Machinists get in here?

[Jello-D]

Show off your machining tools and boxes!

 

[larry_g]

You'll have to look in my build thread below. Welcome to the group.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Hafen_Kafer]

For years I rolled around in a Red Waterloo Box. I was the joke of the shop. This is the time I moved the waterloo to another shop.

Old set up:

New Kennedy set up:

Kennedy_box1

Custom drawer pulls

Surface plate

Kennedy_box2

Kennedy_box3

 

[southalabama]

Cool pic of the vw. It's got an artistic flair. Everything except the toolbox is black and white or appears so.

 

[Troutsqueezer]

When you have a small shop then you need small tools.
But that's just fine.
Smaller tools take smaller bites.
It's just a hobby, not a production facility.
I have the time.
Taking bigger bites, it's easy to take off too much metal.
Then you have a wall part.
You throw the part up against the wall because you've just wasted two hours on a part that's too small.
And the rotary table doesn't weigh 500 lbs.
Notice the height of the machines and the "working" chair.
No more aching back.
Beer refer off to the right.

 

[sonvolt]

I will get some Gerstner pics on Monday, not that im anxious to go back to work !

 

[mtnwalton]

Only pic i have for now is a box i built during my apprenticeship, almost 40 yrs ago. I'm retired now, but my boxes at work were a couple of the small machinist style, one a Craftsman wooden. Most machinists where I've worked only had one box or one box and a riser. Most shops had toolrooms where you check out or requisition everything from drill bits, lathe tooling, milling cutters etc. So boxes didn't need to be large. Precision tools don't need much room.

 

[Jon Jacobs]

some tool boxes ive collected over the years. middle ones my dads.

 

[zkling]

For years I rolled around in a Red Waterloo Box. I was the joke of the shop. This is the time I moved the waterloo to another shop.

That is one thing I have never understood. It's like an unwritten rule to be considered a competent machinist, one must own a kennedy box. Only if one is above ~60 years of age is he allowed to own a gerstner.

If people think mechanics are snobby about brand, hang around some middle aged machinists. Down right brutal.

 

[Jon Jacobs]

Kennedy Cabinets are designed to hold precision measuring tools. The centre drawer in the top chest is specifically designed to hold the Machinerys Handbook or "the bible" as its referred to in the trade. Kennedy chests designed to accommodate other Kennedy chests only. Once you buy the first top chest which usually goes on you bench at first, youre kinda committed. There beautifully made. There usually passed down. Although you can buy mechanics boxes from Kennedy, There expensive and for the money I would buy Snap-on.

 

[LOTW]

That is one thing I have never understood. It's like an unwritten rule to be considered a competent machinist, one must own a kennedy box. Only if one is above ~60 years of age is he allowed to own a gerstner.

If people think mechanics are snobby about brand, hang around some middle aged machinists. Down right brutal.

I recently sold my Kennedy roller. It had friction slides that were near impossible to open from overloading with tooling.
I replaced it with a snap on cabinet, a repo off the truck. This is for my home shop.

At work they bought us all new Kennedys with ball bearing slides so we all match....
I would love to find a gerstner but they are hard to come by.

 

[A_Pmech]

I promised myself that I would build my tool chest rather than buy it. Ideally, I'd like to copy the basic design of the Moore tooling cabinet in Walnut. I haven't gotten around to it yet, so most of my small tools are in a 54" black and yellow mechanic's toolbox from the farm store. One day...

Only pic i have for now is a box i built during my apprenticeship, almost 40 yrs ago. I'm retired now, but my boxes at work were a couple of the small machinist style, one a Craftsman wooden. Most machinists where I've worked only had one box or one box and a riser. Most shops had toolrooms where you check out or requisition everything from drill bits, lathe tooling, milling cutters etc. So boxes didn't need to be large. Precision tools don't need much room.

 

[PCO6]

I'm enjoying this thread already. Wish I had something to contribute!

 

[JoeFin]

I promised myself that I would build my tool chest rather than buy it.

This was the first 1 many years ago

Don't have any good pics of the 1 I have now

 

[WWIIjeep]

That is one thing I have never understood. It's like an unwritten rule to be considered a competent machinist, one must own a kennedy box. Only if one is above ~60 years of age is he allowed to own a gerstner.

Gerstner rules, Kennedy drools.

Almost nobody used Kennedys for precision tools when I started working. The guys who had Kennedy 520s or 620s mostly just used them for tooling and odds and ends. Their precision tools were in a Gerstner or a Union or a chest they had built themselves. I started with a hand-me-down Kennedy 620, and moved up to a Gerstner as soon as I could afford one.

Later, I did something sacrilegious, since by that time Gerstner had stopped making the riser I had finally gotten around to wanting for my O52, and the non-matching R97DXL that was the closest replacement was about double the price I originally paid (new) for my O52.

 

[bobcatdan]

I'm not a machinist by any means. The neighbor to my old work is a retired machinist band has a very nice shop in a two car garage. With having every other Monday off now, I'm trying to find time to help him out with his 5/8 scale international 10-20 he is building from scratch.

 

[Jon Jacobs]

this one appears to be home made. I think its really cool, I would like to make a replica.

 

[J king]

Here's one of mine.

 

[ttpete]

Gerstner rules, Kennedy drools.

Almost nobody used Kennedys for precision tools when I started working. The guys who had Kennedy 520s or 620s mostly just used them for tooling and odds and ends. Their precision tools were in a Gerstner or a Union or a chest they had built themselves. I started with a hand-me-down Kennedy 620, and moved up to a Gerstner as soon as I could afford one.

Later, I did something sacrilegious, since by that time Gerstner had stopped making the riser I had finally gotten around to wanting for my O52, and the non-matching R97DXL that was the closest replacement was about double the price I originally paid (new) for my O52.

I was lucky enough to find a set of Gerstners, a box similar to that and a riser, both almost mint condition. Cost me $500. The top box has both a handbook drawer and a locking compartment, which I assume would be a place for personal things that wouldn't be worn while working, things like rings and watches. It has a little tray inside.

 

[sonvolt]

My Gerstner boxes

 

[rick carpenter]

When you have a small shop then you need small tools.
But that's just fine.
Smaller tools take smaller bites.
It's just a hobby, not a production facility.
I have the time.
Taking bigger bites, it's easy to take off too much metal.
Then you have a wall part.
You throw the part up against the wall because you've just wasted two hours on a part that's too small.
And the rotary table doesn't weigh 500 lbs.
Notice the height of the machines and the "working" chair.
No more aching back.
Beer refer off to the right.

Very nice, comfortable-looking space. Need you a bigger fridge tho!

 

[sasquatch12]

That space and small machines clearly demonstrate that even if one was forced to move into an apartment, a spare bedroom could be nicely set up as a workshop to produce small items. The machines and tooling are small enough that they could be "smuggled" in in a box without the landlord, or neighbours know what you were up to. Anything to keep one busy and sane.

 

[Hantke]

That is one thing I have never understood. It's like an unwritten rule to be considered a competent machinist, one must own a kennedy box. Only if one is above ~60 years of age is he allowed to own a gerstner.

If people think mechanics are snobby about brand, hang around some middle aged machinists. Down right brutal.

Kennedy or go home. Is that not a starret in your box? get out of my shop now. Someone lent you a outside micrometer? better go get it re-adjusted before bringing it back, just in case, quadruple check it. still now happy? OK let me go do that one more time for ya, haha. We had a group joke about the machinists tools, for some reason he always let me borrow them, and i always took really good care of them, but he would bash the **** out of some of the other guys who used his micrometer, I think he made the apprentice have it checked about 5 times then do it himself 5 more hah.

 

[DynoDale]

Machining/setup tools

Measuring. I've added another side box since this photo was taken. Photo here

Some spares