Snap On 1920s salesman’s cabinet pics

[Patrick Eubanks]

Made some copies of the paperwork that came with my merchandiser if anyone wants one

And you have the paperwork….of course

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

really? so... the 8-inch Danielson and Proto adjustables I picked up last week, both coated with multiple layers of 60-year-old-baked-on-spray-paint will clean up with just a soak in SG? will it cause the metal to rust or blacken?

Simple green will strip it if left to soak overnight. Will not harm the metal if left overnight

 

[MR.X]

I posted these pics before in another thread maybe a year ago. Besides retail sites it looks like they marketed the cabinets to schools too apparently. This would be 1928ish. Header says "Start your Snap-On assortment"
"add extra sockets and handles as needed"

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Sounds like they were trying to find additional uses for these cabinets. Putting them in schools was a good way to recruit future customers!

 

[MR.X]

So I thought this was an excellent thread talking thru what is known of Snap-On's retail presence.....I recently saw a 1925 catalog for "Mill Supplies" Machinists, Foundry, Engineers and Contractor's supplies etc. that has 4 plus pages of Snap-On listings. Considering the talent weighing in I would have thought someone would have brought up the fact that Snap-On was doing this,(selling thru an industrial supplier) if even briefly ( or maybe I missed it) Anyway, this is probably old news but if anyone is interested, I can post pics....but be warned, The "improved design flat ratchet" has 2 pawls instead of one, and 15 teeth! on the ratchet wheel.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That sounds interesting

 

[Derek Wade]

I love these old cabinets! I recently was able to locate one in pretty good shape. I even found a master service set pamphlet that had fallen beside the drawers.

 

[ooba tooba]

Outstanding info coming back to this old thread! I’m glad to see a few more of these.

 

[ooba tooba]

I love these old cabinets! I recently was able to locate one in pretty good shape. I even found a master service set pamphlet that had fallen beside the drawers.

That looks like it might clean up nicely as well! I used gibbs oil on 0000 fine steel wool and it really brought the white back out in the decals and the nice olive green back. Love to see it if you decide to clean it

 

[ooba tooba]

So I'm not exactly going to the head of the class with this one but I did recognize it in an antique mall, the tag said only "industrial cabinet" and it looked like the first picture but from the side you could see the shape of the decals under the spray paint? maybe. Anyway I lightly hit it with a green pad and then wiped with water and made a little progress. Don't think that's going to work as well with the smaller letters etc. Any ideas for something that might remove a little paint without destroying the decals? BTW, hardly any rust at all even on the bottom or in the drawers which are straight and have the original handles and the little wheel inside for sliding. Looks like the original cabinet door handles were replaced. The shelf inside is present but the hangers have been ripped out the hardware on the inside of the doors is good.

So I'm not exactly going to the head of the class with this one but I did recognize it in an antique mall, the tag said only "industrial cabinet" and it looked like the first picture but from the side you could see the shape of the decals under the spray paint? maybe. Anyway I lightly hit it with a green pad and then wiped with water and made a little progress. Don't think that's going to work as well with the smaller letters etc. Any ideas for something that might remove a little paint without destroying the decals? BTW, hardly any rust at all even on the bottom or in the drawers which are straight and have the original handles and the little wheel inside for sliding. Looks like the original cabinet door handles were replaced. The shelf inside is present but the hangers have been ripped out the hardware on the inside of the doors is good.

Were you able to get some good results cleaning this one up?

 

[Derek Wade]

That looks like it might clean up nicely as well! I used gibbs oil on 0000 fine steel wool and it really brought the white back out in the decals and the nice olive green back. Love to see it if you decide to clean it

I plan on doing some light cleaning in the coming months. I’ll post some pics when I’m done.

 

[MR.X]

Were you able to get some good results cleaning this one up?

Not really.