The VINTAGE toolboxes of Garage Journal!

[twertsy]

Hi everyone! I'm new here and I love this place already. A quick backstory before I show you my goods. About 6 weeks ago, my husband said to me, "if you love me, you will buy another tool box." The very next day, we went to a friends house whose husband had just passed away. He was a mechanic and she was liquidating everything. We picked up 8 boxes total with every drawer being filled to capacity. Here is a picture & list (before paint) of the 7 worth mentioning.

1. Snap on KRA-429 1963 2 drawer mid chest $37.50
2. Snap on KRA-377D 1973 8 drawer roll cab w/cover $37.50
3. Snap on KRA-274A 1983 3 drawer side box $37.50
4. MBC Century 1960’s? 2 drawer side box $37.50
5. Yorktown 1970? 2 drawer mid chest $37.50
6. Yorktown 1970? 6 drawer roll cab $37.50
7. Yorktown 1970? 11 drawer top chest w/lid & cover $37.50

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With the exception of the SO mid box, all of the others had been sprayed red, but just on the outside. (Except for the overspray that coated many of the tools inside!!) I didn't like that so I painted them all their original color. It was the first time I had ever used a spray gun or prepped anything like this. I figured out how to do "body work" because many of the drawers were tweaked. I found a body hammer and two dollies in one of the drawers, these came in handy for the next batch as you will soon see.

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Dang! Nice job! Great score on the boxes too.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Outlawmws]

OK, the guys are trying to be polite because you are of the female persuasion, but this IS garage journal and there IS a way we congratulate people that get great deals. So in the interest of equality and all that:

Motochick... You ****!

(Meant in the most positive way! It is the highest form of praise on GJ for getting a screaming deal, and seven boxes, WITH tools!!! for a messily $262.50 is Major Suckage)

 

[Motochick]

Yes, I do ****, HARD. Wait...LOL
And there is more to come but this deal was by far the best.

Actually there were 8 boxes total for $300 but the other box isn't really what I call awesome, and barely even vintage. But here it is, sans lid, and yes every drawer was full. I took this for myself since I didn't think it worthy of the other side of the garage. I'm not fixing it or painting it, I'm just gonna put my stuff in it! Craftsman 05-78.

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[Motochick]

This next set was the first one I ever bought for my husband 20+ yrs ago. I was leaving my moms house and saw it at a yard sale for $50. (we were young and poor so this was a lot of money for us) This was back before cell phones so I didn't ask, I just bought it, he was thrilled. The roll cab doesn't have a door or a date but it does have the roller drawers, which I LOVE! The top chest was made 08-70....right about the time I was conceived, LOL.

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[dkroth]

Yes, I do ****, HARD. Wait...LOL
And there is more to come but this deal was by far the best.

Uh-oh, that's a violation.

You can't **** yourself. When you do it invalidates recent praiseworthiness. It's a noob mistake.

Nice collection in any case.




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[Outlawmws]

That was a response, not an attempt to self ****. which isn't allowed.

Uh-oh, that's a violation.

You can't **** yourself. When you do it invalidates recent praiseworthiness. It's a noob mistake.

Nice collection in any case.




.

 

[Motochick]

You guys are too funny! Here is one more set before I go to bed. This was my late father-in-law's home set. He was a forklift mechanic before becoming an auto parts store owner. This thing is in really great shape, pretty sure we have done most of the damage to it in the last 22yrs. Notice the pristine owners manual in the lid. Top chest 03-68, roll cab 12-69.

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[jeffmoss26]

Awesome!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I think there is a whole thread dedicated to gray and red craftsman boxes if you want to check it out

 

[Motochick]

I think there is a whole thread dedicated to gray and red craftsman boxes if you want to check it out

Thanks, I found that one first and it mentioned this one!

So I bought a little something from CL this morning, been looking for one like this for a while cuz the wooden machinist box is starting to overflow.

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[Outlawmws]

The 520 Kennedy's are good solid boxes for small tools. Still sold after all these years too! I think they first came out in the 20's sometime?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Kennedy makes a good box

 

[beatcad]

cuz the wooden machinist box is starting to overflow.

Wait! What!!??
to many wooden machinist chests?
are you serious?

we may have to talk pal

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Guys,
I need some quick info. I'm going to look at a vintage Snap-On toolbox set - bottom roller and top chest, probably 70's. They say a couple of the drawers on the rolller are sticking. What do I need to check to see if it's bent drawers versus needing to replace drawer slides?

Thanks!
Mike

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I would not be too concerned. I have yet to find one I could not bend back.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Picked up the Snap-On set. What year and model are these? First SO boxes I've ever had so I don't know if they stamp model/date info on them or not. They're in good shape. One drawer sticks and another drawer doesn't catch when you pull it out.

Never been a SO guy but the price was right. Plus, quality and vintage never go out of style in my book. Pics are from the CL ad.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I got this RAS mobile base. Not sure if its a hipster end table, or straight to Scrap Mahal. Seems a bit thin, and the wide footprint isn't the best in my small space.
If anyone has wheels they can measure, I don't think the ones I have are right, they don't go 360*

 

[drivesitfar]

Tex: sorry I can't tell you much about Snap on boxes, but I can tell you i do like the look of that pair. WELL DONE!

MotoChick: sounds like you and your hubby have a bunch of nice boxe and tools so welcome to the forum. also if you have a ton of wood machinist boxes if you wouldn't mind posting pictures of them here or on the Wood Cabinet thread I started a year or two ago that would be great.

i could care less what you paid for any of them, but I do like that you own them and have time to share pictures. WELL DONE and WELCOME TO GJ.

 

[Motochick]

Guys,
I need some quick info. I'm going to look at a vintage Snap-On toolbox set - bottom roller and top chest, probably 70's. They say a couple of the drawers on the rolller are sticking. What do I need to check to see if it's bent drawers versus needing to replace drawer slides?

Thanks!
Mike

Mike, I just recently picked up a bunch of 60-70’s era Snap On tool boxes and some of them looked liked they had fallen off a truck during a hailstorm. Some of the sliders were so mangled, I never thought they could function, but I have good news for you. I simply called Snap On and gave them the part numbers on the side of the slides and they sent me new ones. Not every one I needed was available, so I straightened them myself with a few 2x4’s and a hammer. Every drawer works as it should. Honestly tho, it is probably just 40+ yrs of old grease and dirt. I know many of mine just needed a good scrub. Go get them!

 

[Motochick]

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys. Here is a before and after pic of the worst set I bought from CL, $40 each. I did not do a perfect job on the bodywork as I needed them to be done before the extreme heat kicked in. The last pic is of some of the "new" boxes on one wall of our garage. The little 3 drawer roller in the 1st two pics is the floater. Enjoy!

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I chose not to re-install the stainless pieces for two reasons.....they match all the other ones better and I didn't want to chance messing up my new paint!!

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[txlonghorn1989]

A couple of questions guys & gals...

- Where is the model info located? I read elsewhere in the thread "center back bottom..." which didn't help.
- Any idea on the period when these were being offered by Snap-On?
- What's the secret to removing the drawers from the slides without damaging the slides?

It sounds like Snap-On may still have slides for the roller available should I need them. Crossing fingers that I can fix them myself. Thanks for the info Motochick.

 

[Motochick]

The model/date info is stamped and sometimes can only be seen in just the right light. I didn’t find the stamp on one of mine until I had sanded it. (It had a rattle can overspray job). All of my roll cabs, top chest, mid chest, had the stamp in the middle on the back panel. On the rollers, maybe look towards the bottom middle.

My KRA models are anywhere from 63-85 and all look quite similar. (See previous pics)

There is a special tool to remove them. We had forgot to bring one with us when we went to pick up a set and made one from a hacksaw blade. It needs to have a bend in it on the tip. I would look up a how to video on YouTube.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

The model/date info is stamped and sometimes can only be seen in just the right light. I didn’t find the stamp on one of mine until I had sanded it. (It had a rattle can overspray job). All of my roll cabs, top chest, mid chest, had the stamp in the middle on the back panel. On the rollers, maybe look towards the bottom middle.

My KRA models are anywhere from 63-85 and all look quite similar. (See previous pics)

There is a special tool to remove them. We had forgot to bring one with us when we went to pick up a set and made one from a hacksaw blade. It needs to have a bend in it on the tip. I would look up a how to video on YouTube.

Good tip on Youtube. I'll check it out.

"All of my roll cabs, top chest, mid chest, had the stamp in the middle on the back panel." By "back panel" are you talking about the external back of the toolboxes?

 

[Outlawmws]

Yep, back on the bottom, outside.

 

[alinc100]

Picked up the Snap-On set. What year and model are these? First SO boxes I've ever had so I don't know if they stamp model/date info on them or not. They're in good shape. One drawer sticks and another drawer doesn't catch when you pull it out.

Never been a SO guy but the price was right. Plus, quality and vintage never go out of style in my book. Pics are from the CL ad.

My guess is the bottom cabinet is a KR557B.

 

[compunaut]

If anyone is a collector of Huot (sp?) toolboxes, you might be interested in this CL ad:
Huot + Park, Craftsman project boxes.
In this condition, perhaps not much of a bargain for $100obo?

 

[compunaut]

Moto, that is some fine looking sheet metal!

 

[twertsy]

Good tip on Youtube. I'll check it out.

"All of my roll cabs, top chest, mid chest, had the stamp in the middle on the back panel." By "back panel" are you talking about the external back of the toolboxes?

All the snap-on boxes on my site have the stamp location tagged. They were stamped everywhere......middle back, lower left, lower right, top middle, etc. I tagged them all with the stamp location thinking perhaps I'd find a pattern.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

All the snap-on boxes on my site have the stamp location tagged. They were stamped everywhere......middle back, lower left, lower right, top middle, etc. I tagged them all with the stamp location thinking perhaps I'd find a pattern.

Does SO have a manufacture date stamped there as well?

Edit: Found the stamps. Top chest is a KR-537. Rolling cabinet is a KR-557B like alinc mentioned. Are those year of manufacture? If so the chest was made in '79 and the roller in '78.

 

[twertsy]

Does SO have a manufacture date stamped there as well?

Edit: Found the stamps. Top chest is a KR-537. Rolling cabinet is a KR-557B like alinc mentioned. Are those year of manufacture? If so the chest was made in '79 and the roller in '78.

Yes, those are the years.

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[tombell572]

Moto-nice results! That bottom box "before" pic looks a bit rough--how did you prep it?

Tom B.

 

[Motochick]

Sanded to bare metal, used a hammer, dolly and steel rods to pound the dents out. There were some dents that couldn’t be accessed so I used Bondo. I used crescent wrenches to straighten bent stuff like the top edge. I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I was just having a good time doing something new.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Thanks for the tips on the Snap-On toolboxes. Found some good vids on utube to create my own drawer removal tool from an old hacksaw blade and it worked like a charm. The top four slides need replacing. So I'll check with Snap-On tomorrow. I took that bottom drawer out hoping some goodies might have dropped down there over the years. Nothing but a good layer of dust.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Sanded to bare metal, used a hammer, dolly and steel rods to pound the dents out. There were some dents that couldn’t be accessed so I used Bondo. I used crescent wrenches to straighten bent stuff like the top edge. I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I was just having a good time doing something new.

That's great that your fear factor of screwing something up is low. Let's you get in there and try! Nice work!

 

[Outlawmws]

Moto and TX - for the bent/kinked edges you always seem to see on tool boxes, here is an easy way to fix that:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2368853&postcount=859


And how I made one of the pairs I have:


https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2388706&postcount=882

 

[454ragtop]

Outlaw, uhm, those 2 links are the same......

 

[Outlawmws]

Outlaw, uhm, those 2 links are the same......

Fixed it! thanks!

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Moto adn TX - for the bent/kinked edges you always seem to see on tool boxes, here is an easy way to fix that:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2368853&postcount=859


And how I made one of the pairs I have:


https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2388706&postcount=882

Thanks Outlaw! You some how managed to forget to leave the address where we send our old boogered up nippers to you in order to get back a new toolbox sheet metal tool! Great job on those tools.

Just another reason I wish I could weld.

 

[Motochick]

Ditto, can't weld.....YET. That is next on my to do list. Those would have made my job so much easier and quicker, but I got to learn what crescent wrenches were really made for! (of course, you gotta put a piece of bar stock on the metal to be straightened so it doesn't leave a mark)

TX, those boxes are cool! Have fun getting them all usable and pretty.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Ditto, can't weld.....YET. That is next on my to do list. Those would have made my job so much easier and quicker, but I got to learn what crescent wrenches were really made for! (of course, you gotta put a piece of bar stock on the metal to be straightened so it doesn't leave a mark)

TX, those boxes are cool! Have fun getting them all usable and pretty.

Thanks MC. The new slides should arrive late next week from Snap-On. Next I'll try to figure out how the old slides come off. A quick google search wasn't quite as helpful as I expected based on the search to remove the drawer slides.