Saturday finds/Older Craftsman box Question

[jmm]

Came away better than I normally do. Picked up 2 big, new (scratch & dent/return?) Proto screw drivers, a sealed 10 pc SAE Mac socket set (sealed, Marked USA), several German wrenches (Heyco, Hazet...formerly car kit I think), a Bell System off set combo wrench, a Snap On Double open end wrench, and this box all for less than 70 bucks. No killer day, but I'm content enough to blabber on about it on the internet.

Anyone know anything about that box? A quick search here and on google yielded a few similar boxes, but no exact matches. I'd suspect it's older than I am [25]. It's made of much heavier gauge steel than a new, similarly sized box is. All the drawers -- sliding I-beam -- worked decent so I took it. Now I'm home and have the slides clean and lubed and they're working beautifully. Came with these weird felt-backed-plastic tray liners. The key is missing, though. I took the lock off to look for a code, no luck. Anyone know where I could get a replacement (just the lock, not the part on the back that moves)? Reckon Sears could help me? I see some locks on their site, but they're sort of outrageously priced, don't you think?

 

[mrbreezeet1]

something like this should work. May have to file the cams to fit or file your old cam to fit the lock.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00173CT58/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Ace hardware sells something like it too.

 

[rusty65]

Im pretty sure the box is made by kennedy. I have no clue on the searial number besides the Kennedy 526s look similar.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Looks like a newer version of a Craftsman box I bought a couple years ago.

 

[davesnothere]

That's a good box for $15. I like those old cman machinist boxes.

 

[jmm]

Stuart, nice box. Did you do anything to get your box back up and running, besides cleaning up the slides? I don't want to do a complete refurbish (the place I work is too dirty), but I'd like to maximize its life.

 

[goodspeed]

I'd love to have that box for 15 bucks! I have a kennedy 520 that's pretty much identical to it and I LOVE it.

 

[thundermug]

It looks a lot like my Kennedy, minus the Sears badge.

 

[larryq]

It's a Kennedy manufactured for Sears. Great find for $15.

If you need replacement hardware Kennedy or eBay can provide it. Though unless your slides are bent/broken I think all you need is to scrub things up and you'll be good to go. These are tough boxes and can take some abuse before really getting damaged.

They sell Kennedy locks on eBay too, though I'm not 100% they will fit in their manufactured-for-Sears boxes. I have a Craftsman/Kennedy 526 that uses a different lock style than a genuine 526 I also have.

 

[Outlawmws]

if you transfer the old lock cam over to a lock cylinder the right length, you should be good to go on the lock.

Yep, made by Kennedy, and is a clone of the 520. the 526 is 26" wide, not 20 as that appears to be.

Kennedy recommends cleaning their boxes with WD-40 and that seems to work well. I like to use a tooth bush on the wrinkle finish as its tough to get deep any other way, then wipe off the excess.

 

[Outlawmws]

ps: Crown logo indicates most likely 1960-66, and it might be as late as 73

 

[Outlawmws]

pps: any hardware store should have a cylinder lock the length you need.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

if you transfer the old lock cam over to a lock cylinder the right length, you should be good to go on the lock.

Yea, again, I think the one I linked to will work, IIRC it uses a 3/4" hole.
Have seen them at Ace hardware.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Stuart, nice box. Did you do anything to get your box back up and running, besides cleaning up the slides? I don't want to do a complete refurbish (the place I work is too dirty), but I'd like to maximize its life.

No, it's pretty much as you see it. The bottom of mine has a lot of surface rust but I haven't gotten around to doing anything with it. The worst part is the drawers were all lined with felt that was soaked with decades of grease and gunge so it smelled pretty bad until I ripped the felt out.