My Plomb Toolmobile

[Rileysan]

I have already posted a couple pictures in the Plomb Tool picture thread, but thought this box needed its own thread.

Part 1:

On Monday afternoon (Sep. 4, 2017) I had just returned home from my first trip out of the house following shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and and bicep tendon in my left arm. It had been 24 hours since my last dose of narcotic pain meds and my head was finally clear. My left arm was throbbing as the neuro-blocker that paralyzed my left arm during surgery had totally worn off. Do you like the dramatic effect of the story so far?

Despite what you may have been told by other GJ members in my vicinity, I do not have Craigslist skills above & beyond anyone else. I got on my computer and slowly typed my normal word search into CL: "Tool Box -container -containers -trailer -truck" (I live near a major shipping port so shipping containers have to be eliminated from a CL search to reduce the spam). Nothing of interest in my immediate area. Click the menu and choose the next closest city and what do I see? This ad for a Toolmobile for $50!

I didn't screen-capture the original CL ad until the following day. The actual ad had been listed for 21 minutes when I called.









I couldn't get to my phone fast enough! The seller answered right away but after a brief conversation told me she was heading to a Kenny Loggins concert that evening and wasn't available to meet until after work the next day.

We made arrangements to meet at a Walmart store right off the freeway about an hour from where I live. The whole time, I kept thinking two things: 1) What if she doesn't show and 2) How in the hell am I going to load this into my car?!?

She called me right on time and told me she was on her way. Great! The first concern is taken care of, now what about loading? As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about. The seller, Diane, was a 6' 4" trans-gender woman with bigger arms than mine! She generously loaded the Toolmobile and made the exchange easy. I gave her $60 and promised to text some photos in the future.

I grabbed my phone and took a couple pictures before leaving for home.







Brian

 

[Rileysan]

Part 2:

As I stated before, I had just had shoulder surgery. As such, I have been unable to unload the Toolmobile from my Camry until today.

The weather cleared just enough for me to get out my good camera and take some pictures.

Overall the condition of the Toolmobile is very good. There are a couple of little things that need to be addressed in the future, but for the most part, it doesn't need much.

First thing I did was to remove the drawers and cabinet door for inspection. I straightened the door before I reinstalled it and swept out all the cobwebs and dust.

The original paint is, for the most part, ok. The painted-on emblems look pretty good on both sides but for some reason I thought there was supposed to be something on the front.

 

[Rileysan]

Part 3:

After removing the drawers, I took a long look at the casters and caster mounts. The casters do not bolt on, instead they slide into a hole in each corner of the bottom. Each corner has a piece of steel with a hole drilled for the casters to fit into. It appears that one or more of these steel mounts broke loose at some time in its life as someone spot welded every corner from the inside of the box. Obviously, no attempt was made to finish the area around the welds as they are left blackened where the paint burnt off.

 

[Rileysan]

Part 4:

The drawer slides are similar to the ones in my early 60s Craftsman 3 drawer gray & red rolling boxes.

As you can see, the drawer rails are a part of the construction of the box and are not replaceable.

 

[Rileysan]

Part 5:

The drawers are in excellent condition and will only require minor sheetmetal work. This insides look as if there has never been a greasy tool placed in them and I even have a couple of the original drawer dividers!

 

[Rileysan]

Part 6:

The "piston rack" was a little bent because the fasteners were lose - it probably got banged around a few times in its life, so I removed it and hammered the two vertical brackets straight. Instead of reinstalling it, I wrapped the pieces and placed them inside the bottom of the cabinet.

 

[Rileysan]

Part 7:

Not all was well with my Toolmobile. Someone decided to use the front corners as an anvil and bent the top/front corners to the point of breaking welds. I don't know how or if I'm going to address this issue.

 

[Rileysan]

Final part:

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase and the effort has been well worth it.




Brian

 

[RStewart]

That is sweet

 

[oldmantaylor]

Great find!

 

[Stuart in MN]

Very nice. That one could go either way - you could do a full on restoration, or just clean it up, remove the paint drips and rub out the original paint.

 

[bmwrd0]

Looking good Brian, you made a heckava score there. Now, when you gonna come down and get this Craftsman box I got for you?

(Just kidding, I know all about work related injuries and travel thereafter, I can come up to you.)

 

[jabberwoki]

Nice score I just grabbed one for 150 about 2 weeks ago .. you did really well on the cost mate.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Well written write up on your tool mobile! I enjoyed seeing the pictures and think it just needs to have the paint drips removed and the paint shined up! It has too much original paint on it to be repainted[emoji51] I enjoyed seeing all the similarities and differences between my 3 pressteel rollers and the tool mobile which would be the icing on the cake if I can find one [emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Smokeshow69]

Nice score I just grabbed one for 150 about 2 weeks ago .. you did really well on the cost mate.

Did you post any pictures of it ? I don't recall seeing any but maybe you have not picked it up yet ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[jabberwoki]

No I didn't pictures don't work so well here . There are pics up on another site though.

 

[thehorse13]

I need one of those tool mobiles in my life. You should donate yours to the Horse Tool Museum and workshop. lol.

The good news on yours is that whoever welded it at least knew how to weld. Even with the damage noted, it's still beautiful as is. I think I would clean it up and leave it alone.

 

[motorick]

Another Oregon ToolMoblie ! Just picked this up today in Grants Pass. Fantastic shape if you consider it was made in the 40's.

 

[930dreamer]

Pics?^^^^

 

[Rileysan]

Another Oregon ToolMoblie ! Just picked this up today in Grants Pass. Fantastic shape if you consider it was made in the 40's.

Welcome to the party, Motorick! We definitely want to see some photos!

Brian

 

[motorick]

Here are the CL ad pics. I have it apart cleaning the many years of grime. Came with a small lot of Plumb hand tools as well. Has anyone had any luck in finding a paint match? Going to leave the outside as is, but the pull down drawer lid is pretty rusty w/out much paint left on it.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice snag, and with tools too!

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Here are the CL ad pics. I have it apart cleaning the many years of grime. Came with a small lot of Plumb hand tools as well. Has anyone had any luck in finding a paint match? Going to leave the outside as is, but the pull down drawer lid is pretty rusty w/out much paint left on it.

Beautiful condition! You might try taking the bulk storage door into a paint supplier and have them scan it for a color match. There's some threads here where some guys have done fantastic jobs at distressing new paint jobs to blend it in with the patina of an old piece.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

I often wonder if I'm the only one that goes over the background in pictures to spy on what other guys have in their shops!

 

[Rileysan]

I often wonder if I'm the only one that goes over the background in pictures to spy on what other guys have in their shops!

Nope! I always look at the background!

 

[Provincial]

Especially on Craigslist ads!

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Yeah I go over CL and Marketplace pictures like the CIA looking for Soviet missiles in Cuba.

 

[RubiconJK]

Yeah I go over CL and Marketplace pictures like the CIA looking for Soviet missiles in Cuba.