Let's see your toolbox.

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

It was a fun project. The rust was horrible though... heavily pitted on the bottom part. I got it as clean as I could and used some hammered finish grey Rustoleum to both hide the pits and protect it from further corrosion.

I added the upper box handles since the photos. I still need to sort out the locks... the keys might still be around. The casters will come in the future and I plan on using spray truck bed liner to line the drawers.

Looks really good! So you used the hammered grey Rustoleum for the whole thing? What was the paint you used for the red? Did you use aluminum paint for the drawer trim pieces?

Never seen someone use spray bed truck liner for the drawers. If you end up doing that, definitely post pics.

 

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

Just refinished my dads old toolbox. It is one like "Lookin4'67Galaxieconv" redid. Mine is stamped 1967 on both boxes. My stepdad thought the thing was red.... nope, that was just the rust!

Nice Ramones poster in the background!

 

[jim m]

Just refinished my dads old toolbox. It is one like "Lookin4'67Galaxieconv" redid. Mine is stamped 1967 on both boxes. My stepdad thought the thing was red.... nope, that was just the rust!

very nice! makes me want to get started on the 4 drawer top I have of the same vintage. Im still looking for a name badge for mine.
Was watching tank over haul the m4 chafe epasode and the gutythat has it runs a trash/recycling company and they were crushing on that wasn really nice shape what a shame



Jim

 

[arkangel06]

zrexxer awesome tools

I love how matco puts its logo on the box like that!

 

[D50boy]

Looks really good! So you used the hammered grey Rustoleum for the whole thing? What was the paint you used for the red? Did you use aluminum paint for the drawer trim pieces?

Never seen someone use spray bed truck liner for the drawers. If you end up doing that, definitely post pics.

Yea, I actually had to get Lowes to special order it. I tried 10 different paint stores and NOBODY carried the hammered grey... they had plenty of green, gold, bronze, and silver, but no grey! Who would have thought it wasn't a popular color? For the drawers, I used the "Rustoleum Professional" in "safety red". For the aluminum drawer pulls- I just refreshed them with a wire brush, then masked them off with blue tape before the respray. Worked better than I thought it would. On the top box pulls (not pictured but installed), I used that can of paint sitting on the shelf. It's a chrome colored paint I picked up at Sherwin Williams while I was shopping for the grey Rustoleum. That stuff worked out very well.... spray was smooooooooth as silk. I was a dummy and scratched one of the pulls while putting the last screw in, but I just left it. I would have liked to have the white face on the logo, but I'm a horrible painter. I hit them with some 2000 grit paper and called it a day.

I'll definately post pics up when I get the bed liner in. I just need some spare time and coin.

 

[Mickey O]

Some of the red colors I have found that are decent matches for older boxes and look pretty good are Krylon Banner Red, Sears Fresh and Easy RED FE505 and old cans of Imperail Bright Red 13.

 

[Joe H]

Here is my modest little setup at work. Definitely a work in progress.

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[54 FIFO WAGON]

So here is my little contribution to the thread. This is my first post so go easy on me. Two Lista shallow depth, counter height cabinets w/2" thk. X 10' lg. maple butcher block top. Just got the top finished today. It is covered with 1/8" thk. Kleer Kote. Same kinda stuff used on bar tops. It looks like a sheet of glass on top. And I had to make it mine so I branded it.

 

[RLRRLRLL]

Heres my new box, nothing special. I didint notice the bottom craftsman badge missing till i got it home, no big deal but i plan on gettin a new one for it. Also ill post a pic of an old snap on box i have sitting in my garage.

 

[84scrambler]

Here is mine...the top is an older craftsman box and I'm not sure what the bottom is (I doubt Caterpillar ever made a tool box).

 

[VegasBruce]

Here is my mess.

 

[mrjsl]

All my stuff is pretty old...

 

[selohssa]

This is my first post. I have been following this thread for a while and decided to buy an old box. I ended up buying two boxes and sold off one. I now have a grand total of $80 into this one. I will clean it all up and do some repairs to it. It will sit beside my vintage MAC box of the same size.

 

[mkdive]

That's one heck of a box for the price! Welcome and nice first post....post some pictures as you fill it up!

 

[caper]

All my stuff is pretty old...

Some of that "old" stuff is way better than the newer stuff.Those old style Snap on angled head wrenches are drool worthy That old Detroit Diesel sticker is awesome by the way!

 

[justinmc]

This is my first post. I have been following this thread for a while and decided to buy an old box. I ended up buying two boxes and sold off one. I now have a grand total of $80 into this one. I will clean it all up and do some repairs to it. It will sit beside my vintage MAC box of the same size.

Wow.. for $80 can't argue with that! Nice looking classic box!

 

[Mickey O]

Pa, Ma and Jr.

 

[sstruckguy]

Hahahaha..nice little gif action Mickey.

The boxes aren't bad either

 

[Eds_tls]

I just bought the top box 2 weeks ago. I'm still not totally happy with the orginization, but it will do for now

 

[Mickey O]

More tool box fun:

 

[Steve from Socal]

The first pic is my old top and bottom from 1973 and the "newer" is from around 1980ish.

Steve

 

[Deafautotech]

More tool box fun:

ha ha that is so funny show!! BUT maybe you need set up a night time video to watch those tool chests to see if you could catch ghost or have a recorded the EVP???

 

[jcriss]

hey, Jeff here.
this is just one of my boxes, between the Kennedy/ Blackhawk boxes there's 2,000$ in just the boxes. not counting the 13k plus of machinist/mechanic tools in it. its as tall as I am, with my Crissman Hotrods & Customs logo across the top of the lid, with the Ford v8 logo as the center of it

 

[Joe69]

look's like a 6428r

Joe - What model is it? That is one nice, really nice box. Love the love and 8" casters

It's an MB8545.

Joe

 

[SebringSilverZ]

My (2nd hand) boxes:

Classic 78. Still trying to acquire tools to fill it up.

This was to be a temporary box until I found something bigger that I liked. Just so happened I found the classic 78 two weeks after I bought this. It fits my work bench so well I decided to keep it.

Sold these to acquire the above boxes.

 

[justinmc]

My (2nd hand) boxes:

This was to be a temporary box until I found something bigger that I liked. Just so happened I found the classic 78 two weeks after I bought this. It fits my work bench so well I decided to keep it.

Whats in the KRA 26" box in the workbench? I've been debating building a bench "around" my old Kobalt bottom box and using it to store/organize stuff like my drill bits, tap/die stuff, soldering stuff, etc.. the type of stuff you'd probably do on the bench or chunk into the vice to work on. Just wondering how that was working out for you.

PS.. Nice collection in the Classic 78! Love that assortment of hard handled stuff

 

[SebringSilverZ]

Whats in the KRA 26" box in the workbench? I've been debating building a bench "around" my old Kobalt bottom box and using it to store/organize stuff like my drill bits, tap/die stuff, soldering stuff, etc.. the type of stuff you'd probably do on the bench or chunk into the vice to work on. Just wondering how that was working out for you.

PS.. Nice collection in the Classic 78! Love that assortment of hard handled stuff

I'm using the KRA 26" for basically what you describe. The top drawer has knives, scissors, pens, pencils, ruler, etc. The second drawer has a couple of router jigs and such. Third drawer has drill bits and jig saw blades. Fourth drawer is storage for nuts, bolts, screws, etc. Fifth drawer is electrical - solder iron, connectors, etc. Sixth drawer has clamps. Bottom drawer has my jig saw.

Thanks on the classic 78. I really like having the bigger bottom and work surface instead of the stacked unit I previously had. I've acquired the hard handles and almost all my tools via the internet (here, ebay, craigslist, other forums) which has saved me a considerable amount of money. Hopefully I can continue to find stuff to fill it up!

 

[dieseldodge01]

The first one is 1 of 3 of my Dads toolboxes, a Snap-On KRA 61B top and a KRA 300B vintage 68 and 67:

The Second is his Kennedy Tool box, Top was made for JcPenney and bottom was made Interntional Harvester in Fort Wayne, IN, but too many were made:

His last box is also a Kennedy with a machinist top box and unknown Kennedy bottom with custom "coffin" side locker:

And Finally Mine:

They all have that "lived in" feel

 

[Bull]

Here is mine...the top is an older craftsman box and I'm not sure what the bottom is (I doubt Caterpillar ever made a tool box).

I LOVE that particular vintage of Craftsman box. I am hoping to find some more locally to add to the few that I have from my dad and uncle.

 

[84scrambler]

My buddy didn't have a need for it and gave it to me about 8 years ago. I have enjoyed it since and doubt I will ever get rid of it. I ran across two of them in some recently craigslist adds in the bay area so they are definitely out there.
Here is another front shot of it..

 

[Flash21]

My (2nd hand) boxes:

Classic 78. Still trying to acquire tools to fill it up.

Nice setup SSZ, very clean looking. The box doesn't even look 2nd hand...looks brand new.

Nice screwdriver drawer! Nice mix of hard handles and soft grips.

 

[onewaydave]

I made it in one sitting. I know its growing, and I'll be back with my own pics. But just some observations.
1. "You ****" is definitely deserved a whole lot more than it has been used.
2. You win. You know who you are. Heck, I won't live long enough to catch up with some of you, money not with standing.
3. Some are flush with tools AND organized. That is just sick.
4. Some o' dem boxes would throw me into a panic attack just trying to figure out which tool to use and where it is!
5. I have acquired, bought, sold, given away and had stolen fewer that 10% of the tools in even some of the modest posts here in the last 50 years.
6. I remember swaping a 283 for a 396 in my '67 El Camino in the drive of base housing, Jacksonville, Fl using the tools in a hand carried, top tray, cantilevered tool box. Back in the day, you know?

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

6. I remember swaping a 283 for a 396 in my '67 El Camino in the drive of base housing, Jacksonville, Fl using the tools in a hand carried, top tray, cantilevered tool box. Back in the day, you know?

JMHO,

Back in the day of engine bays you could sit in to change your spark plugs, you could easily do 85% or greater of your work, with just a portable toolbox.

It was the combination of metric tools, and shrinking engine bays that caused the toolboxes to have to grow.

How much space could I have back, if I didn't need multiple boxes?

 

[Zrexxer]

I've finally got my sockets, ratchets, and extensions moved into my new box, so here's an updated picture of that now.

And I agree with Onewaydave, I don't need all these tools. A lot of it is just convenience, or just compulsive "accumulating."

As an example, when I worked for a Deere dealership many years ago, the business was going broke on a rocket sled. The owner owed money to everyone, and our paychecks started to bounce occasionally. It was obvious he was going to be out of business soon. Those of us in the shop were afraid that the IRS would show up one day and padlock the doors, and our tools would be locked up for God knows how long. So I came in one weekend with a friend and loaded up my boxes and took them home.

I then packed a 16 inch Craftsman hand box with just the essentials, and took it to work with me Monday morning. I earned my living out of that little box for a couple more months until they declared bankruptcy. Granted, I wasn't doing work on high-tech modern electronically controlled engines, but for most stuff, it can be done.

 

[SebringSilverZ]

Nice setup SSZ, very clean looking. The box doesn't even look 2nd hand...looks brand new.

Nice screwdriver drawer! Nice mix of hard handles and soft grips.

Thanks Kevin! Ratcheting screwdrivers I picked up from you are in there. The box is like brand new. The guy I picked it up from used it for less than a year. I need to polish the top and it will look like new too.

 

[Joe69]

OK, now I have pics of all of my roll around boxes.

My home box (Matco).

My box in the shop at work (Matco with a Snap-on side cabinet).

And my box in my service truck (Mac).

Joe

 

[scottmlew]

I like the drawer layout on your work box, and the Mac box fit into your truck like that is priceless!

 

[Joe69]

Finding quality boxes to fit into our trucks is becoming challenging. In my last truck, I installed a new Mac Economizer. It was junk. I ended up giving it away. It was in such bad shape after bouncing around for 6 years. The back panel of the roll around literally fell off. They are about the equivalent of a China toolbox, but it was the only name brand box I could find to fit well at the time. I guess they named it Economizer for a reason.

Joe

 

[hottbodyz]

my toolbox

 

[crashbumper]

Finally decided to post my box here; it was quite sparse prior to my joining the forum.

HF roll cab, painted the trim black.

Side box is an old Powerkraft given to me by dad. The Craftsman box above it was my first box.

Mostly metric stuff, although I have been buying some standard since I have been working on a friends '62 Lincoln.

A big thanks to anyone I have purchased from; you helped build a tool collection I thought would never happen. Keen eyes will spot the tools I purchased in their new home.