To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Is it a RemLine or not?

Rolos Boxes

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
17
Location
West Virginia
Hello Everyone,

This is my first time posting though I have read many threads and posts here in the last few days in search of the identity of an old box. Sorry for the quality of the photograph, but it is all I have of Pappy’s tool boxes.

The one in particular that I am needing help on was ruined in a fire back in the nineties. It is the dark grey and red one on the top right of the picture. Pappy died several years ago and I am hoping to duplicate his boxes. The drawer arrangement is the same as a Huot Model 100 yet there are some differences.

The drawer pulls look like the ones on the Kennedy chest on the top left. The picture also shows the pulls on this box are all the same size, but on the Huot the lower drawer pulls are wider. I do not remember it having a drop front and I do not remember the Huot logo. This one was either dark grey or black with red drawers and it had chrome pulls. A Huot rep e-mailed me and said, “Yes, it looks like a model 100. Most of them were painted red and or a combination of hammertone blue with gray drawers, but there was some experimentation here and there so it very well could’ve been [grey and red or black and red] as you suspected. There were also periods when we manufactured these tool boxes under different brand names (at the request of some very large customers)…” I do remember that is was a very sturdy chest and that it saw and stood up to many years of daily use.

While searching this site earlier today I found a picture of a Power Kraft possibly made by Remline (was Remline made by Huot?). The original post was made by ‘rlitman’ on 11-17-2011 who was looking for the identity of a Huot box he had bought on Craigslist. On down the page was a picture of a Power Kraft box that looks a lot like the one in my picture, but I don’t remember the latch in the top middle of the box. Also the badge on the one in my picture was rectangular. Then tonight I found a thread started by ‘mailmixer’ on 8-21-2012 showing the same Power Kraft box as in rlitman’s post. Plus on down the page there is a picture of a Remline posted by ‘Flatintoone’ showing a rectangular badge with no latch on the top. Is my search over? If it is then what is the model number of the chest? By the way I am sure it predates the seventies.

The only boxes pictured here that were destroyed in the fire were the one with the red drawers and the five drawer intermediate chest under the Kennedy chest that I believe was also a Kennedy even though the drawer pulls are a little different. I remember the brown Kennedy color. If someone knows the model of the Kennedy chest I would appreciate it since the tag was painted over years ago. I have the Kennedy now as well as the Huot Model 201 and the Snap-On KR 377. The 201 and the KR 377 each are missing a drawer. I had the 201 in my shop so it escaped the fire (all but the bottom drawer, which Pappy had removed and was using for small parts storage). I have the drawer, but the fire really distorted it. I found the KR 377 stored in an outbuilding covered up with junk. The drawer with the Snap-On logo is the one missing so if someone is parting out an old 377… with slides… The lower panel is also gone on the KR 377. I use it in my blacksmith shop. Who says you have to be a mechanic to have a great old box?

I have more questions than I have answers for so I hope you all here can help with the Huot lookalike. The next thing will be trying to find one close here in WV since shipping is a killer. Thanks everyone.

Ronnie
 

Attachments

  • Pappys Tool Boxes all.jpg
    Pappys Tool Boxes all.jpg
    136.9 KB · Views: 125
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

FJ 432

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
Messages
3,736
Location
Littleton Colorado
The picture is pretty bad but I will take a stab at your questions.

The top box on the right is a Remline and you are correct they did make boxes for Montgomery Wards that were re badged as Powr Kraft. Remline I believe (Huot used to make boxes also) also made boxes for Huot and the most common of these were painted blue and silver. Although the picture is blurry I think the rectangular badge on the bottom indicates a 1970's Remline or Powr Kraft.

The pictures below are two boxes I used to own. The red and gray was a Remline (it had a different badge which a little bit earlier then yours. The second picture is a restored Kennedy top box that belonged to my dad which shows the same handles. The picture is to blurry for a suggestion of the intermediate box under your Kennedy.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1807.JPG
    IMG_1807.JPG
    48.2 KB · Views: 55
  • IMG_1809.JPG
    IMG_1809.JPG
    30.2 KB · Views: 29
  • dad web.jpg
    dad web.jpg
    42.8 KB · Views: 54
OP
R

Rolos Boxes

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
17
Location
West Virginia
Thanks FJ 432.

IO appreciate the post and pictures. Your Kennedy boxes really look great. The one I have has been repainted somewhere along the line, but I remember the Kennedy name on the box in script as opposed to a badge. It is possible that the Kennedy chest was damaged a little in the fire and that is why it was painted. I doubt it though since the fire destroyed practically everything else. The shop was a total loss.

The ID tag is on the upper left of the Kennedy chest facing it and it was painted over with the rest. When I tried to get that paint off a lot of what was underneath came off with it so I do not know the model number of it. Yours is very similar to mine so do you have the model and approximate year of that chest?

Thanks for the help on the Remline identity. After seeing some Remline badges you can make out the general shape of the word 'RemLine' in my picture even if it is blurry. Maybe it is wishful thinking. At any rate thanks for the reply. Let me know the model of the Kennedy if possible. Thanks.
 

zkling

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Messages
16,939
The top kennedy, left hand side, looks like an old style 260 top chest with a 522 5 drawer "middle" box below it.

At one point in time Mac and Matco sourced certain box parts from remline as well. Learned that one day getting parts for an old box.

As for the KRA377, that is going to be a tall order to fill. What year is it (stamped on the back)?
 
Last edited:
OP
R

Rolos Boxes

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
17
Location
West Virginia
Thanks zkling.

You were correct on the tall order. The Snap-On box is actually a KR 377 (from the collectingsnapon.com website: catalog year 1948). The Tetris quote is also correct. For reasons I now cannot remember I had to bolt it to the wall on the finishing side of my blacksmith shop and it is piled up on top so to get it from the wall to see the back will be a chore.

Thanks for the Kennedy info also. All of the Remline boxes I have looked at have different drawer pulls than Pappy's old box. They look exactly like the ones on the Kennedy.

I may take the time to redo my finish shop for need of space and will find out the number on the back of the KR 377. Here are some pictures of it. I photo shopped the top drawer in on the front facing picture. Also I am including a drawing of the Remline? box that I scaled using the picture and the Kennedy box as a reference. One other thing about the Remline? is the little sticker in the top corner similar to the ID tag on the Kennedy box.

Thanks.

Ronnie
 

Attachments

  • Cabinet 1 (1).jpg
    Cabinet 1 (1).jpg
    89.1 KB · Views: 33
  • Cabinet 1 (3).jpg
    Cabinet 1 (3).jpg
    101.9 KB · Views: 38
  • Unknown Toolbox 2.jpg
    Unknown Toolbox 2.jpg
    54.1 KB · Views: 37

zkling

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Messages
16,939
O... from the first post pics I thought it was a KRA377 (didn't see the individual pulls), being a KR that is going to be even more difficult to find the drawer for. You may want to consider making a bottom drawer and possibly extending the depth of the top most drawer to fill the space. At least that way it would be useable. Finding just the drawer you need without a donor box or trashing said donor box is not too likely, then again you never know. :beer:
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
R

Rolos Boxes

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
17
Location
West Virginia
zkling,

I took a few minutes and looked around in the outbuilding today where I found the 377 in hopes of finding the drawer to no avail. There is some more stuff to move in that building and another building to look through so I may come up with a drawer yet. One of my brothers said the front had come off the drawer and he thought it was trashed. If all else fails I have the second drawer as a model to build one by. It would be nice to have the Snap-On badge though, but the tools won't know the difference. Most of the tools I use in the finish shop are smaller so the shallow drawer would be better for me, but your suggestion has started other wheels turning.

Ronnie
 

zkling

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Messages
16,939
zkling,

I took a few minutes and looked around in the outbuilding today where I found the 377 in hopes of finding the drawer to no avail. There is some more stuff to move in that building and another building to look through so I may come up with a drawer yet. One of my brothers said the front had come off the drawer and he thought it was trashed. If all else fails I have the second drawer as a model to build one by. It would be nice to have the Snap-On badge though, but the tools won't know the difference. Most of the tools I use in the finish shop are smaller so the shallow drawer would be better for me, but your suggestion has started other wheels turning.

Ronnie

You can buy a snap on badge off of ebay, period correct or not.
 

Steevo

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Messages
8,738
Location
43.49600, -112.04300
Are you trying to find boxes just like your pappy had?
Like these?
i-WKz8hHK-L.jpg


I have this set currently in my garage, with my household tools in it.
Mine are made by Remline but badged PowrKraft.
 
OP
R

Rolos Boxes

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
17
Location
West Virginia
Hey Steevo,

Thanks for your reply. Pappy never had the roller cabinet only the top chest. The one you posted is similar, but his never had the top latch like your PowrKraft and the drawer pulls were a 'tapered' design like on the drawing I posted earlier. The badge on the lower drawer was rectangular. The pulls look like those on an old Kennedy box. Maybe there was a drawer pull manufacturer who made these pulls for several box manufacturers. I don't know. Your stack looks great though. That top box was my favorite of all that Pappy had. I remember that back in the day he was one of the first to have metric wrenches and they were in the top left drawer. Good memories. Thanks for the picture.

Ronnie
 
OP
R

Rolos Boxes

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
Messages
17
Location
West Virginia
slowtwitch posted this picture on May 25, 2009 and it is the absolute closest to the chest I am looking for except for the drawer pulls. The rectangular badge on the left of the bottom drawer is correct and the lock is correct for the year and model I have been looking for. The darker color of the cabinet is also correct. Even the smudges on the drawers look like Pappy's box! The only difference is that the drawer pulls on my dad's were tapered as I showed in earlier posts on this thread.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Ronnie
 

Attachments

  • CIMG4108.jpg
    CIMG4108.jpg
    117 KB · Views: 31
Last edited:
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom