Machinist's tool chest

[f350ca]

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

 

[C-Bag]

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.

 

[mickri]

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.

 

[benmychree]

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.

 

[pstemari]

.... 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]

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

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[DiscoDan]

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

 

[C-Bag]

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.

 

[hman]

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!

 

[mickri]

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.