Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Old Rubble, or Enduring Legacy ?

Abolutely.

I have a couple of old Kennedy 520's from WWII. One had a letter in it dated 1943 on Vargas pinup stationary; pretty cool. Mine are faded a bit; had to re-felt one. Both have the old leather handles, and one of the handles is cracked. Unfortunately, there is no direct replacement for that handle unless I find a serious leather worker to make me a new one.

The Kennedy chests are cool, but they take a very distant back seat to the Oak & Felt chests like the Gerstner's and your Lufkin.

What kind of restroation are you planning to do? Make it look new, or keep the old patina and just fix anything that's not in perfect working order? I can see solid justification for either.

Regardless, you have a fine chest there; enjoy it.

Last I heard the Studley chest was on loan to the Smithsonian. It's an absolute masterpiece of work.

Here's a picture of Studley himself at his bench (which is another masterpiece of work) with his tool chest in the background

Greg, nice post and I really like your project - partly because it reminds me of one I have done.

Fresh out of HS, Dad became an apprentice machinist at Allied Chem in the 30s. He progressed well, became a master and eventually supervised a big machine shop at a large eastern petroleum refinery. Before long, they plucked him to do more advanced stuff in the place and he did so for 30 more years. But, he never lost his skills and love for machine work, and often went to work in custom shops on weekends, and then in retirement, because he loved it. As a little kid, I would look for shavings in his pants cuffs when he came home from work, and after he moved up in the refinery I would see his well-worn and oil stained machinist tool box sitting on his work bench in our basement.

When dad died, Mom asked if I would like to have the box and the "stuff in it" (would I ever ??) and so, on the flight home from his funeral I managed to haul it onto the plane wrapped in brown paper. Once we moved up here, I got to work trying to make it look as good as possible - a LOT of cleaning and resto but so very worth the work. It sits here in my reloading room - and sometimes I get to use the goodies in there while working on firearms, old trucks and other stuff.

Some pics:












Have fun with yours - it will probably look a lot better than this one.

Nope, I'm going to get this Lufkin CLEAN, relined, and in working order, and leave it at that, for the time being. One splash of thinned tru oil will have to suffice.
Too many other taskings right now, my friend.

I WILL post a pic or 2 of an original Singer Sewing Machine Mobile repair / Salesman's box from the same (1920s) era. I think it's in a little better shape.

GTC

Hey now! Think I recognize sumptin' in yer fancy box.

Cool stuff, Jefe.

Bit of a segue here,....concerning the second old box dug out in this mad dash to organize the lurk a bit.

No idea who or what this outfit was about



I think that this thing originally housed a demo sewing machine, and can guarantee the plywood drawers are anything but original.

This old thing could be air dropped, tossed off trains, and used to block up a Model A, if needs be. It is BLOODY HEAVY,.....sitting there empty.



It kinda reeks of Black Powder, and was likely a "Pistol Box" or a line box,....once the original Demo sewing machine that lodged in the lower area went to war emergency steel, or God only knows where else.




Same quality (and stout) joinery as it's now somewhat refurbished companion (that Lufkin Box) sitting behind in the forgoing pics



The Lufkin Box got violated, and taken out of original "collector" status toiday,.....I found an new and un-tapped can of Rustoleum Clear spray enamel,......which is now empty.

The drawers did get their dose of Tru Oil, though



The completely trashed latch hardware got beaded, and sprayed with BBQ paint.

GTC

I have no idea why you sent me a dried squid in that nice old Starret box. It re-hydrated well, and was fairly tasty with a side of brown rice and some Burro jerky,....drenched with Sriracha.

Did it once hold a machine tool or measuring device ?

GTC

Greg,

Great post it is nice to see the old box get some TLC.

And you got to be careful KG is shady if you ever get him in a vehicle do not let him drive unless you got a oh [bleep] handle. You will need something to hang onto!


Mack

I have a Lufkin dial indicator, scale, and some calipers I traded for. My FIL was a railroad machinist, once asked me if I did "fine" work using a mike. I do, he did "only" fitting tapered stay bolts using an inside caliper, transferring to outside bow calipers,turning the taper to fit the reamed hole, and they had had to be tight at both ends. So much for fine work. They took the lathe to the loco with a crane.

They had MATERIAL that would stand up to the demands they were placing on it, and the whole concept of "Longevity" was based on regular and reasonably squared away overhauls and re-builds.

I am by NO means, "OLD",.....and yet remember scraping Babbit bearings in Cooper Bessemers and Atlas engines,....steam, diesel, and Gas.

Lotta' GAS is getting blown around about "Sustainable technologies" and "Sustainable agriculture".

I'd most HUMBLY suggest that the older tech was in a LOT of ways BETTER.

GTC

Yes, it kept machinists and millwrights employed, those big old Ingersoll compressors were allot of hard work. Industry tells us its better to obsolete the machine and get a new more efficient one. I guess economically it makes sense but not good the people that used to keep these machines running.

I wouldn't know a bloody thing about old Ingersoll compressors in Western Canada, Adolph, or Adalwolf, or WTF your handle is today.

Not me,....

question: What's a "Millwright," anyway ?

GTC

I Googled that question a while back and a Millwright is a guy who installs machinery in a plant and makes sure it's level and ready to rock & roll. At least that's what I got from the explanation.

Sounds interesting

The compressors I noted came from Texas back in the 50's. Just one of the many tasks a millwright is called on to perform. You can look 'millwright' up if you like, the trade is mainly machine installation , repair, and trouble shooting. You may call it another name in your area, its definitely not a dog fugger vocation.
My parents named me, common name is Adolph, given name is Adalwolf, means noble wolf. My English gets lazy so that I apologize. Like you, I don't take any sh1t from anyone, this we could agree. The world is changing we must change with it to survive, we don't have to like it though.

Sure wish I'd had the opportunity to learn more about millwrighting, back when I was younger.

....sounds like I might have done fairly well at it, as opposed to becoming a dressmaker.

GTC

Dressmaker would be easier money.

I certainly wouldn't know.

GTC

We really do need a sarcasm button.

These old boxes and well used tools make me homesick for a shop.

" alright, Mr. Dorfman,....start pullin'"

GTC