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269356 Kirk Eppler 2019‑10‑31 Union Steel Chest Co
Gathered Galoots.

In my rush home last Friday to be prepared for the incoming Publicly Greedy
& Evil power shut off due to Public Utility Maintenance Failures (PG&E PSPS
is how they spell it), I stopped at an estate sale of a former engineer, in
its waning hours, in the expensive part of the Peninsula.  Showed up,
headed straight to the garage (carport), pawed through a table full of
boxes of wrenches, bitstock, nails, etc, gathered a bag of decent goodies,
and then headed into the house.

Wandered in through the kitchen, ignored the cheap knives, then saw the
outline of a #5 on a table silhouetted against the Living Room window.
Beeline that way, saw a few drafting sets, including one in a nifty wooden
box, but not paying $75 for a box.  Turned back towards a corner, and saw
an oak tool box.  Tried to nonchalantly make a beeline that way.  Get over
to it, it is a nice oak Union Tool Case (not a chest, no top bin).
Reasonable price tag was on the top, poked into the drawers, a nice mix of
both vintage and more or less new tools (some just old enough to smell like
barf, yippee).  After agreeing to buy everything, of course I forgot I
spent $90 cash for something when the vendor's credit card reader failed
the previous weekend, so I had to run down the hill to an ATM, and back up,
through rush hour traffic, to get back to the sale before they closed.
Adrenaline rush!

Looks like is a roughly 1949 - 1953 vintage box, per Tool Box Ted's guide.
All in decent shape for 65+ years old.  Looks like someone set a shellac
bottle on top, and left a huge lumpy ring, but otherwise decent exterior,
and few areas of rust on the tools and transferring to the felt.  All the
pencil mark #s on the drawers match the case stamping (115), the keys are
present and functioning.  The drawers all slide and have intact pressed
metal pulls and felt over the tin bottoms.

Here are a few pics, and a bit more of the box's story in the comments.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Tools/Union-Tool-Case/i-ZBpgmhJ

And here are the trivial tools gathered from the garage

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-8DTGLRB

-- 
Kirk Eppler in Half Moon Bay, CA, where bumpkin season will mostly end
tonight, and we can get back to more or less civility.
269357 John Ruth <johnrruth@h...> 2019‑10‑31 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
Kirk,

Who says there are no more good tools at good prices floating around “in the
wild?”  You certainly have a gloatable haul there!

Part of the fun of buying boxes, cases, and chests with contents is sorting,
inventorying, and organizing the contents.

The “0600” might be a model number or an “article number” rather than a serial
or “assembly number.” The leading zero supports this.  The “115” is an “assembly
number;” further examination of the case interior may reveal another “115””.”

Finding TWO correct keys in an antique chest tool chest or case is unheard of
!!!

The Irwin stubby screwdriver in one of the top left drawers is almost perfect
for the slotted screw which holds the chipbreaker onto the iron on most planes,
both wooden and metallic.

The spline wrenches, a.k.a. Bristol wrenches, are an unusual find.  When you
need one of those, nothing else will do.

The “chef’s hat knob” is another bit of unobtainium that’s frequently MIA from
the parent tool.

The three-jaw chuck with the bitstock shank is a winner, as is any bitstock
screwdriver.  ( My go-to tool for stubborn wood screws. )

You now have a mission: collect a complete set of bitstock-shank twist drills
and display them in an attractive block.  I think they were sized by 1/64ths, so
a complete set is fairly extensive.

John Ruth

Sent from my iPhone while being head-butted by two cats sitting in my lap.
269358 Michael Blair <branson2@s...> 2019‑11‑01 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
> Who says there are no more good tools at good prices floating around "in the
wild?"  You certainly have a gloatable haul there!

Not me. Five years ago, I picked up a Norland double bit hatchet for $5.
 A couple of months ago I snagged a stirrup adz in useable condition for
$10.  Such things may be more scarce, but they are still out there. 

Mike in Woodland
269359 Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> 2019‑11‑01 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
And I recently got a $3 Stanley #1 in excellent ++ condition.  3 shots, so
scroll to the right

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/48994966663/in/dateposted-public/

Ed Minch
269360 Michael Suwczinsky <nicknaylo@g...> 2019‑11‑01 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
Saw what you did there!

Michael-Stlll jazzed over last months anvil find.

On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 5:18 AM Ed Minch  wrote:

> And I recently got a $3 Stanley #1 in excellent ++ condition.  3 shots, so
> scroll to the right
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/48994966663/in/dateposted-public/
>
> Ed Minch
>
>
>
> > On Nov 1, 2019, at 7:54 AM, Michael Blair  wrote:
> >
> >> Who says there are no more good tools at good prices floating around
> "in the wild?"  You certainly have a gloatable haul there!
> >
> > Not me. Five years ago, I picked up a Norland double bit hatchet for $5.
> > A couple of months ago I snagged a stirrup adz in useable condition for
> > $10.  Such things may be more scarce, but they are still out there.
> >
> > Mike in Woodland
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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-- 
Michael
269361 Mike Rock <mikerock@m...> 2019‑11‑01 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
> Michael-Stlll jazzed over last months anvil find.
>
>
Up here in Swiss-consin there was a long time sawmill shop that went out 
of business.  I got one of the two saw tensioning anvils, 100# of it.
It had been in use since before WWII.   Also got a lath making machine, 
a resaw of sorts.  It has 8 blades spaced to cut 1-1/2" or 1-3/4" boards 
into plaster lath thickness.  It was belt driven, converted to V-belts.  
They sliced the beautiful cast iron frame to sneak the belts through and 
cobbled on a repair part.  Should have used those belts made of a 
jillion segments and saved the frame.....

Place was Harry Schell, Sawmill supplies, in Blue River, WI

He showed me how to tension saw plates, specifically my 52", in 1976. I 
finally got a Gaar Scott sawmill to go with the plate in the mid 
eighties.  It's an art!  He also did big band saw blades, 4" and wider, 
some 30 feet long.  Most were much shorter.  Fun stuff.
269362 galoot@l... 2019‑11‑01 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
I don't see any #3's, but where is the original of the pic of a 
studiolo in tromp l'oeil marquetry with a frieze of latin in gold on 
blue??

Enquiring minds and all that....

Esther


Quoting Ed Minch :

> And I recently got a $3 Stanley #1 in excellent ++ condition.  3 
> shots, so scroll to the right
>
>
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/48994966663/in/dateposted-public/[1]
>
> Ed Minch
>
>
>
>> On Nov 1, 2019, at 7:54 AM, Michael Blair 
wrote:
>>
>>> Who says there are no more good tools at good prices floating 
>>> around "in the wild?"  You certainly have a gloatable haul there!
>>
>> Not me. Five years ago, I picked up a Norland double bit hatchet
for $5.
>> A couple of months ago I snagged a stirrup adz in useable
condition for
>> $10.  Such things may be more scarce, but they are still out
there.
>>
>> Mike in Woodland
>>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool
>> aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history,
usage,
>> value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of
>> traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools.
>>
>> To change your subscription options:
>> https://oldtools.swingleydev.com/mailman/listinfo/oldtools[2]
>>
>> To read the FAQ:
>> https://swingleydev.com/archive/faq.html[3]
>>
>> OldTools archive: https://swingleydev.com/ot/[4]
>>
>> OldTools@s...
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
> OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool
> aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history,
usage,
> value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of
> traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools.
>
> To change your subscription options:
> https://oldtools.swingleydev.com/mailman/listinfo/oldtools[5]
>
> To read the FAQ:
> https://swingleydev.com/archive/faq.html[6]
>
> OldTools archive: https://swingleydev.com/ot/[7]
>
> OldTools@s...
>



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[6] https://swingleydev.com/archive/faq.html
[7] https://swingleydev.com/ot/
269366 Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> 2019‑11‑02 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
Esther

Not a #3, but a $3 #1The room is in the Met in NYC and the technique is called
intarsia.  It is making pictures out of colored wood.  This room is one of the
more astounding for its condition, but most examples are smaller or on
furniture.

Ed Minch
269367 Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> 2019‑11‑02 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
Forgot to answer your question!!  I got the picture off the innerwebs - so not a
large image.  It’s better in person.

Ed Minch
269372 Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> 2019‑11‑02 Re: Oldtools message which mentions sawmill blades
> On Nov 2, 2019, at 6:40 AM, John Ruth  wrote:
> 
> 
> I do have one of the special saw tensioning hammers.
> 

From John Ruth - before asking to ignore.

But I can't ignore.  I have a saw tensioning hammer or a file maker’s hammer
that I am de-aquisitionating.  I am not sure of the difference, but I have been
told that one has a domed face and one does not - mine has a domed face and
weighs perhaps 2 pounds.

Is anyone interested in curating it for the next phase of it’s life?  I think it
will fit in a medium Priority Mail box.

Ed Minch
269377 John Leyden <leydenjl@g...> 2019‑11‑03 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
Kirk et al,

Do I surmise correctly from the photos of your chest that its coloration when it
left the factory was more like the very light interior than the darker exterior
that we see today, or was the exterior stained while the inside was not? Just
wondering.
269434 Kirk Eppler 2019‑11‑21 Re: Union Steel Chest Co
On Sun, Nov 3, 2019 at 7:15 AM John Leyden  wrote:

> Do I surmise correctly from the photos of your chest that its coloration
> when it left the factory was more like the very light interior than the
> darker exterior that we see today, or was the exterior stained while the
> inside was not? Just wondering.
>
>   John

I think the exterior is generally a bit lighter than the interior.  Here
are a couple of shots of the side and a drawer, twice.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Tools/Union-Tool-Case/i-sf88MZZ

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Tools/Union-Tool-Case/i-RVtjZQq

Looking at the face shot of the drawers, you can see the color variability,
the link above is the darkest drawer..  Both interior and exterior are
finished pretty much the same, approximate color plus shellac on top.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Tools/Union-Tool-Case/i-ZBpgmhJ

There may have been some sun fading of the exterior.

Hope this clears things up.

-- 
Kirk Eppler in Half Moon Bay, who put a layer of BLO on my mechanics vise
on Sunday, might be dry enough to assemble tonight, with grease and oil
restored to it, and crud and gunk removed.

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