I had no idea this was such a long thread! Anyway, ugh- I caught the disease- the patient is a 50s vintage KR-377a. My g/f has a has a rather motley set of friends, one of them being a slightly eccentric 80-year old retired electrician who is in the process of moving to an assisted-living facility. He asked if she could help him get rid of some detritus laying around his workshop because he is ready to close on the sale of his house. Naturally I get recruited into this process so one weekend we go take a look around his shop and are amazed at the kinds of things he's rat-holed away over the years. in one corner there's maybe two-hundred board feet of mahogany flooring he took home after a remodeling job. Okay, that's not going to the landfill. We find a few more interesting odds & ends, and as we make our way to the back of the shop we see this old range oven that's been gutted out & he's mounted an old tool cabinet inside. The thing looks equal parts hideous & ridiculous. My g/f asks me if I'm interested & I'm too busy giggling to respond. So, we continue sifting & sorting and I never give it another thought until a couple weeks later. In addition to his other needs, there's a '88 Ford F-350 in his driveway that needs a starter before it can be sold, so I'm hired to put that in, and for what ever reason I need to go back into his shop- I notice that the ugly old range/tool cabinet is till sitting back in the corner. Mostly to amuse myself, I go over for another look- The tool cabinet is definitely old, and has been painted (seemingly with a brush usually reserved for white-washing barns) with thick, thick aluminum-colored paint. I shudder & prepare to turn away when I see the faint outline of an embossed metal tag on one of the drawers. Now, it seemed to me that only high-end manufacturers bothered to label their stuff with embossed metal tags, and maybe this was worth a closer look-see. I stare into the 3-millimeter thick paint and make out the words "Snap-On". BOOM- the pulse quickens, the wheels start turning. I want it. Question was, how to extricate it from this weird sheet metal sarcophagus Howard had entombed it in. He was the kind of guy who had an industrial cordless drill and wasnt afraid to use it. There mustve been 30 sheet metal screws sucking the whole thing together tight. Well, two can play that game- I was pretty handy with a Makita myself. About 40 minutes later the Snap-On was freed. I'll always treasure the quizzical look I got from my g/f as I slowly backed into the driveway with the tool cabinet lashed to the trunk lid of my Accord. "Changed your mind, huh? It looks even uglier in the daylight". "Dude, it's a Snap-On". "Ah, well... that changes everything". She went back inside. My vintage box is home. I look forward to sharing more as my grand plans for it come to fruition. Thanks for letting me ramble. A support group like this is exactly what I needed as I excorcise this particular demon.
Can anyone date this vintage Snap On tool box for me? I bought this last week over here in the Netherlands. According to the seller it belonged to an old mechanic who used to work in the States and South Africa. When he retired he moved back to the Netherlands and took his tools with him.
r4brightred, I really, really, REALLY need your box! You too, RoyalCrown32! You have no idea how long I have been lookiing for those boxes, especially that top chest.
I'd love to find me a vintage Snap On like RoyalCrown32 has. Right now my two oldest boxes are "portables"... an old 2 drawer Park chest (made in Chicago, probably 1960s vintage) with an embossed plate and model number on the lid, and a vintage hip roof style Kennedy that needs new paint. Both were found at a local flea market last year for less than $10 a piece.
i have a light blue snap on tool box. 6 drawer with top comparment with the outside cover that folds up. very cool snap on logo rivited center on the outside cover. I tried to upload photos ill try again. does anyone think they might know what year era this is from?
Hello all, first time poster here.... I was wondering if any of you can identify this tool box ? PS..great site...cant wait to poke around!..
put an intro, and go on the garage journal as well just like the hamb, but with tools. youll get an answer in minuts
Awesome thread...I have a bad habbit of buying old tool boxes! I have sold and given away about 5 of them and these are what remain. The big red one (a guardian power) was the box my dad gave me when I was about 15 (when he put the lock on his new craftsman) I'm not sure how old it is but he said he bought it used before I was born (1981). The top box is not a match and the spacer in the middle was my first real attempt at welding. I remember the box being pin-striped when I was little and about the time he bought the new box he re-painted it to match the new craftsman. I've been planning on making him come over and re-stripe it. I plan on passing that box down to my son. My wife asks me why I always look a snap-on and mac boxes at auctions, and when I say its because Chase will need one soon! She always has to remind me that he is only 1! I picked up the other boxes at various auctions, garage sales, and flea markets! The Kennedy is my road side box for the Plymouth. The Arrowhead (which I've never seen another of) holds some of my leather tooling equipment, and the other 2 are currently empty the green one belonged to my grandpa and the lock on the top was one of my dads from his days on the rail road! Again I love this thread! I hold that red box as one of my most prized posessions maybe even over my Plymouth! The name brand on the red box is Guardian Power I bleieve has any body heard of that. I've looked over almost this whole thread and have yet to see another!
Here is my latest:No name on it(don't think it is a Gerstner due to way it is built)and the front is missing.Good size(26x15x10)and in great shape.Made a key to fit the lock but it is missing parts on the back of the lock.Will eventually figure out how to fix it.A friend is making a front for it.Cost $45.
This actually looks like an old Sun Equipment cabinet that's been repainted over the original bluish grey hammertone finish. Can see this very easily having a distribuor machine or a smaller Sun Ignition Analyzer mounted to the top of it. They were well built, heavy duty cabinets.
I think that you are on it, Clay...there is a layer of blue hammertone under the red now that I investigate the chips. Good call.
DARHAM That box was built either by a sheet metal worker [my uncle built one for my dad] or as a school shop project. Thats a nice one at that.
Got several new/old boxes lately. First up is an old wooden covered w/metal box that has what looks like wallpaper for a lining.Looks to be original to the box.I added the lettering. Next is a hand-made box of galvanized metal.Has a large tight-fitting tray.I just lettered it as well. Last is a machinist's box marked,"Dunlap"Wrinkle painted metal with felt lined drawers.Might be a Kennedy;I'm not sure.
Guess I can show a pic of my "Kool Box". Got it at a garage sale for $2, cleaned it up, and painted some stripes on it.
That Dunlap might have been made by Kennedy, but it sure is strange looking without an opening lid on the top. And the drawers look WAY too shiny for any Kennedy machinist chest I've ever seem! If I ever get up around Tecumseh, MI I'm going to stop around your place and see if I can't pick up a few pointers on doing brush script. It's a beautiful thing!
Heres my newest and with it I can join this club & rods with cup holders. Its a international harvister with oil can cup.
What is unusual about the Dunlap is that there are no drawer slides like the really early Kennedy machinist's boxes.Also the unusual ribbed pattern on the front.The box is in really food shape;most of the paint is still intact and the drawer felt is unstained and not ripped.I replaced the lock as it did not have a key or a code on the lock.Had to buy the shortest lock available;make a 1/8th inch spacer and grind off the head of the attaching screw.The original lock had the back peened over. I'll likely be attending Fast Eddie's show(the Moon Pie Run) in September(?)so maybe we can hook up then.
This toolbox was used by my dad years ago but I'm not sure of the year it was purchased.. I found a rolling bottom box that looks the same and has the same handles on Craigs list and the guy is asking $150.. Good price or not?? Any ideas on what era my box might be from?? travelin1
I grew up with one like this, which my dad owns. However, this one looks more like it's two years old than nearly 40. It hasn't even been cleaned up in this photo. I was shocked at it's condition. I don't have any tools to put into it but I'm going to keep it. It's got sentimental value now. It came with a collection of boxes I just scored. See more about that, below. Here's my updated tool storage. The two taller 8-drawers are 1984/85 Craftsman Professional boxes. They were NEVER used, just purchased and put away to be used later. They seriously had dust so thick it was now dirt. I bought four NOS Pro bottoms, 2 tops to go with them, that awesome 3-tier and a side add-on set of drawers. Incredible. The only scratches on these came from sitting around - not holding tools. The insides of the drawers are flawless, well except for 27 years of dust and dirt. I now have tool storage space that rivals any Snap On or Mac. The boxes I'm using (not counting the ones I've got sitting aside, empty) have 1 cubic foot less than a KRL triple bank but for about $7.75 a cubic foot.
The Jalopy Journal
