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My Craigslist Snap On toolbox score!

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mbatarga

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I've been watching Craigslist for several years and have picked up several power tools for my woodworking and carpentry hobbies - including pneumatic nailers, saws, etc.. I've also picked up a some landscaping equiptment - Stihl edger, a 10 HP Chipper Scredder, etc.

More recently I've been looking for a tool cabinet for an "upgrade" from my existing Popular Mechanics 3 piece set. I was looking to spend as little as possible (surprised?) and was willing to wait things out for the good deal. I was also prepared to buy something older and restore it. I think I got that deal yesterday! Two evenings ago I noticed an ad for a Snap On tool cabinet and chest but it was rather vaguely worded in terms of condition, age, etc. No model numbers or anything to go on actually. I emailed the owner and gave my cell number and asked him to call. We exchanged a few emails and I finally got his cell number and made arrangements to drive over and look at them.

He bought these boxes new, when he was 16 - 31 years ago! The boxes are KR537A and KR557B models with 1978 mfr dates. They are in fairly good shape - a few dings here and there. Two of the larger drawers stick, but some lube should help there. He even had a few tools left in some of the drawers and told me to keep those. There are 4 adapters of Mac, Snap On, or Craftsman brand, a few Craftsman center punches, a pair of snap ring pliers, 5 or 6 screw extractors, a dozen or so drill bits, 2 pair of tweezers and several other items.

My plans are to remove all stickers, clean up all of the pieces and repaint and restore it to like new condition.
 

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TheToolMan

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I had that box when i was younger, That was my first tool box. Great box. I wish i still had it. I love all the small drawers. Good luck with it
 
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billymade

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I would do a thorough degrease/cleaning and then cut/buff with high quality compounds/polishes; you might really be surprised how old high quality paint will come back from the dead! If the paint is essentially good (which it looks like it is); the original classic look and paint is unique; it may really be ok, the way it is when you clean/polish it out! Just a thought; your going to have to throughly degrease/clean it anyway; try buffing it out and then evaluate how it looks.... you might really be suprised with your results! :)
 
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Bull

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I believe a price is mandatory with a "score" thread:bounce:
 
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peteco

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A friend of mine works as an apartment maintenance guy. People give him stuff all the time when they are moving. 2 summers ago a tenant gave him this exact tool chest, with a load of old, well used Snap-on and Mac tools. It had a damaged wheel and some of the drawers don't slide smoothly. He sold the tool chest (it also had a side hang-on cabinet) to me for $150. I assume that is a YOU **** price. (Of course he got the ultimate YOU **** deal)
 
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mbatarga

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Okay - I paid $200. I'm very happy and consider it a great price.

I spent a few hours this afternoon cleaning it up some and found a 7/16 Snap On open end wrench, a Craftsman screwdriver and a few more drill bits in the bottom of the cabinet. The snap ring (?) pliers are marked K-D No 2020A - at least I believe that's what they are.

How do I remove the drawers from the slides? There is a metal tab visible at the front edge of each slide, and I tried inserting a screwdriver to pull it away from the drawer, but that didn't seem to do anything.
 
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Bull

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I'd say that was a great price, yes.

Amazing on the small world nature of the deal. Good eye, Diesel-Mech!
 
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rsanter

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visalia ca
I have that box or a 'cousin' model to it and I love it
I so want a bigget box but could just not even part with that one
got it because of the row of small drawers on the right

double that price would still be a total bargain

bob
 
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Lookin4'67Galaxieconv

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LoneGunman said:
LOL I cant believe its the same box from that thread, thats a trip.
Click to expand...

Yep...saw the thread title on this one and thought to myself, I wonder...then when I saw he had Atlanta listed, I just knew it had to be the same one.

We talked on the phone and had a good laugh about it. He truly needed it, so I'm glad he got it. Sometimes things just work out for the best. I've been on the receiving end of that before. :)
 
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mbatarga

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Diesel-Mech said:
Looks like some sort of drawer numbering system on adhesive or magnetic labels to me. :headscrat
Click to expand...

The owner had Dyno labels for each drawer. TOP, T1-T5 (top 1 through 5), S1 - S7 (side 1 through 7), and B1-B7 (bottom 1 through 7). I think he had an inventory list that he would refer to for what was in each drawer.
 
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Tool Pants

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I have seen pictures of that style box on Craigslist that has small draws to the right behind a cover, but have not seen that box in person. What is this about dividers in the larger drawers?
 
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justinmc

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Man for $200 you can't beat that score with a stick.... seriously nice pickup. It looks a little dingy but like you said.. just clean it up and degrease it. Wax it up and you're all set! Man.. nice nice nice. Lots of people cleaning out some good boxes on craigslist lately.
 
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caper

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Most of the larger drawers have one or two 1/2" high dividers that run the width of the drawer.Sometimes its good for keeping things separated other times its a pain cuz bigger items rest on top of the divider and don't sit all the way down in the drawer.Just my pet peeve with the box,others may like them.
 
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macinco

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Mar 24, 2009
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Hi ya... I also got a score (VERY similar to this), same top and bottom boxes I think (and also Caper's box in the picture in this thread. t also has a little 5 drawer side box, and another full length side bos with three drawers inside... A little beat/very used but generally OK. (300 from craigslist, cause I know someone is gonna ask).

But like the OP, mine DOES NOT have the aluminum drawer pulls/trim (and I see Caper's box does have them.)

I would like to add them, because I think the bozes look MUCH nicer with them. (I also have a KR555 9 drawer bottom box (considerably higher quality box/construction than the KRA537/557/etc I just got). It has the aluminum drawer trim, and I really like the lok of the aluminum drawer trim.

So, my question is, has anyone added the aluminum drawer trim on? It looks like it would be easy to cut to length/install if I could find some sticks of this stuff.

Anyone have any clues as to where I can buy this stuff, and how much and/or other cheaper alternatives that look and work great? (I'll try to post some pictures of what I got later this weekend.

(I took some compound and polishes and such and had tried a few spots....its gonna take some SERIOUS elbow grease to get this baby cleaned up and shiny)

Thanks in advance for any advice you mught have for me.
 
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mbatarga

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Well, it's been a while since I purchased the toolbox. It's been a side project that I've worked on periodically. I disassembled everything that would separate and cleaned all of the sticker residue and grease and oil. I removed a few of the loose dividers and filled a few remaining holes with my MIG. I sanded everything down and wiped it all down with lacquer thinner. I don't want to think about how many hrs I spent getting it ready for painting.

I'm fortunate to have a buddy that owns his own metal painting shop. It's called Atlanta Metal Coating and he's been in business for something like 26 years (for those in the metro, it's just off the Pleasantdale exit at I85.) I took all of the parts down to his shop several months ago, and he was able to spray them with primer. A couple of weeks later, I spent several hrs one afternoon sanding (again.)

This Saturday I met up with Philip and he shot two base coats of white and baked it in his oven for a bit. I then hand sanded all of the surfaces with a sanding pad. He then shot it with two coats of lacquer and we baked that dry. We spent about 6 hrs total, and this is in a commercial paint shop with all of the right equipment and skill (his!) I don't want to think how long it would have taken me to get this project completed from home.

As part of reassembly, I had bought new casters, as the original ones had actually lost about 3/4" in diameter from wear. I bought 6 rolls of liner from HF today and cut the pieces to size for all drawers. I'll spend several nights this week swapping out my tools from my other tool cabinet (Popular Mechanics brand) that I've already promised to sell to a co-worker.

Over-all, I am very pleased. I don't know that I'd approach another tool cabinet project like this though! I've got to have about 40 hours or more of my labor in this thing.
 

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Lookin4'67Galaxieconv

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40 hours...that's it?! I have about fifty in my Rick Mears box alone! :)

Looks great. It's a lot of work but you've got a great setup for the rest of your days. :thumbup:
 
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