The VINTAGE toolboxes of Garage Journal!

[My Junk is Stuff]

I guess I can finally play. I picked this HUOT set up yesterday which was also my 45 birthday. I thought it was a good CL score for $80.00. Soon to be repainted.

Nice Score, I was emailing with that guy on Friday. I wanted that bad boy as well, at least someone form the forum here got it and will use it!!

 

[pipehack]

Are you the guy from Lafayette. That guy had a beautiful house.

 

[FJ 432]

A little late to the Red/Gray Craftsman party but I picked these up last week for $75.00.

Top is July 75 vintage, bottom November 74.

 

[97nismo]

I have been looking for an older snap on 9 drawer forever...

 

[jakemac]

GREAT SCORE pipehack !!!

Huot's are great boxes once lubed. If you have any trouble removing the drawers and slides try looking here. I used Super Lube on the slides and they run like butter now.

I never see matched sets for sale (I rarely see singles in my area) so, I'm impressed. I think you're really going to like it. That set is from the 70's I believe.

Do you have keys ? Do the locks match ? What color are you going to paint it ?
Keep us updated on your progress. (with pictures)

OBTW - Happy Birthday. View media item 39019

 

[zkling]

I have been looking for an older snap on 9 drawer forever...

Which one?

 

[Mavawreck]

A little late to the Red/Gray Craftsman party but I picked these up last week for $75.00.

Top is July 75 vintage, bottom November 74.

Awesome deal! They look like they are in great shape. I just bought the same top box, I like your bottom cab better than mine. I'll keep a look out for one of those and a matching middle box.

 

[zkling]

I'll keep a look out for one of those and a matching middle box.

O.. the one with the drop down door? I'd like to find a 12D version of one of the Red/gray boxes.

 

[My Junk is Stuff]

Are you the guy from Lafayette. That guy had a beautiful house.

Yep, that would be me. Slow on the draw Are you gonna leave it as is or do some resto on it? They are pretty nice boxes. Oh yeah, you too get a "You ****" for that great deal!

 

[My Junk is Stuff]

A little late to the Red/Gray Craftsman party but I picked these up last week for $75.00.

Top is July 75 vintage, bottom November 74.

That qualifies for a "You ****" from me, I love that flavor of Craftsman box. Nice heist!

After thinking about it, I have a question now, Are there two versions of those bottoms (besides the tall and short versions). My short one has a gray lower door, but I have seen them also with a red dorr that matches the drawers. Just for the heck of it do we have any idea which version came first and how long the made each? For comparison, here is my short bottom with a gray door.

 

[pipehack]

Yep, that would be me. Slow on the draw Are you gonna leave it as is or do some resto on it? They are pretty nice boxes. Oh yeah, you too get a "You ****" for that great deal!

I'll be doing a clean up and repaint. I'll be using Rustoleum Verde Green for the outside and Silver for the drawers. Both will be Hammertone. he could not find the keys so I left him my phone# and address if he does find them. It's all light surface rust on there so I won't have to do a complete strip of the entire box. I have a few projects in front of it so it's going to be a couple of months. This will be used as a dedicated "precision" box. For my mics, calipers, torque wrenches and so on. You guys know what I mean.

 

[My Junk is Stuff]

That sounds good Pipehack. Looking forward to seeing it. I have a top that I am most of the way finished restoring, I went light Blue and Silver Hammertone. The last couple of pics show the tool I made to easily remove the drawers on the Huot. The curve on the end ramps over the stop on the box track and makes it very easy to remove the drawers.

 

[pipehack]

I have a tab on either side of the drawers when pushed in the drawers slide right out. Not sure if anyone has that. I guess I got lucky for once. I would like to know how I can get new "Huot" stickers or make them myself. Is that something I can reproduce on my computer/printer or do I need a special printer to do so. I could have a field day making old racing/hot rod stickers if I could use the printer in my house.

 

[Mavawreck]

That qualifies for a "You ****" from me, I love that flavor of Craftsman box. Nice heist!

After thinking about it, I have a question now, Are there two versions of those bottoms (besides the tall and short versions). My short one has a gray lower door, but I have seen them also with a red dorr that matches the drawers. Just for the heck of it do we have any idea which version came first and how long the made each? For comparison, here is my short bottom with a gray door.

I have the same one you do, but with a red door.

There are a bunch of them


I want one of these:
Two tall layout variants

Tall with 5 drawers and a compartment:



Heres a another layout - short with 5 drawers all the way down? I could be wrong.

Short with 3 drawers:

 

[Flattie]

This box is no where near as nice as many posted here. It is a 1958 KR352. My Dad bought it used for $15 in 1967 at the Mack truck garage in Newburgh, NY. It had already been spray painted. Over the last 6 months I have done hours of work to it. I started by very slowly removing the spray paint off the perfect emblem. Then I scoured for months looking for a drawer slide. I sourced it from Johnnybentwrench. Then I had a friend make a new slide rail for the bottom drawer. Followed by a little TIG welding here and there. Next I cleaned and polished the drawer pulls. Finally I removed the old spray paint using Acetone and many rags. I made drawer liners out of floor cork. The lock is at the locksmith right now. I am going to clean it and coat the heck out of it with Gibbs. Is is then going to get used. I am happy to bring it back to life, and hope to pass it to my kids someday.

 

[jakemac]

I have a tab on either side of the drawers when pushed in the drawers slide right out. Not sure if anyone has that. I guess I got lucky for once. I would like to know how I can get new "Huot" stickers or make them myself. Is that something I can reproduce on my computer/printer or do I need a special printer to do so. I could have a field day making old racing/hot rod stickers if I could use the printer in my house.

That's the later style of slider, the tabs are on the drawer and wall of the box, not the slider itself. You will still need to use a slimjim to get the sliders out of the box.

As for the sticker, they are no longer available. - You could try printing the logo out on clear decal paper, then affixing it to foil tape to get the shiny background. Then maybe a clear cover to protect the ink. You won't be able to duplicate the light checkered background or the imprint lines. (I may also have to try this method on one of my boxes, so I've put some thought to it)

 

[Mavawreck]

This box is no where near as nice as many posted here. It is a 1958 KR352. My Dad bought it used for $15 in 1967 at the Mack truck garage in Newburgh, NY. It had already been spray painted. Over the last 6 months I have done hours of work to it. I started by very slowly removing the spray paint off the perfect emblem. Then I scoured for months looking for a drawer slide. I sourced it from Johnnybentwrench. Then I had a friend make a new slide rail for the bottom drawer. Followed by a little TIG welding here and there. Next I cleaned and polished the drawer pulls. Finally I removed the old spray paint using Acetone and many rags. I made drawer liners out of floor cork. The lock is at the locksmith right now. I am going to clean it and coat the heck out of it with Gibbs. Is is then going to get used. I am happy to bring it back to life, and hope to pass it to my kids someday.

Looks awesome to me! I have the matching snap on top box to that. I can't decide if I'm looking to find the matching bottom cab like yours or to sell mine.

 

[Flattie]

Looks awesome to me! I have the matching snap on top box to that. I can't decide if I'm looking to find the matching bottom cab like yours or to sell mine.

A good friend of mine has his Dad's top box that matches this. He wouldn't ever part with it just like me. If I was you I would keep yours. If you ever decide to sell it please PM me. The handles do it for me. They have a character to them you don't find any more.

 

[Cameronl]

Let me tell you a story about Karma.

Thanks to a tip in the Lowes Clearence Tools thread, I ordered online to pick up in-store, a couple of 7 piece sets of universal spline combos for $5.00 a piece. Bear with me, this is about vintage boxes....

I went to the store this morning to pick them up. They handed me my bag and I headed to the car. When I opened the bag, one set was a RATCHETING set of combos, much MUCH more expensive. For a brief second I thought, "Bonus!" But then I knew that wasn't the right thing to do. I headed back into the store to point out the error. I knew Karma would pay me back for doing the right thing.

I get home, and there's an email from Freecycle (regional email group where people offer up stuff they're going to throw out). Someone offered a wheeled toolbox. That's about all it said. No details. I figured it'd be some cheap Walmart piece of junk, but it was close by, so I enquired. He said come get it (9 times out of 10 you miss out). Here's my Karmic payback:


A nice old Waterloo three drawer box, with side table for free. I just picked it up tonight and haven't had a chance to look it over. If anyone knows anything about it, let me know.

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice score off Freecycle Cameron! I know Waterloo made those same boxes for many re-branding programs (Craftsman PowrKraft, others..) and they are generally a good box, much as not having all drawers irritates me in a roller...

While that one looks rough, it also looks pretty straight, so probably worth cleaning up and putting back into use, even if only as a mobile tool stand...

 

[zkling]

Wowza Cameronl, if you were local I'd donate some paint to the cause. At least the price was right.

Snip.... much as not having all drawers irritates me in a roller...

I don't think is is missing any drawers per say, but was designed for an open compartment. Looks like the bottom garage door is tucked up in there. Not familiar with that logo though. Being a waterloo box it should be stamp dated. I wonder what slides it has.

 

[Outlawmws]

That was my point ZK; to me those "garages" are a waste...

 

[zkling]

That was my point ZK; to me those "garages" are a waste...

True, but they are ok for heavy stuff though. With only 3 drawers you don't get much in^2.

 

[Cameronl]

While that one looks rough, it also looks pretty straight, so probably worth cleaning up and putting back into use, even if only as a mobile tool stand...

Other than a small dent on the side, it's in great shape. The drawers glide open with no binding. The door on the bottom needs a little adjusting. What I didn't know until I tried to take it out of the car on my own, the base and wheels aren't attached to the carcass. I didn't know any boxes came like that. It was dark and raining, and the bottom was pretty greasy, so I didn't get a chance to set it on the base straight.

I particularly like the chrome accents.

 

[Cameronl]

True, but they are ok for heavy stuff though. With only 3 drawers you don't get much in^2.

Hey, three more drawers is three more drawers!

Here's a better pic.

 

[PCO6]

,,, I don't think is is missing any drawers per say, but was designed for an open compartment. Looks like the bottom garage door is tucked up in there. Not familiar with that logo though. Being a waterloo box it should be stamp dated. I wonder what slides it has.

Beach sold its B27 box with an open bottom compartment. They came with slider channels welded in place so you could add drawers of various sizes if you wanted to. A lot of people found the open area good for bulky items and left them that way. I have 2 B27's - one with extra drawers and one without. The one without has it's uses.

It's hard to see but that Waterloo doesn't appear to have channels welded in place.

 

[PCO6]

Cameronl - That's a nice looking box. I Like the vertical trim pieces on the front ... and you sure can't beat the deal you got.

 

[drivesitfar]

Cameron: nice save on the box and i like the customization the former owner did too. a little elbow grease and you should have yourself 3 more drawers and a place to put some of your bigger tools. please post a couple pictures after you clean it up a bit.

PC: thanks for the catalog page that i saved to my laptop

 

[tncumminsguy]

This sucker is heavy, not sure what to do with it now

 

[jakemac]

This sucker is heavy, not sure what to do with it now

Send it up north so you don't have to lift it again.

 

[Outlawmws]

This sucker is heavy, not sure what to do with it now

Heavy and it looks dangerous; you could get your finger pinched in that dangly front panel.

PM me for an address for a dangerous tools and shop equipment management facility. Free of charge, all it costs you is shipping.

 

[crewchief888]

This sucker is heavy, not sure what to do with it now

i'm closer in distance,
less shipping costs that way


or you can deliver

 

[drivesitfar]

I found this at a garage sale that the nicest 91 year old guy was selling some of his old tools. he told me this was his first tool box when he went to work at Boeing in 1946 and the wooden handled tool that looks like a chisel was his homemade key to the door of the shop at work.

a couple modifications were done to keep it working and the lock was added, but it still has the original patina. i checked the thread and didn't see another Dunlap small tool box on it, but i'm sure there were others made.

 

[Rickster55]

This sucker is heavy, not sure what to do with it now

I've got the same one - I love it!

 

[drivesitfar]

This sucker is heavy, not sure what to do with it now

TCummins: i think i own the bottom to that Snap On so either try to find one for yours or if you don't need yours i have a nice spot for it. nice find and post another picture after you clean it up if you keep it.

 

[Laro13]

This sucker is heavy, not sure what to do with it now

I think it deserves a trip to Europe!

It will fit perfectly on my snap on KRA379a, after its revamp.



cheers,
Jasper

 

[rustiepyles]

Old USAF tool box.

 

[j.t.d.]

Just bought this old Craftsman roller cabinet for $65.00. I also have this Craftsman wall cabinet.
John

 

[rmalkow2]

Just bought this old Craftsman roller cabinet for $65.00. I also have this Craftsman wall cabinet.
John

Awesome classic styling for an equally awesome price. Good find.

 

[zkling]

Just bought this old Craftsman roller cabinet for $65.00. I also have this Craftsman wall cabinet.
John

Fantastic, good that is has all the drawers too.