Show your "Long C" Craftsman!

[danandmelrod]

Finally got a hold of a 1941 master mechanic roller cabinet the other day. Roughly 2 years ago this month I found the top chest. Thrilled I finally have the set. Its in overall good shape. Drawer slides are smooth. The original cast iron wheels roll nice a smooth. Paint held up great. Minimal rust and paint loss in drawers. It appears that something hit it in the middle support bar resulting in denting the center and pushing it back.

 

[danandmelrod]

Original ad and top chest.

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice Scores Dan! I have the roller and a two drawer top - also acquired separably some time apart.

Mine have rectangular brass logo plates, Which are probably pre-US entering the war, and decals replaced when the restrictions hit.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Original ad and top chest.

You got a good deal! Even with the damage that’s a great price. Looks like it could be straightened out for sure!

 

[danandmelrod]

Nice Scores Dan! I have the roller and a two drawer top - also acquired separably some time apart.

Mine have rectangular brass logo plates, Which are probably pre-US entering the war, and decals replaced when the restrictions hit.

Thanks! I was curious of when the decals were used. Wartime restrictions make sense.

 

[danandmelrod]

Two more recent acquisitions:

1940’s ratchet brace

 

[danandmelrod]

Late 1930’s and 40’s miter box, saw. #3650.

Made by millers falls

 

[JoCoSawdust]

That's a nice stack Dan! Not easy to find so congrats.

I'm not so sure about the decal vs plate logo dates. I've got a few prewar tops and bottoms of different configurations. My earliest is a 2 drawer top chest that doesn't have drawer slides. The drawer just rides on L-shaped metal "shelves" that are tack welded to the interior of the box. It has a decal logo, I believe that it's the earliest of the Craftsman branded tool chests, first appearing in the 1939 tool flyer:



I believe Ooba Tuba has that 39 tool cart from that page, something that makes me eternally jealous.

Of the sources that I have available, the next time I see a tool chest is the 1940 Spring and Summer Big Book. Only sold as part of a set, the drawing has a stylized version of the oval decal. I've noticed the artists frequently took liberty to make sure whatever they were drawing displayed the Craftsman logo, regardless of what angle it was viewed from. Even so, the artist here was obviously drawing an oval decal logo:



The same tool flyer covers the years 1942 and 1943. This is the first time I see the rectangular plate logo. (Outlaw, are you sure your logo is brass? I've never seen a brass logo on a Craftsman box and if yours has one, it's certainly unique). This first clip is from the interior of the catalog, showing top chests with the rectangular, riveted on logo and drawer slides. Also note that the drawer pulls do not appear to be painted:

:

Now the back cover of that tool flyer. We have a rectangular plate logo on the top chest, an oval decal logo on the bottom chest. The bottom chest does not appear to have drawer slides. I believe this is an omission by the artist as I have an oval logo bottom chest and it has drawer slides. Dan, does your bottom chest (or the top chest for that matter), have drawer slides?



What I've noticed among the boxes of this era in my procession is that, in addition to the difference in logos and the drawer slide/no drawer slide issues, is that some have painted handles that are welded on and some have un-painted handles that are riveted on. I can't recall which is which logo-wise and I'm a bit far away from my shop to go look.

Another interesting difference is the partitioning of the main compartment in these two top chests. Not only are the trays completely different, the sectioning of the main compartment differs as well. Here is the oval logo 2d chest:



And the rectangular logo 2d chest. That tray handle isn't bent down, it's articulated at two pivot points, very different than the other box :



I suspect that there were 2 different OEMs for these boxes and what you got depended on the region you lived in. I can't prove that but my gut tells me that's the case. If we're talking which logo is older, I think existing evidence points to the oval decal being the older of the two.

Anyhow, great find Dan. That's a great looking set. Ooba....sell me that tool cart!!!!!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I've seen that cart in western auto, p&c, craftsman and sk versions

 

[Smokeshow69]

That's a nice stack Dan! Not easy to find so congrats.

I'm not so sure about the decal vs plate logo dates. I've got a few prewar tops and bottoms of different configurations. My earliest is a 2 drawer top chest that doesn't have drawer slides. The drawer just rides on L-shaped metal "shelves" that are tack welded to the interior of the box. It has a decal logo, I believe that it's the earliest of the Craftsman branded tool chests, first appearing in the 1939 tool flyer:



I believe Ooba Tuba has that 39 tool cart from that page, something that makes me eternally jealous.

Of the sources that I have available, the next time I see a tool chest is the 1940 Spring and Summer Big Book. Only sold as part of a set, the drawing has a stylized version of the oval decal. I've noticed the artists frequently took liberty to make sure whatever they were drawing displayed the Craftsman logo, regardless of what angle it was viewed from. Even so, the artist here was obviously drawing an oval decal logo:



The same tool flyer covers the years 1942 and 1943. This is the first time I see the rectangular plate logo. (Outlaw, are you sure your logo is brass? I've never seen a brass logo on a Craftsman box and if yours has one, it's certainly unique). This first clip is from the interior of the catalog, showing top chests with the rectangular, riveted on logo and drawer slides. Also note that the drawer pulls do not appear to be painted:

:

Now the back cover of that tool flyer. We have a rectangular plate logo on the top chest, an oval decal logo on the bottom chest. The bottom chest does not appear to have drawer slides. I believe this is an omission by the artist as I have an oval logo bottom chest and it has drawer slides. Dan, does your bottom chest (or the top chest for that matter), have drawer slides?



What I've noticed among the boxes of this era in my procession is that, in addition to the difference in logos and the drawer slide/no drawer slide issues, is that some have painted handles that are welded on and some have un-painted handles that are riveted on. I can't recall which is which logo-wise and I'm a bit far away from my shop to go look.

Another interesting difference is the partitioning of the main compartment in these two top chests. Not only are the trays completely different, the sectioning of the main compartment differs as well. Here is the oval logo 2d chest:



And the rectangular logo 2d chest. That tray handle isn't bent down, it's articulated at two pivot points, very different than the other box :



I suspect that there were 2 different OEMs for these boxes and what you got depended on the region you lived in. I can't prove that but my gut tells me that's the case. If we're talking which logo is older, I think existing evidence points to the oval decal being the older of the two.

Anyhow, great find Dan. That's a great looking set. Ooba....sell me that tool cart!!!!!!

Great insight there Jocosawdust! I agree with your dual oem’s by the way. Based on transportation costs during that time period and some of the fine print in the catalogs, I 100% agree with you. I do believe that pressteel in Ca was likely one of the manufacturers but I don’t have any substantial evidence. I believe AMD was the other oe. One of those fun mysteries to solve!

 

[Outlawmws]

JoCo, I'm pretty certain these are brass. Pic of the one on the top. - Location acquired from - Top was shipped from the East coast to me, the roller was found locally - after near 80 years give or take, that means nothing as either could have gone coast to coast in moves...

Pic from the top box, the bottom is identical.

 

[danandmelrod]

Here is a photo of my 2 drawer tool chest. The badge appears to be made of aluminum?? It doesn’t have that thick textured paint like my earlier 2D chest underneath that ugly red spray bomb paint. Based on that, I will date this one as the last production run before they transitioned to heritage logo??

 

[JoCoSawdust]

I'll have to take your word on the brass plate Outlaw, can't tell from the pic (but it certainly does look convincing). That's a first for me. I have 4 boxes with the pre-war rectangular logo and all are aluminum. EDIT: If it IS brass....man that was one great looking badge back in it's day. Reminds me of the brass Craftsman logo on the old Walker Turner-made machines.

Dan, hard to say why the texture is gone from the exterior of that red box but I'd not discount the possibility that somebody actually took the time to sand it down. I don't think it's conclusive enough to date it as an "end of run" box. The earliest Heritage boxes were just pre-war boxes painted gray with the Heritage badge slapped on them. They had a distinctive crinkle texture to them as well.

 

[danandmelrod]

I'll have to take your word on the brass plate Outlaw, can't tell from the pic (but it certainly does look convincing). That's a first for me. I have 4 boxes with the pre-war rectangular logo and all are aluminum. EDIT: If it IS brass....man that was one great looking badge back in it's day. Reminds me of the brass Craftsman logo on the old Walker Turner-made machines.

Dan, hard to say why the texture is gone from the exterior of that red box but I'd not discount the possibility that somebody actually took the time to sand it down. I don't think it's conclusive enough to date it as an "end of run" box. The earliest Heritage boxes were just pre-war boxes painted gray with the Heritage badge slapped on them. They had a distinctive crinkle texture to them as well.

Hey joco,

Maybe it had to do with the different OEM’s??

 

[danandmelrod]

Does anyone know if Disston made handsaws for Sears? I picked this up at a local antique store thinking it was a Disston but after some light sanding with WD-40 to remove the rust, the etching revealed the long C craftsman logo. Based on that, I would date this mid to late 40’s??.

 

[Outlawmws]

It could be Mid thirties to late 40's. No clue about if it's Disston, but wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Does anyone know if Disston made handsaws for Sears? I picked this up at a local antique store thinking it was a Disston but after some light sanding with WD-40 to remove the rust, the etching revealed the long C craftsman logo. Based on that, I would date this mid to late 40’s??.

Man that saw is cool! It has the “look” for sure! Nice find!

 

[danandmelrod]

Man that saw is cool! It has the “look” for sure! Nice find!

Thanks!

 

[RTM]

Does anyone know if Disston made handsaws for Sears? I picked this up at a local antique store thinking it was a Disston but after some light sanding with WD-40 to remove the rust, the etching revealed the long C craftsman logo. Based on that, I would date this mid to late 40’s??.

I’d look at the handsaws here, and

1 look for a matching nut pattern of medallions and nuts
2 look at hand hole shape
3 look at the handle under the hand hole
4 look at the decorations above the handhole


You may Find a match

 

[Hoorn]

Picked up this Walker Turner made beauty today. PO made the wooden base, those lapped joint pieces are solid mahogany!

 

[Username already in use]

@Hoorn nice saw!

I picked up this set of chisels and punches. They need to be dressed before they’ll fit back into the holder. I found them across several drawers in a toolbox.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Picked up this Walker Turner made beauty today. PO made the wooden base, those lapped joint pieces are solid mahogany!

That saw is in good shape. Just needs a solid cleaning and lubricating. Very nice pickup!

 

[TexTJ209]

Picked up this Walker Turner made beauty today. PO made the wooden base, those lapped joint pieces are solid mahogany!

With Companion machine stand even, very nice!

 

[Outlawmws]

If that base is truly mahogany, it may be worth more then the saw!

 

[TexTJ209]

Bought a big lot of mostly junk at an estate auction because it had these little guys in one pic. Not technically Long C, but same era.

CF-08 through CF-24 sockets with a CF-83 extension. Also a 1950s ratchet but those are pretty common.

 

[c1504]

I picked this guy up today. I have to constantly tell myself that I don’t collect Craftsman, but I just couldn’t pass this one up. You can barely tell where the logo was and it got painted green at some point, but you can see the blue peeking through in a few spots and the whole inside is still blue. What really sold me on it was all the decals and words painted on it. You can barely make out where Boeing Aircraft was painted on the front above the Craftsman logo. I noticed the discussion about boxes at the top of this page so for what it is worth this doesn’t have drawer slides.

 

[c1504]

A few more pics of the decals

 

[bmwrd0]

Yeah, I would probably become a Craftsman guy with that!

Nice score.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

What really sold me on it was all the decals and words painted on it.

Cool as effing hell!

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Awesome history on that box. Great find!

 

[Smokeshow69]

A few more pics of the decals

Dang it, that’s a good one! Super cool provenance especially with the users name and employee number. That sticker is the old Boeing logo and was probably used there undoubtedly. Very well done!

 

[Outlawmws]

Yep! Agree! Very col find!

 

[danandmelrod]

awesome find, C1504!

 

[c1504]

Thanks guys! I think it might be my new favorite tool box I own and I am not even a Craftsman guy!

 

[danandmelrod]

Just got these in the mail. The model maker and tiny machinist hammer appear to be almost NOS.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Just got these in the mail. The model maker and tiny machinist hammer appear to be almost NOS.

Those are fantastic finds! You almost never find them with nice decals intact. So cool.

 

[NJ Marty]

Picked up some real nice NOS Craftsman router bits at an estate sale.

 

[TexTJ209]

Picked up some real nice NOS Craftsman router bits at an estate sale.

Nice! I try and grab the Shaper bits in the original boxes whenever I can, those are super clean.

 

[danandmelrod]

Wow! Great find NJ Marty. I have yet to find them in the wild. Let alone NOS! Nice score.

 

[Southern83]

Bought a machinist tool box last weekend and this speed indicator was in it.