The VINTAGE toolboxes of Garage Journal!

[jakemac]

Buddy bought this off a friend who inherited it, anyone put a decade to it?

Those boxes were made by Waterloo. Late 60's to early 70's.
The date for the top box will be in the bottom of top tray, on the left side, near the front.
The date for the bottom box should be stamped on the front of the bottom rail, about 6" to 7" from the right corner.
The date stamp will look like : MM-YY

 

[FANTM58]

As requested , here is a JPEG image of the owners manual
that was inside of my latest estate sale find.
in a previous post I stated how I purchased this bottom roller
for $32.50 on half price day. and then i found this inside the top drawer.

 

[jakemac]

Thanks Fan.
I'm really impressed by how well preserved the box, and especially the paperwork are.
Either that box was hermetically sealed in a vault for all these years, or the PO took great care of his belongings. Outstanding !

 

[FANTM58]

actually im surprised as well, the inside of the box is pretty dirty !
here is the date stamp I found inside the box.

 

[toddmp]

Buddy bought this off a friend who inherited it, anyone put a decade to it?

Did this come out of Concord, CA? I looked at one recently by a guy who inherited it. The drawers were saturated in grease and oil. Did not want the headache of cleaning it up.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Did this come out of Concord, CA? I looked at one recently by a guy who inherited it. The drawers were saturated in grease and oil. Did not want the headache of cleaning it up.

San Diego, My friend tells me at this point he's washed it 3x. I think it's a safe bet the old man hadn't lubed the slides in awhile too. We bought his 91 12 valve a couple years ago, and despite a couple cosmetic oddities, its been a fantastic running workhorse.

Those boxes were made by Waterloo. Late 60's to early 70's.
The date for the top box will be in the bottom of top tray, on the left side, near the front.
The date for the bottom box should be stamped on the front of the bottom rail, about 6" to 7" from the right corner.
The date stamp will look like : MM-YY

Thanks, will check.

No, but that's a nice box.
BTY, those drawer latches shown, IF YOU WANT, you can drive that pin out, and those latches pull up, and out, store them in the top for re use if wanted at another time.
my 40 some inch BOX (top) is like that, and I find it a PITA to have to open the top to open the drawers, so I pulled those pins. Mine had 3.

Sounds like a great tip

Late 60's.

Groovy

 

[RedVise]

Picked a Snap On TML 70A (6.5 " 1/4 ratchet) out of a top/middle box sitting in a auction house that keeps changing hands. That and a little parts box cost me $7. So... I asked how much for the 2 boxes, with no tools, as some other guy was pulling the rest of the good stuff out if them. It was less than $100 to load them in the Trailblazer. Didn't even look at the model numbers as I don't usually mess with Snap On stuff.

Got home and the top is KR 533D and the middle box is the elusive KR 547B.
They need a little cleaning and have a bit of surface rust here and there but look pretty good for 30 year old boxes.

Brian

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

A steal for $100 IMHO

 

[twertsy]

the Cornwell pictured belongs to Joe Mamma and mine is it's twin. width of the Cornwell is 26 1/8", depth is 12" and height is 14 1/4". based on the almost identical wear patterns of both pieces, i'm fairly certain that the Cornwell spent it's entire worklife on top of the old Snap-on KR-352 roller.
i wouldn't think of doing a repaint. it's the great patina that only time and use can provide that makes each piece unique. my OCD most always pairs a Snap-on bottom with a Snap-on top, but not in this instance. the pair will continue as partners and at this point will reside in my living room.

Have you posted or can you post pics? Does your Cornwell look like this?

 

[taumac]

Picked a Snap On TML 70A (6.5 " 1/4 ratchet) out of a top/middle box sitting in a auction house that keeps changing hands. That and a little parts box cost me $7. So... I asked how much for the 2 boxes, with no tools, as some other guy was pulling the rest of the good stuff out if them. It was less than $100 to load them in the Trailblazer. Didn't even look at the model numbers as I don't usually mess with Snap On stuff.



Got home and the top is KR 533D and the middle box is the elusive KR 547B.

They need a little cleaning and have a bit of surface rust here and there but look pretty good for 30 year old boxes.



Brian

Nice buy there.

 

[RedVise]

Nice buy there.

Yeah, never hurts to ask, I was surprised at the price myself.
Tried to look nonchalant when I was diggin' for the cash.

Brian

 

[Apache3057]

New arrival today...not in bad shape. Hard to see the Craftsman logo.Someone welded small angle iron on the bottom. I think it will be my project for the winter. Going to clean it up and store some of my older tools in it for now.

 

[bsg1]

Have you posted or can you post pics? Does your Cornwell look like this?

mine has the plain door with round metal badge.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Guys,
I picked up a Kennedy Kits BIG HORN line 3-drawer machinist's chest this weekend. I am trying to date it. I posted some pics in the Garage Sale 2016 thread, and also a thread here on the vintage forum, with a link to that thread. Posting here to try to see if I can get a knowledgeable Kennedy Kits collector to look at it and assess the vintage.
Link: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=331365

 

[Private Lugnutz]

/////////// DISREGARD ////////////

I have my answer. Buddy found a spittin' image - this one with WWII markings!

 

[paulm12]

trying to determine age on this unit, is for sale nearby. Did it originally have wheels? or was it a base for something. What color was it originally? Will try to stop by and look at it.

 

[bill300d]

I think you will find that it had wheels at one time. mid 40's to late 50's and machinery gray

 

[Outlawmws]

Guys,
I picked up a Kennedy Kits BIG HORN line 3-drawer machinist's chest this weekend. I am trying to date it. I posted some pics in the Garage Sale 2016 thread, and also a thread here on the vintage forum, with a link to that thread. Posting here to try to see if I can get a knowledgeable Kennedy Kits collector to look at it and assess the vintage.
Link: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=331365

Dinner and a movie Pvt; Dinner and a movie...

 

[martin666]

Vintage is a relative term really, hell I have a customer that call his 1997 Softail an old bike, another ( like me ) that doesn't think of them as old till at least the mid 50's. But I'm assuming that this 70's stack will qualify. I only use it for specialty tools or tools not used everyday, but it's still as solid as the day it was made and I'm sure I'll be passing it on to my son who will keep it going for another few decades

 

[econotrk]

Beautiful set of boxes Martin. Funny what you say about vintage and relative, I notice it all the time too.

 

[Outlawmws]

Post one did define it for this thread; 20 years IIR.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

I don't think I posted this before. This was my Dad's only non-hand box. It's a 1986, he bought it new. It is my favorite box, mostly DBE wrenches, torque wrenches and my 3/4" shallows in the top, along with a few odds and ends.

The base is a 99 so it's not worthy of this thread yet. Lol

My favorite drawer! SK raised panel set, my NB DBEs, and a Metric NB set.

 

[honza.vosalik]

I purchased this one last weekend at a garage sale. Pretty happy with it.

 

[maxcarp709]

Nice!I like the red crinkle paint

 

[Outlawmws]

I have the top box in Brown, also the 2 drawer intermediate. Bought new back in the day. Solid boxes.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

I got this a few weeks ago, had a bunch of random sockets in it. Not sure if it is really old, or something from a 70s or 80s cheapie set. Has an interesting latch. Appears to have been black at one point, no visible emblems or labels.





Anyone recognize it? It's pretty rough , but if it's something interesting it may be worth cleaning up.

 

[Outlawmws]

Sam, nothing definite but I'm thinking for a torque wrench maybe?

I see that style hinge on older 1/4" boxes all the time, and I've seen similar catches on a few boxes, usually 40's/-50's?

 

[Username already in use]

I got a couple of boxes over the weekend to add to this thread. The Vintage SK carry box was just $1!

The Craftsman Machinist box has been repainted and looks decent from 5 feet away, but I think the paint was brushed on. $30.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Outlaw: You may be right about a single tool, it's pretty narrow. No dividers either on the inside. Can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the inside.

 

[jakemac]

Picked up a new set of boxes today. My first grey and red ones. Now I just need to figure out where to put it. Kinda wish the bottom had drawers all the way down. I'm not really a fan of the garage doors.

Craftsman (chevron logo) 26" top & bottom box.
Top - 2-72. In good shape w/key (even has all 3 of its pamphlet rods intact)
Bottom 11-72. Needs minor repairs, some rust, no key

Overall, it's in great shape for being used at home to repair tractors for 44yrs.

Does this mean that I'm required to spend all my time searching for the allusive mid boxes now ?

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Very nice Jake, I passed on a similar 1972 stack, fewer drawers in the bottom and a 5 drawer top. It was at the flea market, seller wanted $150 empty. I really liked it and I really want a red and gray stack, but I feel like that was a little high.

I hear you on the more drawers, I have a craftsman 3 drawer bottoms and the cubby just collects junk which is kinda a waste of space. Wish the full drawer models were more common.

 

[taumac]

Picked up a new set of boxes today. My first grey and red ones. Now I just need to figure out where to put it. Kinda wish the bottom had drawers all the way down. I'm not really a fan of the garage doors.

Craftsman (chevron logo) 26" top & bottom box.
Top - 2-72. In good shape w/key (even has all 3 of its pamphlet rods intact)
Bottom 11-72. Needs minor repairs, some rust, no key

Overall, it's in great shape for being used at home to repair tractors for 44yrs.

Does this mean that I'm required to spend all my time searching for the allusive mid boxes now ?

Nice stack Jake. Welcome to the club. I seen a couple of mid boxes but they never wanted just to sell the mid box by itself.

 

[sam3 Customs]

I found this at a local antique shop a few weeks ago. It was too cool to pass up. All it needs is a lock cylinder. It's in the 1957 Craftsman catalog.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

 

[jpickar]

Very nice snag on that C-man box. That is cool.
John

 

[maxcarp709]

Great score Sam3!

 

[bobcatdan]

Considering the age, that box is mint! Now the slippery slope, you will find yourself wanting to find the matching top box in the same shape. I'm in that boat with a red krinkle finish Kennedy roller I have that I don't think ever held a tool before I bought it.

 

[twertsy]

Sam3, nice box. I picked up the top to it this weekend. Dated 1956. $10 with all contents.

 

[paulm12]

Sam: that is way cool. It is the style/year I have been looking for myself.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Sam & Twertsy nice finds!!

 

[paulm12]

Twertsy: great find and better deal.