Show Your Vintage Tool Storage

[Chillylulu]

1937/38 Snap-On K-500 Combination Tool Cabinet

I had a good day today, bumbling around.

I found this tool box, with a few odds and ends in it. At the same place I found a vintage 1955-1959 Craftsman metal lathe, the small hobby size. And I found a saw tooth flattening file jig.  All new to me in the wild.  All came home with me.

Here's the tool cabinet, one of the first snap-On made.  This one included the drawer cover and the cabinet key.

I'd like to see your vintage tool storage.

[skipskip]

Wowee!!

thats quite a cabinet

[Lostmind]

Great Snap On piece , thanks for sharing photos.

[strik9]

I would love to find any ancient toolbox.

   But I settle for this for now.

[Chillylulu]

Strik9,

That's a great display cabinet. I was immediately reminded of those 1960's Volkswagen rolling tool seats.  I think it was the color.

Your display is very nice, whatcha got on those shelves and in that toolbox?

Chilly

[thiggy]

Were those castors original to the chest?

[Chillylulu]

Were those castors original to the chest?

They can come in and out, and they look like the catalog.
They could be.

Chilly

[strik9]

Chilly, that paint is a bland blue designed to make the old iron jump at you as the cabinet fades back.   On top old screwdrivers and a mix of hex drive stuff.
    Too shelf is smithy, international and my fave stuff,2nd is various pre war to WW2 brand collections and some old ratchets.   On the bottom is a mostly faked 1914 Ford T tool kit with a real broken jack and some incomplete sets of stuff, more brand collections and a deluxe original pouch magneto wrench set.

    I made sure the oldest and the fave brands are on top.  The star of the show is a shop made National De Mexico train shop wrench.  Stamp and all from the forge.   Very hard to find those.

[lptools]

Hello, Nice Snap-on box & display cabinet.!!!!!!! I'm not sure if my cabinet qualifies, but I really like these old card file cabinets for tool storage. This thing is a beast, 12 divided drawers,( 24 compartments), extreme duty full extension ball bearing slides, and the drawers are easily removed for sorting at the workbench. Drawers are 10" wide,total, and are 27" deep, and about 3" high. I remove the adjustable carriages that held the cards , then I line the bottoms of the drawers with whatever color scrap laminate that I can find. I build a caster base, with 4" wheels, each rated for 330 lbs., and I bet will come close to the max. weight once it is filled.Regards, Lou

[bill300d]

This is where the big tool boxes of today got their start.
kra510a top  1969
kra500a roller 1969

[Bill Houghton]

Was somebody trying for home-made Blue Point pliers there at the bottom left?

Nice toolboxes, all.

[p_toad]

Those card cabinets remind me of the old computer card cabinets we used to use back when.   They held a ton (and weighed a ton even empty).   Box of cards was 2000 and carton of cards was 10,000 (don't ask me why i remember that).

[lptools]

Hello, I saw this one on the Syracuse Craigslist today, I thought it looked familiar.     https://syracuse.craigslist.org/tls/d/snap-on-tool-chest/6311697468.html      Regards, Lou

[Chillylulu]

Hello, I saw this one on the Syracuse Craigslist today, I thought it looked familiar.     https://syracuse.craigslist.org/tls/d/snap-on-tool-chest/6311697468.html      Regards, Lou

That is a 1939-1940 cabinet.  Notice how the chest legs angle out?

The chest has drawers, which were an added option and cost 4.70 ($4.90 west of the rockies.)

It also has a tool tray in the cabinet which wasn't included with the combo set.  That drawer cost an added $1.55 ($1.65 west of the rockies)

His combo, less the tool tray, in 1939 cost $35.20 ($37.00 west of the rockies.)

Chilly

[Chillylulu]

Hello, Nice Snap-on box & display cabinet.!!!!!!! I'm not sure if my cabinet qualifies, but I really like these old card file cabinets for tool storage. This thing is a beast, 12 divided drawers,( 24 compartments), extreme duty full extension ball bearing slides, and the drawers are easily removed for sorting at the workbench. Drawers are 10" wide,total, and are 27" deep, and about 3" high. I remove the adjustable carriages that held the cards , then I line the bottoms of the drawers with whatever color scrap laminate that I can find. I build a caster base, with 4" wheels, each rated for 330 lbs., and I bet will come close to the max. weight once it is filled.Regards, Lou

Lou,

Yeah that counts!  Did you paint it?  It looks great.  3" high drawers are perfect. 

I saw a guy on Youtube who made a metal metrology cabinet.  It had a granite slab on top that weighs 1,000 lbs.  He lined the drawers with a rust colored felt.  It looked good.

.I'm thinking of cleaning up the old Snap-On combo and adding removable felt liners.  But now I think I'll look at linoleum.  My purpose is display, and the tools I am putting inn the cabinet won't be subject to grease.  I'll see how both look and post pics for the forum's comments.

Regards,

Chilly