Cap'n
Well-known member
Ok, been searching on this forum and Google and haven't found much. I'm wondering about the history of Beach toolboxes.
What I do know, or at least think I know:
They were a small Canadian company started (obviously) by a guy whose last name was Beach. From what I read in two places they were founded in 1949.
Now, I know they were bought out by Stanley at some point. A couple places say this was in 1987, Wikipedia and another source say 2008. Anybody know which date is correct? I believe the earlier date is correct, but I'm not sure about when the "Beach" name actually disappeared...? Did Stanley phase it out over time or just stop using it entirely when they bought out the smaller company?
The other question is, does anybody know the details of my toolbox? There are no identifying marks on it that I can find (other than the nameplate of course)...I'm assuming there were at one time, or maybe I'm just missing something?
I've seen pictures of the same box in classified ads and such. Doesn't seem to be particularly unusual, I'm just curious as to when it was manufactured, how much it cost when new etc. I picked it up for $150, which considering my other used toolbox options in the region, was cheap IMO.
Comparably sized Craftsman and Mastercraft boxes were usually going for more than twice as much (no, there's no such thing as Harbor Freight for ridiculously cheap boxes here, Princess auto would be about the closest thing, and the quality is, well, not exactly desirable).
Any info would be greatly appreciated!
What I do know, or at least think I know:
They were a small Canadian company started (obviously) by a guy whose last name was Beach. From what I read in two places they were founded in 1949.
Now, I know they were bought out by Stanley at some point. A couple places say this was in 1987, Wikipedia and another source say 2008. Anybody know which date is correct? I believe the earlier date is correct, but I'm not sure about when the "Beach" name actually disappeared...? Did Stanley phase it out over time or just stop using it entirely when they bought out the smaller company?
The other question is, does anybody know the details of my toolbox? There are no identifying marks on it that I can find (other than the nameplate of course)...I'm assuming there were at one time, or maybe I'm just missing something?
I've seen pictures of the same box in classified ads and such. Doesn't seem to be particularly unusual, I'm just curious as to when it was manufactured, how much it cost when new etc. I picked it up for $150, which considering my other used toolbox options in the region, was cheap IMO.
Comparably sized Craftsman and Mastercraft boxes were usually going for more than twice as much (no, there's no such thing as Harbor Freight for ridiculously cheap boxes here, Princess auto would be about the closest thing, and the quality is, well, not exactly desirable).
Any info would be greatly appreciated!
