Felt for machinists boxes

[skipskip]

I have some Kennedys that need new felt.
Where to buy?
What to call it?
Is there an old thread here that I have missed?
Anyone done this before. Hints? pitfalls?

thanks

skip

 

[J.A.F.E.]

You can buy felt by the yard or partial yard in a fabric store.

 

[Tool Pants]

That reminds me, I need to line the drawers on the wooden box I bought. Guy had carpet squares, but most are gone. Think he reused them when he moved his tools to the new one.

 

[hydramatic]

hobby lobby...buy it by the yard...red, green, black//..

 

[back2class]

Adheasive backed cork is better. May as well upgrade.

 

[wreckercologist]

Adheasive backed cork is better. May as well upgrade.

Cork absorbs odors. My dad's old box was lined in cork. It smells like the inside of a cats a$$!

 

[kbs2244]

You know that brings up the old question:

"How would you know?"

 

[boomerangg22]

Cork absorbs odors. My dad's old box was lined in cork. It smells like the inside of a cats a$$!

Not sure he knows but is funny has heck, lmao

 

[wreckercologist]

You know that brings up the old question:

"How would you know?"

Well.......I don't know exactly but.......I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

 

[pipehack]

Tool Pants.... That desk is beautiful!
skipskip.... Is it felt? or was it flocked. ??
For some reason I thought those were flocked.

 

[metal1313]

you can get felt or flocking from lee valley, or other places. personally i like the idea of flocking, i think it looks better

 

[fordbroncodave]

walmart has it in their faboric corner (in most walmart stores) otherwise find a sewing supplys store.

my snap on road chest has red felt in all of the drawers

 

[scottg1952]

Holy Mackerel!! Where did that wooden box come from?? You make it?? WoW!!!!

Meanwhile, be afraid of the polyester felt they sell in the craft places. It doesn't wick water away from your tools. Holds it in fact.
Real wool felt is what you want. Gerstner sells it for like, 45 dollars a yard. But if you can find where they resurface pool tables you can get good heavy wool felt for free (used) in pool table size pieces.
Usually comes with a little chalk and maybe a small burn here and there too.
And for free?
How you going to beat that?
yours Scott

 

[chad s]

The problem is that fabric store felt is much thicker and more loosely "woven" (I know felt isnt really woven...) than the felt used to line old tool box drawers. The looser felt will catch into sharp edges of tools, and not lay as flat.

Not to make the search harder, but just an observation on some fabric store green felt I have lying around....

 

[chad s]

Perhaps pool table felt would work nicely:
http://www.thefeltpeople.com/pages/colorcards/willicloth.htm

 

[Tool Pants]

Wish I had the time and skill to make what I am going to call the "tool desk."

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36156&highlight=wood

The builder was a machinest, but did not have felt in the drawers. Just carpet squares. Most were removed and put in another box he built

I am using it for automotive tools and other stuff. I don't think of felt for my use. Never considered cork, because I have no experience.

 

[Steve from Socal]

I have restored several Gersnter and Union tool chests and use wool felt from Joann Fabrics. The felt that Gerstner used was a bit thinner but I find the thick felt is better on the metal drawer bottoms.

Steve

 

[LoneGunman]

Any tips on restoring them? I have one that is in pretty good shape mechanically but it looks like it has darkened considerably .

I have restored several Gersnter and Union tool chests and use wool felt from Joann Fabrics. The felt that Gerstner used was a bit thinner but I find the thick felt is better on the metal drawer bottoms.

Steve

 

[Steve from Socal]

If it is in good shape you can use paint stripper to remove the old clear and keep the original stain. To do this use paint stripper then remove it with paint thinner, no water. I will take a picture of one of my Gerstner boxes that was done this way. The darkening is the result of the clear yellowing.

Steve

 

[Steve from Socal]

The first picture is an older box that was very dark, it was in OK shape the front cover was cracked as usual. You can see some small spots where it is a bit darker. That is not too apparent until you recoat the wood. This box has a few coats of sealer on it, no finish coat yet.

The next picture shows a fairly new 10 years old or so box with a factory finish, it is starting to darken but just slightly. As a comparison.

Steve

 

[ZRX61]

Real wool felt is what you want.

Genuine felt comes from rabbits.

 

[Kevin54]

#1 on the JoAnn fabrics. My buddy just finished redoing an old Gerstner that he received from his father. It turned out real nice. Some 3M spray glue and a careful hand. He had a problem on one drawer trying to trim out the corners until I showed him how to do it. You can use a sheet of paper (construction paper works great) to make a template as all the drawers are not the exact same size. Measure the drawer bottom size and transfer that to paper. Next add the sides to the square that you just drawn. This will leave you four notched out corners. Fold on the line and check fit in the drawer. Transfer to the felt and cut. Try it for size before glueing.

 

[crowldawg]

I know this thread is over a yr old but the tool box I just inherited is in desperate need of a restoration.
I have read that Hide Glue is the way to go .It seems to be a bit more forgiving than the spray adhesive mentioned above.
Anyone have any experience with it.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

Yes, I have read that it is easier to remove if needed (hide glue).
IIRC I read that's what Gerstner used for the felt.
I just used white glue when I did it.
Thanks, Tony

 

[Hamster]

I am also in the same situation, I have a 7 drawer Craftsman Machinist chester that looks like a Kennedy 520. Need to replace the felt.

What is the best way to remove the old felt? Scraper blade or chemicals?

Any good hint on how to remove the paint? I am hoping it is not going to be too involved.

I have a lot of screws taps and tweezers that might fuzz up the felt, am thinking about cork too.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

They say *IF* It's hide glue, you can just put a little water in the drawer and that will soften up the hide glue so the felt can be removed.
I read that somewhere, have not tried it my self.
Thanks, Tony

 

[Vinko]

I've got two of the Kennedy Top boxes that I'm "restoring" right now so I'll report back on the felt. I'll try JoAnn fabrics, though the idea of a pool table supply place sounds good too. I'm going to need to remove the old felt as well. Maybe some sort of stripper is razor blade doesn't cut it.

I got some of the Kennedy foam liners for the larger boxes and other OEM Kennedy supplies via MSCdirect.com during their sales. The price is pretty good.

For small boxes I've got a lot of really high quality American-made rubber tiles that are 7/16" thick. The Snappy guy saw the stuff and wanted to offer it for boxes. It looks really good as well. And it can take impact and a lot of weight without any damage.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

www.machinistchest.com carries it too. Free shipping. I got a yard or 2, but have not used it yet.
Thanks, Tony

 

[senlow]

They say *IF* It's hide glue, you can just put a little water in the drawer and that will soften up the hide glue so the felt can be removed.
I read that somewhere, have not tried it my self.
Thanks, Tony

Gerstner does use hide glue. Yes, it is water soluble.

 

[mrholeshot]

Let me just say thats totally bad ***

 

[eyeboltman]

NOW thats a tool BOX !!!!

 

[rbannon]

I ordered the real deal felt from Gerstner to re-line the drawers. I do not know if this was necessary but I wanted to keep things as original as possible. To cut the felt, I used an Olfa rotory cutter and grid mat system. Make sure your straight edge has some feature to keep it from sliding on the felt. The one I used had thin strips of fine sand paper on the back to anchor it to the felt. It was easy to keep the cuts straight and square. Another advantage is the ability to slice a very thin whisker of felt for the final fit, which would be very difficult to do with scissors.

YMMV

 

[Vinko]

Just an update. I ordered the felt kits for the Kennedy MC28 and the box that sits on top (got them used). I ordered the whole kit, though I didn't need all pieces. They come pre-cut, which is a convenient time saver. The felt looks to be good quality. I want say it was a little expensive for the kit, but right now, the time savings of having everything read to go is worth it to me. Anyway, I ordered direct from Kennedy.