New to me Mac box... turning down the Kenny B!

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

So, after quite a bit of hunting I found a Mac Tools roll cab and top box with an unknown brand side locker (possibly Mac too, the seller certainly thought so, but the handle looks like Teng to me...) on gumtree. Got the lot for £140 (about $210), which is pretty good for this side of the pond.

The box was a Kenny Bernstein Limited Edition. Here it is in the listing:

Now, I've nothing against limited editions, and in fact I generally like to keep things true to their factory condition. But I just couldn't get on with this box. First, I don't like Budweiser: don't like it as a beer, don't like it as a brand, don't like it all over my toolbox. Second, Kenny Bernstein is not well known this side of the Atlantic, where drag racing doesn't get a very big following :dunno:

So, I bit the bullet and decided to tone the whole thing down.

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

The box had been used professionally, and since it celebrated the 2002 "Forever Red" Tour, I'm guessing it's 13 years old....

So, first order of business was to get to it with a couple of tins of degreasant.

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

It doesn't show on the photos, but the paint was quite well chipped on the usual interface surfaces of the box.

Also, the bottom drawer runners had come off the drawer some time previous, and the drawer had obviously been shunted in and out directly against the base of the roll cab.

I decided that the former could be kept in check with some paste wax, and so preserving the age and patina that I quite like here, but the inside of the cab would need a bit of remedial action on the bare metal to keep any rust from appearing (the box's saving grace till now was how utterly covered in oil it was!).

Given that the inner base would never been visible, I decided on a high zinc cold-galv:

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

You'll see in the pic above a series of little bubble-dome on the back inside of the box.

The friction slides are designed such that, working freely, the friction will tuck the slides into each other before they strike the rear of the box. However, there is nothing mechanically to stop this contact, and my long-neglected slides had indeed marred the inner rear.

So, notwithstanding the fact that I would get the slides serviced back to spec, I thought that I'd protect the back while I was in there.

I had a load of little 5mm gel dome self-adhesive "dots" that I had bought from B&Q (about £5 for 80, if memory serves, and these worked perfectly for the task.

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

Next, the bottom drawer got fixed. The runners normally crimped to the drawers had come off (several crimpings were broken), but I was glad to see they were fully intact and in situ on the cab-side runners.

I bonded them back unto the bottom drawer with Tec7.

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

Then it was a case of removing all the stickers with heat and lots of white spirit.

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

I decided to leave the limited edition stickers on the top frame of the roll cab, and (working on the principle that I can always take it off in the future, but can never put it back on) I left a single graphic, the Kenny Bernstein signature, on the third drawer.

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

Final task was to add new locks (the top box key was broken off in its lock, and besides, I wanted all three units keyed alike) and some new Mac decals.

Here's the finished article for now.

What do people think of the toned-down graphics? Sacrilege? Or did I not go far enough? I have to say I quite like it in its current shape, though still undecided about that final drawer logo....

Chime in if you have any views

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

Here's a quick before and after:

M6erfan · Nov 23, 2015

Looks awesome & I prefer the "de-badged" look you achieved

dodge610 · Nov 23, 2015

Agreed your version is much nicer looking. The budweiser logos were just too much on a box that size very nice.

arz71 · Nov 23, 2015

Awesome looking MAC is my favorite tool boxes.

fatfillup · Nov 23, 2015

That turned out real nice. You put a lot of effort into it and it shows!!

Fill that puppy up and get to wrenching on something.

Two Door · Nov 23, 2015

I'm not at all fond of themed toolboxes. I prefer clean and simple to gaudy, and would have done as you have.

organ · Nov 23, 2015

Nice job!

1930 · Nov 23, 2015

What did you have to do to get the locks keyed alike, I have a similar situation with a mac box. I do not like themed anything BTW

jipps · Nov 23, 2015

Thanks all for the comments to date, I'm glad I'm not too far from the general consensus on these things!

1930 said:
What did you have to do to get the locks keyed alike, I have a similar situation with a mac box. I do not like themed anything BTW

I just bought 3 cabinet locks keyed alike. The important thing is to get ones with the right diameter, the right length to the cam, and the right cam coupling style (8.5mm square drive on my removed mac locks from this box). Don't throw anything out from the old set, and be prepared for a couple of hours fabricating fiddly to make sure everything works nicely... the good news is that it's all quite straight forward :thumbup:

mike93lx · Nov 23, 2015

Looks great. My preference is no badges at all (including the MAC logos), but either way, great job with your restoration.

jobo1004 · Nov 23, 2015

Thanks for sharing your restoration. If it were my box, I'd go ahead and remove the graphic with the signature as well.

Hammer1963 · Nov 23, 2015

You've done nice work. I'm not much on themed boxes either and prefer the stripped down look. I'd keep going and remove the Kenny Bernstein script and the badges. I do like the new Black MAC logo on the tool chest!

fatfillup · Nov 24, 2015

Not crazy about themed boxes personally and they don't sell well but there are a few exceptions. Always have loved the 57 Chevy Bel Air box. Saw a Chevy SS box I really liked and a Mopar or Hemi box I thought was cool.

joel63 · Nov 24, 2015

Not a fan of Mac, but hat's off to you.

You did one heck of job with the transformation; to the point

where I wouldn't mind having it.

:beer:

jipps · Nov 25, 2015

fatfillup said:
Not crazy about themed boxes personally and they don't sell well but there are a few exceptions. Always have loved the 57 Chevy Bel Air box. Saw a Chevy SS box I really liked and a Mopar or Hemi box I thought was cool.

Yep, I too always loved the look of the Bel Air box, like brandyspaw's nice one posted in these forums:

I think the colour reminds me of the little Mini Countryman I used to have, like this one:

New to me Mac box... turning down the Kenny B!

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