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Machinist Tool Chest

a.noyes

Plastic
Joined
Aug 9, 2017
Can anyone ID this box ? It appears to be commercially made with nice joinery. Union tool chests have similar pulls but the backs are round thease are square.The lock was made by the Eagle Lock Company in Terryville Conn. They must have been a large manufacturer of locks, there is a lock museum located in Terryville.
 

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Rebuilt from existing hardware?
The top drawers arrangement and the handle pull locations don't look 'commercial'.
 
This might be a rebuild or assembled from other salvaged boxes. The pulls not being aligned are also a mystery. The scars on the top drawers align with the spring loaded locking posts.
 
The drawer pulls are cast brass and the corner brackets are stamped brass. The screws used to attach the hardware were phillips type heads but had shallow recesses for the driver and not centered on the screw head. The screws were also longer than needed and were trimmed off with sone nips or side cutting type of plier. This may be a home built box or salvaged and repaired previously. The before picture show the condition of the box and it appears to be several years old. I bought this box at a swap meet in Auburn Indiana and the seller had no information on it.
 
What are inside dimensions of long drawers or top compartment?
Do the drawer fronts look like mahogany?
It may be a shop built patternmakers box.
 
Tool Storage Under the Lid - What fits there ?

Have you figured out what tools fit the tool storage racks under the lid?

In keeping with the hypothesis that this was a patternmaker's box, I'd be wondering if some of the fixtures under the lid are for a "tenon saw", which is a type of shallow backsaw.

Have you tried fitting any tools? Think of it as a puzzle. Figuring this out could be very satisfying.
 
Given the off-center alignment of the top drawers and vertical misalignment of the pulls, its hard for me to imagine commercial production. Also seems off for the personal work of a pattern or toolmaker. Perhaps pieced together from other boxes as noted above.

Tom B.
 
My guess is that someone made replacement drawers for an existing toolbox.

Terryville and that whole area was known for clocks, watches and locks. The "Brass City", Waterbury, is just to the south. Some of the old factories are still there, having been converted to things like apartments and divided into light industrial space.

Steve
 
Thanks to all who have posted. I will try to answer the questions, the drawer fronts appear to be mahogany with the sides maple with a galvanized tin bottom. The tool holder in the top of the lid are not made as well as the rest of the chest they seem to have been added later. Terryville must be a very interesting area to explore.
 








 
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