Union "Handy Garage Chest" - Restoration

[Davefr]

I picked up this old girl from an estate sale. It's a Union "Handy Garage Chest" from 1919. She was missing the handle and 2 ring pulls. The good news is that I found the front before leaving the estate sale. (they're almost always missing) The bad news is that the front was in bad shape. (loose joints, corner brackets and a hasp added, missing the lock/key, an ugly notch cut out and multiple holes. Fortunately all drawers and carcass was solid as a rock. I made a handle from scratch using a steel rod, lots of narrow strips of kraft paper and a hand sewed leather covering.. Locks are unobtainium but I had a vintage Corbin lock that I modified to work and filed a working key from scratch. The finish is about 6 coats of really thin hand wiped danish oil. (Sam Maloof's formula). I found a handle ferrule from an old CM steel toolbox donor.

Here are some images:

 

[Cruzan80]

Following along...

Btw, only the first ad is showing, but not any other pics.

 

[Davefr]

The end result:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice work, as always, Dave.

 

[don long]

Dave
That's a very nice piece of history. You did a sweet restore on it.
My first thought was where would one fine that type of lock now days? And how would one know how to build that handle

Thanks for posting it up for us to enjoy

Don

 

[RTM]

Looks great, I’m a sucker for those ring pulls.

Was the top left drawer designed for anything special?

 

[Provincial]

Nice work, Dave!

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Beautiful work!

 

[Davefr]

Dave
That's a very nice piece of history. You did a sweet restore on it.
My first thought was where would one fine that type of lock now days? And how would one know how to build that handle

Thanks for posting it up for us to enjoy

Don

Terry Rushback has an excellent tutorial on the handle recovering process. But to get to that point you need to bend a 5/32" steel rod to the correct shape and then wrap it with a gazillion 1/4-3/8" strips of Kraft paper to get it to the correct shape and then seal it with shrink wrap plastic film. It's easy but quite time consuming.

Shutterfly

Ebay is the best source for old locks but I've never found a round Union original.

I have no idea what the upper left drawer was for. Maybe small bits, punches, etc.

 

[toolboxted]

Hello Dave,

Beautiful restoration job on your Union Handy Garage Chest. Glad I could help you and Terry identify it.

Too bad about the cylinder lock situation, but guess what, I have one. It’s not perfect and could be considered a junker, but it’s original. The back mounting flange is 2.10” dia. The barrel is .59” dia. With your expertise I believe you could save it. I made a key for it and it would lock your chest.

It was originally for a Union chest and had 2 pivoting hook-bolts for locking the lid. The hook-bolts and lever tumblers are missing and there are a couple other glitches. If you’re interested, I’ll send you some pictures.

I wouldn’t mind trading it for a Gerstner chest clasp lock #A41Nxx or #A50Mxx. I don’t care how beat-up or rusty it may be, just so it’s all there and original. It would be nice if it had a key, but that wouldn’t matter. I could use it for my Eagle lock study.

Have a good one and let me know what you think…….Ted

 

[Marsim]

That came out seriously cool. Very well done.

 

[thehorse13]

Great job. Every so often, something way outside of my lane appears here and I love to see what others are doing with obscure beasts such as this tool chest.

 

[Roberts210]

Well done indeed!

 

[matthew]

That’s splendid! You wouldn’t be interested in parting with it, would you?…

Oh wait… never mind

 

[bonneyman]

Love what you did with that. Top notch restore!

 

[alinc100]

Fantastic Dave.I am always amazed at how much work you can get done in just a couple weeks. Did you have to fabricate the drawer pulls or have you found a transplant donor?

 

[Cruzan80]

Dave, what did you use to strip it down with, and did you need to replace the decal on the front afterwards?

 

[Davefr]

Dave, what did you use to strip it down with, and did you need to replace the decal on the front afterwards?

I used Acetone and 0000 steel wool and then sanded from 120 up to 220. Acetone works great on these old boxes. The stain/dye I use was Transtint dark walnut. I replaced the decal with an exact reproduction but I kind of wish I tried to save the old one. (usually futal)

Fortunately I had a couple spare original ring pulls.

 

[WagonHo!]

saw this posted on Offerup. Of interest besides the chest is the owners pay stub/time sheet, thought the records kept in his box were cool.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Of interest besides the chest is the owners pay stub/time sheet,

He was making the rough equivalent of about $600 per week.

 

[WagonHo!]

He was making the rough equivalent of about $600 per week.

That take home amount of $98.99 which included OT and saturday was for the week.
Is the chest covering and handle leather over wood ? I remember your post of redoing a handle.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That take home amount of $98.99 which included OT and saturday was for the week.

By equivalent, I meant in today's dollars, and I was using the $60, excluding the OT, and multiplying by 100, a general inflationary factor last few years.

Is the chest covering and handle leather over wood ? I remember your post of redoing a handle.

I'm assuming that was directed at Dave? It's his box and he does excellent leather-clad handles. The core under the leather handles I have re-done, and all the handles I have seen, were paper, very tightly wrapped in layers around a thin flat steel strap to achieve the desired shape.

 

[calandrod]

The end result:

Looks amazing. Excellent job on that. I also love the drawer pulls.

 

[alinc100]

Was the top left drawer designed for anything special?

I have no idea what the upper left drawer was for. Maybe small bits, punches, etc.

This was refreshed in my memory when someone posted on FB with one of these chests .I referred them back to here and this photo. When rereading the text of the ad it may have dawned on me the answers to the above: "The two small top drawers have moveable partitions for small parts and delicate instruments such as battery gauges,etc. " If you look at the ad photo above in front of the case, just above the tools in the center are the two small left drawers with their partitions. On first glace I just thought the drawers were not pictured/missing which seemed weird to me...I can see how they might be missing 100 years later...

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

Wow! 1919 model toolbox being used by previous owner in 1957. Do you reckon he bought it new?

 

[mvcorse]

The end result:

I've always admired masters who refurbish woodwork.
Amazing job, sir!