself for not picking one of these up when I had the chance. The problem was that it would have been a bit of a drive to go get it, but man did I want it! I debated for a couple weeks, and when I was really considering it he sold it...

Great find, you ****!

 

[930dreamer]

Great find and you ****.

 

[Duct Tape Man]

someone ***** around here...oh wait, that's you.

roflmao!

 

[ilovevocs]

My pin stripping stuff would look great in that box.

 

[Packard V8]

Nice cleanup and very nice work on the felt. What adhesive did you use to hold it in place?

For the rest of you - Why does the Remline/Craftsman generate so much excitement when the Kennedy is everywhere at the same price and quality? Is it something about the brown?

jack vines

 

[383 240z]

Looks pretty good. Only thing is I have had bad luck using the wrong felt in machinist tool boxes. It had acids in it that caused rust on my tools. Ended up replacing it with virgin worsted wool felt. Was kinda spendy but the tools aren't rusting anymore!! Keith

 

[lbgradwell]

Excellent buy! You ****.

 

[bluebolt]

Nice cleanup and very nice work on the felt. What adhesive did you use to hold it in place?

For the rest of you - Why does the Remline/Craftsman generate so much excitement when the Kennedy is everywhere at the same price and quality? Is it something about the brown?

jack vines

The brown is definitely not as attractive as the gray Craftsman's to me plus there is no cool badge on the Kennedys. Also of course you have a lot of Craftsman collecters, Kennedy collecters are few and far between. Kennedys are bought for work use and the Craftsman's for display and use.

 

[jeffmoss26]

You ****!!!

 

[RustFarmer]

For the rest of you - Why does the Remline/Craftsman generate so much excitement when the Kennedy is everywhere at the same price and quality?

1. Tangible example of Chicago Manufacturing that is now mostly gone.
2. Collectable Craftsman tools belong in collectable Craftsman storage.
3. Kennedy is everywhere. Vintage Craftsman and Remline are harder to find.
4. Remline and Craftsman brands still exist, but are nowhere near the quality they represented in their heyday.

 

[tyheuser]

I used headliner adhesive to bond the felt it was just regular felt I picked up from a hobby store for a few bucks. I put red in there to match the emblems and my vintage red craftsman vice mounted in front of it on the bench that I got from the same old guy that almost looks new for $25 its from the same era and doesn't have a mark on the teeth. The green just reminded me to much of a pool table or astro turf it was ugly. I'm kind of a sucker for this era of craftsman stuff I really would like a top and bottom box, a drill press, and a grinder that was all from the same era for my home garage. The wood working tools are impressive also but not really what im in to!

 

[ez-duzit]

...
3. Kennedy is everywhere. Vintage Craftsman and Remline are harder to find...

You were doing OK except for this one.

Craftsman is everywhere and much more common as it was more affordable and broadly marketed by Sears. Kennedy was pricier and more upscale. I still have Craftsman tools I bought (new) in the 50's. My own shop has plenty of "newer" Craftsman cabinets; they're less than 3 decades old. And I have a few Kennedy boxes. None of these I consider collectible and all are in daily use.

 

[rusty65]

Some one mentioned if you store tools on the felt that is non factory the tools will rust. And is true It has been discussed at practicalmachinist.com plenty of times. To prevent this put down some wax paper between the felt and tools to prevent the rusting issues. The box looks super good.


Sent From Snap On Head Quarters deep in China.

 

[tyheuser]

well that's good to know ill have to do that I thought about spraying something on them but thought that it would probley just attract to much dirt and dust. Thanks for the compliments

 

[softailgarage]

Some one mentioned if you store tools on the felt that is non factory the tools will rust. And is true It has been discussed at practicalmachinist.com plenty of times. To prevent this put down some wax paper between the felt and tools to prevent the rusting issues. The box looks super good.


Sent From Snap On Head Quarters deep in China.

I've never heard that, nor had a problem. Why is it? Do the manufacturers coat the felt with something?

I'm not a fan of Machinist boxes unless they're Gerstner (dont know why), but I have to say, " ya done good" and a hearty YOU **** to you sir.

 

[softailgarage]

1. Tangible example of Chicago Manufacturing that is now mostly gone.
2. Collectable Craftsman tools belong in collectable Craftsman storage.
3. Kennedy is everywhere. Vintage Craftsman and Remline are harder to find.
4. Remline and Craftsman brands still exist, but are nowhere near the quality they represented in their heyday.

Personally, Kennedy does nothing for me, they're all the same. There's no personality, no style. I own a 9 drawer Kennedy Cabinet and would sell or trade it in a heartbeat if it hadn't of been my Dads. On the other hand the Remline top & bottom roller will never leave my garage.

 

[rusty65]

I've never heard that, nor had a problem. Why is it? Do the manufacturers coat the felt with something?

I'm not a fan of Machinist boxes unless they're Gerstner (dont know why), but I have to say, " ya done good" and a hearty YOU **** to you sir.

The problem is mainly with metal boxes not so much wooden ones. I believe it has to do with the replacement felts may not breathe as well as the factor felting so the replacement may soak up moisture and retain the moisture where as the factory would breathe and dry out more easily. I could be wrong but I have a old machinist tool box from a old timer who went through all the measures to make sure his tools did not rust and he used wax paper between the felt and tools. And he used the box from 1946 till he retired and many of the tools look like new meaning no rust to speak off. Just a little heads up because one thing I hate is picking up a rusty working tool.


Sent From Snap On Head Quarters deep in China.

 

[ez-duzit]

Instead of covering felt with wax paper why not just use the common foam sheet material sold for lining tool boxes? I've had these (Sears) in mine for many years with no signs of rust.

 

[bluebolt]

You were doing OK except for this one.

Craftsman is everywhere and much more common as it was more affordable and broadly marketed by Sears. Kennedy was pricier and more upscale. I still have Craftsman tools I bought (new) in the 50's. My own shop has plenty of "newer" Craftsman cabinets; they're less than 3 decades old. And I have a few Kennedy boxes. None of these I consider collectible and all are in daily use.

Craftsman in general is everywhere but for machinists boxes you will see 10 Kennedys for every Craftsman.

 

[Outlawmws]

Vintage craftsman you don't see every day, especially the rarer early "Pro" versions.

80's and up are common enough, and even 70's are not too rare but the 60s and older have mostly gone to that great scrap mill in the sky.

Nice condition copes like the OP's are incredibly rare to find.

Comparing that to Kennedy, I see Kennedy 10X more. just in my garage, I have 2 rollers and two vintage Pre 60's craftsman (out of 7 Craftsman total) I have 21 Kennedy's... (I almost said 20 but another followed me home last sat.)