Show your Wood, boxes that is!

nine4gmc · Aug 8, 2014

Just joined the Wooden Machinist Box Club today so I'd like to see everyone's wooden boxes, I'll show you mine, if you show yours :pimpflash

Here is the 26" Gerstner I received today from member Bluebolt, hand delivered I might add...SUPER THANKS MAN IOU!!! I want some ideas to know where to go with this, should I pimp it out, use it as-is or anything in between? It's missing most of the front door but has the bottom of the door strip with pegs so fabbing the rest shouldn't be a big deal. The drawers have 95-1, 95-2, 95-3 etc hand written in pencil on the backs but I think it is later than 1895 and earlier than 1995, anyone able to date it, possibly by the logo or...? Bluebolt mentioned his research led him to believe it was around war time, he said pre or post but I was so awestruck I can't remember atm.

Logo

beatcad · Aug 8, 2014

that chest is mid 40s up to about '51.
the penciled #s on the back of the drawers were just assy # so after it was built and varnished the right drawers would go back to to the proper box..

now you need an age appropriate machinists bible. :thumbup:

PFSard · Aug 8, 2014

nine4gmc >> Congratulations. Nice box. I am green with envy. >> Paul

A few related links that might help you in your quest :

How Old is my Gerstner Chest?
http://forum.gerstnerusa.com/showthread.php?23-How-Old-is-my-Gerstner-Chest

How can I tell if my chest is a Gerstner?
http://forum.gerstnerusa.com/showthread.php?18-How-can-I-tell-if-my-chest-is-a-Gerstner

Gertsner Wood Machinist Box Restoration. 1st Wood Box Restoration. Any Advice Or Tips
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=254357

Boxes Of Wood
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256330

sonvolt · Aug 8, 2014

Congrats, mine is my profile pic. Present from my father on my 25th birthday many years ago !

nine4gmc · Aug 9, 2014

Thanks for the approximate dating, I've been looking for a bible local Beatcad, no luck so far :dunno:

Thanks for the links PFSard, I glanced at them and will sit down later and really go though them!

sonvolt, nice box, looks like you took real good care of it!

michael murder · Aug 9, 2014

I'd leave it as is. That thing is beautiful. Nice find!

Troutsqueezer · Aug 10, 2014

Oh, did you mean tool boxes?

nine4gmc · Aug 10, 2014

Those are cool too, I like organizers and those are great examples!

Craptain · Aug 10, 2014

Here is a quick pic. I don't know what happened to 'closed' pic. I must have deleted it by accident. It is about 15" X 6" X 4". I am not home for a few weeks so what I have is what you get. I have a couple more to dig out when I get home.

Jim_No_Garage · Aug 10, 2014

Sorry Nine,

We moving this in a slightly different direction than your original intent.

I picked up this wood crate (it's a box) at the curb a few years ago. I thought it was too cool to go to the dump.

Cheers

Jim

PS: I need to dig up the pics of my National Machinist Chest I cleaned up a few years ago.

nine4gmc · Aug 10, 2014

It's all wood.

Judd55 · Aug 10, 2014

Nothin' fancy, just an old box I picked up 20 some yrs ago from an Antique shop for $75 .......In use in my humble basement wood shop.

bluebolt · Aug 11, 2014

I thought it might be late WWII to early 1950's. The paperwork I found in the box was mostly from the 1950's, ending in 1958. There is some 1940's stuff but that does not necessarily age the box to the same date.

And for those of you wondering I gave him a really killer deal LOL. It does have a few issues, the missing door, loose leatherette and the bottom drawer needs a little work

nine4gmc · Aug 11, 2014

Judd55 said:
Nothin' fancy, just an old box I picked up 20 some yrs ago from an Antique shop for $75 .......In use in my humble basement wood shop.

That's a great box Judd, any markings of manufacturer? Love the pulls, thanks for posting!!

bluebolt said:
I thought it might be late WWII to early 1950's. The paperwork I found in the box was mostly from the 1950's, ending in 1958. There is some 1940's stuff but that does not necessarily age the box to the same date.

And for those of you wondering I gave him a really killer deal LOL. It does have a few issues, the missing door, loose leatherette and the bottom drawer needs a little work

UNDERSTATEMENT :lol:

Super thanks again, I can't wait to get the lathe table here so I can place it in it's permanent home and turn that vise handle down for you!

Judd55 · Aug 11, 2014

That's a great box Judd, any markings of manufacturer? Love the pulls, thanks for posting!!

No trouble...... No markings of manufacture on this old box, it doesn't appear to be nearly as well constructed as that Gerstner of yours. I hope to get lucky one day and find one as nice as that.

nine4gmc · Aug 11, 2014

Judd, here is a UNION that looks almost identical. Scroll down and you'll see it:
http://antiquetoolchest.com

Judd55 · Aug 11, 2014

Excellent .........you may be on to something, many pictured here are very similar https://www.google.com/search?q=Vintage+union+tool+chest&client=aff-maxthon-newtab&channel=t13&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=XTPpU7KLA46hogSlh4DYBg&ved=0CB0QsAQ&biw=882&bih=570#imgdii=_ ...... The ring pulls are a unique feature of this box and work real well, love 'em.

Thx for your research..... :thumbup:

zkling · Aug 11, 2014

You guys with those wood boxes must be far smarter and more delicate than I. My clumsy dumb ****, ends up puling the entire drawer out, 8/10 times.

Can't argue with their beauty though.

tarbellb · Aug 11, 2014

My grandfather built a lot of very nice wood boxes similar to these. But I must say your boxes are incredible.

I love that corner detail in this box. What do you call that and how do you do it? Must be hand cut with a thin profile blade then inlayed yes?

Amazing.

nine4gmc · Aug 11, 2014

tarbellb said:
I love that corner detail in this box. What do you call that and how do you do it? Must be hand cut with a thin profile blade then inlayed yes?

Amazing.

That's why I like wood boxes, not necessarily just tool boxes, good wood box construction in general. :beer:

Judd55 · Aug 11, 2014

zkling said:
You guys with those wood boxes must be far smarter and more delicate than I. My clumsy dumb ****, ends up puling the entire drawer out, 8/10 times.

Can't argue with their beauty though.

That is part of the beauty, once you get used to the fact.........I tend to pull the drawers right out especially the small ones to find what I want, they are so packed with items such as calipers, pencils, rulers, dividers, guages bits, etc. and one drawer has partitions for screws and hardware, that I some times bring the drawer right to the project I am currently working on, it's a feature I have come to like actually.

Gizmosity · Aug 11, 2014

She's a little beat up but holds a lot of stuff. The link has more pics.

I made it to keep this on top.....but I've changed things around.

I like mine because it's mine, but I like the tolex covered ones like yours better.

nine4gmc · Aug 11, 2014

You made the roller Gizmosity? Details, build pics?

Gizmosity · Aug 11, 2014

nine4gmc said:
You made the roller Gizmosity? Details, build pics?

A weeklong project in Idaho. I didn't take any photos building it....I was in too big of a hurry. There's some more photos of it on photobucket.

Loose tenon joints for the frame, raised panels let into legs. Brazilian Cherry. Maple strips I pulled out of a dumpster for the top and bottom. The drawer fronts are much lighter because they came from a different set of matched boards.

Knobs were $.99 close outs. Not enough of either to do the whole thing so I alternated slotted and Philips.

bisley45 · Aug 11, 2014

Very Nice box Nine. here is a pic of mine it was shipped to the po in 1986. the receipt was in the bottom of the box.

nine4gmc · Aug 11, 2014

Great use of dumpster wood Gizmosity, that box is great!! :drool:

That thing is clean Bisley!!

beatcad · Aug 11, 2014

you guys know I have a dozen wooden machinist chests. I will post some(new) pix soon. right now my garage is a wreck.
I also have a bunch of wood boxes and crates.
as to the drawers coming out you just have to be a bit more mindful.
it's delicate precision work. not like grabbing a wrench or ratchet out of a metal box.
or you can get a kennedy. great box, but not as classy. don't get me wrong. I've owned 4 or 5 kennedys and still have one and want another.
heres one I've never shown.
its a gerstner international I got on sale just to keep on my desk at work.
I don't need a lot of tools at work, but I do need a few and I thought this box would bring a little class to my daily grind

Jim_No_Garage · Aug 11, 2014

Alright - I had to find the hard drive from my old laptop to get these pictures back.

I was at an auction and missed a Craftsman roller cabinet - the auction went something like gimme $5, $10?, $10?, sold $5 in about 5 seconds - WAY faster than anything else they sold in the 30 minutes before or after that particular item.

I was so pissed that a wooden machinist chest came on the block about 5 minutes afterwards and I bid on it - sight unseen. I never even saw it during the preview. I got it for $30.00 or $35.00 - can't remember.

I had some stuff in it - was missing a few pulls and was REALLY dirty.

I bought some "close enough" pulls on-line and gave it a big cleaning. Some wool felt and some shellac and voila - she's done!

It's a Union chest with masonite drawer bottoms - so it can't be TOO old. There was a Tool Room Loan receipt jammed under the bottom drawer from the 50's.

Pic #1 is the box as brought home from the auction. This pic makes it look "racked" but it's really square.

Pic #2 is after I cleaned it up and put it to use.

Cheers

Jim

Troutsqueezer · Aug 12, 2014

tarbellb said:
My grandfather built a lot of very nice wood boxes similar to these. But I must say your boxes are incredible.

I love that corner detail in this box. What do you call that and how do you do it? Must be hand cut with a thin profile blade then inlayed yes?

Amazing.

Thanks for the compliment.

The detail in the corners are called keys. Once the four sides of the carcass are glued together, the box is put into a jig which holds them at 45 degrees to the table saw. The saw makes the cut and small pieces of contrasting wood are inserted and glued. The keys also add strength to the joints. A little more about making these boxes here: http://www.goldfinch-acres.com/Exotic Hardwood.html

nine4gmc · Aug 12, 2014

Dennis, you made those boxes? MAJOR PROPS! Thanks for the link, I dream of being able to make things like that one day. I've built a many of wooden boxes in my time, 90% of them were covered in carpet(speaker boxes), vinyl or fiberglass, only a handful were bare wood and NONE to that detail. I am :drool:

over here, thanks for the link and details!

nine4gmc · Aug 12, 2014

Nice clean up Jim, that doesn't even look like the same box. I think I may clean this one up and redo the tolex after seeing that one!

I hope Davefr shows up with his wooden organizer refurb, it's SICK! Post 56 on this page: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243029&page=3

hardydson · Sep 9, 2014

Posted this up over in the vintage tool box thread..didn't know about this thread till it was mentioned over there. Bought it from the original owner several years ago, think he told me he bought in 1953.

nine4gmc · Sep 9, 2014

Thanks for posting! What's the drawer layout?

Steve from Socal · Sep 9, 2014

Here are my wood chests, the center and left are Gerstner,the one on the right is a Union.

Steve

alinc100 · Sep 9, 2014

Ok though I'd throw a few in here as well
First up is a Union Machinist box

Lastly is my adaption of a machinist box I made like 10 years ago.

nine4gmc · Sep 9, 2014

I love the pulls on that Union but that DIY box ROCKS!!

Good stuff Steve, you have a nice collection started!!

hardydson · Sep 10, 2014

nine4gmc said:
Thanks for posting! What's the drawer layout?

Here's a pic of the drawers. Was told it was a model 42 over on the other thread. Always really liked this box I've always kept it in my den

instead of the garage.

Monkey Milk · Sep 11, 2014

Here's mine, it's old and needs a restore. The guy I bought it from said he bought it from an antique dealer in the 70's. There's no name and some numbers on the back of the drawers but nothing to identify it. I know it's really old because it uses a "skeleton key" for the lock. I think they also call it "barrel keys".

beatcad · Nov 9, 2014

heres 2/3rds of my wood machinist chests

nine4gmc · Nov 9, 2014

Damn Beat!! :drool:

Love that new addition!!

Show your Wood, boxes that is!

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