Gerstner tool chest find on Craigslist

[Swan]

I picked up a used, vintage, 11 drawer Gerstner & Sons tool chest yesterday from Craigslist for $240. The price was good considering recent sales on E-bay which were higher, plus additional shipping costs and I was able to inspect this box in person. It measures 20" wide, 16" tall and 9.5" deep and I believe it is a model 042 apprentice tool chest. (please correct me if I am wrong)

It is fully functional and original with no major flaws or repairs. I cleaned and polished the wood with an orange oil and beeswax mixture and pulled out metal drawer liners placed atop the felt by the previous owner to find the original felt to be in fairly good shape with little to no staining. The felt in the top storage area is beat up and it is missing the key and the Gerstner logo badge. All three of these items are available from Gerstner and I plan to order them and install all new felt but leave the wood and hardware as is. Take a look:










I have always wanted a Gertsner tool chest and now I have one to store my fine instruments and measuring tools in my motorcycle shop. My 1956 edition of "Machinery's Handbook" fits perfectly in the vertical drawer. I will continue to search for and buy vintage machinists tools as I find them and fill up my box.




No logo badge


Anyone know what year this box is? Gerstner charges a fee to date boxes. Thanks!

 

[dbolter]

I knew you couldn't be too far away when I saw that Summit Saga... Love that beer..., And sweet box.... pretty tricky to date those as far as I know.

If you pull the drawers out they may be numbered as to what slot in the box they were made for at the time...

Great box enjoy!! ~d

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Very impressive. Is the center drawer designed to hold a machinist handbook?

 

[91bronc300]

Very impressive. Is the center drawer designed to hold a machinist handbook?

Yes, sir.

I've got the same box but the version covered in leatherette. I bought it from a retired machinist from John Deere. Great box.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Great score! I'd love to have one myself but they're hard to find for a good price.

 

[91bronc300]

There's not a date scribbled anywhere in it is there? Under the tallest half-drawer my box has this:

 

[Steinmetz]

Very impressive. Is the center drawer designed to hold a machinist handbook?

Yes.

 

[Swan]

Thanks all! There are numbers written in pencil on the back of the drawers; "437" and a few with dash "1" etc indicating the drawer number. Could this be April 1937???

Also worth noting, the bottoms of all the drawers are galvanized metal sheets, not wood.

 

[drivesitfar]

Nice Gertsner box. i have a 50's Craftsman wood box that looks in the same vintage. good to know the middle box is used for the machinist's bible. I assumed that book never left the work bench so i thought this drawer was for a pint of your favorite beverage.

 

[Steinmetz]

Looks like mine. You'll enjoy owning and using it. Keys are easy to get from Gerstner. Mine didn't have one, either.

 

[Steinmetz]

Thanks all! There are numbers written in pencil on the back of the drawers; "437" and a few with dash "1" etc indicating the drawer number. Could this be April 1937???

Also worth noting, the bottoms of all the drawers are galvanized metal sheets, not wood.

No. Mine has "411" pencil marks, followed by a dash number indicating the drawer. It was not made in 1911.

 

[91bronc300]

Thanks all! There are numbers written in pencil on the back of the drawers; "437" and a few with dash "1" etc indicating the drawer number. Could this be April 1937???

Also worth noting, the bottoms of all the drawers are galvanized metal sheets, not wood.

If you watch this video you will see that each drawer is individually sanded down for a perfect in it's respective spot.

I think that the 437 was the number given to the chest itself and the dash for a respective drawer location so that after things are custom fitted if things happen to get tossed around in the factory they still know what goes with what.

The date marked in my box may have been written there by the machinist I bought it from. He told me he bought I believe a golden oak finish box first but he sold it soon after buying it because it was getting marked up too quickly being his daily box at the factory. He then bought the leatherette covered box that he used for the next 30+ years that he sold to me with the tools still in it.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine. I redid the felt in mine because it was torn up and very impregnated with dirt, but otherwise I just cleaned up the drawer faces with wood polish. The drawer bottoms of mine are also galvanized BTW.

EDIT: My chest was 185 for that day/week/however they do it.

 

[alinc100]

Great looking box.I really like the Quatersawn White Oak!!
That box looks like its ready to serve for many ,many years.

 

[blueflame6]

I still have my walnut Gerstner 042 box I bought in 1969 as an apprentice for $66.00 . I always think about the oak one I could have had . Mine looks the same but it has side handles instead of the top handle like yours. I would think the top handle far predates my box.

 

[Steve from Socal]

I have an O42 from 1954-55 and it has a flat panel front, Gerstner changed from raised panel to flat panel fronts in the early 1950's. That is a great looking box.

Steve

 

[beatcad]

great score swan.
your right. it is an O42. the O is not a number its a capital letter O.
O for oak.
sure this is a big window, but year wise its in the range of mid 40s to the late 50s.

 

[Davefr]

Look real close at the inside bottom where the Gerstner stamp is. It was common for the craftsman to sign and date the box:

 

[drivesitfar]

Swan:
just giving this a bump up in case any of the other Gerstner box owners are online today. did you find the little maker's signature with a date or any more numbers on it.

I mentioned i have a Craftsman version and all the drawers have the same #'s on them so not sure if Gerstner or some other company made them for them, but that seems to be the same on the other boxes I've seen. sounds like all your drawers are numbered the same.

my box came from original owner and i need to get it restored and from early 50's and it has the same look as yours, but i don't have the machinist book drawer in mine.

 

[Swan]

"O" for oak, that now makes sense. I believe this is a O42 then.

I did not find and builder's or owner's signatures anywhere. A very similar box sold last night on Ebay for $100 more (plus shipping) than I paid. I am very happy with this box and I am using it daily.

 

[WWIIjeep]

I mentioned i have a Craftsman version and all the drawers have the same #'s on them so not sure if Gerstner or some other company made them for them, but that seems to be the same on the other boxes I've seen. sounds like all your drawers are numbered the same.

my box came from original owner and i need to get it restored and from early 50's and it has the same look as yours, but i don't have the machinist book drawer in mine.

If your Craftsman box looks like this, it was made by Union, not Gerstner:

Regarding the numbers on the various parts of a Gerstner box, this is from Gerstner's own FAQ page:

Q: "What is the hand written number on the inside bottom of my chest?"

A: "Every box we make has a control number on it. The drawers and front lid of the box are hand fit for each box and then numbered with the box number. This number is to help match up all of the parts to the chest after it has a finish put on it. We reuse these numbers and are unable to age a chest using them."

 

[drivesitfar]

WWII: thanks and i do have Union on the main lock. mine isn't as nice as the one you posted and my badge that no longer has any writing on it is on the top. same vintage as the one you posted and the one that started this thread though.

so when did Union quit making wood tool boxes and any idea when Craftsman was selling them. i bought mine from brother of original owner that thought his brother bought it in the 50's.

 

[rlitman]

A very similar box sold last night on Ebay for $100 more (plus shipping) than I paid. I am very happy with this box and I am using it daily.

Sounds about right. You did very well for a box in that condition. Not quite "you ****" worthy, but not too far from it either.

 

[Steinmetz]

great score swan.
your right. it is an O42. the O is not a number its a capital letter O.
O for oak.
sure this is a big window, but year wise its in the range of mid 40s to the late 50s.

I believe "O" is for white oak; "R" was for red oak.

 

[beatcad]

I believe "O" is for white oak; "R" was for red oak.

i'm not sure about the "R"

the most common ones are
"O" for oak
"W" for walnut
and no letter in front of the style/model # meant it was the leatherette covered chest.

 

[Steinmetz]

i'm not sure about the "R"

the most common ones are
"O" for oak
"W" for walnut
and no letter in front of the style/model # meant it was the leatherette covered chest.

Mine has "R". Since you appear to expert in these matters, what can you tell me about the drawer pulls on the OP's box? They appear different (a rear flange abutting the drawer front) from all others I've seen.

 

[48fordnut]

awesome boxes

 

[Steinmetz]

I picked up a used, vintage, 11 drawer Gerstner & Sons tool chest yesterday from Craigslist for $240. The price was good considering recent sales on E-bay which were higher, plus additional shipping costs and I was able to inspect this box in person. It measures 20" wide, 16" tall and 9.5" deep and I believe it is a model 042 apprentice tool chest. (please correct me if I am wrong)

It is fully functional and original with no major flaws or repairs. I cleaned and polished the wood with an orange oil and beeswax mixture and pulled out metal drawer liners placed atop the felt by the previous owner to find the original felt to be in fairly good shape with little to no staining. The felt in the top storage area is beat up and it is missing the key and the Gerstner logo badge. All three of these items are available from Gerstner and I plan to order them and install all new felt but leave the wood and hardware as is. Take a look:










I have always wanted a Gertsner tool chest and now I have one to store my fine instruments and measuring tools in my motorcycle shop. My 1956 edition of "Machinery's Handbook" fits perfectly in the vertical drawer. I will continue to search for and buy vintage machinists tools as I find them and fill up my box.




No logo badge


Anyone know what year this box is? Gerstner charges a fee to date boxes. Thanks!

BTW, you will notice that the drawers are very light in construction, having a thin metal bottom. These chests are for storing tools, not tooling (drills, taps, reamers, etc.) that may easily overload the drawers.

 

[beatcad]

Mine has "R". Since you appear to expert in these matters, what can you tell me about the drawer pulls on the OP's box? They appear different (a rear flange abutting the drawer front) from all others I've seen.

i'm no expert, but i do know a little.
the plates behing the drawer knobs are caled backplates. the were used on all production chestsfrom maybe the late 20s definitly 30s up to the late 50s and possibly some speciallty chests in the early 60s(pretty rare)

 

[Steinmetz]

i'm no expert, but i do know a little.
the plates behing the drawer knobs are caled backplates. the were used on all production chestsfrom maybe the late 20s definitly 30s up to the late 50s and possibly some speciallty chests in the early 60s(pretty rare)

Thanks. Mine does not have them. I was told (by someone) that mine dates from approximately 1960.

 

[bisley45]

Very nice find I have one and could not find a date in mine ether but mine still had the receipt in it from 1980 bought from sears.

 

[beatcad]

gerstner never dated their chests. stamped or written anywhere on the chests.

there was one(or 2)"show me your gerstner" threads somewhere here.
these beauties should be there.