Kennedy Machinist Chest

[CAOS]

Hey everyone,

I have wanted a Kennedy chest for awhile now, one finally came up on a local Kijiji, drove 140km round trip to pick it up. I got it for $50.00, not a "you ****" deal, but I thought it was fair. Its in overall pretty good shape, the leather handle has dried out and cracked, normal wear and tear.

The drawer liners were missing, assumed they wore out over the years as this was a Millwrights daily hand box. I ended up finding some "rubber craft foam" from the local dollar store. It cost .31 cents for an 8x11 sheet and seems pretty durable, who cares really at that price. Went with red as they didn't have black and actually am happier with the red in the end!

Anyways, here are a few photos. The outside of the box is how I picked it up, still dirty.
Thanks for looking!

 

[3xpendable]

Looks good

 

[91bronc300]

Great choice of color. I love the sound old friction slides make. What'cha going to put in it?

 

[jeffmoss26]

It's not dirty...it just has character. Very nice!

 

[CAOS]

Great choice of color. I love the sound old friction slides make. What'cha going to put in it?

I am going to use it to hold all of my taps, dies and drill bits. As well as all of the associated tooling that goes with using them, tap handles, tap sockets etc.

Thanks guys!

 

[toymn6366]

i had a craftsman made by kennedy like that i sold at a swapmeet after i bought this sk one give 35 bucks for it then last weekend at fleamarket a guy setup across from me had this kennedy give $5 for it going to use it as junkyard/truck box when get it strightened out

 

[hifi_hokie]

I like the red

 

[Outlawmws]

With that center latch, and the leather handle, that this is an old one! Probably pre WWII...

For something going on 75 or so years old, its in pretty good condition!

Get some Nevr-Dull and clean up the rust on the latches and use WD-40 (Kennedy recommends this) for cleaning the paint!

 

[goodspeed]

Great Boxes. I have the same one and used it daily in a shop I was working at. Now, with a career change and a larger kennedy box on the way, it's going to be a chest to hold my drafting pens and such. Every toolbox in my garage would be a kennedy if I could afford it. Lol

 

[Packard V8]

You'll enjoy it. They're as handy as a pocket on a shirt. I have five of those I use for taps, dies, punches, chisels, files, drills, reamers, knives, scissors, anything small, round or flat.

jack vines.

 

[CAOS]

With that center latch, and the leather handle, that this is an old one! Probably pre WWII...

For something going on 75 or so years old, its in pretty good condition!

Get some Nevr-Dull and clean up the rust on the latches and use WD-40 (Kennedy recommends this) for cleaning the paint!

Awesome, thanks for the tips. I have some Nevr-Dull, I will give it a shot tomorrow. I really wish they were date stamped, the only marking I can find is the "Kennedy" script on the center latch.

 

[Outlawmws]

Pics of the decal inside the top or inside the front door can help.

 

[CAOS]

Pics of the decal inside the top or inside the front door can help.

The only marking is on the center latch, both of those decals are missing. Thats what had me stumped when I picked it up, until I noticed the center latch!

 

[Geurt]

Man this is a nice box, the red makes it pop!

 

[rshadd]

Nice box. I have Kennedy Kits #520 which seems to be very similar.

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice box. I have Kennedy Kits #520 which seems to be very similar.

The OP's box is a Kennedy 520,just a very early one.

Yours looks like either a knock off or one made by Kennedy for rebranding. the Drawer pulls are not std Kennedy issue on yours. Is there a Kennedy Logo anywhere on yours?

 

[Outlawmws]

Caos,

I'm going to back off on the age of your just a bit, on the really old ones, the top is made with square corners all around, but yours also has the old style latch and the leather handle (Maybe that was replaced?). I'm not sure when they went to the rolled corners on the top, or to the cylinder locks and internal latch. So maybe mid/late 40's?

 

[rshadd]

The OP's box is a Kennedy 520,just a very early one.

Yours looks like either a knock off or one made by Kennedy for rebranding. the Drawer pulls are not std Kennedy issue on yours. Is there a Kennedy Logo anywhere on yours?

 

[IndyGarage]

I bought a new 7 drawer a few months ago - which is the cheapest one. I think they're about $220 at Enco.

I think it has the Kennedy signature under the top and on the bottom of the box.

There was something in the box that made me think they were made by Waterloo.

 

[Outlawmws]

That's different, I can't recall seeing those drawer pulls on a Kennedy before. I wonder if it was tied to the Hammertone finish, which was also a fairly rare option?

 

[Outlawmws]

I bought a new 7 drawer a few months ago - which is the cheapest one. I think they're about $220 at Enco.

I think it has the Kennedy signature under the top and on the bottom of the box.

There was something in the box that made me think they were made by Waterloo.

I don't think Kennedy farms out boxes to be made. More likely the other way around, especially for component parts like slides and such.

 

[rshadd]

I dunno. I inherited it from my Grandfather who was the sheet metal mechanic for the Air Force.

 

[Packard V8]

Yours looks like either a knock off or one made by Kennedy for rebranding. the Drawer pulls are not std Kennedy issue on yours. Is there a Kennedy Logo anywhere on yours?

Like Outlawmws, my first thought upon seeing the pulls and hammertone was "Parks."

The "Kennedy Kits" might be suggestive. Anyone seen these sold for uses other than by machinists?

jack vines

 

[Outlawmws]

Yes, Kennedy has a strong presence in the industrial box market, and used to have a larger presence in the automotive box market. 25 years ago OSH, (then a local Hardware store chain, now far larger...) sold a lot of Kennedy. I bought a 26" machinist class box from them (mis-marked to $69!) and later bought my 6 drawer top and 2 drawer intermediate mechanic's boxes to replace my 10 drawer Craftsman box,as it was to heavy to move from bench top to truck bed when I was racing. Split like that it is doable.

I also have two 8 drawer rollers from the 50's that are not machinists boxes, but for mechanics of industrial maintenance. One is smooth red and one the normal wrinkle brown.

 

[CAOS]

Caos,

I'm going to back off on the age of your just a bit, on the really old ones, the top is made with square corners all around, but yours also has the old style latch and the leather handle (Maybe that was replaced?). I'm not sure when they went to the rolled corners on the top, or to the cylinder locks and internal latch. So maybe mid/late 40's?

Yea through the information I could find on the WWW, I found one that had the square corners on the top with the same latches etc. As far I can tell all of the rivets are original.

Maybe I will email Kennedy and see if they have some info they could tell a person on different models over the years? Needless to say this is now my favourite box I own, which is all that matters!

 

[goodspeed]

There's one that I picked up a little while back. Anybody know what age that one would be?

http://sphotos-a.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/545743_10151129289085760_489288343_n.jpg

There it is after I stripped it, beat on it, and gave it a quick coat of paint. Looks decent enough for a worker. You can see my other kennedy box in that photo, too, and I have it's big brother on the way as well.

 

[CAOS]

Beautiful!!!

 

[Packard V8]

IIRC, the three-large-drawer box you have was originally marketed as a mechanic's box. Does yours show any evidence of a lift-out top tray?

jack vines

 

[DekeT]

Besides Wd40 Kennedy also recommends Murphey's oil soap for cleanup. I tried both on an old box and I thought the soap cleaned a lot better. HOT water and oil soap worked wonders to restore the paint.

 

[Alamedasam]

I have the exact same Kennedy box. I got it from my grandfather. It was his main tool box.
I use it for my Dremmel & Exacto stuff. I really like the red liner!

 

[Faust]

I just picked up an identical box at an auction yesterday. It is labled "Kennedy Kits -520". It has the Kennedy signature on top and standard rectangular drawer pulls. So, I think yours is a Kennedy. Just in passing I got mine in Massachusetts.

It has always been the case that big manufacturers made "low lines" for big retailers, such as Sears. Maybe that is what these are. I don't know what to make of "Kennedy Kits".