Handy Andy Fold Down Tool Workbench

[TheGr8erG00d]

I came across this on Craigslist. Here is the ad link while it's still up: http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/tls/3762534831.html

I've attached the pictures in case it gets taken down.

You hang it on the wall so it acts as sort of a tool cabinet. You can lock it up top. When you need to do some work, you open the door and it folds down, legs lock in place, etc.

It is definitely geared more towards a hobbyist, but it is a heavier bench than it appears in the pictures. Has anybody seen one of these before or know anything about them? I can't find any information about it. All I have to work off of is that it has a very sixties-looking logo that says "Handy Andy Products."

After looking for a while, I went ahead and bought it because I figure I'll likely never see anything like it ever again and it appealed to me somehow. It's light duty and may end up only housing and displaying some of my vintage tools that I have started collecting and don't actually use, but it was just too cool to pass up.

I'll put up my own pictures of it once I clean it up some, rewire the outlet, and get the lamp up and going again.

 

[nine4gmc]

good buy, I would think someone here can find an original ad so you can start to fill the tools out. I like that light and the bench/cabinet dual concept is cool.

 

[uniballer]

I like that sh1t! Can we all see some schematics of this great wonder?

 

[uniballer]

1940 ad!
http://books.google.com/books?id=ab...EwBA#v=onepage&q=handy andy workbench&f=false

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

I can't believe you already found mention of it somewhere! Right now it is sitting back at my folks' place as my dad is going to fabricate a missing bracket that helps hold the bulb socket in place for the light. Once I get it back from him, I'll take and upload all the photographs of it you can handle, ha ha. It may not be until Monday, though. I'll be out of town Friday through Sunday. Sorry to keep you all waiting. Until then, I can answer some questions about it from what quality time with my new toy I had today.

 

[Red_Bull]

hey where at in mo are you?

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

Twenty minutes away, friend. Fulton.

 

[RyanTN]

I was looking for something like that to hang in my feed shed on the farm. I thought it would be good to hang some fencing pliers, side cutters, hammer and pliers in. Plus the fold down desk would be great for updating breeding records and medications. You may have inspired me to fab something up or look harder! Thanks

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

My dad got bored and finished with the bracket yesterday evening, so I have it back today. Going to clean it up, mount it, and get some more pictures of this thing.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

Here are some shots of this thing in "action." First, yes the garage walls are pink. This house was my friend's grandmothers that he inherited and he only ever used the garage for storing items he didn't feel like putting up (shame on him). I'm finally putting it into use and for the time being, this is all I can do to bring some masculinity to this poor, one-car garage. Second, well, there isn't a second. Let's talk about this workbench.

After my dad fabricated the little piece that goes just under the lamp head, I put a bulb socket that he found in the back of his shop into and ran some wire down the lamp shaft to the outlet. I wired up the outlet with some three prong wire, grounded it to the screw because at the moment I don't have any three prong outlets laying around and don't mind using what it came with originally since this will only be a light duty bench. Maybe I'll go crazy and plug a dremel in it sometime.

In the fuzzy picture I'll be including you can see something was stored on top of this and leaked everywhere. I don't know what it is. Something for gaskets possibly? Some sort of lacquer? I don't know. We need to identify it because whatever it is, it works and we need to invest in stock in this substance. I can't get it off this cabinet.

Anywho, here she is in what little bit of glory she's got left. I'd like to restore it sometime in the future. The bench is only plywood with a masonite top and the pegboard is just the smaller-style of board. I just hesitate to do anything until I know I can preserve that logo on the side. Even taped off, sand tends to get everywhere you don't want it to while blasting.

Sure would be cool if we could find some more information on this thing. It's kind of neat, for all that it is.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

Here are some more pictures.

 

[Nascar4401]

Perfect for someone lacking space.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

I found my bottle of grease and wax remover I picked up for an interior-paint project on my car I haven't gotten around to yet. Turned out to be just the thing to get that solidified junk off of the cabinet and give the whole thing a little bit more shine than it had when I got it. I'll get pics up of where I cleaned it when I can. Probably won't be until Monday.

 

[uniballer]

Man I love it for what reason?
It is just cool and old, holds tools, can you take some overall measurements of it. I want to make one.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

Sure, I'll pop out into the garage right now.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

The box is 40" tall x 20" wide x 6" deep. 1" wide lip all the way around that only curls back in 3/4". The bench is 39" long by 20 " wide and is 1" thick (the last inch of length is made up by the hinge). It is held in place by three rivets in the bottom and one on each side towards the bottom. It latches closed with a little hasp up top. The peg board is about 18 1/2" by 38" and I'm not sure if you can tell but it is raised into the box to allow some room for hooks, still found it necessary to put it on furring strips, though. The steel overlaps the box by a 1/2" all the way around.

The legs are 36" in length up to the bottom of the bench with another 3/4" to overlap on the side of the bench as you can probably see and they have screws (sort of) as feet that you can twist in and out to make small adjustments the height of each leg. The legs are just L-shaped steel bars. The cross pieces are about 27" x 1" and are just thin steel.

Let me know if you need anything else!

 

[uniballer]

The box is 40" tall x 20" wide x 6" deep. 1" wide lip all the way around that only curls back in 3/4". The bench is 39" long by 20 " wide and is 1" thick (the last inch of length is made up by the hinge). It is held in place by three rivets in the bottom and one on each side towards the bottom. It latches closed with a little hasp up top. The peg board is about 18 1/2" by 38" and I'm not sure if you can tell but it is raised into the box to allow some room for hooks, still found it necessary to put it on furring strips, though. The steel overlaps the box by a 1/2" all the way around.

The legs are 36" in length up to the bottom of the bench with another 3/4" to overlap on the side of the bench as you can probably see and they have screws (sort of) as feet that you can twist in and out to make small adjustments the height of each leg. The legs are just L-shaped steel bars. The cross pieces are about 27" x 1" and are just thin steel.

Let me know if you need anything else!

DAMN, great measuring and description! Thanks man!

 

[uniballer]

I would think someone here can find an original ad so you can start to fill the tools out.

Didnt come with any, you fill it as you want it.

 

[uniballer]

OH ****, that is meant for kids!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-EAR...t=Vintage_Antique_Toys_US&hash=item20d1e565ee

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

I'm also pretty sure it wouldn't have come with anything.

Would still be cool to find an ad or something, though. I'd love to know how old it is and how many are around. I can't find anything like it anywhere. Pretty nifty little deal. It's a little awkward to access tools with the bench sticking out in front, but the more I look at it, the more I love it.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

OH ****, that is meant for kids!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-EAR...t=Vintage_Antique_Toys_US&hash=item20d1e565ee

I've seen the kid brand items. I'm not sure they're related, though. I don't know how a kid could use this thing. It's taller than my other workbench I typically use. Also, out of all the different iterations of the Handy Andy logo on those tool boxes, not one of them I've found matches the one on my box.

I suppose it's possible that Handy Andy might have made items like this bench and then later on moved towards children's tools. I don't know.

After looking further, I've also noticed that Handy Andy tools were made by Blue Diamond. Handy Andy wasn't a maker.

Maybe it's just a store brand item.

http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages...202779,657202812&formats=0,0,0,0,0,0&format=0

http://www.ebay.com/itm/tin-can-by-...469?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20cc4e71c5

I still can't find anything with the exact same logo, though.

 

[Rusty Musket]

I have a screwdriver for you somewhere. I will happily donate it to get your collection started but I have to find it first.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

The lamp looks similar to this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-IND...257?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item460e9e0339

Is it made by Fostoria? Highly collectible!

Phil

 

[jeffmoss26]

Handy Andy used to be a home improvement warehouse store, we had one here in Cleveland. This was in the days of DIY and Builders Square, before HD and Lowe's.

 

[ford33]

Wikipedia listing on Handy Andy stores:

Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers was a Midwestern chain of big box home improvement centers led by president Richard George and headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. The stores operated in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The stores were highly visible and well known for their very large vertical stripes of brown and white that would typically cover the entire building.

Handy Andy declared bankruptcy on October 17, 1995, due to creditor pressures, which led to the closure of about 20 of its stores. At that time, Handy Andy had over $120 million in debt and was planning to reorganize into hardware supermarkets. In early 1996, however, creditors forced Handy Andy to liquidate its assets to repay its outstanding debts. On January 25, 1996, Handy Andy announced it would be closing its remaining 54 stores, laying off over 2,500 employees. By June 1996, Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers had ceased to exist.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

The lamp looks similar to this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-IND...257?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item460e9e0339

Is it made by Fostoria? Highly collectible!

Phil

That is IDENTICAL to this lamp. Now I see what the bulb socket was supposed to look like and what piece it was that was missing that we made in my dad's shop. Hmmm, it would be nice to have a switch on it like that, too. The way I wired it I just have the lamp on anytime I plug the unit in. I'll have to change that sometime.

Keep an eye out for a parts only version of that lamp. I need that bulb socket and switch piece!

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

No moar crudz/goopz!

Now that the gunk is gone, I think I may just preserve this piece as is, use it, and enjoy its patina.

 

[t-birdsheff]

I will be cleaning out my father-in-laws garage tomorrow and he has this exact cabinet hanging in the garage! It is pretty rare.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

Post pictures!

 

[Geo's66]

Anyone know where newbies like me can purchase something like this? What an awesome thing. Thanks

 

[y'sguy]

I like it! great save.

 

[plow]

Dig it!

 

[Pinmachs]

I have the exact same cabinet mounted on my screened porch yours is the only one i have found. I’m also from St. Louis.

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

We're back from the dead! I'd been entertaining resurecting this thread.

I actually spotted another one recently on Craigslist elsewhere in the country. I actually have one tiny bit of information on it now that I didn't back when I picked it up. I was cleaning it up again recently and spotted a tiny Stanley logo on the latch that I somehow missed years ago.

Unfortunately, the cabinet is not in use at the moment, but I may re-employ it on my back deck soon.

Sent from my SM-G975U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Black_Viking_1718]

If this thread is still active I recently got one of these from a old storage unit. Mine doesn't have the light and all the ebay and auction links are no longer available. I was looking to sell since I have no practical need for it but not sure how much it would be worth. This is the only mention I've seen for these I would assume they're pretty rare

 

[TheGr8erG00d]

Hey, neat find! Unfortunately, rare does not always equate to value here. I get pinged about one of these looking for value once every couple of years. It's worth what someone will pay for it. But many petite have a use for such a small bench, but I find it to be b handy, no pun intended, for hobbyists and those in apartments that want to use a few tools on occasion.

The light was I've if the draws for me. Mine wasn't missing, but it was missing the light socket and the cord. Between that and the light water damage on the peg board, I feel like I got a fair deal at 25 bucks at the time. I still have mine as I can't help but think it's the coolest little cabinet, although it's not in use at the moment. Even without the light, if the rest is in nice shape, I'd market it towards hobbyists and those living in small apartments. No idea what you should ask, but it's probably a little too niche to ask a whole lot. I wish I could help more with figures, I'm sorry.

Oh, and on the off chance that you have any Stanley collectors in your area, this item was made by them. Their stamp is hidden under one of the latches. So mention that and it may help with the sale. If you can find a Stanley collector, you may be able to squeeze a little more out of it, provided yours has a visible stamp on it.