The VINTAGE toolboxes of Garage Journal!

[Outlawmws]

Looks about identical to my Pressteel roller, other than mine is more magenta than red. same stripe same casters, but I don't have the tool rack

 

[bmwrd0]

"Any suggestions for how to best make use of that thing that I learned is called a piston holder? Do the wheels help with trying to guesstimate the manufacturing date? I'll post those next in case they provide a clue."

Martini glasses!

(Nice find, especially at that price)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Any suggestions for how to best make use of that thing that I learned is called a piston holder?

I don't have one, but if I did, I know what I would rig that piston rack up with: lighting!

"keep the old history patina visible" school

It's all Pass/Fail, and everybody passes!


That box looks radical!

 

[Stuart in MN]

I'd try to find eight old piston/rod assemblies and hang them in there. Flathead Ford would be appropriate. Probably need some valves to drop in those holes to go along with them, too.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Since this may be as close as I will get to a "branded" toolmobile, for $45 I did not hesitate. Images are the "as is" condition I bought it in. Looks to be in original condition. The masonite top protector is a tight fit including the slot for the locking bar.



The label is illegible but the visible line design elements point to Pressteel (I did look at the Pressteel thread). Otherwise, no other markings that I can find. Looks like the grey stripes are the result of the grey under-paint being masked before the red finish coat. That is reinforced by the stripe under the top protector; looks like the tape is simply hand torn. Or ?, other opinions?



The drawer and therefore the rollers are kept from pulling out by a bolt that stops the back roller. As such, the drawers only can be removed by removing the bolt. In this case, the bolts were only on one side. Is this the original design?



Any suggestions for how to best make use of that thing that I learned is called a piston holder? Do the wheels help with trying to guesstimate the manufacturing date? I'll post those next in case they provide a clue.



And since I now belong to what I'll call the Lugnutz "keep the old history patina visible" school, I will simply give it a good cleaning, wax and enjoy its retro look.



Thanks for any comments/suggestions.

To answer your question on the drawer roller stops... I am not entirely sure if they are factory or if they are owner moded... any way to take a few pictures? Very nice buy but I am a bit biased towards all pressteel but the fact that it comes with the tool rack and lock bad is really nice ! Feel free to post it in my thread if you would like


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[Rileysan]

Does anyone have a Pressteel catalog, or ever seen one for that matter?

They obviously branded their own boxes, as well as branding boxes for Plomb/Proto/P&C. But it had never occurred to me they sold the piston rack option for their own boxes, and I'm curious to know the answer of whether it was available outside of the Proto empire.

Smokeshow, this looks like a job for you. Whether you intended to be or not, you're the resident Pressteel expert by virtue of owning 5 Toolmobiles.

I should point out that Smokeshow confided in me today that he found another Plomb Toolmobile for sale but he was gunna pass because he didn't have space. Can you believe that lame excuse?

Brian

 

[drivesitfar]

Riley and Smoke: it sounds like maybe it's time for me to go shopping in Portland again now that you two have finally hit your MAX?

 

[Smokeshow69]

Does anyone have a Pressteel catalog, or ever seen one for that matter?

They obviously branded their own boxes, as well as branding boxes for Plomb/Proto/P&C. But it had never occurred to me they sold the piston rack option for their own boxes, and I'm curious to know the answer of whether it was available outside of the Proto empire.

Smokeshow, this looks like a job for you. Whether you intended to be or not, you're the resident Pressteel expert by virtue of owning 5 Toolmobiles.

I should point out that Smokeshow confided in me today that he found another Plomb Toolmobile for sale but he was gunna pass because he didn't have space. Can you believe that lame excuse?

Brian

You where not supposed to let them know my weakness but at the price it is listed I am full... however if the price was $100 ... I would get it !


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[btrnuthatch]

Smoke -- Here is the image of the bolt that acts as the drawer stop. I noticed the upper rail is not continuous at the spot where the drawer should stop. i guess that acts as an "alert" to not go any further (assumes weight in the drawer and a slow enough pull to feel it sit in that spot). That 'happens' to be the right place where the bolt is located. So if a user mod, at least it was thought through. The bolt holes are only on this one side.

The second image is where the locking bar sits when not in use on the side. However, there are 2 slots. Wondering why there are 2 of them. ???

I will duplicate this post in your Pressteel thread later today.

Thanks all for your suggestions. I don't drink martinis and I don't see pistons in my future. Lighting, hmmm.

 

[Outlawmws]

BT, that bolt is almost certainly added by a PO.

See those tabs just behind the front roller and tapered section? On one of mine, that tab is bent down slightly and you BANG past it to get the drawer out (takes some effort...)

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Does anyone have a Pressteel catalog, or ever seen one for that matter?

They obviously branded their own boxes, as well as branding boxes for Plomb/Proto/P&C. But it had never occurred to me they sold the piston rack option for their own boxes, and I'm curious to know the answer of whether it was available outside of the Proto empire.



Smokeshow, this looks like a job for you. Whether you intended to be or not, you're the resident Pressteel expert by virtue of owning 5 Toolmobiles.




I should point out that Smokeshow confided in me today that he found another Plomb Toolmobile for sale but he was gunna pass because he didn't have space. Can you believe that lame excuse?

Brian

I think twertsy has tried but found little on them. A catalog would be an awesome find.

 

[Rileysan]

I think twertsy has tried but found little on them. A catalog would be an awesome find.

I have a new theory. It is an opinion based solely on anecdotal evidence.

My theory is that Pressteel was bought by Advertising Metal Display Co. in the early 1950s.

Here's why I think this.

1) Plomb/Proto sold "Toolmobiles" made by Pressteel until some time in the early 50s. The next generation tool cabinets for Proto had the folding cabinet door that covered the drawers, and was almost certainly made by AMD.

Not much there, I know.

2) The real clue came with the discovery of an AMD made Craftsman 5 drawer "Deluxe Roller Cabinet" by a member of a Craftsman Tool Collector group on Facebook. I asked him to post his find on GJ and give it its own thread, which he did. Outlaw then replied by showing his 5 drawer Craftsman "Deluxe Roller Cabinet" that did not have AMD embossed on it, but is clearly made with Pressteel's (patented?) drawer slide design, thus being identified as a Pressteel make.

The clincher is the fact that the aforementioned AMD made roller also uses the Pressteel drawer slides.

Those Craftsman 5 drawer roller cabinets were advertised between 1951 to 1954. I'm willing to bet AMD bought Pressteel during that time period and that there's an announcement in some newspaper, either in Chicago (AMD), Los Angeles (Pressteel), or both cities.

Either you heard it predicted here first, or this is common knowledge and I'm decades behind the times!

Brian

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Here is a 1982 catalog that says 'probably not'.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/263701626633

 

[bmwrd0]

Well, I hope whoever bought that Pressteel cat scans and uploads it...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...made with Pressteel's (patented?) drawer slide design...

I don't collect these boxes, I have no stake in this mystery, and I have never looked at it any deeper than reading your post just now, but for what it's worth from an outside observer, it seems to me that this could be the key - or a red herring - to the whole thing. If it was patented, it would seem to be undeniably Pressteel (unless they licensed it to others). If it wasn't patented, what's to say AMD didn't appropriate it?

Here is a 1982 catalog that says 'probably not'.

Not to take any side in this, but is it possible Pressteel was purchased by AMD and left alone to operate as a managed brand and subsidiary? There's a lot of precedence for that.

 

[Outlawmws]

Another possibility is that AMD bought the toolbox portion of the company, and Pressteel focused on steel office furniture.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That actually makes sense

 

[Rileysan]

It's a relatively slow day at work so I'm doing a little research on Pressteel. So far here's what I got:


I found this little tidbit from a Federal copyright lawsuit brought by Pressteel against a competitor in March, 1963. It had to do with light fixtures.

The Appellants were:

"PRESSTEEL COMPANY, a co-partnership composed of Preston A. Jones and Wallace D. Runswick and Marvin Electric Manufacturing Company"

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/314/314.F2d.695.17716.html

I also found that Preston A. Jones (whom Pressteel was named after) and Wallace D. Runswick held several patents for their light fixtures, but found nothing on tool boxes, drawer slides, or related.

Wallace D. Runswick was married to one "Evelyn I Runswick", and both resided in Walnut Creek California until their deaths.

Preston A. Jones is too common a name to learn anything useful.
That's all I've learned so far. It's my hope that I can find family history and then, possibly, living family members I can contact and enquire about Pressteel. It's a longshot, but that sort of groundwork is what led to Thorsen, P&C, and General Tool Company's histories being sorted out.

Brian

 

[Smokeshow69]

It's a relatively slow day at work so I'm doing a little research on Pressteel. So far here's what I got:


I found this little tidbit from a Federal copyright lawsuit brought by Pressteel against a competitor in March, 1963. It had to do with light fixtures.

The Appellants were:

"PRESSTEEL COMPANY, a co-partnership composed of Preston A. Jones and Wallace D. Runswick and Marvin Electric Manufacturing Company"

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/314/314.F2d.695.17716.html

I also found that Preston A. Jones (whom Pressteel was named after) and Wallace D. Runswick held several patents for their light fixtures, but found nothing on tool boxes, drawer slides, or related.

Wallace D. Runswick was married to one "Evelyn I Runswick", and both resided in Walnut Creek California until their deaths.

Preston A. Jones is too common a name to learn anything useful.
That's all I've learned so far. It's my hope that I can find family history and then, possibly, living family members I can contact and enquire about Pressteel. It's a longshot, but that sort of groundwork is what led to Thorsen, P&C, and General Tool Company's histories being sorted out.

Brian

Good call on the family history front. Wonder if mr x knows anything on the pressteel front ?


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[Ole Slewfoot]

My opinion is that pressteel is also an annoyingly common name, and the one involved in that suit is a different company based out of Berkeley engaged in the manufacture of lighting and I think some electrical hardware

W: The Management Magazine - Volume 131 - Page 164
https://books.google.com/books?id=KXM4AQAAIAAJ
1952 - ‎Snippet view - ‎More editions
Pressteel Enlarges Facilities Pressteel Co., Berkeley, Calif., manufacturer of lighting fixtures, completed a $500,000 plant and production expansion program. Coolerator To Open Enameling Plant A million dollar porcelain enameling plant, .

If you look at Jones patents, they are all in the electric lighting field.

1958 ad for painer at Garvey ave

PAINTER Experienced For production work with baking synthetics and Hammer tones on sheet metal APPLY IN PERSON PRESSTEEL 9705 GARVEY EL MONTE

 

[Rileysan]

My opinion is that pressteel is also an annoyingly common name, and the one involved in that suit is a different company based out of Berkeley engaged in the manufacture of lighting and I think some electrical hardware


If you look at Jones patents, they are all in the electric lighting field.

1958 ad for painer at Garvey ave

Which, unfortunately, could be the cause of much confusion between the 1983 catalog featuring lab benches and the tool boxes made many years before. And who's to say that it's not the same Pressteel that made light fixtures? There's much work to be done ...


Brian

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

The address and drawer fronts are strong evidence of continued production I think, while that other pressteel is listed as a mfr of lighting products, does not have corporate HQ in El Monte, and I don't think you'll find anything linking the two.

WRT the Crafty boxes, another possiblility is the design was licensed, and the drawer faces changed to distinguish, with production gong to AMD.

Do we know anything about the source of later Proto boxes?

 

[Smokeshow69]

The address and drawer fronts are strong evidence of continued production I think, while that other pressteel is listed as a mfr of lighting products, does not have corporate HQ in El Monte, and I don't think you'll find anything linking the two.

WRT the Crafty boxes, another possiblility is the design was licensed, and the drawer faces changed to distinguish, with production gong to AMD.

Do we know anything about the source of later Proto boxes?

Later proto box production was manufactured by Waterloo and I am not entirely sure when that started since I do not have very many proto hard copy catalogs and the tool archive website is down [emoji17]


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[Rileysan]

The address and drawer fronts are strong evidence of continued production I think, while that other pressteel is listed as a mfr of lighting products, does not have corporate HQ in El Monte, and I don't think you'll find anything linking the two.

WRT the Crafty boxes, another possiblility is the design was licensed, and the drawer faces changed to distinguish, with production gong to AMD.

Do we know anything about the source of later Proto boxes?

As Smoke stated, Waterloo. But there was, I believe, a transition period, where AMD made boxes for Proto. At least I think it's made by AMD because of the clear similarities between this, and the early 50s AMD made Craftsman boxes.

These photos come from a FB Marketplace ad from Southern Oregon. If it wasn't 300 miles away, I'd have bought it weeks ago!

Anyways, what do the rest of you say? Is this Proto box Pressteel, AMD, or Waterloo?

Brian

 

[Oldtuleguy]

This is getting confusing

 

[Rileysan]

This is getting confusing

Isn't it?

 

[Smokeshow69]

As Smoke stated, Waterloo. But there was, I believe, a transition period, where AMD made boxes for Proto. At least I think it's made by AMD because of the clear similarities between this, and the early 50s AMD made Craftsman boxes.



These photos come from a FB Marketplace ad from Southern Oregon. If it wasn't 300 miles away, I'd have bought it weeks ago!



Anyways, what do the rest of you say? Is this Proto box Pressteel, AMD, or Waterloo?



Brian

My vote on this one is pressteel due to the way the cover hinges up top just like my early pressteel made craftsman 3 drawer roller?


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[Rileysan]

My vote on this one is pressteel due to the way the cover hinges up top just like my early pressteel made craftsman 3 drawer roller?


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I forget ... does your Craftsman box have the heritage badge on the cover? If so, have you looked for embossing in the sheetmetal behind the badge? I have two 3d cabinets with that same door and both have AMD embossed on them.

Brian

 

[Smokeshow69]

I forget ... does your Craftsman box have the heritage badge on the cover? If so, have you looked for embossing in the sheetmetal behind the badge? I have two 3d cabinets with that same door and both have AMD embossed on them.



Brian

Yes it has a badge on the cover and I don’t believe it says and behind it but I can check !


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[twertsy]

I have that same Tool Mobile, which I believe is Waterloo........

 

[Private Lugnutz]

wrt the crafty boxes, another possiblility is the design was licensed, and the drawer faces changed to distinguish, with production gong to amd.

if it was patented, it would seem to be undeniably pressteel (unless they licensed it to others).

 

[bmwrd0]

As Smoke stated, Waterloo. But there was, I believe, a transition period, where AMD made boxes for Proto. At least I think it's made by AMD because of the clear similarities between this, and the early 50s AMD made Craftsman boxes.

These photos come from a FB Marketplace ad from Southern Oregon. If it wasn't 300 miles away, I'd have bought it weeks ago!

Anyways, what do the rest of you say? Is this Proto box Pressteel, AMD, or Waterloo?

Brian

I was all set to buy that box today and the guy texted me that his wife sold it.

 

[bobsacamano]

My friend got this for me on nextdoor and I've tried to find replacement parts for it. The bottom cabinet (65039) is missing a drawer and a wheel (A-5549). The top box (65282) is also missing a drawer. In addition, I'm missing the keys to both pieces. I've tried for a few weeks to find replacement parts for these cabinets, but I can't seem to find any. Was hoping you guys had some leads! Thanks in advance.

 

[Kuffar]

Here's an old wooden toolbox, that I got from my dad. It was my grandfather's. Here's the $64.00 question. Did Snap On make wooden boxes like this? It has the remnants of a Snap On label in it. It has old SO Snap On sockets in it (see the insert pic), along with a SO kit from the 40's. The sockets aren't a set. There seem to be pairs of sizes.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Maybe something a dealer used, like an inventory box. Any really old sockets, like overstrikes?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That looks like an overstrike on a small socket between his thumb and index finger, Otg. First pic, the inset - lower right.

 

[Outlawmws]

Bob's; Your best bet are donor boxes. The top is fairly common. I see many posted. the bottom roller being all drawers is it's polar opposite. Unless the rollers with fewer drawer used th e same size split drawers, it may be a tough one to get.

 

[Rileysan]

My friend got this for me on nextdoor and I've tried to find replacement parts for it. The bottom cabinet (65039) is missing a drawer and a wheel (A-5549). The top box (65282) is also missing a drawer. In addition, I'm missing the keys to both pieces. I've tried for a few weeks to find replacement parts for these cabinets, but I can't seem to find any. Was hoping you guys had some leads! Thanks in advance.

Fantastic find, Bob!

A couple of things:

1) Parts (drawers & slides) will have to come by way of donor (parts) boxes, as Outlaw already stated.

2) Your locks likely have a lock number beginning with the letters "LL". You can find replacement keys from eBay seller "MosesTheLocksmith" here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-KEYS-CRA...hash=item1a5ba1721c:m:mZBo3sJZuYyx0L2FJSCCWhw
I highly recommend him.

3) You can find the dates of manufacture on each box in the following locations:

Top Chest - with the lid open, look down into the top storage area, to the front/left side. There will be stamped "Made in USA" and a 4-digit date code in that general area.

Rolling cabinet - looking at the bottom, front/right corner, just below the bottom drawer and just above the right/front wheel, look for a 4-digit date code.

Welcome to GJ and to the vintage Craftsman tool box club!

Brian

 

[Smokeshow69]

Yes it has a badge on the cover and I don’t believe it says and behind it but I can check !


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I checked behind both logos and no amd to be found behind either of them.


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[Kuffar]

Thanks guys, yes that is an overstrike. When did they quit using those?