Vintage Union machinist chest

[alinc100]

Hi All,
Picked up another machinist chest today it was pretty dirty/greasy,rough but but other than a key,the mirror, and the front panel pull its all there.
Got it in process now of cleaning,stripping,ready to refinish. Sadly the hinges.handle and factory lock are attached with split rivets which are a ****** to get out,I may opt to just work around them.
I took quite a few pics before I started and created an album. I will update it as I go.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/1ciqai3wm/

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Subscribed!

Nice snag, Alinc100! Have you found any serial numbers? That box is virtually identical to the one I picked up last month, except for the center locking latch, and the way the handles are attached. Since they're cousins, I'm going to link my thread here.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[Davefr]

Hi All,
Picked up another machinist chest today it was pretty dirty/greasy,rough but but other than a key,the mirror, and the front panel pull its all there.
Got it in process now of cleaning,stripping,ready to refinish. Sadly the hinges.handle and factory lock are attached with split rivets which are a ****** to get out,I may opt to just work around them.
I took quite a few pics before I started and created an album. I will update it as I go.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/1ciqai3wm/

Nice find!!

I'd remove all the hardware. It would make the restoration so much easier then trying to work around all those obstacles.

Replacing split rivets shouldn't be an issue:
https://www.mcmaster.com/#split-rivets/=1dyc90e

 

[alinc100]

Case number 757. Not sure on the date but I believe it fits the 49-53 criteria

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Case number 757. Not sure on the date but I believe it fits the 49-53 criteria

Totally agree. They weren't selling this style before that, and they weren't selling any wooden boxes after that. (I say selling, because there is a contention out there that Pilliod made these for Union after they moved and changed their name for the fourth time to Union Steel Chest Corp.) I just wanted to see where the number would fall with respect to mine ("297") since they are almost identical except for the center locking clasp.