Hi, long time listener first time caller. I recently picked up this Snap-On cart for $200 on fb marketplace:
I bought it with the intent of restoring it and using it as my primary tool chest. Normally, I would've just cleaned it, polished it, and called it a day. However, whoever used it last was a "professional" welder. The two brackets on the top and the bottom are courtesy of them. They did that so that they could slide a bar down the front to lock the drawers. When they welded the brackets on they made zero effort to clean them afterwards and now they're rusted all the way around.
If it weren't for that the box would actually be in great shape. It's been sitting for at least 15 years in a garage somewhere, so the drawers are full of gunk and mouse droppings. Also, the bottom drawer is missing, but I don't mind that much since it works as a shelf anyways.
Anyway, made my account here because of all the threads I've read through regarding this topic. Y'all seem knowledgeable so I have a few questions I need help with!
1. I can't verify the year/make of this thing. Can anyone help identify it? From my research it looks like a KRA-396:
That would put it somewhere between 1953-1967. I saw the chart with the year symbols too but I don't know where to look for it on the box, and didn't find it when I checked. The box looks like the one in the photo, but the two badges on the front don't match the time frame (I think) and the handle looks different to the one pictured. Both the badges are labeled as 'Kenosha, Wisconsin' which got me excited, but after some research I think these were put on later. Not sure what happened to the original chrome badge that I think is supposed to be on here.
Should mention that it also has the optional KRA-303 attachment for an electrical junction box inside:
2. What's everyone's opinion on the best way to restore this thing? Currently my plan is to disassemble everything, cut off the extra stuff that the previous owner had welded on, strip the paint & rust with a silicon carbide disc, and use rustoleum toolbox paint & primer to re-paint it. Then polish up the hardware and the badges.
Does anyone have a better way to go about it? Given it's age, should I be worried about lead paint while I'm stripping it? I'd love to do things the right way and powder coat it once it's stripped, but I just bought a house so I don't have the time nor money needed to make that happen. Probably a bad decision to take this project on simultaneously but eh
As you can see in these two pictures, the paint overall isn't bad on the outside. The bottom portion where the missing drawer used to be, the front where the paint's rubbed off from the lock bar, the welded bits, and inside some of the drawers is where the rust is the worst. Otherwise I would just polish this thing and call it good, but if I gotta touch up the front of the drawers I figured I might as well do the whole thing while I'm at it.
3. What's the easiest way to get the drawers out? I read online that filing down a hacksaw blade and jamming it in behind the slide is the way to go. I contacted Snap-On's customer support and asked them these questions, by the way. They didn't answer any of them, but they did offer to sell me a 2-pack of the drawer removal tools I'd need at $26 each. So I think the hacksaw blade is the better option lol.
Sorry for the text wall, but I'd love to hear what you guys think! I'll post some follow up once I get the project underway and once it's finished.
I bought it with the intent of restoring it and using it as my primary tool chest. Normally, I would've just cleaned it, polished it, and called it a day. However, whoever used it last was a "professional" welder. The two brackets on the top and the bottom are courtesy of them. They did that so that they could slide a bar down the front to lock the drawers. When they welded the brackets on they made zero effort to clean them afterwards and now they're rusted all the way around.
If it weren't for that the box would actually be in great shape. It's been sitting for at least 15 years in a garage somewhere, so the drawers are full of gunk and mouse droppings. Also, the bottom drawer is missing, but I don't mind that much since it works as a shelf anyways.
Anyway, made my account here because of all the threads I've read through regarding this topic. Y'all seem knowledgeable so I have a few questions I need help with!
1. I can't verify the year/make of this thing. Can anyone help identify it? From my research it looks like a KRA-396:
That would put it somewhere between 1953-1967. I saw the chart with the year symbols too but I don't know where to look for it on the box, and didn't find it when I checked. The box looks like the one in the photo, but the two badges on the front don't match the time frame (I think) and the handle looks different to the one pictured. Both the badges are labeled as 'Kenosha, Wisconsin' which got me excited, but after some research I think these were put on later. Not sure what happened to the original chrome badge that I think is supposed to be on here.
Should mention that it also has the optional KRA-303 attachment for an electrical junction box inside:
2. What's everyone's opinion on the best way to restore this thing? Currently my plan is to disassemble everything, cut off the extra stuff that the previous owner had welded on, strip the paint & rust with a silicon carbide disc, and use rustoleum toolbox paint & primer to re-paint it. Then polish up the hardware and the badges.
Does anyone have a better way to go about it? Given it's age, should I be worried about lead paint while I'm stripping it? I'd love to do things the right way and powder coat it once it's stripped, but I just bought a house so I don't have the time nor money needed to make that happen. Probably a bad decision to take this project on simultaneously but eh
As you can see in these two pictures, the paint overall isn't bad on the outside. The bottom portion where the missing drawer used to be, the front where the paint's rubbed off from the lock bar, the welded bits, and inside some of the drawers is where the rust is the worst. Otherwise I would just polish this thing and call it good, but if I gotta touch up the front of the drawers I figured I might as well do the whole thing while I'm at it.
3. What's the easiest way to get the drawers out? I read online that filing down a hacksaw blade and jamming it in behind the slide is the way to go. I contacted Snap-On's customer support and asked them these questions, by the way. They didn't answer any of them, but they did offer to sell me a 2-pack of the drawer removal tools I'd need at $26 each. So I think the hacksaw blade is the better option lol.
Sorry for the text wall, but I'd love to hear what you guys think! I'll post some follow up once I get the project underway and once it's finished.
