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Late 1940's Union (Craftsman) Machinist Chest

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Private Lugnutz

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I don't have a legitimate update on my project. I was given a perfect period-correct replacement pull for the drop-front door by a generous and helpful GJ contributor who shall remain as nameless as he wants and installed it, but haven't taken any photos yet. I am waiting to install the felt, which has all been measured and cut. Still looking for a chain and a mirror.

I am posting to share photos of a slightly older Union-supplied Craftsman box I spied at my early bird flea market this morning. Guy wanted more than I was willing to pay. Everything is virtually identical to mine except for the center locking latch and the badge - Long C!
 

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RTM

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Lugs

I had actually seen this thread before I posted my garage sale find, so you helped me pin down the years etc. thanks. Dropped you a note in the vintage tool box thread about your ASCO too.
 
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Private Lugnutz

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You're welcome. In return, maybe you've given me a little boost to finish this project. The only thing left to do is re-felt the top and lid. Last year this time I bought a few yards of felt, did all my measurements, made my cuts, and it turned out terrible. I couldn't keep a straight line to save my life. Used a straight edge and a sharp utility knife. Tried shears. Came out wavy no matter what. Thought I could stretch it and trim the waves. That didn't work either. I don't know if my grade of felt was too unsubstantial (it would not stay still) or if I am just not cut out for upholstery!

I did talk to an expert who suggested that instead of making five (5) pieces for each section, I should just make one, just a little larger than the opening, stretching it tight and gluing it down tight as one piece, tucking it into the corners tight, and then when it's dried, trim the excess around the edges - which makes a lot more sense than what I was doing.
 
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JoCoSawdust

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Lugz. My wife is a sewing guru and always cuts fabric with a device that looks like a pizza cutter. Replaceable, VERY sharp blades. The rotation of the cutter as it passes over the material prevents dragging it along with the blade of a box cutter or whatever stationary blade you might be using. You can pick those up at WallyWorld (EDIT: In the sewing/crafts department)for a few bucks. Using that and a straight edge might be the ticket for cutting your felt. Nice box BTW!
 
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Couple of my buddies that have restored Gerstners have glued the felt to a pre cut piece of archival quality mat board.

On the ASCO, I cut the felt into a cross, exact size on the bottom, and oversized on the sides, and used liquid hide glue to hold it in place. Old hotel card keys used to push it tight into the corners. Royal PITA. Going to try the cardboard method on a Snap-on with thrashed paint on the drawer bottoms.

I am using the heaviest felt Joann's carried, cut with a razor knife and a heavy straightedge, but as I said, cut oversized beyond the bottom rectangle.
 
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bubinga

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Private Lugnutz said:
You're welcome. In return, maybe you've given me a little boost to finish this project. The only thing left to do is re-felt the top and lid. Last year this time I bought a few yards of felt, did all my measurements, made my cuts, and it turned out terrible. I couldn't keep a straight line to save my life. Used a straight edge and a sharp utility knife. Tried shears. Came out wavy no matter what. Thought I could stretch it and trim the waves. That didn't work either. I don't know if my grade of felt was too unsubstantial (it would not stay still) or if I am just not cut out for upholstery!

I did talk to an expert who suggested that instead of making five (5) pieces for each section, I should just make one, just a little larger than the opening, stretching it tight and gluing it down tight as one piece, tucking it into the corners tight, and then when it's dried, trim the excess around the edges - which makes a lot more sense than what I was doing.
Click to expand...
Like the poster below, I have already glued my felt to thin poster board, Maybe even a cereal box cardboard, Then Placed my piece felt side down on a piece of corrugated cardboard, and carefully laid out my dimensions, and using a straight edge and a sharp razor knife, or single edge razor blade, cut out my section, and glued into place. Just used regular elmers white glue. Turned out quite well. :thumbup:
 
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dustoknees

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Re: Late 1940's Union (Craftsman) Machinist Chestt

Just purchased 1945 to 1949 Craftsman tool chest. Has the right drawer pulls and seems to have a Gertsner handle on it. What I need is the front center hasp / lock. The top compartment, front lid and all drawers are stamped or hand written as "890" except one drawer which is labeled "898". I also do not know if the corner, latches and fron hasp/lock were nickel or brass plated steel or plane steel.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!
 
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Private Lugnutz

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Re: Late 1940's Union (Craftsman) Machinist Chestt

dustoknees said:
Just purchased 1945 to 1949 Craftsman tool chest. Has the right drawer pulls and seems to have a Gertsner handle on it. What I need is the front center hasp / lock. The top compartment, front lid and all drawers are stamped or hand written as "890" except one drawer which is labeled "898". I also do not know if the corner, latches and fron hasp/lock were nickel or brass plated steel or plane steel.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!
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dusto,
I hope you check back here one day or figured it out on your own. I'm really sorry I didn't see this until now. I either salvaged my hardware off of another box I bought for that purpose at a flea market (it was trashed and missing most of the drawers) or I bought it from Gerstner. Almost everything was from the same supplier. I did have to cut own the size of the springs and the spring pins that hold the drop front panel in place when the lid is closed. Other than that, everything else I bought there (center hasp and drop front panel pull) was correct and fit well.
 
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Private Lugnutz

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UPDATE:

It's been almost two years since I bought this box, and close to a year since I did anything with it. You can see my first phase of cleaning and repairs on page 1 and 2, post #1 through post #40. It has basically sat since July 2018.

Today I finally cut and glued in the green felt liners and I installed the badges (inside and out) and one of the two spring pins that holds the drop front panel in place when the lid is closed. I didn't realize until today that the one on the left won't work without a delicate repair. There's a little threaded sleeve that slips into the hole, holds the spring in place, and provides a stop for the spring when the lid closes. The wood around it has been busted out on the one on the left. I will try to attend to that another day. For now, it works with only the one on the right.

I need to find and install a mirror and also a period-correct chain for the lid. I have a remnant of the old chain and it's the same chain that is on a lot of military boxes I have from the same era, so I have plenty of salvage opportunities. The mirror will be tougher.

I'm happy with the 95% completion right now.
 

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bubinga

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Re: Late 1940's Union (Craftsman) Machinist Chestt

dustoknees said:
Just purchased 1945 to 1949 Craftsman tool chest. Has the right drawer pulls and seems to have a Gertsner handle on it. What I need is the front center hasp / lock. The top compartment, front lid and all drawers are stamped or hand written as "890" except one drawer which is labeled "898". I also do not know if the corner, latches and front hasp/lock were nickel or brass plated steel or plane steel.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!
Click to expand...
you might find on on ebay if you're lucky. either that or Gerstner might have one that will fit, if you don't mind it not being OEM.
 
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bubinga

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Private Lugnutz said:
UPDATE:

It's been almost two years since I bought this box, and close to a year since I did anything with it. You can see my first phase of cleaning and repairs on page 1 and 2, post #1 through post #40. It has basically sat since July 2018.

Today I finally cut and glued in the green felt liners and I installed the badges (inside and out) and one of the two spring pins that holds the drop front panel in place when the lid is closed. I didn't realize until today that the one on the left won't work without a delicate repair. There's a little threaded sleeve that slips into the hole, holds the spring in place, and provides a stop for the spring when the lid closes. The wood around it has been busted out on the one on the left. I will try to attend to that another day. For now, it works with only the one on the right.

I need to find and install a mirror and also a period-correct chain for the lid. I have a remnant of the old chain and it's the same chain that is on a lot of military boxes I have from the same era, so I have plenty of salvage opportunities. The mirror will be tougher.

I'm happy with the 95% completion right now.
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jdepiero said:
Nice Job!
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TOTO said:
Excellent job Lugz.
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Private Lugnutz said:
Thanks, guys.
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Looks Good. Looks like it might be "Union" OEM
 
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Re: Late 1940's Union (Craftsman) Machinist Chestt

bubinga said:
Gerstner might have one that will fit, if you don't mind it not being OEM.
Click to expand...

Gerstner has a lock for the flip down front panel. Just bought one for my leatherette 042 or 032 during their last parts sale.
 
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bubinga

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Re: Late 1940's Union (Craftsman) Machinist Chestt

RTM said:
Gerstner has a lock for the flip down front panel. Just bought one for my leatherette 042 or 032 during their last parts sale.
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Yeah, See I had the same chest The OP had, gave $100.00 for it at the flea market Circa mid 90's.
I had to make a new front panel, and used a Stanley pocket latch for the front panel for the "pull" (Not shown, was installed after these pictures)
And had to refinish it.
I sold it as a Gerstner, with honest intentions, because if memory serves me,
It had a Gerstner Latch for the top lid.
(That's why I was convinced at the time it really was a gerstner.)
 

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txlonghorn1989

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Very nice machinist chest Lugz! The vintage tools gods were looking over you when they dropped both those boxes in your lap within weeks of each other. Do you think the Heritage badge is period correct?
 
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Private Lugnutz

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txlonghorn1989 said:
Very nice machinist chest Lugz! The vintage tools gods were looking over you when they dropped both those boxes in your lap within weeks of each other.
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Thanks, and indeed they were! I cannibalized several things from the donor - most prominently the missing bottom half of the center locking hasp and the entire drop front panel.

txlonghorn1989 said:
Do you think the Heritage badge is period correct?
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I know it is. See the figure from page 8 of the 1948 Craftsman catalog that I posted in post #1. The Long C boxes had the tiny round pulls.
 
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Private Lugnutz

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bubinga said:
Man, you really turned that Box Around.
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Thanks! I have to admit, I did! :bounce:

As you've noticed yourself, Union and Gerstner had the same suppliers for much of the hardware, including that center locking hasp. The little round concave pull in the drop front panel (See Pic 1) came from Gerstner, as did the plunger spring pins for retaining it when the lid is closed.

As I was saying above, I still have an unresolved issue there. See Pic 2 and Pic 3, which are both taken with the box upside down, looking up underneath the front panel that holds the plunger pins. As you probably are aware, these are easy to install. Just a pin, the spring, and the little threaded sleeve that embeds itself into the hole screwing it in. As you can see in Pic 2, the wood begins to split there. And as you can see in Pic 3, there is nothing for it to screw into on the left side. I'm going to have to make something to glue there if I want to install the second plunger pin.
 

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alinc100

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Private Lugnutz said:
UPDATE:

It's been almost two years since I bought this box, and close to a year since I did anything with it. You can see my first phase of cleaning and repairs on page 1 and 2, post #1 through post #40. It has basically sat since July 2018.

Today I finally cut and glued in the green felt liners and I installed the badges (inside and out) and one of the two spring pins that holds the drop front panel in place when the lid is closed. I didn't realize until today that the one on the left won't work without a delicate repair. There's a little threaded sleeve that slips into the hole, holds the spring in place, and provides a stop for the spring when the lid closes. The wood around it has been busted out on the one on the left. I will try to attend to that another day. For now, it works with only the one on the right.

I need to find and install a mirror and also a period-correct chain for the lid. I have a remnant of the old chain and it's the same chain that is on a lot of military boxes I have from the same era, so I have plenty of salvage opportunities. The mirror will be tougher.

I'm happy with the 95% completion right now.
Click to expand...

Great progress. I've been burning up my new-found free time working on a basement re-mod. I've got to find some days to finish the refurb on a couple of the machinist chests I've gathered in the past couple years.
 
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bubinga

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Private Lugnutz said:
Thanks! I have to admit, I did! :bounce:

As you've noticed yourself, Union and Gerstner had the same suppliers for much of the hardware, including that center locking hasp. The little round concave pull in the drop front panel (See Pic 1) came from Gerstner, as did the plunger spring pins for retaining it when the lid is closed.

As I was saying above, I still have an unresolved issue there. See Pic 2 and Pic 3, which are both taken with the box upside down, looking up underneath the front panel that holds the plunger pins. As you probably are aware, these are easy to install. Just a pin, the spring, and the little threaded sleeve that embeds itself into the hole screwing it in. As you can see in Pic 2, the wood begins to split there. And as you can see in Pic 3, there is nothing for it to screw into on the left side. I'm going to have to make something to glue there if I want to install the second plunger pin.
Click to expand...
OMG I didn't see that before.
I had gotten pretty good at scarfing a piece of wood Into panels and such.
I would probably rout about half of that panel out, stopping short of the ends, and straighten the ends with a sharp chisel, and glue a piece of Quartered Oak In, and Plane and sand it even.
If I was feeling brave or should I say confident!
Unless you could scarf a piece in the inside, looks like there in just enough left on the outside of the panel to hide a piece of wood.

attachment.php
 
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Private Lugnutz

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bubinga said:
Unless you could scarf a piece in the inside, looks like there in just enough left on the outside of the panel to hide a piece of wood.
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Something like that is what I was thinking. Just enough to get the plunger pin sleeve in. It's not visible under there, so I'm not worried about the cosmetic appearance of the fix.

JoCoSawdust said:
Beautiful work on the chest Lugz. Job well done!
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Thanks, JoCo.
 
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Private Lugnutz

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I was thinking wood filler. Or whittling the missing splinter of wood out of a piece of wood and gluing it in. There will be very little stress on it. All it would need to do is hold the threaded sleeve.
 
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If you glue a splinter behind, use hide glue (brown bottle or make your own), it’s reversible, making it possible to be repaired again in the future. Do you have access to vintage oak pieces to get the wood from?
 
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