The VINTAGE toolboxes of Garage Journal!

jn50308401 · Sep 29, 2015

zkling said:
What year is your 557? Do the drawers have dividers welded in?

The KR557F I have has no dividers, it was made in 1987. The KR557D(1982) I got recently has the dividers. I worked on stripping and cleaning them and the older box's drawers are much more flimsy feeling and light feeling than the newer box. The KR557F definitely feels like it's made with heavier gauge sheet metal.

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jn50308401 · Sep 29, 2015

jn50308401 said:
The KR557F I have has no dividers, it was made in 1987. The KR557D(1982) I got recently has the dividers. I worked on stripping and cleaning them and the older box's drawers are much more flimsy feeling and light feeling than the newer box. The KR557F definitely feels like it's made with heavier gauge sheet metal.

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For anyone interested I've snapped a couple pics from the Snap on tool storage instruction manual. I will try and scan it soon.

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Outlawmws · Sep 29, 2015

jn50308401 said:
Outlaw the owners guide I found in the bottom of my Snap On KR557F (6 friction slides, one ball bearing) mentions paraffin wax as a lubricant for the slides.

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Really? That just makes no sense. A bar of Ivory makes a better lube than Paraffin...

jn50308401 · Sep 29, 2015

Outlawmws said:
Really? That just makes no sense. A bar of Ivory makes a better lube than Paraffin...

Maybe Snap on should sell bar soap, it could be used as drawer lube and to clean up after a hard days work!

I did parrafin wax and it significantly helped with my friction slide box. I've got another top and bottom chest to finish painting and assembling so I may give soap a try, if anything for the smell [emoji16]

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Bill Ramsey · Sep 29, 2015

taumac said:
I know door ease is suppose to work well but buddy ran around to 3 stores and nobody had it. Just trying to find something I can get local.

I got it locally from Ace Hardware. None of the local stores stocked it, but my store ordered it from the warehouse and I had it in a few days.

The MSDS indicates it's primarily paraffin and mineral oil...no mention of beeswax. I use it on all my slider boxes. I've tried grease, oil, ATF, and (spray-on) PTFE. I like Door-Ease the best for this application.

jakemac · Sep 29, 2015

taumac said:
I know door ease is suppose to work well but buddy ran around to 3 stores and nobody had it. Just trying to find something I can get local.

When it can't be found .................. ebay it. :lol:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AGS-Door-Ease-Lube-Stick-1-6-Oz-Stick-Lubricant-DEK-3H-NEW-/311246398726?hash=item4877bb2506

My local True Value carries it, but each TV store makes it's own choices for inventory (I used to be a TV store buyer). Ask, they should be able to special order it from the warehouse for you (If they care about customer service). It's True Value sku# is 726234

.

bagged89s10 · Sep 29, 2015

So I cleaned, waxed and used paraffin on the slides on this box.

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Lined them and loaded it up with a little weight to test out. Not going to use this one for crazy heavy items but the paraffin works good enough for me. Just a little annoying when putting the stuff on as it flakes everywhere.

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I'll do the bottom chest hopefully tomorrow. It already slides smooth so I think the paraffin is going to be sufficient.

Outlawmws · Sep 29, 2015

So someone with a box with freshly cleaned set of slides (and more time than I have...) should lube 4 drawers with:

Paraffin
Beeswax
Door-eaz
and Ivory soap :evil:

Then set a defined weight in the drawer(s), (say 40-50 lbs) and then use one of those preload test scales to see what it takes to open it. Do that maybe 5-10 times each and average it.

Then report back!

Outlawmws · Sep 29, 2015

bagged89s10 said:
So I cleaned, waxed and used paraffin on the slides on this box.

Lined them and loaded it up with a little weight to test out. Not going to use this one for crazy heavy items but the paraffin works good enough for me. Just a little annoying when putting the stuff on as it flakes everywhere.

I'll do the bottom chest hopefully tomorrow. It already slides smooth so I think the paraffin is going to be sufficient.

Use a Bernz-O-Matic to heat the slide rails slightly, and then slide it back and forth... It should go on like butter (But the residue will flake off with use)

zkling · Sep 30, 2015

jn50308401 said:
The KR557F I have has no dividers, it was made in 1987. The KR557D(1982) I got recently has the dividers. I worked on stripping and cleaning them and the older box's drawers are much more flimsy feeling and light feeling than the newer box. The KR557F definitely feels like it's made with heavier gauge sheet metal.

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Interesting, thanks for the info. Will you please take a picture of one of the divider less friction drawers?

taumac · Sep 30, 2015

jakemac said:
When it can't be found .................. ebay it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AGS-Door-Ea...-DEK-3H-NEW-/311246398726?hash=item4877bb2506

My local True Value carries it, but each TV store makes it's own choices for inventory (I used to be a TV store buyer). Ask, they should be able to special order it from the warehouse for you (If they care about customer service). It's True Value sku# is 726234 .

Thanks for the info. Gonna run by the one near my work tomorrow and see what they say.

taumac · Sep 30, 2015

Outlawmws said:
So someone with a box with freshly cleaned set of slides (and more time than I have...) should lube 4 drawers with:

Paraffin
Beeswax
Door-eaz
and Ivory soap

Then set a defined weight in the drawer(s), (say 40-50 lbs) and then use one of those preload test scales to see what it takes to open it. Do that maybe 5-10 times each and average it.

Then report back!

That should be interesting.... Hey bagged.... Wanna try it out?

taumac · Sep 30, 2015

Bill Ramsey said:
I got it locally from Ace Hardware. None of the local stores stocked it, but my store ordered it from the warehouse and I had it in a few days.

The MSDS indicates it's primarily paraffin and mineral oil...no mention of beeswax. I use it on all my slider boxes. I've tried grease, oil, ATF, and (spray-on) PTFE. I like Door-Ease the best for this application.

We had a place called Crowders hardware years ago. It was a Ace and now True value. It was great place until HD and Lowes moved to town. They where forced to downsize and now have a small place about 1/3 of what they had. If I get off work before they close I've take run by.

softailgarage · Sep 30, 2015

spongerich said:
Do machinist's boxes count? Cuz I have a bunch of those.

4 are Kennedy, 2 Gerstner, 1 Union, 1 with no marks, and 1 with a faded decal that might be a Star. The mechanics box with the dogshit brown paintjob is an older Mac box. I also have a wide 7 drawer Kennedy that lives next to my drill presses just for drills.

No, they're not ALL full... not anymore at least. I recently bought a nice 60's-70's vintage Craftsman ball bearing roller chest and I moved all my taps and dies and my indicators into there, so I've got some drawers to fill.

If you want to look in my drawers I've got a little video tour at:

I don't think I've ever seen that many machinist boxes in one place, including Dads machine shop. Watched the vid, have alot of the same tools. I love the shop, that old, vintage, wood walls look. I'll almost bet you also have wood floors too :drool:

nine4gmc · Sep 30, 2015

That is an awesome collection!! :drool:

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jn50308401 · Sep 30, 2015

zkling said:
Interesting, thanks for the info. Will you please take a picture of one of the divider less friction drawers?

Sure thing! I can't do any work on my 537/557 combo, there's a tropical depression that has brought in 90% humidity and rain squals so no painting me...

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nine4gmc · Sep 30, 2015

Unfortunately it's 90% humidity here on a good day...

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bagged89s10 · Sep 30, 2015

taumac said:
That should be interesting.... Hey bagged.... Wanna try it out?

I would but I don't have time to do that. Took me long enough to just get one of my toolboxes cleaned and lubed up. I have 2 more to go. And I have to do this in between work and picking up and watching my son after school. Too many projects, never enough time.

drivesitfar · Sep 30, 2015

Bagged: you asked if the Stanley Vidmar would be light enough without the drawers for you to load and unload by yourself. i'm guessing it would still weigh about 150 pounds if you can get the drawers out. do you have a trailer hitch on your car or truck? UHaul rents their 5 x 9 trailers with a ramp for $20-25 for a day and then you can just pick it up and roll it on the trailer. bring a couple ratchet straps to strap it in and your are good to go.

ALL: i bought 4 or 5 sticks of 100% beeswax from a gal selling honey out in the country a couple weeks ago and for $2 i couldn't pass it up. her honey was good too so i'll have to stop in again. do any of you know of any threads that take a tool box apart and show good pictures and describe the best ways to clean one that is just dirty? please post a link here if you do. thanks

jn50308401 · Sep 30, 2015

drivesitfar said:
Bagged: you asked if the Stanley Vidmar would be light enough without the drawers for you to load and unload by yourself. i'm guessing it would still weigh about 150 pounds if you can get the drawers out. do you have a trailer hitch on your car or truck? UHaul rents their 5 x 9 trailers with a ramp for $20-25 for a day and then you can just pick it up and roll it on the trailer. bring a couple ratchet straps to strap it in and your are good to go.

ALL: i bought 4 or 5 sticks of 100% beeswax from a gal selling honey out in the country a couple weeks ago and for $2 i couldn't pass it up. her honey was good too so i'll have to stop in again. do any of you know of any threads that take a tool box apart and show good pictures and describe the best ways to clean one that is just dirty? please post a link here if you do. thanks

If you search for tool box restoration there's a lot of folks on here that detail their process for cleaning/restoring.

From my experience, start gentle, if the crud isn't coming off , go a step up. It depends on how good your paint is too, if you're planning on stripping and re- painting, then go hog wild with a power washer and some some heavy duty degreaser.

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drivesitfar · Sep 30, 2015

JN: i know there are a lot of them and i've read quite a few and just wondering if any of you have a favorite. sort of like the Homemade Electrolysis has become the go to thread if you have any questions about that process. i read a lot of threads and don't post, but there are so many and so little time.

thanks for your tips

bagged89s10 · Sep 30, 2015

drivesitfar said:
Bagged: you asked if the Stanley Vidmar would be light enough without the drawers for you to load and unload by yourself. i'm guessing it would still weigh about 150 pounds if you can get the drawers out. do you have a trailer hitch on your car or truck? UHaul rents their 5 x 9 trailers with a ramp for $20-25 for a day and then you can just pick it up and roll it on the trailer. bring a couple ratchet straps to strap it in and your are good to go.

ALL: i bought 4 or 5 sticks of 100% beeswax from a gal selling honey out in the country a couple weeks ago and for $2 i couldn't pass it up. her honey was good too so i'll have to stop in again. do any of you know of any threads that take a tool box apart and show good pictures and describe the best ways to clean one that is just dirty? please post a link here if you do. thanks

Drives,
That's around the weight I'm estimating. 150-200lbs. If that's the case, I can muscle it into the suburban I'm currently driving. Just need a small piece of plywood at the edge,
Lean the box in, and then try to kill myself pushing it into the suv. I'll bring by big tow ratchet straps for assistance. :thumbup:

drivesitfar · Sep 30, 2015

Bagged: i use a rubber horse mat that is 6 x 4 and 3/4 inch thick that usually is laying on top of the folded down seats in my Honda Pilot. they usually sell them for about $45 at a feed store and a lot cheaper than a 1/2 inch gym mat that is in the $100-150 range for the same 4 x 6 footer.

you should be ok tilting it in and giving it a shove and keep the UHaul in mind if you don't already own a trailer because as you graduate from vises and grinders and tool boxes the big boy toys get bigger and a lot heavier (Lathe, bandsaws, 500 pound cabinets and such)

i like that Stanley you are picking up and sounds like the guy might own a few more of them or some cool stuff. have fun and just call it your exercise for the day.

BTW how hard was it to pull out all the drawers and clean them on your Craftsman tool box. on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very easy what would you rate that job?

jn50308401 · Sep 30, 2015

drivesitfar said:
JN: i know there are a lot of them and i've read quite a few and just wondering if any of you have a favorite. sort of like the Homemade Electrolysis has become the go to thread if you have any questions about that process. i read a lot of threads and don't post, but there are so many and so little time.

thanks for your tips

I haven't tried electrolosys, I've sand blasted and stripped with DA sanders to prep my boxes for paint. My wife says I look like Clifford the Big red dog when I finish sanding

.

I did find a product at my local Ollies outlet store called LA's Awesome Cleaner/degreaser. It was 1.88 a bottle and it's some potent stuff. I saw a thread on engine compartment cleaning here and someone recommended it.

The bottles have dilution instructions but I used it full strength to clean the grease out of my boxes drawer runners and inside. I used some 90 degree picks and small brass brushes to get the old gobs of grease out of the drawer tracks as well. It's tedious but it's super clean, which I think that is the biggest problem with friction slide boxes, guys don't get the tracks clean enough and gunk just builds up over time.

The cleaner broke up the grease and it did lift some color off, but the paint on my old Snap On boxes was pretty chalky. I was really impressed with it for the price. I rinsed it with water and blow it off with air to finish up.

Good luck!

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taumac · Sep 30, 2015

bagged89s10 said:
I would but I don't have time to do that. Took me long enough to just get one of my toolboxes cleaned and lubed up. I have 2 more to go. And I have to do this in between work and picking up and watching my son after school. Too many projects, never enough time.

I hear ya... Just bustin your chops.

All: actually guys I'll do that test cause I have perfect box for this.

I can do test on 4 top drawers and I have lead for weight, just need wax, scale ( might have fish scale ) and alittle time to get it done.

454ragtop · Sep 30, 2015

Finally remembered to take some pics of some vintage boxes I have, that I don't remember seeing on here before. The first is a Mac mid box, that was old and decrepit when I picked it up about 35 years ago. At the time, I bead blasted and repainted it. Probably been that long since that dusty front cover was pulled out. Next is a cool little Mac side box with 6 drawers and a door that can be hinged from either side. I don't need to lock it, so I have the door removed. While it's obviously dirty, it's in exc. shape, with all the original drawer liners and the rubber mat for the top. Both of these boxes are used more for parts storage than tools, although I'm thinking of putting that side box into tool storage use. Lastly is a beater Mac top box on a Proto bottom I picked up a few years ago for next to nothing, mainly because it came with some nice tools, Facom, Hazet, Snap On, etc. Piano hinge on the cover for the top box was fubared, so I drilled the rivets out and removed the cover.
Jim

bagged89s10 · Sep 30, 2015

drivesitfar said:
Bagged: i use a rubber horse mat that is 6 x 4 and 3/4 inch thick that usually is laying on top of the folded down seats in my Honda Pilot. they usually sell them for about $45 at a feed store and a lot cheaper than a 1/2 inch gym mat that is in the $100-150 range for the same 4 x 6 footer.

you should be ok tilting it in and giving it a shove and keep the UHaul in mind if you don't already own a trailer because as you graduate from vises and grinders and tool boxes the big boy toys get bigger and a lot heavier (Lathe, bandsaws, 500 pound cabinets and such)

i like that Stanley you are picking up and sounds like the guy might own a few more of them or some cool stuff. have fun and just call it your exercise for the day.

BTW how hard was it to pull out all the drawers and clean them on your Craftsman tool box. on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very easy what would you rate that job?

Drives. Thanks for the info. I usually just use plywood, cardboard, and blankets to slide heavier items into my vehicle.

Taking the drawers out of the craftsman box and cleaning them is probably a 1 for ease but 5 for time consuming. But at least with a little wax on the inside of the box, I can quickly just blow the dust out with the compressor from now on.

bagged89s10 · Sep 30, 2015

taumac said:
I hear ya... Just bustin your chops.

All: actually guys I'll do that test cause I have perfect box for this.

I can do test on 4 top drawers and I have lead for weight, just need wax, scale ( might have fish scale ) and alittle time to get it done.

I thought you had enough red/gray boxes. Haha

taumac · Sep 30, 2015

bagged89s10 said:
I thought you had enough red/gray boxes. Haha

That was one I got a while ago it's just an old picture and still waiting to be restored/ repainted. I got to do work on it cause it flexes when moves. I don't know if spot welds broke or something. could never have too many gray/red Craftsmans just not enough room to put all that I want. My wants and space I have in garage is a conflict of interest. LOL

I thought that one would be great to experiment on being those top 4 drawers are small drawers, all same size and have friction sides while bottom 5 drawers are presteal slides IIRC.

jn503084 · Sep 30, 2015

nine4gmc said:
Unfortunately it's 90% humidity here on a good day...

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Hahah.. Yeah, its been a swampy, muggy summer here, now there is a frickin' hurricane coming our way.. ugh!

jn50308401 · Sep 30, 2015

jn50308401 said:
Sure thing! I can't do any work on my 537/557 combo, there's a tropical depression that has brought in 90% humidity and rain squals so no painting me...

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Here's my ratchet drawer in the KR557F.. no dividers, the dividers weren't hacked out

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TruckJunkie · Sep 30, 2015

Have not posted anything on here in a while but have been following along so figured it was time to post again. This is another of my Grandfather's boxes, he always said it was a Gerstner, but I'm not so sure it is. I do not know when he acquired it but know he went to the Henry Ford Trade School during the depression and worked in shops during WWII. In the third pic, with the top open, there is a pic of him in his shop in 1946 and the box is on the bench behind him.

bagged89s10 · Sep 30, 2015

Got the vidmar home safely. She's a beauty but it's just a little too big for my garage. Also too high for me for work surface. I guess it's going up for sale.

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nine4gmc · Sep 30, 2015

I would have to move something around to make that fit Bagged, you don't come along those often, especially around my parts.

TruckJunkie, Find member Beatcad, he can identify that box for you.

Duct Tape Man · Oct 1, 2015

Got this Kennedy 1018 cantilever tool box last weekend, very good condition for $15. Has a little rash in places, but nothing too bad, I think it'll be used as is.

twertsy · Oct 1, 2015

Picked this box up yesterday, again full of SO, Bonney, MAC, and a bunch of other oldies but goodies.

jn503084 · Oct 1, 2015

zkling said:
Interesting, thanks for the info. Will you please take a picture of one of the divider less friction drawers?

Zkling- Here's a pic from my box..

beatcad · Oct 1, 2015

twertsy said:
Picked this box up yesterday, again full of SO, Bonney, MAC, and a bunch of other oldies but goodies.

looks like your a THOR collector now

beatcad · Oct 1, 2015

TruckJunkie said:
Have not posted anything on here in a while but have been following along so figured it was time to post again. This is another of my Grandfather's boxes, he always said it was a Gerstner, but I'm not so sure it is. I do not know when he acquired it but know he went to the Henry Ford Trade School during the depression and worked in shops during WWII. In the third pic, with the top open, there is a pic of him in his shop in 1946 and the box is on the bench behind him.

to many things on that chest say its not a gerstner

TruckJunkie · Oct 1, 2015

beatcad said:
to many things on that chest say its not a gerstner

That is what I believe also. Have not been able to find any markings in or on it anywhere yet though. It is still full of my Grandfather's tools, which I still use in my little home machine shop, which he would've loved. To me it is a treasure, no matter who made it.

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