Craigslist Kennedy box

[drummingpariah]

I had been looking for a stronger top box than what I currently have falling apart, and came across a machinists box on Craigslist for $25 last week. I just got around to taking some photos of it today, and I'm starting to fill it out nicely. I have a growing collection of taps, bits, and miscellaneous precision hand tools, and wanted to have somewhere specific to put them.

It's had a hard life, with a bent lid, missing lock, broken lock strut, and missing front plate (I assume all of which are related to losing the key at some point) but it's working out really nicely. I'm now considering having a dedicated 'precision box' rather than just using it as a top box ... but I'm already out of tool storage locations.

I'm still working on a good way to organize all my taps and dies to get them out of this plastic box (without having them rattling around in a drawer), so I'm open to any suggestions others have. I like to think I did pretty well for $25, even if it is a bit beat up. I might even throw some paint at it someday, since it's growing on me pretty quickly.

 

[Alamedasam]

I got one exactly like it. Great box. Was my grandfathers. Think of him every time I open it up.

 

[onewaydave]

I'm a Kennedy fan. One member here views these smaller Kennedy boxes as an excuse to better organize tools into smaller categories. They wen't so great for a big rig mechanic but make a perfect lace for smaller thinner items, like your drills and taps.

Dents, dings and scratches are patina, can be repaired (hammer and dolly, pliers) and don't usually affect the function of the box (they don't lend themselves well to anything but a full out bare metal re-paint). To me, $25 for a Kennedy 7 drawer is a good price.

Pull it apart and give it a good cleaning with solvent. Lube up the drawer slides and they should work just fine. As opposed to others, I do not like to use lithium grease on the slides. It seems to dry out too easily. I use typical axle grease and am just neat about it to keep it off of everything else.

Dave.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I like the pictures! Something artistic about them...

 

[basspro]

I bought a Kennedy 520 like that from an old gentleman where I am from for $200, full of Machinists tools of every brand. I valued everything out and new everthing would be well over $3000. This guy used these tools in a paper converting machine shop in Green Bay for almost 40 years. I cleaned and lubricated everything up and have been using it daily as a top box for my roller cab the last 8 months. I think it is the perfect top box as I can organize all my small precision items perfectly with zero wasted space. Someday I will order a 53" Kennedy Maintenance Pro roller bottom to match my top.

 

[Revere Cycles]

Great photos! I have a similar Kennedy box (old logo, square edge top) that I use for the same purpose.

 

[drummingpariah]

I got one exactly like it. Great box. Was my grandfathers. Think of him every time I open it up.

My grandfather was a big fan of alcohol, I didn't really get anything to open fondly in remembrance of him. It seems like a reasonably old box though, I definitely enjoy considering the life it's lived until now, and what it's been used for.

I'm a Kennedy fan. One member here views these smaller Kennedy boxes as an excuse to better organize tools into smaller categories. They wen't so great for a big rig mechanic but make a perfect lace for smaller thinner items, like your drills and taps.

Dents, dings and scratches are patina, can be repaired (hammer and dolly, pliers) and don't usually affect the function of the box (they don't lend themselves well to anything but a full out bare metal re-paint). To me, $25 for a Kennedy 7 drawer is a good price.

Pull it apart and give it a good cleaning with solvent. Lube up the drawer slides and they should work just fine. As opposed to others, I do not like to use lithium grease on the slides. It seems to dry out too easily. I use typical axle grease and am just neat about it to keep it off of everything else.

Dave.

I love the idea of categorizing tools. Right now I have one massively overfilled drawer in the cheapest tool chest I've ever seen full of all my ratchets and sockets. I've been trying to figure out a logical solution to it, but as I'm sure you've realized ... organizing tools just isn't as easy as it seems.

I like the pictures! Something artistic about them...

I like taking pictures. This is with my $250 Nikon d40x and a $50 lens from the 70's. A basic understanding of the 'art' of photography can go a long way toward helping others enjoy whatever you're sharing. It's also a big help when I try to sell something on Craigslist (how many times have you wanted to buy something, but the only photo was an upside-down blurry photo that looked like it had been taken using a 90's-era cellphone while the photographer realized their shoe was on fire?)

I'm really hoping to upgrade to a better camera body to start recording video, but that's going to be a ~$2000 investment (or so). I need to finish getting my Datsun on the road first.

I bought a Kennedy 520 like that from an old gentleman where I am from for $200, full of Machinists tools of every brand. I valued everything out and new everthing would be well over $3000. This guy used these tools in a paper converting machine shop in Green Bay for almost 40 years. I cleaned and lubricated everything up and have been using it daily as a top box for my roller cab the last 8 months. I think it is the perfect top box as I can organize all my small precision items perfectly with zero wasted space. Someday I will order a 53" Kennedy Maintenance Pro roller bottom to match my top.

I have to admit, I didn't even know Kennedy was a name brand until I started looking around on here, after the purchase. I saw a somewhat solid-looking box on Craigslist, picked it up (the guy also had an old snap-on bottom, but I don't have the room for it, unfortunately), and just assumed Kennedy was a previous owner's signature. I figured I'd look it up before painting over it, and I'm pretty glad I did. I learned quite a bit.

Great photos! I have a similar Kennedy box (old logo, square edge top) that I use for the same purpose.

Do you organize inside each drawer, or just keep tools loose in there?

 

[Midman914]

Very cool, I have that same top box. I bought it with a Kennedy lower about eight years ago for $150. I love it, but I need something bigger. Also, I'm pretty sure Kennedy still makes that box, and can supply you with replacement faceplate, but it will probably run more than what you got the box for. What model Datsun do you have? Any pics? I love them, but they have all rusted away long ago around here.

 

[Packard V8]

One member here views these smaller Kennedy boxes as an excuse to better organize tools into smaller categories.

Yep, I'm the member/tool who has five of these for taps, dies, punches, chisels, hole saws, files, drill bits, reamers; can't imagine how I ever got along without them.

Every drill press, mill, lathe needs one of these beside it.

jack vines

 

[onewaydave]

Jack, thanks. It was an idea that I have incorporated.

When you mention sockets, there may be a limit. I just bent up some socket trays for a 1/2 inch set. I added up to 1 1/16 as the largest for that set. All of the others fit standing on end but the 1 1/16. Reason I mention this is these drawers are lacking in depth, especially for the mechanic vs the machinist.

This can be an advantage, its harder to overload the drawers so the friction "H" slides will work in almost every circumstance.

So, are you going to refurbish or leave as is?

Dave.

 

[andywander]

I store my tap in the top of a machinist's box-I took a piece of MDF that fit inside the box nicely, and drilled a bunch of holes(not all the way through) in a grid pattern-using larger drills as I went across from left to right.

The taps are simply inserted into the holes, shank down, grouped and ordered by size.

I've outgrown my first one, moved to a larger toolbox, and need to make a new holder....it's pretty easy as most taps come in a handful of shank sizes.

Of course, the CNC mill makes it even easier.....

 

[drummingpariah]

Very cool, I have that same top box. I bought it with a Kennedy lower about eight years ago for $150. I love it, but I need something bigger. Also, I'm pretty sure Kennedy still makes that box, and can supply you with replacement faceplate, but it will probably run more than what you got the box for. What model Datsun do you have? Any pics? I love them, but they have all rusted away long ago around here.

It's a 73 240z, and I just picked up a second n42 l28 engine (2.8liter inline 6 from Nissan that isn't breaking any records feature-wise, but is still a solid power plant). Once I get one of these engines in the car, I'll start a proper build log on my website (Driven Daily).

Yep, I'm the member/tool who has five of these for taps, dies, punches, chisels, hole saws, files, drill bits, reamers; can't imagine how I ever got along without them.

Every drill press, mill, lathe needs one of these beside it.

jack vines

I think I just bought a second one for $60 ... complete with a bunch of quality hand-tools in it!

Jack, thanks. It was an idea that I have incorporated.

When you mention sockets, there may be a limit. I just bent up some socket trays for a 1/2 inch set. I added up to 1 1/16 as the largest for that set. All of the others fit standing on end but the 1 1/16. Reason I mention this is these drawers are lacking in depth, especially for the mechanic vs the machinist.

This can be an advantage, its harder to overload the drawers so the friction "H" slides will work in almost every circumstance.

So, are you going to refurbish or leave as is?

Dave.

That's something I've been asking myself a lot. I'm a little disappointed that my tap and die kit doesn't fit in any of the drawers, so I'm trying to come up with a (wood?) drawer insert to store them all in one of the smaller drawers. For now, I'm not refurbishing and since I have a second one en route I may just end up leaving it as-is. It functions well, and that's really what I care about.

I store my tap in the top of a machinist's box-I took a piece of MDF that fit inside the box nicely, and drilled a bunch of holes(not all the way through) in a grid pattern-using larger drills as I went across from left to right.

The taps are simply inserted into the holes, shank down, grouped and ordered by size.

I've outgrown my first one, moved to a larger toolbox, and need to make a new holder....it's pretty easy as most taps come in a handful of shank sizes.

Of course, the CNC mill makes it even easier.....

I really like that idea. I don't have any machining tools, but I could always just upload a CNC design to a 3d printer and have a holder printed in plastic/nylon. It sounds like a straightforward, effective solution.

 

[Outlawmws]

Yep, I'm the member/tool who has five of these for taps, dies, punches, chisels, hole saws, files, drill bits, reamers; can't imagine how I ever got along without them.

Every drill press, mill, lathe needs one of these beside it.

jack vines

One of them Jack, I also have 7 of these 20" boxes, in both 7 and 3 drawer versions, two 2 drawer 20" intermediates, plus two 26" versions, in 9 and 12 drawer versions. I'm sure there are others that do the same.