What would you do?..... Rare Snap on tool cart

[chad s]

Hypothetical situation here If you had found the first and only example known of the late 1920's Snap-on "Handy Man Tool Cart", but it had been repainted many times, had a few dings here and there, and in general ugly shape, but solid good metal, no rust.


Would you restore it to look brand new, or "weather" the new paint a bit, leave it out in the weather for a few weeks, and make it look like its had 80 years of fair, but respectful use?

 

[Jbullfrog]

Take pictures of the process and restore it to it's original condition.

 

[fourfeathers]

Need pics-ya know for "hypothetical" curiosity.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Restore it to original condition.

 

[orangeastre]

I guess the condition of the cart would have to be matched to the tools inside of it.If the tools are all restored and appear new,I would make the cart appear "truck" fresh.If the tools are all used but well cared for then make the cart look authentic and used.This is all hypothetical of course.....

 

[old salvage]

Either is fine to me but
I wouldn't weather it to make it look old. Rust where you can see means rust where you cannot see.

 

[chad s]

well, the cart is already media blasted and in epoxy sealer. most if the dings have been metal finished out. I have a silk screener duplicating the top decal.

I think ill play it safe and not weather it, that can always come later.

 

[Adam McLaughlin]

I would restore it completely... No second thoughts about it.

Adam

 

[speed bump]

If it looks ugly then clean it up, if not then don't.

 

[caper]

I would restore it and then weather it.A crappy job with to many coats of paint looks crappy no matter what.If you give it a nice finish and you find it to "new" looking then take it and weather it to your liking.

 

[terabyte]

make it look better than new. base coat - clear coat - the whole deal...

 

[Moose-LandTran]

well, the cart is already media blasted and in epoxy sealer. most if the dings have been metal finished out. I have a silk screener duplicating the top decal.

I think ill play it safe and not weather it, that can always come later.

So, do you hypothetically have one? Because if you do, that'd be pretty cool. Hypothetically, of course.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Show me a pic and I could tell you what I would do. Without seeing it I could not guess which way I would go.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

I believe you stated that it had hypothetically already been blasted.

That eliminated keeping it as is. I would then do a full restore, as your other boxes, or as they would do to present it in the Snap~on museum. (heck you could paint it pink, LOL)

 

[rsanter]

if it had its original paint then you leave it alone

if you could get the added paint off and save the original paint then you do that.

if you are going to go to the trouble of startinf from scratch then you make it like new.
if you want it to look like it had 80 years of use then you can use it for the next 80 years to make it look that way

bob

 

[billymade]

Call Snap-On and have them pay you a ungodly amount of money for it! I love things that restored in a professional manner; I tend to be able to "see" something better when it looks like new and back to its original spec; original vintage pieces in mint condition, have a quality all their own, if it is totally trashed; a restoration makes sense...

 

[danc333]

Restore it to as new or better then new condition. The way things used to be made I'm sure it would restore excellently. Look at Deusenburgs.

 

[chad s]

Well, I guess the "so called" hypothetical situation isn't so secrete anymore. I do have this cart, and here is a pic of how it came to me. Sorry for the low quality cell phone pic, but I didnt have my camera with me, before I disassembled it to take it to a friend to media blast:

As you can see, the original owner (I have the history of the original owner, I purchased it from his son. The history gets even deeper, and I have more original mechanic related possessions from the original owner, but I'll save that all for when I reveal the restored unit) removed the center shelf, and put a large metal cabinet on the bottom shelf. I have removed the center cabinet, and will cut and bend a replacement middle shelf on a brake. Also, the original wheel mounts broke long ago, and sockets for the wheels have been welded into the inside of the angle stock at the bottom. I will fabricate new wheel mounts as well.

I dont want to over restore, I wouldn't do it to a classic car, I wouldn't do it to a tool box. I will probably use a single stage black paint, with a tad of flattening agent (these were not full gloss when new, it was a black enamel that had a kind of dull finish).

As you can see, the condition is solid, but very ugly. It has was repainted several times, with lots of staining and paint spatter everywhere. Even though its in pieces, you wouldn't believe how much better it looks in epoxy sealer just after blasting!

 

[fourfeathers]

Awesome! If you need to see the wheels that were on that old cart I bought, just lemme know. I can lend you them, or take what ever pics you need. The wheels are in sorry shape, but the mounts are good.

 

[chad s]

Awesome! If you need to see the wheels that were on that old cart I bought, just lemme know. I can lend you them, or take what ever pics you need. The wheels are in sorry shape, but the mounts are good.

The mounts are the same for this 20's cart as the 30's carts you and I have. A close up pic would be a very big help!

Hows is your cart?

 

[Adam McLaughlin]

What color is / was it last? Was it a kind of a dull green?

What did the previous owner know about it's treatment and use over the last 80 years? I would be more interested in the history of the unit. How did these people find you? AND... How did you correctly identify this?

Adam

 

[chad s]

What color is / was it last? Was it a kind of a dull green?

What did the previous owner know about it's treatment and use over the last 80 years? I would be more interested in the history of the unit. How did these people find you? AND... How did you correctly identify this?

Adam

The cart was kept in the family after the original owner retired. The son of the owner was selling some of his fathers snap on tools on ebay, and I always ask if the seller has anymore items when I win something.

It was identified by the layout, and then confirmed by the dimensions listed in the 1927-1929 Snap on catalogs. The latching system that has 2 hasps on one eyelet for the top and top drawer were one of the first things that made me take a second look.

It was originally black, this one was painted blue, and then grey-green overtop of the black. Some of the paint was brushed on.

 

[orangeastre]

This is very cool,I love when things have a story.It makes them mean so much more.

 

[GDA]

Completely restore it and then start using it. Great tools need to get used.