Tool chest and tool restoration/care

Tim, looks like you made a decent score there. I once contemplated getting a nice, old joiner’s chest to store my tools in. But I opted for a wall cabinet instead. I saw a lot of these chests while looking for one. Yours looks pretty utilitarian, which is probably a good thing as restoration and historic value don’t seem to be what you are looking for. For the chest, I would very simply cover it with a fresh coat of either milk paint or a milk paint like product and call the outside good. I would then clean up the inside by vacuuming and applying a new coat of BLO to hopefully get rid of the bigtime musty smell they all have. I would make any alterations to store tools I want to add. And that’s it. I would then use it to house my tools.

The nice thing about your chest is it is portable and makes your tools mobile. That portability can come in handy. Good Luck!

-- Mike

Tim, you’ve made a great buy. Just for the planes (couple of blocks, coffin smoother, iron smoother, fore, wooden jointer) and chisels and saws/sawset you made break even. Add the chisels, bits & brace, etc. and it’s even better. Like getting that great old chest for free. Rulers, bevel gauges, drill driver, wow… And the lock on the chest would set you back $35 (at least) if you’d go to buy a new one. Hope you can find (or have made) a key!

Ditto what Mike said. Sand the metal parts and apply some primer to those. Then paint the whole thing a color of your choice. Lots of examples on the interweb, but black is common. I’ve done a series here on LJs to rehab a chest it’s not complete, but almost. Everything I could say about tool chests is already in that series, if you’re interested.

Good luck, great scrore! There are few ‘wrong ways’ to go, so have fun with your new toys.

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

Nice find. If you’re referring to the top tool in you last pic (oddball tools), the one with the iron handle and what looks like spurs on it’s end, I believe that’s used to “dress” the stones on a bench grinder. You sit the spur end on the tool rest and run the spurs along the stone.

-- Just a man with his chisel.........

Doug, you best me to it. That is indeed a stone dresser for an electric grinder. After using a grinding wheel, you’ll get grooves and ridges in the face of it, plus the edges will get pretty well rounded off. This wheel will flaten that stone and square up the face. I have one and it works great. I cant remember how many stones I replaced before I came across this tool

Just hold it firmly against the stone while sliding it back and forth with even pressure. The 2 little “feet” will hold it squarely against your tool rest.

It make A LOT OF SPARKS.... so be ready for that the first time you push it into the stone.

-- Perform A Random Act Of Kindness Today ... Pay It Forward

The red-handled wheel thingy is either a glue spreader, or perhaps just a small laminate roller for applying pressure when you glue laminate trim.

And I cant see them too clearly, but the 2 pliers MIGHT be hog-ring installers and removers?

-- Perform A Random Act Of Kindness Today ... Pay It Forward

Nice score! I got an old chest from a flea market that had a few tools in it, but nothing nice like you got. Black would make a nice color for the tool box, but you are the only one that needs to be pleased with the presentation.

Two of your saws look like skew backs—a closer pic of the tote and medallions would help the experts with identification. As for the unknown tools, in the middle of the picture it looks like you got a pair of nunchucks (jokingly).

-- People say I hammer like lightning. It's not that I'm fast -- it's that I never hit the same place twice!

I also didn’t know what the plane on the long handle with the rotating head above was called or used for.

If you are referring to the red handled tool next to the block planes in the photo, it looks like a #70 box scraper.

Edit: Very cool chest and nice score on all of that for the price, by the way.

-- "The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself." -- Benjamin Franklin

Nice score. I’d leave the chest alone. The patina is just right. If it needs any repairs, follow the Smitty school of chest repairs.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

Don, excellent point….it does have a nice patina on it!

-- Mike

Thanks for all the comments guys, that’s a lot of ideas to follow up on. Mike, I’m interested in the historical value/preservation, but I just don’t know if it’s very old or authentic to be honest, and for the tools at least, thats a second priority to using them. Unless of course they are rare hidden gems that they don’t appear to be. The chest is only somewhat portable. The sheet metal covering and brackets make it 100 pounds or so empty.

Don W, I do like the patina it has, but I’m concerned about the rust progressing. When you say leave it alone, do you mean no protective at all?.

Smitty, what I assume is the key was indeed in one of the tills. It’s broken, but not at the important part so I’ll be able to make or have a new one made. Thanks for the rehab link. I’ll definitely have a look at that.

Joe & Doug, thanks for the ID on the other tools. Dressing wheel makes sense.

Don B, the middle of the three hand saws has no medallion, just some carving. The bottom one only says “Warranted superior” in the medallion with an eagle in the middle. I’ll try to get some better pictures when I get a chance. I didn’t realize the forum picture would scale it down so much.

Jay, the red handled tool, is indeed a box scraper, I finally figured that out last night after I posted, but before this was approved. I just noticed the blade says Stanley, but I can’t find any markings on the tool itself. Now I need to see if I can find another use for a box scraper. They are described as single use tools.

My biggest question besides what to do with the chest I guess is what to do first with the tools? De-rust them or clean and oil them?

Also, any idea, what the slots in the back of the bottom of the chest are set up for? The setups I’m more familiar with have either more space for molding planes or similar or much less for chisels and such.

Great score! You’re lucky to have those!

-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"

I have seen several of those types of chests here in the uk marked as ex army surplus tool boxes-chests.They are very well made and you could with a little elbow grease make this a lovely old chest I wish you well. Have fun Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Maybe someone beat me to it, but the thing with two cylinders is a old alcohol blow torch.

Nice find on the trunk and tools

-- Ted

Alcohol blow torch, that’s pretty cool. it does have some wicking inside the one cylinder. It’s a little surprising that it would work given that the metal it’s made out of isnt very thick. I’ll have to learn how to get it working and see how hot it can get. It’s in great shape.

Re;Alcohol blow torch. Fill the tube with the curved tube with alcohol and the other tube saturate the packing with alcohol. light the tube with the packing and position the curved tube over if with the cap(if it has one) off. When the tube heats up you should see a flame shooting out of the tube. Make sure the the tube has a good seal on it or you will have a hand full of fire. (don’t ask) The unit will do light silver soldering jobs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMWPSGG4xpo

-- Richard http://www.PictureTrail.com/gallery/view?username=thewizz