Wood cabinets for tool, parts or nuts and bolts or even your socks. please show them

[bubinga]

Re: Wood cabinets for tool, parts or nuts and bolts or even your socks. CL Score

Got this tonight.
Came with a few small things, and a nice knife.
Box is down stairs, Can't show knife right now.
It was his X farther in laws.
Front panel is missing, have to make one.
Got a best test (.001) have to find a way to clean lens, and it's sticking a little.
have to try some starrett oil.
Box has been to Italy and back many times.
Guy was a machinist, assembled and set up printing presses.
Oh, $40.00 Box is a Union.

 

[JackDiddly]

Hey all,
Love this thread and the metal cabinet thread lots of cool boxes, cabinets and chests. I recently got a new computer so I am going to make an effort to contribute a little more than Lurk! I have been fortunate enough to have hit a number of 'good' auctions in my area over the last year or so, but have failed to keep up on here with all the finds piling up in my shop. I managed to get a few old wood machinist boxes at one of the said auctions, and in my browsing online have not been able to find any like the two I will be posting. Neither one has any maker mark or identifying marks so I am hoping some of the gurus here might be able to shed some light as to what I have.

The first measures 15" wide, 7" deep, and 11.5" tall. It has 6 drawers is missing handle and the door/cover. The box is wood and has been wrapped, but with what I am unsure it does not feel like leather. All brass hardware, and the bottom drawer only has been lined with tin. The top three drawers all have some very worn felt.

 

[JackDiddly]

The second chest measures: 17"wide, 9.5" deep, 12.75" tall. It is a wood chest with 5 drawers, brass corners, and bakelite handles. Also missing the handle and front cover, although this one has no spot underneath for door storage like the first one I posted. As you can see they both need a little cleaning and TLC.

 

[tombell572]

Jack, here's a site that may have some info for you: https://sites.google.com/site/theguideforwoodmachinistchests/

Boxes that have been wrapped in a leatherette fabric backed material usually are made from a secondary wood rather than the traditional oak. If you need to replace the material, a good sewing fabric store should carry it. The bakelite handles on the other box are interesting-never seen one like that before.

Tom B.

 

[bubinga]

ALL: not much love for the wood cabinets?? anybody have some to post or maybe their Gertsners?

so i've been buying mostly metal cabinets, but i do like wood ones. this week i've picked up a few flat files.

first picture is 3 5 drawer Mayline flat file oak cabinets that are 53.5 inches wide, 41 deep (I think) and 13.75 tall.

the other 3 i picked up today are vintage and probably custom made for the firm i bought them from. they are stout and i'll store some heavy old Kroll map books in the ones i'm putting in my storage which will go in my MAN CAVE when we move.
cheers and hope you all post up some of yours too!!

Heck Yeah Drives, I have Lots Of Love for the wood ones you posted.
( "No Love " for My $40.00 Union Chest I see...............LOL)
I do have a (well quite a few) Wood Chests, I will have to take some pictures, and post them all at one time.

 

[bubinga]

The second chest measures: 17"wide, 9.5" deep, 12.75" tall. It is a wood chest with 5 drawers, brass corners, and bakelite handles. Also missing the handle and front cover, although this one has no spot underneath for door storage like the first one I posted. As you can see they both need a little cleaning and TLC.

That Chest looks Cool, Jack.

 

[nine4gmc]

Heck Yeah Drives, I have Lots Of Love for the wood ones you posted.
( "No Love " for My $40.00 Union Chest I see...............LOL)
I do have a (well quite a few) Wood Chests, I will have to take some pictures, and post them all at one time.

Shiiii, I love the Union, I'd pay twice that all day around here, unfortunately they'd probably want 3x $...

 

[bubinga]

Shiiii, I love the Union, I'd pay twice that all day around here, unfortunately they'd probably want 3x $...

Thanks nine4, I thought I got a good deal. Especially with some of the cool things in it.
Will need to update pictures soon. also when I make the front panel.
That price was pretty rare for anywhere.
It was on there about 6 days before I saw it too.
he said I sounded sincere on the phone (I was...lol) And he agreed to hold it for me, But he had had one call, and was going to hold it for him, but the guy never called back.
So he said, unless "That" guy called back it was mine.
The handle is perfect too, Just needs a little dark shoe polish in a few spots.

 

[JackDiddly]

Tom, thanks for the resource. I did spend a little time on that site before I posted to no avail.

Bub, thanks. I also like the union chest you picked up.

I picked up a total of three chests from the same auction the two I posted and one more I'll have to get some photos of, I put it to work immediately holding some overflow... All three were had for less than a benjamin!

 

[tombell572]

A while ago a friend was selling some machines in preparation for a move to Florida. Among them was a 7" Aamco shaper. Aamco provided these optional sturdy portable maple shaper tables equipped with a steel lifting handle and two wheels if you wanted one. The buyer of the shaper did not want to pay for shipping on the table so I bought it. I added a slightly larger top made from two layers of 3/4" birch plywood. The top is attached through the original bolt holes for the shaper so the original condition of the surface is not corrupted. I also made the top right drawer which was missing from the table when I got it. The item on the right is my cast iron surface plate with wood cover. This makes great storage for heavy tooling items.

Tom B.

 

[drivesitfar]

Tom: i LOVE that style wood cabinet bench that the old craftsman made. NICE SAVE!!

JD: thanks for posting up your new acquisitions and sorry i don't have a clue about the makers. this thread doesn't get a ton of member's eyes yet so hoping one of them pops in and recognizes what you have or if you find out more please post more information with more pictures of how you fill it if you have time. first guess for me is HANDMADE, but a lot of boxes made by companies years ago were HANDMADE.

BUB: no love for the Union? i love those old Union wood machinest boxes. i'm guessing the drawers in yours have wood bottoms unlike the Gertsners that have galvanized metal ones?

ALL: keep posting up your wood tool boxes and cabinets as you have time. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

 

[bubinga]

haven't looked at it all that well yet Drives.
been trying to find a new place to live.
I will check it out though.

EDIT,
that bench Tombell572 has IS NICE!
The feet remind me of an old school oak desk.

 

[bluebolt]

Here's a wood watchmaker's workbench. Picked it up for $110. It's going to need a bit of repair on the legs before I sell it.

 

[rlitman]

Here's a wood watchmaker's workbench. Picked it up for $110. It's going to need a bit of repair on the legs before I sell it.

Good deal at that price, but without a place for a lathe, I'd call it a jeweler's bench, and not a watchmaker's.

 

[nine4gmc]

Either way it's freaking sweet!

 

[bluebolt]

Good deal at that price, but without a place for a lathe, I'd call it a jeweler's bench, and not a watchmaker's.

The guy is a watchmaker, he is moving so he is sold this one, still has 3 other workbenches he's taking with him, he has the tiny lathe too.

 

[MShaw]

If he had a lathe like this it would not need any mounting provisions on the bench. Not contesting whether it is a watchmaker's or a jeweler's bench. Just noting that there does not have to be mounting provisions to have used a lathe on it.

 

[rlitman]

The guy is a watchmaker, he is moving so he is sold this one, still has 3 other workbenches he's taking with him, he has the tiny lathe too.

Un huh. And when he sells his house, it's a watchmaker's house. And his car is a watchmaker'a car... Still a jeweler's bench in my book.

 

[bluebolt]

Waymil LLC calls it a "Watchmaker's Workbench" that's "Designed for watchmakers, jeweler's, engravers, hobbyists and technicians."

https://www.waymil.com/Watchmakers-Workbench-p/140-082.htm

Can we all be happy now and go back to admiring some cool wood stuff?

 

[drivesitfar]

BB: i always had my watches repaired at my Jeweler's store so whether it's a watchmaker's or jeweler's bench is the same to me. good looking bench and nice find. are you sure you can't find a spot for it so you can keep it?

i'll check out your link when i have a few minutes later.

thanks for posting it up

EDIT: i just clicked on the link and it looks like the same bench. did you notice under WAYMIL'S logo it says JEWELER'S CHOICE??

 

[bluebolt]

BB: i always had my watches repaired at my Jeweler's store so whether it's a watchmaker's or jeweler's bench is the same to me. good looking bench and nice find. are you sure you can't find a spot for it so you can keep it?

i'll check out your link when i have a few minutes later.

thanks for posting it up

EDIT: i just clicked on the link and it looks like the same bench. did you notice under WAYMIL'S logo it says JEWELER'S CHOICE??

Yes I noticed quit stirring the pot LOL!

 

[rlitman]

...

Can we all be happy now and go back to admiring some cool wood stuff?

Absolutely! I love this thread, and your bench. Of the many watchmakers I've known, I have not known a single one to own just one bench (that's like a mechanic with just one toolbox; and that's fine if you're just starting out...), and every one that had a lathe on a bench (or several) had at least one lathe-less bench as well (some, not meant to accept a lathe, or some, just missing it).

As for my being pedantic, it is only because you stated that you were considering selling it. And I can imagine some disappointed potential customers if this were for example advertised the wrong way in an auction listing.

 

[fowldarr]

Here's a wood watchmaker's workbench. Picked it up for $110. It's going to need a bit of repair on the legs before I sell it.

Wood watches. That's something that you don't see every day. (Joking aside, cool bench)

 

[rlitman]

Wood watches. That's something that you don't see every day. (Joking aside, cool bench)

LOL. I saw a wood watch just a few weeks ago. I had an electrical contractor at work who had to show off his wooden watch. Absolutely no conductive parts exposed, and not a cheap plastic looking thing. It had an oyster style band made of all wooden links, with a wood case and wood tipped crown to match.

I just put my Seiko in my pocket when I'm around the equipment.

 

[bluebolt]

As for my being pedantic, it is only because you stated that you were considering selling it. And I can imagine some disappointed potential customers if this were for example advertised the wrong way in an auction listing.

That's why I will list it using the Waymil description, more potential buyers!

 

[bubinga]

Re: Wood cabinets for tool, parts or nuts and bolts or even your socks. CL Score

Got this tonight.
Came with a few small things, and a nice knife.
Box is down stairs, Can't show knife right now.
It was his X farther in laws.
Front panel is missing, have to make one.
Got a best test (.001) have to find a way to clean lens, and it's sticking a little.
have to try some starrett oil.
Box has been to Italy and back many times.
Guy was a machinist, assembled and set up printing presses.
Oh, $40.00 Box is a Union.

here is the face of the .001 best test now.
next to the face when I got it.
Toothpaste.
You can Read It Now.

 

[Terranova]

Drives, thank you for asking questions, starting posts and driving discussions!!

I just put this post up in my garage thread.


Way back in the day, I'm not sure how or when, my mom, the original "repurpose-er" pulled down what I always thought were parts drawers from the National Cash Register factory near where we lived. (Near Dayton, OH)

Turns out they were actual bases to old cash registers.

Long story a little shorter, this is what it looked like when I brought it to the garage. (Drawers are out in the background)

View media item 68158
And this is what it looked like after several liberal rounds of Murphys Citrus spray oil, scotch brite, magic eraser and Old English scratch cover.

View media item 68165
You can kinda see towards the back where the actual cash register sat on top and protected the surface.

Sweet badge.

View media item 68159

The internals are pretty intense. No simple wood runners here.

View media item 68170

The drawers have a pretty heavy duty guide system too.

View media item 68368
The drawers have a great false front on the and are built solid.

View media item 68370
View media item 68372
The back of the cabinet is removable and has a counter so you can tell how many times the back has been opened. The key was in the lock and apparently that helped keep it (most of it) in nice shape.

View media item 68375
View media item 68373

A little bit of history I found on the bottom of one of the drawers.
I see '37 and '46
View media item 68371
It happens to just fit in the base of my work bench! Winning!
View media item 68376
After doing some research I discovered that it was common for each sales person to have their own drawer to alleviate any honesty issues. What I haven't been able to find out why the standard became denoting the drawers by the letter sequence A B D E K and H or L. I've seen several drawers with the same letters and you can even buy them on eBay this way.

Anyone with some insight?

I also found a link to a video of a restored one that is/was for sale.

 

[Terranova]

Also google "Globe Wernicke business" or just "Globe Wernicke"

 

[drivesitfar]

TERRA: thanks a lot for the good words cause i need to hear that maybe more than some realize to help me keep doing what i do.

now as far as your cool little cabinet that is soooooo cooool and happy to hear you found a spot for it in your work bench.

that video of the old restored register with the drawers popping out was something special that is for certain. thanks for posting it up cause i've never seen something like that in a long long long time and i doubt when i saw it i understood what i was looking at cause i was maybe less that 10 years old the last time i can recall seeing one in a store.

ALL: i've got this wood box with a drawer that sets in it and not sure i can find a place to keep it or what I could use it for. any ideas what it is, what it was for and what to use it for? i know when i bought it a few years ago i thought it was pretty cool, but it's been sitting empty on a shelf since then.

 

[Farmer J.]

Hi there Drives, I've been enjoying looking and intending to post on this thread for some time, but had a stack of Land Rover body framework in the workshop stacked in front of the wood parts cabinet.. very inconvenient for taking photo's! It's all gone off to be galvanised now so lots of space again.
This old wood parts bins was in a local Massey Ferguson dealership until it was thrown out in the 1970's when they decided they needed to modernise their stores.. Since then it's been doing good service on the farm here. About 1984 I gave it a coat of white emulsion paint, because it was so oil stained and looked a mess, and I was moving the workshop, and I had a brush of it in my hand and a pot of paint with some left in the bottom.
I wonder if it was made to any standard design? We used to see lots of similar parts storage units but I wonder if they were locally made or supplied by the machine manufacturers?
Always enjoy reading your posts, and thanks for starting this thread as the old wood workshop stuff is often forgotten..

 

[drivesitfar]

Farmer: great words and a good post of a familiar wood cabinet. i emptied 2 100+ year old steel fab companies a couple years ago and they both had huge plywood cabinets built like that. all the parts in these buckets was in one of those cabinets and it took me over a week to empty it cause as dirty as all the parts are now they were barely visable inside the cabinet cause it sat in between the 2 3 phase grinders that saw the most work in the shop.

i managed to bring one cabinet home, but it was too big so traded it for a smaller one made of metal.

do you have a thread started on your Land Rover or can you start one and maybe put the link to the thread in your sig line?

ALL: i'm not sure i'm going to keep these OAK MAYLINE flat files that are 53.5 inches wide, 38 inches deep and each 5 drawer unit is 13.75 inches tall so each drawer is about 2.5 inches deep. they held a few hundred pounds of building plans in each drawer, but maybe too nice to put in just tools so i'll have to find a good spot for them.

 

[Farmer J.]

Farmer: great words and a good post of a familiar wood cabinet. i emptied 2 100+ year old steel fab companies a couple years ago and they both had huge plywood cabinets built like that. all the parts in these buckets was in one of those cabinets and it took me over a week to empty it cause as dirty as all the parts are now they were barely visable inside the cabinet cause it sat in between the 2 3 phase grinders that saw the most work in the shop.

Glad you like the old parts cabinet Drives. Those things surely do have a great capacity to hold a lot of parts, and also dirt, mine has both!!
I have also seen them made of plywood but mine is made from lovely wide pine boards. It looks like Douglas Fir to me, often known here as 'Oregon Pine'. It was used a lot as it was cheap imported timber years ago. It's always evocative to me as it makes me think of NW America, especially the smell when I work with some of it!
I have considered posting a Land Rover Defender rebuild thread, but this one is just a 'rebuild' and not a 'restoration' so all pretty everyday unremarkable stuff...

 

[drivesitfar]

Farmer: some of the young guys and old guys that didn't get a dad or grandfather machinist or mechanic don't have a clue even how to change oil or brakes so your little job might help them (us) a lot.

now that i think about it those wood cabinets were made out of real wood (Oregon pine might be similar to my Washington pine and here's a few trees on my gramp's logging truck in the 50's). they might have wood like this still to buy if you own enough GOLD to pay for it otherwise you get some manufactured product or a piece of balsa wood.

the parts in these buckets came out of one of those old cabinets and i bet each bucket weighs 100-150 pounds cause if i don't pick them up from the bottom the handles would bust off. tell me that cabinet wasn't built stout?

cheers and best of luck with your Land Rover even if you say it's simple there is always something that needs a little luck.

 

[nine4gmc]

That cash register cabinet is pretty sweet! As to the lettering of the drawers, would they correspond to any certain row of keys on the old cash register? Like that may be the rightmost keys on an antique cash register layout and since they were mechanical, those were the only ones that could operate the linkages to unlock the correct drawer below. Just using rightmost as an example, could be the top row etc..

 

[Farmer J.]

now that i think about it those wood cabinets were made out of real wood (Oregon pine might be similar to my Washington pine and here's a few trees on my gramp's logging truck in the 50's). they might have wood like this still to buy if you own enough GOLD to pay for it otherwise you get some manufactured product or a piece of balsa wood.

Wow, those are lovely pics of the logs, thanks Drives! I wonder if they got made into tool cabinets... We don't get anything as big as that here ever, the tallest tree in GB is a Douglas Fir it's lovely but tiny compared to the ones you have. I save quality old lumber when I can and re use it.
My internet here is so slow i couldn't get the thumbnail pics to enlarge, so got up at 4am and looked at them, as when America goes to bed the www works faster!
I'm taking pictures of my Land Rover build so will be able to post a thread when it's progressed. Thanks for the reminder on that, and best wishes.

 

[drivesitfar]

Farmer: good to know there are a few hours a day when you can get some internet access. next time you are in your GJ profile (click on USER CJ towards top of page under GJ logo) click on Avatar and maybe post up one of your favorite pictures or put in your Land Rover as is or finished. also there are several adjustments for users that make it easier like showing the latest posts first on all forums and threads. they just put in a 100 post per page option, but maybe with your internet speed it might slow down the loading so test it out cause i think default is maybe 10 posts per page.

thanks for the good words and a lot of that old wood made a lot of furniture and homes and sadly i've seen lots just made into firewood in my youth.

ALL: speaking of old wood i just saw this old wood letterpress cabinet and would like to know if any of you have some of the old Printer's cabinets. do you?

 

[Magnum517]

Ok so I figure I will share my wood cabinets in my garage. Not as fancy as everyone else's but they have a lot of history. They are all made by other folks and for them all for free over the years. The blue cabinets were take outs from a woman's Laundry room and the "race" cabinet was just something that was out for free one day about 20 years ago. I have added all the decor ( stickers haha) over the years.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Provincial]

I have a Douglas Fir tree that is 6 feet in diameter at breast height (four feet above the ground) about 100 yards from the house. It isn't very big, as Douglas Fir's go!

 

[Farmer J.]

I have a Douglas Fir tree that is 6 feet in diameter at breast height (four feet above the ground) about 100 yards from the house. It isn't very big, as Douglas Fir's go!

Thanks for sharing that Provincial, nice view for you to admire. That's about the max size they get to here, the tallest one was 209 ft but it blew down earlier this year...
https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/gbr/scotland/perthandkinross/7757_thehermitage/15561/

 

[Provincial]

There is a group of big Douglas Firs about twenty miles from my house as the crow flies. The largest tree there blew down in 1981 and it was about 230 ft. tall and 34.5 ft. in diameter. At the time, it was the second-largest Douglas Fir known. It was in an area that gets about 12 feet of rain per year. That is feet of rain!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_Giants_(Oregon)

Douglas Fir trees grow tall and straight when in a uniform stand. They compete for sunlight, so they try to get taller than the others. If they don't have to compete, like the one at the edge of my field, they grow bushy, shorter, and the trunks taper a lot.

I think that 200-250 feet tall is about maximum for Douglas Fir, and probably is limited by the ability of the trunk to carry water to the top. Coast Redwoods get taller.