Author Topic: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!  (Read 2908 times)

cindyv11

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Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« on: June 17, 2009, 06:04:41 am »
Can anyone tell me anything about this antique or vintage treasure chest tool chest box shaped like a wood machinist took box chest.  It is  19" l X 11 1/2 " w X  11 1/2"  tall with 3 full drawers   17 1/2 X 8 1/2 X 2"  and 2 half drawers  7 X 8 X 2 for a total of five drawers.  My dad got this box at an estate sale in 1980     It has a old leather handle and fancy knobs.  The latches are marked with a name like KRISCHNERS N.Y.  and the lock is marked EAGLE LOCK.

If you can tell me anything I would greatly appreciate it!!

regularjoe2

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2009, 11:03:04 am »
Is there any hardware mounted/used for drawer-slides , or are they simply wood-on-wood ?

Also : are the drawers lined , what type of wood is it made of & are the hardware fittings brass or plated brass ( a magnet will tell you if they're plated ) ?
Sorry to go on & on , but .... how are the joints in the drawers constructed ( a pic would help in this question ) ?

I can't really tell if you've got a semi-mass produced machinists' chest , or perhaps one that was 'individually-crafted' , from the images you've provided .

I think you're right on the money assuming that it's a machinists' toolbox , though , cindyv11 .

cindyv11

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2009, 02:08:30 pm »
Is there any hardware mounted/used for translates , or are they simply cottonwood ?

Also : are the drawers lined , what type of wood is it made of & are the hardware fittings brass or plated brass ( a magnet will tell you if they're plated ) ?
Sorry to go on & on , but .... how are the joints in the drawers constructed ( a pic would help in this question ) ?

I can't really tell if you've got a semi-mass produced machinists' chest , or perhaps one that was 'individually-crafted' , from the images you've provided .

I think you're right on the money assuming that it's a machinists' toolbox , though , cindyv11 .


Thanks for your reply!  The drawers are not lines, wood sliders on the two top drawers, the 3 large drawers slide into a perfect sized slot with no slides.  The sides of drawers are not put together fancy just flat edge against flat edge.  Magnets stick to the hardware.   I have looked at the oak machinist chests and I am pretty sure it is not oak...maybe pine?    I don't know most  wood types..it weighs 18 pounds if that helps you differentiate heavy and light wood types.

The only thing about it being a machinist chest is the drawers are in a row right under the handle.  When you walk and carry it anything in the drawers is tossed around.  the lid is an awkward position to where you have to hold it open to get in the drawers.  if you have it lay open the bottom hinges don't let the lid lay flat on a table.  The knobs seem sort of fancy and I wondered if it was a traveling jewelry box since it locks.

My batteries in my camera are dead and I was able to get two pictures I hope you tell what they are!

Thanks again for your information!  It is very nice of you to reply!

cogar

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2009, 04:33:44 pm »
That looks to me to be newly made out of pine and using a combination of hardware “finds” they scavenged from here or there: from an old trunk, clear glass knobs from a kitchen cabinet and etc.   

regularjoe2

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2009, 05:10:35 pm »
Thanks for posting the new images .

I'll eat a few bites of crow & say that , now , I don't think it's a machinists' toolbox after all .

I think using it as a traveling jewelry box doesn't make much sense either .

It looks like a homebuilt sort of affair , built to transport ???
Perhaps some sort of traveling salesman case , hobbyist case ... I really don't know .

The rust/discoloration around the nails indicates , to me , that the box was around humidity .

I go along with cogars' assessment .

cindyv11

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2009, 05:26:58 pm »
That looks to me to be newly made out of pine and using a combination of hardware “finds” they scavenged from here or there: from an old trunk, clear glass knobs from a kitchen cabinet and etc.   
Newly made?  you mean around the time my dad found it at the sale 1980.  It looked old then.  The hardware dares back to 1923 someone said.  I think it is homemade too, but old and homemade.  I saw another one almost exactly the same on ebay a while back with the odd lid placement.  I thought i saved it to look at later.  I must have been a guest and lost it... never to find it again.  The fact that it had same design and knobs made my wonder.  I think it was an artist cabinet, but I did not pay close enough attention to description thinking I would look at it later....

KC

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2009, 11:04:00 pm »
I agree...newer made chest than the hardware....looks like someone recycled parts (which is a good thing).

Surely you like it and that is what counts.

By-the-way regularjoe....I prefer my crow seasoned and cooked first...how about you?  LOL  We have all eaten quite a bit on this site at times! 
I'm from the South - but please don't mistake my Southern Manners/Accent/Charm as a weakness!

cogar

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« Reply #7 on: June 18, 2009, 03:49:21 am »
Cindy, “newly made” meaning in the 1960’s or 70’s. The reasons for my appraisal, to wit:

1. It is made of pine. Most old boxes and chests were made of popular, basswood, etc. because they are much stronger wood and less subject to cracking, splitting and will absorb a much evener finish. To obtain an “even” finish when staining pine, one must first apply a 50/50 coat of shellac and wood alcohol to “seal the grain”, otherwise the knots and the grain will absorb more of the stain and will always be quite darker. #1 boards (knot free) are expensive now days, but 50 plus years ago, not so, they were still cutting monster trees for lumber. I still have a couple popular boards I saved from an old, old cabinet that measure roughly 4” by 24” and nary a knot in either one. (Now I’m rambling)

2. Too many knots (remnants of a limb) in the wood. In the old days a cabinetmaker would not use a board with a knot in it because they are subject to “popping out” or forming cracks and of course the “staining problem”.

3. Note the left and right edges of the back board in your 4th or last picture posted. Said edges are/were splintered off when the cross-cuts were made, a sign of a power saw being used and with the wrong type of saw blade. 

4. Most wood will naturally darken with age and thus the older it is, the darker it will be.

Nuff said.

regularjoe2

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Re: Can anyone tell me anything about this old chest? Thanks!
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2009, 05:55:39 pm »
Sorry to have to post this in your thread , cindyv11 , but I just couldn't help myself not .

KC - I prefer my crow served up cold & raw (fresh) , since my current collection in the closet has become , well... 'vintage' & kinda stinky .
Perhaps I might start 'freshness-dating' my birds , so as to keep track of them all ...