Tool Box Rehab

Downeaster

Downeaster

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I recently inherited a semi-antique Kennedy Cantilever toolbox. In good shape overall, a little rust on the bottom and the plated hardware was pretty pitted and the snap bails had broken springs.

Contacted Kennedy and gave them the model number which has been out of production since the 80's. They wouldn't guarantee that their hardware kit was the same but the pics looked right so I ordered one. I can't see any difference from the originals. I did have to cheat and attach them with screws and nuts as I don't have a tool to set the rivets that came with them, plus I'd have to disassemble the entire box to get at a couple of them anyway. Also, the $150-ish for a tool I'd likely never use again seemed a little out of line.

ftb1.jpg


ftb2.jpg


I cleaned it up, killed the rust with some phosphoric acid, hit the whole thing with a good coat of Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer (I LOVE that stuff!) and a finish coat of Rustoleum Hammered brown. Not quite the same shade, but close enough for the girls I go with.

Now I just got to figure out what I'm going to store in it...
 
Nice save... and find!!
I remember my early days in the Air Force. Those cantilever boxes were about all we had. Was a right pain in the arse when you had to carry it 1/4 mile or so out to your airplane(s)
But yeah... good boxes.
 
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Jim said:
Nice save... and find!!
I remember my early days in the Air Force. Those cantilever boxes were about all we had. Was a right pain in the arse when you had to carry it 1/4 mile or so out to you airplane(s)
But yeah... good boxes.
Click to expand...
When I was stationed at Misawa Air Base in Japan, the Air Force was the Host Command and therefore issued tools to us Swabbies. They had a standard "Electronics Tech" loadout and it came in one of those boxes. It WAS a heavy sumbitch, but it lived under a bench in the shop and I just set it on top of the bench at the start of my shift and locked it up and put it back under the bench at quitting time.
 
Downeaster said:
I recently inherited a semi-antique Kennedy Cantilever toolbox. In good shape overall, a little rust on the bottom and the plated hardware was pretty pitted and the snap bails had broken springs.

Contacted Kennedy and gave them the model number which has been out of production since the 80's. They wouldn't guarantee that their hardware kit was the same but the pics looked right so I ordered one. I can't see any difference from the originals. I did have to cheat and attach them with screws and nuts as I don't have a tool to set the rivets that came with them, plus I'd have to disassemble the entire box to get at a couple of them anyway. Also, the $150-ish for a tool I'd likely never use again seemed a little out of line.

View attachment 252573

View attachment 252574

I cleaned it up, killed the rust with some phosphoric acid, hit the whole thing with a good coat of Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer (I LOVE that stuff!) and a finish coat of Rustoleum Hammered brown. Not quite the same shade, but close enough for the girls I go with.

Now I just got to figure out what I'm going to store in it...
Click to expand...
That’s my tool box! I used that box for over 20 years as a line mechanic for a major airline. It held everything that didn’t fit in my pocket. I have the largest version of it as well. It held the big and seldom used tools. Today, they mostly take up space in my garage. That Kennedy box stood up to a long term beating.
 
First off, that box MAY hold tools, but it looks ripe for a full set of fishing lures.

Bought my first Kennedy box (520) when I was in high school. The snap-on truck pulled up every week or so at the shop I was working at (never bought). And about every couple months a Kennedy rep came by (we were about 60 mile from Van Wert OH where they are manufactured). For a kid in HS it was a big expense. But it was almost like planting a flag and saying "I'm here to stay". And I felt nearly like an adult at the end of the day as I too locked up my tools (I was still just a high school punk).

Have a number of other Kennedy boxes, but after almost 50 years, I still house my primary spanners and screwdrivers in that original box.

Enjoy the new box, whatever its use.
 
I LOVE those old Kennedy boxes! The tv shop I worked for in the late 80's/early 90's had them for field service. Even had a dedicated one for tubes, still... We sold Motorola/Matsushita/Quasar/Panasonic. Many of our customers still had their tube sets from the 60's.
 
Please don't ban me, but...

I don't fish. Last time I let someone talk me into going fishing with them, I spent several hours floating around in a boat thinking about all the fun stuff I could be doing if I wasn't wasting my time floating around and drowning worms. Okay, lures, but you get my point. Just not something that I enjoy.

I don't do "sports" either. Here's my Man Card...
 
Downeaster said:
Please don't ban me, but...

I don't fish. Last time I let someone talk me into going fishing with them, I spent several hours floating around in a boat thinking about all the fun stuff I could be doing if I wasn't wasting my time floating around and drowning worms. Okay, lures, but you get my point. Just not something that I enjoy.

I don't do "sports" either. Here's my Man Card...
Click to expand...
Downeaster, If I want fish there's a place just five miles from here that sells them all nice and deep fried! Or in the summer there's a place we frequent by motorcycle about 3/4 hour ride due north that has a nice tuna steak sandwich I enjoy and neither place requires a boat or fishing license!
 
Ha Saturdays I sometimes go to a Car Boot sale and a couple of weeks ago I bought a Pneumatic Impact Wrench Ingersol Rand .I Did not get a bag so I looked around for one . I was offered a rusty old toolbox for 50 cents It sure did look bad It would have ended in the dumpster after that .But was cheaper than a plastic bag
I did not look so closely .Just something to carry things in At home I noticed small holes in the bottom. Rusted trough. I figured I throw it away .But
Started to refurbish it.
Wire brush in a hand held drill
I had saved the casing for a CD record player HiFi cut it witch sheet metal shears for a new bottom smashed it in Inside
Brush painted with a combined Rust protector and surface Black
Turned out above expectations
 
Seems to be some interest In the toolbox Recycling and you say pictures ---Or it did not happen
Could have straightened out the dents better --Next time




IMAG0249.jpg









IMAG0250.jpg
 
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