The VINTAGE toolboxes of Garage Journal!

Outlawmws · Mar 4, 2012

Brad54 said:
I've got this same box, and am turning it into a welding cart.

-Brad

I finally got to getting a pic of the welding bench setup:

The roller itself is a mid 50's Craftsman 25" wide X 18 deep.

The vise is an old Lakeside, and opens extra wide for it's size. The brace for the vise was made from some 1/2" EMT conduit.

The grinder is a POS and can be stalled easily, but it's small enough to fit and is therefor handy for quick little jobs.

The plate is 1/2" thick plate, and besides the magnetic ground in the far corner, has a "secondary" ground wire running from the back left corner of the plate to one of the vise mounting bolts on the bottom, which also has a coil of 4 AWG wire with a battery clip on it for odd stiff not attached to the bench in some way, or that won't take the mag ground easily.

Gas welding accessories and tips in the top drawer, electric welding stuff in drawer no. 2, and drawer No 3 has grinders and wheels in it. (Three 4-1/2" grinders, a 7", and probably some other stuff I don't recall off the top of my head)

The underside "Garage" storage has larger bulkier welding parts in it as well as my two of my skill and circular saws.

The storage cabinet on the far side the Lincoln sits on has a bunch of heavy structural soldering stuff in it including a gas furnace for soldering coppers.

Russ T. Nutz · Mar 4, 2012

The old boxes are cool...back when steel was steel.

A few of my boxes (once I get a better handle on re-sizing/posting pictures I put up more).

Craftsman (36 drawers of where the hell did I put that).
P&C rolling cabinet
9 Drawer Snapon

american3.14guy · Mar 4, 2012

An old Craftsman toolbox that I bought at an estate auction.
I'm not sure if it qualifies as a toolbox, but it does have drawers to hold tools. Just got done building a new top and base so I can move it easier. A good old Craftsman wood vise on one end with holes for "dogs."

larryq · Mar 15, 2012

FritzA said:
Larryq,

Would you mind telling us what paint you used? The color looks great.

Geez, sorry for not seeing your post earlier Fritz. I'll PM you as well, but the paint was Rustoleum hammered silver. I'm a little unhappy with the final result to tell the truth, since it came out less hammered than grainy, but I'm glad you like it-- thanks for the kind words.

Outlawmws · Mar 15, 2012

larryq said:
Geez, sorry for not seeing your post earlier Fritz. I'll PM you as well, but the paint was Rustoleum hammered silver. I'm a little unhappy with the final result to tell the truth, since it came out less hammered than grainy, but I'm glad you like it-- thanks for the kind words.

Hi Larry. I have also had a bit of trouble with grainy (Rustoleum) hammered finish in the past, I found that laying it on thick (to the point of running, so its a double edged sword...) is the trick to a good hammered look and a glossy feel to the surface. If you can get the the surface to be painted horizontal, you get better results (which is a pain as you have to paint a box in 6 sessions to get the best results), as it is easier to get it thick without it running.

bluebolt · Mar 15, 2012

american3.14guy said:
An old Craftsman toolbox that I bought at an estate auction.
I'm not sure if it qualifies as a toolbox, but it does have drawers to hold tools. Just got done building a new top and base so I can move it easier. A good old Craftsman wood vise on one end with holes for "dogs."

Missed this somehow, cool stuff!

jeffmoss26 · Mar 15, 2012

russ and american, those are great!

toytech40 · Mar 16, 2012

Finally took the time to go through this thread completely and I have to say there are a lot of nice vitage boxes here. Some I have seen and remeber, some are new to me. wouldn't mind adding a few to muy collection of boxes(like I need any more) Once I do my spring cleaning in my garage I will take some pics and share, I have several vingage boxs.

Poppanitrous · Apr 14, 2012

Where is the model# located on that particular box,i just picked up one and cant find it.also your model number pic is red and box is more orange..hows that just pic?

Private Lugnutz · Apr 14, 2012

Cool thread.

Some photos of one of my current projects...

Box, 41-B-1840, Tool-Set, General Mechanics', US Army (1944)

jeffmoss26 · Apr 14, 2012

Looks good!!

Private Lugnutz · Apr 14, 2012

Thanks, Jeff. Labor of love.

mikegt4 · Apr 14, 2012

PrivateLugnutz

I have an identical toolbox passed down to me from my father. I had no ideal of it's history or where it came from (no tags or labels). They sure made them stout.

Not Born Yesterday · Apr 14, 2012

Here's a picture of my Snap On K-60 Super Chest. It was made between 1939 and 1946. Most of them were red but they also made some in gray like this one.

brian90505 · Apr 14, 2012

Not sure what qualifies for vintage here but I got the setup on the right back in 1979. I still have it, pic is fairly recent. Funny but I thought it was big back then.

Private Lugnutz · Apr 14, 2012

mikegt4 said:
PrivateLugnutz

I have an identical toolbox passed down to me from my father. I had no ideal of it's history or where it came from (no tags or labels). They sure made them stout.

Very strong. As an engineer I admire the simple and effective design with the flip top lids (no latches to break or go bad). And the construction is incredible, from the hinge elements to the spot-welded handle brackets. (My favorite feature is the hole in the top tray for the oiler spout, so it doesn't tip over or lay down in the bottom.) Check out these corner supports...

By the way, if it meets all the specs and characteristics (two key discriminators between the military boxes and civilian knock-offs of same era are the lack of corner supports and handle brackets that are riveted through the lid), no tags or labels or markings is not necessarily a bad thing. It could mean your box is early war. The Ordnance Department didn't start marking tools and euipment with Federal Stock Numbers until late war or post-war.

crewchief888 · Apr 14, 2012

brian90505 said:
Not sure what qualifies for vintage here but I got the setup on the right back in 1979. I still have it, pic is fairly recent. Funny but I thought it was big back then.

only boxes that were bigger back then were either a taco wagon, or a kr 550/555 set.
when i bought my 550/555 back in '85 i thought i'd never need another box, and no way i'd ever fill it up. :dunno:

i was wrong, so very wrong in so many ways. :lol_hitti

B17E1943 · Apr 14, 2012

Not Born Yesterday said:
Here's a picture of my Snap On K-60 Super Chest. It was made between 1939 and 1946. Most of them were red but they also made some in gray like this one.

fourtythree · Apr 15, 2012

My great grandfather's box:

wxm · Apr 16, 2012

fourtythree said:
My great grandfather's box:

I think it is a Kennedy 520, I have a couple of those - nice and solid... :thumbup:

fourtythree · Apr 16, 2012

wxm said:
I think it is a Kennedy 520, I have a couple of those - nice and solid...

Seems like it. Any idea of the age?

snapmom · Apr 19, 2012

A Snap on K-65A, with a oval decal, prob from 39-40.

Outlawmws · Apr 19, 2012

fourtythree said:
Seems like it. Any idea of the age?

Square corner top so very old. Is the handle leather covered? If so I'd say pre WWII? :dunno:

Any other logos present?

fourtythree · Apr 19, 2012

Outlawmws said:
Square corner top so very old. Is the handle leather covered? If so I'd say pre WWII? Any other logos present?

Yep, leather handle. No logos that I can find. The small silver emblem on the lid is a name tag he riveted on.

stratman977 · Apr 19, 2012

Heres my 1973 Cornwell. Paid $175 off of craigslist. Previous owner spray painted it with 99 cent store rattle cans. I took it down to bare metal and epoxy primered it. Painted it with PPG Omni Acrylic Enamel. The handles were black from the factory except the pull bar on the bottom cabinet.

View media item 18696

jeffmoss26 · Apr 20, 2012

very nice job!

CRTDI · Apr 21, 2012

snapmom said:
A Snap on K-65A, with a oval decal, prob from 39-40.

That's a pretty cool box. I really like the overall worn and aged look of it. I wasn't aware that this model box was available so early, just assumed that it was introduced sometime in the 50's.

wornoutoldman · Apr 21, 2012

SWEET!

stratman977 said:
Heres my 1973 Cornwell. Paid $175 off of craigslist. Previous owner spray painted it with 99 cent store rattle cans. I took it down to bare metal and epoxy primered it. Painted it with PPG Omni Acrylic Enamel. The handles were black from the factory except the pull bar on the bottom cabinet.

View media item 18696

Hoby · Apr 21, 2012

1920 Craftsman
View media item 18734
View media item 18735
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mrgm · Apr 21, 2012

I love those wooden box =D

Lookin4'67Galaxieconv · Apr 21, 2012

Brad54 said:
I've got this same box, and am turning it into a welding cart.

-Brad

I've been hearing that for awhile...when's it gonna happen?! :spit:

(I sold that box to Brad)

Lookin4'67Galaxieconv · Apr 21, 2012

brian90505 said:
Not sure what qualifies for vintage here but I got the setup on the right back in 1979. I still have it, pic is fairly recent. Funny but I thought it was big back then.

That is one sweet setup. :thumbup:

What are the larger boxes on the left, and how old?

posaune · Apr 22, 2012

Today was a happy day. In my usual CL checking, I ran across an ad with no pic for a "HerGrand tool box." Thanks to GJ, I was pretty sure that this was actually going to be a Herbrand, which I was quite interested in seeing.

Unfortunately, since my wagon was totaled recently (tree/snow storm/insurance company/bad luck), I had to wait for my wife's to be available. Finally, I had the car this morning before she woke up so I called the guy. He still had it, so this is what I brought home for $25:

I know my phone pics aren't the best, but I think you can see the paint in the pic of the badge. It is sort of a splatter effect - lighter red on bright red. I wonder if this is how it came. Everything is like that and it is evenly done over the whole box and the light attachment. A better view (of the back):

I have RemLines and Huots that I've picked up for cheap and painted to match each other, but I think this is staying as-is. It is too good to strip and repaint! I was pretty happy for $25.

wornoutoldman · Apr 22, 2012

^^^^^ Super Awesome! You **** Big time!

B17E1943 · Apr 22, 2012

Great find! :thumbup:

It doesn't look like the paint was patterned like that to me; it looks like something splattered on there. But what do I know? :lol:

Grease Monky · Apr 22, 2012

Ive got a MAC box that belonged to a fellow mechanic who owed me money ill post pictures up tomorrow when I get back home.

Grease Monky · Apr 22, 2012

You are very luck. You should restore, If you do post pictures. I love restored vintage boxes.

Outlawmws · Apr 22, 2012

Hoby said:
1920 Craftsman
View media item 18734
View media item 18735
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View media item 18737

That is a truly beautiful box :beer:

, but what leads you to believe 1920's? :dunno:

First off, the Craftsman name as a trademark for Sears stated about 1930 or so.

Secondly that oval logo is distinctive to the 1950's starting about 1949, and mostly ending about 1959, but still in limited use until about 1964.

jeffmoss26 · Apr 22, 2012

That is very cool!!

Bull · Apr 22, 2012

posaune said:
[Story of awesome Herbrand score here]

Dude, that is an absolutely awesome find, and a steal of a price! It's even got the factory task light/outlets, right? Those look possibly original.

I have seen a few Herbrand boxes in pics on here, in more than one color I think, and they were also splattered like that.

Was the seller some old codger?

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