old tool boxes

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the only problem with me and the older metal boxes is that loaded down they get kinda heavy for me to carry around ....I put tools in the red one and needed both hands to carry it ......but I suppose I need to eat more Wheaties.
 
Very cool, I thought I was the only one that had a thing for these old toolboxes. I have two that i use at work. One is from the 40's, I did have to refurbish the handle. I'm an electrician, and I always get comments about my vintage toolboxes that are on my cart on the jobsite. Usually people make comments like "cant you afford a new toolbox" and i reply with yes, but i dont want that made in mexico or china crap that they sell now. Mine has been around all this time and still works great.
 
Hmmm, I expected it to be red.

By appointment only, Just like my wife !

Waiting for Leanna to grade my sexual harassment,
 
There are TONS of tool box restorations on GarageJournal.com Rani. Have fun!!!

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Afterthought Edit:

When I started driving at 16, my dad gave me a little red Craftsman box for my (then) meager tool collection to keep in my trunk for roadside issues. I kept it in every car I've ever owned and it served me well for many years.

A couple months back I walked up to my work bench and saw a little tool box in 'exploded view' blasted to bare metal. I asked Billy where it came from ... he proudly proclaimed that it was mine and that he thought I might like to redo it since the stickers were all faded and the paint was flaking off. "That Flag Red you've got will look great!"

Truth be told, it upset me that he'd do such a thing as a surprise without asking me first. Nice and shiny and new looking is all fine and good ... but that media blasting wiped out a whole bunch of memories. I still can't make up my mind how I feel about it, and it's still laying in the back of the blast cabinet waiting for me to decide.

And I thought I was the only one who did this... My dad gave me my first tool box way back when... When I started driving he suggested I keep it in the car 'because you just never know when you'll need it' ...lol... It rode with me for years... finally winding up in the Dart.. it sits on the floor right behind the drivers seat (with the fire extingiusher) .. We refer to it now as the 'buggy road box' ... and trust me, 3 different trips to the Nats, with several of us in line driving the hot rods there (3 hours one way) the box has come in handy more than once...

its all beat to hell now, and I have to agree, I am not sure how I would feel if someone started a resto on it for me... I mean it would be cool to see it new looking.. but it was a hand me down when I got it, and the look of the box now, tells the story of that boxes journey.. And brings me so many memories...

When my grandson gets old enough, I will retire the box from buggy service and pass it on to him.. and let the journey continue..
 
And I thought I was the only one who did this... My dad gave me my first tool box way back when... When I started driving he suggested I keep it in the car 'because you just never know when you'll need it' ...lol... It rode with me for years... finally winding up in the Dart.. it sits on the floor right behind the drivers seat (with the fire extingiusher) .. We refer to it now as the 'buggy road box' ... and trust me, 3 different trips to the Nats, with several of us in line driving the hot rods there (3 hours one way) the box has come in handy more than once...

its all beat to hell now, and I have to agree, I am not sure how I would feel if someone started a resto on it for me... I mean it would be cool to see it new looking.. but it was a hand me down when I got it, and the look of the box now, tells the story of that boxes journey.. And brings me so many memories...

When my grandson gets old enough, I will retire the box from buggy service and pass it on to him.. and let the journey continue..



I get the sentimental value that you guys are talking about but there is something about restoring old items, and I go back to the idea that most people get old cars and the first thing they do is restore.

your making new memories now and the restoration of an old item that has a memory for you will have an additional memory with the restoration itself......."remember when I restored that old tool box in 2013...yea those were the days" you might be telling yourself 20 years from now as you realize it needs even another restoration from the million miles you put on it from now till then.

maybe I am at a "forward thinking" part of life now at my age and I will be more sentimental later, not sure, but for now the idea of restoring back to new appearing and re-living, re-creating is more appealing .....like many, I hope this whole saga we are living in now still has many many more episodes left and re-runs for a million more miles. :D
 
I get the sentimental value that you guys are talking about but there is something about restoring old items, and I go back to the idea that most people get old cars and the first thing they do is restore.

your making new memories now and the restoration of an old item that has a memory for you will have an additional memory with the restoration itself......."remember when I restored that old tool box in 2013...yea those were the days" you might be telling yourself 20 years from now as you realize it needs even another restoration from the million miles you put on it from now till then.

maybe I am at a "forward thinking" part of life now at my age and I will be more sentimental later, not sure, but for now the idea of restoring back to new appearing and re-living, re-creating is more appealing .....like many, I hope this whole saga we are living in now still has many many more episodes left and re-runs for a million more miles. :D

You make good points there Rani... I hadnt thought of it that way... in this particular case though, I am still leaving the buggy box unrestored lol
 
... and my old Craftsman box is still in the blast cabinet waiting on me to decide ... :-D

What a great thread this is.
 
Bought my snap-on boxes in 1976,still got them. got several craftsman. I too like the metal boxes,,much like the cars that used to be made out of metal...
 
I just got a vintage Craftsman from my uncle. It was a red with grey doors model, apparently they are sorta valuable. He told me to make it nice again and keep it. Said "This thing has survived shop fights, a couple of moves, bad women and divorces, fell off a truck, and it's still here.... don't f**k it up nutsack"

We have a strange relationship lol
 
I already like your uncle SpareParts. :-D I clicked your Thanks button just because ya made me laugh this morning -- thank you!
 
yup .....im going to go with the restore route ....

I just spent the evening putting a box together with a set of tools to be assigned to a car .....

and frankly ...it looks horrible, it looks tired and wasted and brings the tool set down.

I think restored with shiny tools will match a restored car (someday) and not look like a Saturday rummage sale special :D
 
SpeedRacer Bill, I have to tell you that your post the other day about making new memories has been in the back of my head ever since I read it. Late last night I touched up the blasting on the flash rust on my dad's old Craftsman box and coated it in Flag Red. I still need to figure out what to do color-wise with the handle and closer -- they're rusty and a little pitted -- but the box looks a lot more like it should now.

Thank you for the new and wonderful perspective on my old tool box! :-D
 
SpeedRacer Bill, I have to tell you that your post the other day about making new memories has been in the back of my head ever since I read it. Late last night I touched up the blasting on the flash rust on my dad's old Craftsman box and coated it in Flag Red. I still need to figure out what to do color-wise with the handle and closer -- they're rusty and a little pitted -- but the box looks a lot more like it should now.

Thank you for the new and wonderful perspective on my old tool box! :-D


I actually think it was Rani that made the comment about making new memories (in a response to what I posted) ... but at any rate I am stoked that your getting into restoring the box... pics please! lol
 
Sort of, but this is the one that stuck with me ...

"... its all beat to hell now, and I have to agree, I am not sure how I would feel if someone started a resto on it for me... I mean it would be cool to see it new looking.. but it was a hand me down when I got it, and the look of the box now, tells the story of that boxes journey.. And brings me so many memories... "

Its journey begins again ... I'll get a couple pics of it in a few minutes. Sadly though, in True Billy-Has-No-Effin-Patience Style, he didn't get any "before" shots of it before he blasted it and I know I don't have any.
 
Ya'll making me dig up a couple of my old boxes I got stashed in the rafters and see if they are worth fixing . I got a box that was my Grandpas from the depression era somewhere . I thought it was so out-dated I wouldn't be caught dead with it , but maybe now ........
 
Ya'll making me dig up a couple of my old boxes I got stashed in the rafters and see if they are worth fixing . I got a box that was my Grandpas from the depression era somewhere . I thought it was so out-dated I wouldn't be caught dead with it , but maybe now ........


"but maybe now".........you mean now you want to hang out with the trendsetter cool kids and have the latest tool box style ......retro is in.

yup ...I said it ......LOL Xs1000
 
"but maybe now".........you mean now you want to hang out with the trendsetter cool kids and have the latest tool box style ......retro is in.

yup ...I said it ......LOL Xs1000
I doubt that it would ever be used . I keep it wrapped in oilcloth so its protected . But it would be preserved as is for the memory of my Grandpa . Kind of a mantelplace piece ? It will fit in fairly well with all the model cars on my wall , my Aspen R/T rear spoiler , Superbird wing decals , and BB mopar pie tins hanging up .
 
Do not touch your box.Dont let anybody touch your box. I like your box just the way it is.
 
Following up on my earlier posts, it took me two months to remember to pick up new hardware :-D but I finally finished up the old Craftsman tool box I got from my dad when I was 16. The powder colors are Flag Red and Wetstone Black ... the black wrinkle worked really well to help mask all the old pitting from the cheap chrome job on the handle and closures. I was very happy with how the piano hinge came out too -- they can be tricky.

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I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it now, i.e., load it up for a road box again (but I rarely go anywhere) or incorporate it into my work bench.

Rani, cool thread! Thanks for being the impetus ...
 
I've always bought used tool boxes mostly due to that's what I could afford.
I would only buy good quality so it would be a one time investment same as the tools.
This is the oldest set I own, 1965 snap-on. Is it as nice as the new boxes? No. But it still does its job after all these years. Still has the original paint & owners manual. And check out the chrome plated emblems. Got to many cars to finish to think about restoring my tool boxes.
Maybe when I retire. Ignore the clutter, I'm used to it.
 
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