Show your “Crowntop” Craftsman

[four.cycle]

"...the red plastic insert..."

You know.... a guy with a 3D printer might be able to fabricate a replacement insert for THAT Craftsman box, which was a popular seller. (How many of those sets to YOU own with a broken insert?)
Might be a market for them - look what "Jim's Engine Decals" is doing with decals and stickers.

 

[alinc100]

You know.... a guy with a 3D printer might be able to fabricate a replacement insert for THAT Craftsman box, which was a popular seller. (How many of those sets to YOU own with a broken insert?)
Might be a market for them - look what "Jim's Engine Decals" is doing with decals and stickers.

Socket set tray insert - STLFinder

Tray insert for Craftsman 1/4 inch drive socket set

www.stlfinder.com

Plastic Insert for Craftsman 1/4 Metal Socket Set Red Insert ONLY - Etsy

This Wrenches, Ratchets & Sockets item by TimsToolShed has 19 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Las Vegas, NV. Listed on Jul 12, 2024

www.etsy.com

 

[RTM]

And here I’m thinking of building a vacuum former to make them look original.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Never was a fan of plastic inserts. They always break

 

[four.cycle]

^ always.

I have some sets which have seen interesting repair jobs done by previous owners.

 

[d42jeep]

Most of the time mine have arrived broken.
but not always.
-Don

 

[whitesco]

Socket set tray insert - STLFinder

Tray insert for Craftsman 1/4 inch drive socket set

www.stlfinder.com

Plastic Insert for Craftsman 1/4 Metal Socket Set Red Insert ONLY - Etsy

This Wrenches, Ratchets & Sockets item by TimsToolShed has 19 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Las Vegas, NV. Listed on Jul 12, 2024

www.etsy.com

I considered trying to print one but the way I use the box now, it holds a couple of ratchets, breaker bar, slider bar and some extensions so all my 1/4” drive stuff is together. Sockets are on a rail, having outgrown the original insert anyway.

 

[genog]

Found an old Crown Top box for router bits
Needs a good cleanup before I put it in use

 

[d42jeep]

I was gifted an apparently unused Crown **** Gage yesterday. I probably won’t be using it anytime soon.
-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

Picked up this hip roof this weekend! It looks rough but is actually solid on the bottom! Came in part of a huge lot of tools I picked so it’s virtually free

 

[fishwatcher]

I will assume that these Craftsman Professional chisels qualify as "crowntop" although truth be told, the handles remind just a bit of the older Amber handle screwdrivers. Found at a lunchtime blow-by at a garage sale where I barely slowed down other than to pay on the way out the door.

Nice!

Here is my Crown logoed chisel. I restored with sandpaper and micro polishing paper it a few months ago. It was my dad’s and somebody said it was from 68’-72’, which is when my dad bought our first house (and when I was born). It says Made in Holland and Swedish steel on the back.

I posted this thread about it before I knew about this one.

 

[d42jeep]

This offset screwdriver certainly fits the category. I assume that it was sourced from Millers Falls.
-Don

 

[Boogerman]

Estate sale found CM box I hadn't seen before. Wanted toolbox badge for my collection. Kind of a shame to remove it; but it's a nice box and will get some use from the next owner, without the badge.

 

[d42jeep]

Estate sale found CM box I hadn't seen before. Wanted toolbox badge for my collection. Kind of a shame to remove it; but it's a nice box and will get some use from the next owner, without the badge.

View attachment 1881501
View attachment 1881502

I found this one in 2016 at a garage sale. Nice heavy duty box. It’s a user for me.
-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

Estate sale found CM box I hadn't seen before. Wanted toolbox badge for my collection. Kind of a shame to remove it; but it's a nice box and will get some use from the next owner, without the badge.

View attachment 1881501
View attachment 1881502

Ummm, please don’t do that. That is a heavy duty edition marketed by Sears for commercial use. To find that box in that shape is not very common.

 

[Macduf]

First one ive seen, not sure what its for

 

[Old Radar]

It's a saw set for circular saw blades. Just like hand saw sets, it bends alternate individual teeth out slightly to create a wider kerf for the blade to pass through, preventing binding.

 

[d42jeep]

I’m never sure where to post Craftsman =V= tools. I believe that the tray came out of a Crown toolbox but it was too dark to be sure in the estate sale garage. The tools cleaned up well but almost every one is stamped with an “X”. At least the owner’s marks are fairly subtle. Here is the cleaned up Craftsman =V= haul from Saturday. I’ll probably end up flipping these to help fund future sales.
-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

I’m never sure where to post Craftsman =V= tools. I believe that the tray came out of a Crown toolbox but it was too dark to be sure in the estate sale garage. The tools cleaned up well but almost every one is stamped with an “X”. At least the owner’s marks are fairly subtle. Here is the cleaned up Craftsman =V= haul from Saturday. I’ll probably end up flipping these to help fund future sales.
-Don

Nice finds Don! The tray is heritage/ crown top era tool box. I would say that you posted them in the correct area. I will tell you the ratchet adapter looks clean and is probably $50 or more on eBay. Research it in sold listings

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks. I’ve been listing some Craftsman on the GJ classifieds. I’ll probably post it there for a little less. I quit selling on eBay for a while after the income tax requirements came into play. I may go there again sometime but I don’t miss splitting the profits with them and PayPal.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I pulled my =V= 3/8” drive box out of the basement to see if I had gathered any tools that would be upgrades. I found a few items including some larger 8 point sockets from Saturday’s haul.
-Don

 

[1982fxr]

mine

 

[Smokeshow69]

mine

Oh dang . This is a pretty rare mid chest and even rarer that is has the crown top badge. It can be dated to ‘58 or ‘59. What date is stamped behind the logo?

 

[oak_park]

Some cool SAE and rarer Metric Crown Logo pouches and tools I missed the other day at a local sale. 3/4 Crown Commercial logo grinder too. They all looked minty.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Some cool SAE and rarer Metric Crown Logo pouches and tools I missed the other day at a local sale. 3/4 Crown Commercial logo grinder too. They all looked minty.

Uhh, the real keeper of that bunch is those ratcheting wrench sockets in the packages on the lower portion of the table. That’s seriously $300 sitting there. You could have bought everything and sold those 2 pieces and had free tools

 

[alinc100]

Uhh, the real keeper of that bunch is those ratcheting wrench sockets in the packages on the lower portion of the table. That’s seriously $300 sitting there. You could have bought everything and sold those 2 pieces and had free tools

I'll bet that was a pretty pricey table. Somebody will be posting bragging rights somewhere.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are the =v= sockets I cleaned up yesterday after finding these Craftsman tools on Sunday. My opinion is that the =v= tools are the best of the postwar Craftsman offerings.
-Don
Sunday estate sale finds

 

[twagler]

I made my first ever Crowntop Craftsman acquisition today. I'll be honest and admit that I didn't even know what Crowntop meant before, but sure enough, I found the right thread in GJ to educate me and allow me to show it off.

I have a soft spot for vintage metal cabinets which I use for tool storage, so responded immediately when I saw this posted on FB Marketplace. A nice 3 drawer unit, with shelf below. Included is a cover which pulls out and drops down to lock it up and which also reveals the Crowntop logo. The drawers are decent enough, but certainly not up to toolbox ball-bearing slider standard. It was advertised as a "tool stand" so I started perusing Sears Power Tool catalogs, and finally figured out that it is the optional stand sold in 1959 for the Craftsman Accra-Arm radial arm saw (see advertisement below). Which makes sense, since the seller was a real estate agent, clearing the contents left in the basement of the house of a deceased fellow who was an avid woodworker. It has some minor rust, but overall not in too bad condition for a 60+ year old cabinet.

 

[FrankLee]

 

[genog]

I buy as many old chisels that I run across at Garage Sales, Flea Markets, et al so that I can sharpen them
I am getting halfway mediocre at it.

My wife's Uncle Phil who is a Knife Maker has been tutoring me

 

[Mick56]

Picked this up the other day

 

[genog]

Well...
Found another Crown Top chisel
Can't pass them up when they are only a buck or less

 

[Boogerman]

Needed motor for project last week, so bought CM 8" tablesaw/jointer combo and scrapped it. Got a pedestal stand from it, and the motor I needed; table went to guy to use as welding table, rest into scrap metal after no interest in parts here. Aluminum front was dented up; I thought I can do something with it! Quick trip through metal shear and washed 70 years of grime off and ended up nice crown logo sign, about 2 x 14 inches.

 

[Zrxrunner]

Great idea, Boog! With the abundance of carry boxes and tablesaws around me, I have some picker and scrapper friends that keep an eye out for nothing more than the badges and emblems sometimes. Even if bulky items have been thrashed and abused, sometimes they still have great condition decorations hanging off them!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Found at the flea this AM. Crowntop badge on the lid. Patent number (2,269,637) on the inside (for an "automatic self-positioning drill case") dates to January 13, 1942. I'm guessing it was originally black. No idea how they even got the ridiculously thin coat of red on the interior. Future trade bait. I don't keep Crowntop.

 

[four.cycle]

^^ patent 2269637 there's one listed on ebay that appears to be black.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Definitely black. You can see it on the inside of the 3rd pic of the original post, and here...

 

[alinc100]

One FBM listing today and a 30 minute trip yielded this Craftsman Crowntop set of 1/2" drive goodness. I haven't found it's exact likeness in the catalog but I suspect '68-'72 range.

 

[TexTJ209]

Definitely black. You can see it on the inside of the 3rd pic of the original post, and here...

Hammered gray on the exterior lid and the drill bit holder itself and the bottom tray was a satin or semi gloss black. Those came in Heritage and Long C varieties as well, with not a lot of changes.

Here's a fairly clean example of a similar one (albeit different bit sizes) stolen off of eBay.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, Tex. Appreciate the info and example.