# Machinist's tool chest



## mickri (Feb 22, 2019)

It's that time of year again.  My birthday is next month and I have been thinking about getting a machinest tool chest.  To be honest I don't thing that I really need one.  And money is always an issue.  I hate to spend money on something that would be cool to have but may not need.  I know of a consignment shop that is selling off stuff from the owner's father's home shop.  That's where I got my belt sander and a nice machinist's level.  Stuck back in a corner gathering dust is an old metal machinist's tool chest.  I briefly looked through it last time I was in and my recollection was that it was in decent shape.  They are asking $75 for it.  I don't know the brand.  Going from memory it has 11 drawers, felt lined and one of the drawers is the perfect size for the machinery handbook and has the handbook.  I am trying to figure out what I would store in a machinist's tool chest other than my micrometers and calipers.

What do you guys store in your machinist's tool chest?


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## mmcmdl (Feb 22, 2019)

Machinist tools .


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## mikey (Feb 22, 2019)

I have a machinist's tool chest and I think its cool to have drawers sized to hold machinist's tool but to be honest, I think a good standard tool chest with ball bearing drawers is more useful. Even more useful is a good Vidmar that you can line with a soft liner and use dividers to create separate spaces within the drawer. Each draw of a Vidmar can take 400# of weight and still move smoothly. On the other hand, a Vidmar is going to cost you considerably more than $75.00 unless you get lucky.


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## mmcmdl (Feb 22, 2019)

I've sold all my Machinists chests other than the 2 Gerstners that have never seen MY tools . I believe I have had 5 or 6 full Kennedy sets , top , mid and roll arounds . In at work , I now just use the small Vidmar that I added castors to , and a large Kennedy mechanics box on top of that . This combo sits in the shop . I use a Snap On roller cabinet for getting out to the lines .


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## mmcmdl (Feb 22, 2019)

mikey said:


> On the other hand, a Vidmar is going to cost you considerably more than $75.00 unless you get lucky.



REAL LUCKY !


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## tmenyc (Feb 22, 2019)

I have my father-in-law's father's original Kennedy 8-drawer that I restored; keep all my small tools for my pen work in it.  For the machine tools, I came into a very heavy wooden cabinet that fits perfectly under the Logan's base, with three large open drawers.  It came from a shop so already has the marks and patina of use, and it's big enough for everything.  All the rest of my tools are in a couple of Craftsman tool boxes and a HF tool bag.


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## C-Bag (Feb 22, 2019)

I got tired of trying to remember which box/drawer of my many tool /storage boxes had my machinist specific tools in. I see Kenedy and some Gershner etc on CL but but all of them look beat and most were expensive relative to their age and condition. To be honest I've never had a good wood box and never understood the attraction. And like Chuck $$ is an issue. But in a moment of frustration and weakness I broke down and bought a HF Gershner wannabe. I used one of their 20% off deals and got it for like $55. The nice thing is it's small and I could put all my mic's, DI, v blocks, special end mills etc in it. Yeah, the slides are sketchy, but the wood seems to have a stabilizing effect on humidity and I'm not getting the corrosion that was happening in my metal boxes.


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## f350ca (Feb 22, 2019)

There's just something about the feel of a wooden tool cabinet and though humidity isn't a huge problem in my shop there's absolutely no sign of corrosion in the one I made.



Greg


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## mmcmdl (Feb 22, 2019)

That is way too nice for tools !


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## C-Bag (Feb 22, 2019)

Woa, now THAT is a tool chest! Is that a copy of one of the many Gershner designs or your own? I get mixed up after reading the post about the different boxes here the other day between a chest and box but if you are not needing to move it around one without the top lid like yours would have been preferable. Nice job!


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## f350ca (Feb 22, 2019)

Thanks,
Made this one and one for my son, his lives in his bedroom. Had the Honduran mahogany left over from another project kicking around for decades. The design was based on using it up. Not meant to be portable,  its heavy empty, and no top lid, the lid won't close on any of my other boxes with the junk that collects up there.
Greg


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## C-Bag (Feb 22, 2019)

f350ca said:


> The design was based on using it up.
> 
> the lid won't close on any of my other boxes with the junk that collects up there.
> Greg



Ah, engineer to stock. Gotta love it.

EXACTLY, those Horizontal Surface Parasites breed and multiply faster than I can sort and organize. It's why I've limited myself to two rolling cart workbenches. It's sad I have resort to such shenanigans but it keeps the HSP's from infecting the whole shop.


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## mickri (Feb 22, 2019)

Currently all of my stuff which is not much lives in this.




It's a mess.  My whole garage shop is a mess right now.  I have been building new storage shelves and stuff is laying helter skelter all over the place.  I should be done with the shelving this morning.  This afternoon's project is to make 2 more drawers to fit underneath the existing drawer on the cart.  I plan to store all of my measuring stuff in one drawer and all of my drills, taps and dies, and end mills in another drawer.  The top tray holds my collets and tool holders.  Don't know what I will put in the 3rd drawer.   Hence my indecision on a true machinist's tool chest.  Do I really need one.   Maybe I should get one of the boring heads I have been looking at forever.  That I know will get used often.

Decisions. Decisions.


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## benmychree (Feb 22, 2019)

I have had and used a Gerstner chest all my working life, since the early 1960s, the big one with the Machinery's Handbook drawer in the middle, I think #76, I store only precision tools in it and a base unit.  Storing cutting tools in a nice chest tends to tear up the felt and make a mess of things, I have seen boxes that were used for rough storage such as that.  The one I'm using now, I bought in the mid 60s, at the cost of $76, about 2 days wages back then, when journeymen made about $5 per hour.


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## pstemari (Feb 22, 2019)

mickri said:


> .... Stuck back in a corner gathering dust is an old metal machinist's tool chest. I briefly looked through it last time I was in and my recollection was that it was in decent shape. They are asking $75 for it. I don't know the brand. Going from memory it has 11 drawers, felt lined and one of the drawers is the perfect size for the machinery handbook and has the handbook. ...



If it's wood, with a diamond shaped mirror on the inside lid, it's likely a Gerstner, and $75 would be a total steal. $300 would be a more typical price.

Nice thing about Gerstner chests is that you can replace just about anything broken or work with a factory replacement.



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## pstemari (Feb 22, 2019)

Oh, and here's some pictures of what's in mine:































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## DiscoDan (Feb 22, 2019)

I recently bought a hand made machinist box that needs new felt. Is there anything special about the felt used in these boxes?


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## C-Bag (Feb 22, 2019)

There totally is. There was a thread somewhere on here about a guy putting like WallyWorld felt in his box and it messed up his tools. If I remember right it was not clear if it was the glue or the felt.


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## hman (Feb 22, 2019)

Gerstner uses a special "hide" glue to hold down their felt. They say it has the best set of adhesion/removal/repairability properties of anything they've tried.  You can buy it from Gerstner.  I once had a Gerstner box in which some of the felt had lifted.  After learning it was hide glue, I carefully dampened the felt and ironed it down.  Worked a treat!


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## mickri (Feb 22, 2019)

When I was in the shop I didn't pay much attention to the chest.  Didn't even ask the price.   I was looking for other stuff like a dial caliper or maybe some parallels.  That kind of stuff.    I called them a couple of days ago to ask the price of the chest. The chest was dark gray and looked like a metal chest.  The only thing that I remember about the drawers was that there were 11 and the center drawer was the perfect size for the machinery handbook because there was a handbook in the drawer.   I will be going past the shop on the 4th of March on my way home from grandson's 2nd birthday party.  The chest has been in the shop for a long time.  It will probably still be there.  If not no loss.


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## pstemari (Feb 22, 2019)

Hide glue isn't "special" so much as it is traditional, but it's very friendly to reworking. However, you have to melt it and it's rather fragrant.

I've used pressure-sensitive felt from McMaster for a protractor case, seemed to work fine. Wally-world stuff probably had some sort of nasty adhesive on it. I think the McMaster felt was wool, but the stuff Gerstner sells is 100% acrylic. 

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## P. Waller (Feb 22, 2019)

Your tool box has to be either brown or wood,
Otherwise you are just a mechanic, not a "machinist"


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## Nogoingback (Feb 22, 2019)

P. Waller said:


> Your tool box has to be either brown or wood,
> Otherwise you are just a mechanic, not a "machinist"




Or, you would rather spend your money on tools, not on tool boxes.


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## pstemari (Feb 22, 2019)

Actually, Gerstner made black leatherette-covered chests for years. You can still get the material from them for restoring old chests, every though they haven't sold new ones in leatherette in decades.

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## derf (Feb 22, 2019)

I remember my first Kennedy machinist box, a graduation gift from my aunt. She was a line worker at Kennedy Manufacturing. At the time (1979) she got an employee discount, and her cost on the box was $27.00. She also got me other tool boxes and roller cabinets that were "seconds" at very discounted prices.


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## bhigdog (Feb 22, 2019)

Hide glue is readily available as a liquid. I thin it a bit to glue the felt in the boxes I make from time to time. Gerstner sells felt ($$$$$$$), but I use quality pool table felt.  Never a corrosion problem................Bob


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## P. Waller (Feb 22, 2019)

Nogoingback said:


> Or, you would rather spend your money on tools, not on tool boxes.


It is a joke my friend, many here start threads about "machinists tool boxes" especially the wooden ones.
I have worked full time in the business for 30 years, I use whatever works for me, I have no preferences other then that.
Currently use this Husky box that has a good deal of small shallow drawers, a good bit more expensive then a home shop would like I suspect +$500.00 yet does what I need.


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## Cadillac STS (Feb 22, 2019)

Gerstner boxes have felt in them.  The bottoms of the drawers are made of galvanized steel right?


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## mmcmdl (Feb 22, 2019)

Yep . Steel bottoms . I have a leather covered box dated 1937 .


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## bhigdog (Feb 22, 2019)

Yes........ I use aluminum in mine. Easier to cut and a bit less weight..................Bob


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## Dabbler (Feb 22, 2019)

The answer to the question above is that you use *pure wool *felt, not synthetic or rabbit fur felting.  Wool can absorb a little oil without the 'cotton effect'.  Rabbit fur wool (especially top of the line stuff) attracts water/creates rust.  I can't remember the problems with synthetic felting, but was warned away from it from a shop foreman (he had an anecdote)

Perhaps someone here knows why synthetic felt is not so good???


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## pstemari (Feb 22, 2019)

Gerstner uses acrylic felt, and I assume they know what they are doing.

Yes, the drawer bottoms in Gerstner chests are metal. It makes much more effective use of the space. It's also why the drawers are pretty much immune from jamming. There's no gap for something in one drawer to protrude into and block the drawer from opening. 

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## Dabbler (Feb 22, 2019)

I'm happy to stand corrected!


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## Z2V (Feb 23, 2019)

I wish I had a climate controlled shop environment. Those Gerstner chest and boxes are beautiful. I just don’t think my garage would be fair to a wooden box.
@f350ca , that is a beautiful box you made, I’m up for adoption BTW


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## mwhite (Feb 23, 2019)

f350ca said:


> There's just something about the feel of a wooden tool cabinet and though humidity isn't a huge problem in my shop there's absolutely no sign of corrosion in the one I made.
> View attachment 288455
> 
> 
> Greg


You made an absolutely beautiful tool chest. I have no skills at all with wood. That chest should be around for generations. Beautiful work.


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## tmenyc (Feb 23, 2019)

C-Bag said:


> There totally is. There was a thread somewhere on here about a guy putting like WallyWorld felt in his box and it messed up his tools. If I remember right it was not clear if it was the glue or the felt.


Kennedy sells felt kits for all of their boxes.  When I restored the original issue one I got, I found a Krylon paint that was a perfect match, even with the wrinkled tone,which is in the original paint, and refelted it.  Looks like new.


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## jdedmon91 (Feb 23, 2019)

P. Waller said:


> It is a joke my friend, many here start threads about "machinists tool boxes" especially the wooden ones.
> I have worked full time in the business for 30 years, I use whatever works for me, I have no preferences other then that.
> Currently use this Husky box that has a good deal of small shallow drawers, a good bit more expensive then a home shop would like I suspect +$500.00 yet does what I need.



I don’t understand the attachment to the Kennedy boxes, I do get the Gertshner boxes. In my home shop my machining box is Husky bottom that was a gift, the I have a Craftsman 3 drawer stack, then a HF wooden top. The wooden top is where all the measuring tools go, because it does help with temperature swings in my shop, I keep some boxed precision tools in the middle Craftsman risers. Mostly tooling in the Husky box 


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## bhigdog (Feb 23, 2019)

Gerstner clone made from quarter sawn red oak wind fall.............Bob


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## bhigdog (Feb 23, 2019)

Gerstner clone. Cherry crotch.......Bob


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## bhigdog (Feb 23, 2019)

Gerstner clone. Figured maple.....Bob


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## bhigdog (Feb 23, 2019)

Gerstner clone. Hickory wind fall.........Bob


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## jdedmon91 (Feb 23, 2019)

bihigdog that is 3 awesome tool chests. While I’m not a wood worker I’m impressed with the craftsmanship 


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## bhigdog (Feb 23, 2019)

Thank you. Having a Bridgeport helps a lot with all the grooving required. I'm keeping the last one I made from figured quarter sawn white oak (not pictured). The others I gave away..........Bob


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## Tony Pisano (Feb 25, 2019)

I have a metal machinist chest from JC Penney I believe, that my wife bought me for my birthday way back in 74 or 75. It's black with a nice finish and really smooth working drawers with hardly any racking. Until then I was using a wooden box with a hinged top and one drawer that I cobbled together on an old tablesaw with no fence. That box was my pride and joy and through my whole working career, I kept my best tools in that box. I later acquired a larger Kennedy chest with the 2 drawer riser for $40, and then  Gerstner wooden box from an old pattern maker who worked upstairs from our shop. I still love the Penny's box for it's quality and the nostalgia, and it still holds my best mics, dial calipers, indicators, telescopig gages etc.


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## silverhawk (Feb 26, 2019)

pstemari said:


>



So, I looked at this picture and thought, "that punch holder is brilliant!"  I'm gonna have to make one for myself!


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## mickri (Mar 4, 2019)

After looking at the tool chest again this afternoon I decided not to buy it.  It is a gerstner leather covered 11 drawer model.  It is in very good condition and includes a 1955 edition of the Machinery's Handbook.  Also in very good condition.  The only thing missing was the mirror.  I decided that there are other things that I need more than a tool chest.  If anyone is interested in it I can provide the name and address of the consignment store where it is located.


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## mmcmdl (Mar 4, 2019)

I'm looking for 1 key . Tearing boxes apart , drawers , buckets , containers , shoeboxes , pockets , cars , trucks , etc .

I have a 1937 Gerstner which is locked and the lid won't close . Cleaned the leather up and it looks too good to sell , well , not that good .


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## hman (Mar 4, 2019)

You can get replacement keys from Gerstner for $15.  All you need is the number that's on the face of the lock. I bought one from them a couple years ago.  Might save you a couple hours' frustration, eh wot?





						Part 1034 - Replacement Key
					

Keys for Gerstner Chests




					gerstnerusa.com


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## mmcmdl (Mar 4, 2019)

Where were you 5 years ago ?


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## KBS726 (Jul 5, 2020)

bhigdog said:


> Gerstner clone made from quarter sawn red oak wind fall.............Bob
> 
> View attachment 288555


Looks great, I am trying to find some drawings to build me one.  If you created drawings please let me know.


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## Winegrower (Jul 5, 2020)

I have 6 boxes, 4 Kennedy, 1 pre-war wood from Hawaii, one Craftsman.  What I like is enough drawers that every notable tool has its place, not piled in a lump.  I’ve organized each box for a particular function...Setup/Layout, Workholding, Cutters, Inspection/Measurement, etc.   I put labels on each drawer face reminding of the contents.   Of course classy tools have their own storage boxes and have space on shelves in a cabinet.

I was surprised to realize that while it speeds up gathering tools to start a project, the biggest time saver is in cleanup.

 This is the most organized facet of my life, sad to say.


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## Packard V8 (Jul 5, 2020)

Just my mode of operation, but I prefer each machine to have its own tool box and I prefer to keep all the small round/flat drills, countersinks, hole saws, chisels, punches, files, taps, dies, _et al_,  in small drawers.

To that end, every time I see a Kennedy 7-drawer or 11-drawer for less than $50, I drag it home and fill it with whatever needs a home the worst.

jack vines


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## Video_man (Jul 6, 2020)

C-Bag said:


> There totally is. There was a thread somewhere on here about a guy putting like WallyWorld felt in his box and it messed up his tools. If I remember right it was not clear if it was the glue or the felt.


If I recall correctly, there was a post years ago in HSM about the felt-rust problem, the problem was the owner used common white wood glue to glue the felt in place.  It apparently has acetic acid -- or something similar, I'm pulling this out of my fading memory --- and that was the cause of the problem.


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## kiwi_007 (Jul 7, 2020)

KBS726 said:


> Looks great, I am trying to find some drawings to build me one.  If you created drawings please let me know.



There is a set of plans in American Woodworker Dec/Jan 2011 for a 26 drawer tool chest and there is a book called "The Toolbox Book" by Jim Tolpin to get some ideas out of.


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## ThinWoodsman (Jul 7, 2020)

Video_man said:


> If I recall correctly, there was a post years ago in HSM about the felt-rust problem, the problem was the owner used common white wood glue to glue the felt in place.  It apparently has acetic acid -- or something similar, I'm pulling this out of my fading memory --- and that was the cause of the problem.



I came across a few similar discussions when looking for an alternative to the toolbox liner sold at the big box stores. There seems to be a belief that felt retains moisture, which could be a plus or a minus - in low-humidity environments, it draws moisture away from the tool, but in high-humidity environments, it just means even more moisture  in the toolbox micro-climate.

Two comments on the use of felt. One, I put some proper (non-synthetic) felt in a couple of toolboxes last year, and after two humid summers there has been no rust. Two, in purchasing felt, I came across some warnings about synthetic felt (no doubt the Wally-World stuff referred to earlier): it will be destroyed by oil. Now, I can't speak for everybody here, but there is a lot of oil on my tools and in my shop. So steer clear of the synthetic stuff.


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## mickri (Jul 7, 2020)

Since this thread still seems to have occasional interest this is what I ended up.  Picked up these 3 chests for $60 off CL.  The seller didn't clean out the drawers.  There was a fair amount of misc. wrenches, sockets and other stuff in the drawers.  So far I am not using the small top chest.




I will never have much in the way of machinist tools.  I added two drawers to a rolling cart that I picked up at a garage sale for around $10.  All of my tool holders, tool bits, boring bars, collets, etc are in the top tray.  The first drawer holds all of my measuring stuff.  Middle drawer holds my drill bits and end mills and the bottom drawer holds taps and dies.  The bottom tray holds junk that I never use.  I have found this small cart to be very handy.  It lives by the lathe, metal drill press and mill/drill.  What's a "metal drill press" you ask.  I have three drill presses.  Two wiltons and a small HF.  I never use the HF drill press since I got the wiltons.  One wilton is used exclusively with metal.  It is my "metal drill press" and lives between the lathe and mill/drill.  The other wilton is on the dirty side of the shop and gets used/abused drilling anything and everything that comes its way.


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## Janderso (Jul 7, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> I use a Snap On roller cabinet for getting out to the lines .


All the guys in the shop are using these. Very good at saving time.


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## C-Bag (Jul 7, 2020)

ThinWoodsman said:


> I came across a few similar discussions when looking for an alternative to the toolbox liner sold at the big box stores. There seems to be a belief that felt retains moisture, which could be a plus or a minus - in low-humidity environments, it draws moisture away from the tool, but in high-humidity environments, it just means even more moisture  in the toolbox micro-climate.
> 
> Two comments on the use of felt. One, I put some proper (non-synthetic) felt in a couple of toolboxes last year, and after two humid summers there has been no rust. Two, in purchasing felt, I came across some warnings about synthetic felt (no doubt the Wally-World stuff referred to earlier): it will be destroyed by oil. Now, I can't speak for everybody here, but there is a lot of oil on my tools and in my shop. So steer clear of the synthetic stuff.


That’s useful info. I wonder how you tell synthetic from non? I’m always surprised I’ve not had any problems with my faux Gerstner HF box. It doesn’t have the metal drawer bottoms. And is obviously not as nice as the real thing or the ones made by bhigdog but with the usual tweaking I have to do with all HF stuff I’m happy. One of the things I didn’t expect to like was the ability to pull the drawer easily and take it to my portable workbench. I feel like my tools are staying in better shape in this thing than in my main steel box I’ve had for decades.


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## ThinWoodsman (Jul 7, 2020)

C-Bag said:


> I wonder how you tell synthetic from non?



Whenever I ask the Mistress of Fabrics such questions, she says "burn a piece!". Nice to know that textile-workers (textilers? textileists?) have an equivalent to the spark test. 

If I have two pieces side by side, I can distinguish them by feel. Otherwise, if it's under ten bucks a yard, it's synthetic. If it's ten or more a yard, it's a wool-rayon blend. If it says 'merino' or is forty bucks a yard, it is proper felt.


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## silverhawk (Jul 7, 2020)

ThinWoodsman said:


> Whenever I ask the Mistress of Fabrics such questions, she says "burn a piece!". Nice to know that textile-workers (textilers? textileists?) have an equivalent to the spark test.



Just wait until they mention something akin to bringing a bigger hammer.


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## Tim9 (Jul 7, 2020)

I have what I think is an old Union wooden tool box. I do like storing precision smaller tools in the wood boxes also. Wood just seems to hold back rust better than steel. 
  That said....these are tools I don’t use every day. For every day tools....they go in my 35 year old Snap on tool boxes. They don’t have ball bearings but the boxes have held up incredibly well. Heck, one went through 4’ of water in Katrina. Sprayed it down with WD 40.... and then 10:years later I finally got around to repainting the lower chest. It’s held up incredibly well with no real rust anywhere.


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## ACHiPo (Jul 8, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> I'm looking for 1 key . Tearing boxes apart , drawers , buckets , containers , shoeboxes , pockets , cars , trucks , etc .
> 
> I have a 1937 Gerstner which is locked and the lid won't close . Cleaned the leather up and it looks too good to sell , well , not that good .


Gerstner sells keys. Just contact them with the lock number.


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## erikmannie (Jul 8, 2020)

I bought two cheapo import Gerstner lookalikes from Kotula’s:






						Kotula's | Northern Tool
					






					m.kotulas.com
				




It didn’t cost too much money for a lot of storage. The lighter colored one on top left is from HF:




These are very cheap quality. The drawers are small, so they fill up quickly. I liked it because I could organize things nicely.


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## Tony Pisano (Jul 8, 2020)

A while back, I bought a 2 blade set from Forrest,for making small finger joints on the table saw. About a year ago, I got interested in bicycles, and old sewing machines, so I recently bought a second set of wider blades for box joints, with the intention of making a couple of sewing machine bases for table top use. Who knows, maybe a few bigger boxes will come out of it. I already have a Gerstner, a couple of Kennedys and a JC Penny machinist chest.


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## hman (Jul 8, 2020)

silverhawk said:


> Just wait until they mention something akin to bringing a bigger hammer.


Bring a bigger sewing machine!


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