I inherited a Kennedy rolling tool chest from my grandpa and I love it. I was going to buy a top chest to go along with it until I saw the prices for new. So I found one on eBay for just about $100 including shipping, bought it. Now I'm waiting for it to arrive, looking up restoration videos for inspiration. Thanks!
*Love your 'maybe not perfect but will work for me' attitude! My kennedy buckles (matching yours) are broken, where can I get some that match? Kennedy's don't!*
I have my Dad's two-piece set just like yours. I have a photo of him and my grandfather attached with rare earth magnets on the inside of the lid so I can see it every time I open it up.
- Rattle can automotive single stage clear coat brightens up the Kennedy crinkle to nearly new condition, scrub the box down and degrease with Simple Green. Spray light mist coats of the clear coat to over the crinkle. Stop when the crinkle paint just starts to get a dull sheen, not a shine. Used Duplicolor brand, have done so on several boxes with great success, maintains the original paint. Experiment somewhere that doesn't show like the bottom of the box to get the look right. - Lightweight high quality felt yardage from a fabric store, plus a can of spray contact cement restores missing or worn felt to like new condition. This is the closest that I've found to what's in the earlier Kennedy drawers, it's thicker than the contact paper backed felt so it protects tooling better and deadens the tinny sound of the metal drawers. Goes down easier than the contact paper felt too.
Excellent tips. I just picked up another stack of boxes, I'll have to give it a try. Although these latest ones have some rust on them, it may not be worth the effort to do much more than clean them and use them.
Not bad. I picked up a 520 and have bottom rust (layed in water). Basicly cleaned up and painted with a close enough color wrinkle paint, came out nice. For felt used wifes material wheel cutter from her sewing room and cutting mats, put bottom and fours side with the peel and stick felt.
Will Gregg, here I am a year later watching while reserching how & when the company was establized. Lot of history to absorb over the Kennedy Brothers start in 1911. My last tool buy you saw, and paid no attention to the tool chest that coome with it until i saw the same box in one of Randy Richards latest video's. I having a twin to his (Model 256) and made my day. Here a channel called The Den of Tools on YT that shared the full History of the company. Your make over was top notch, Keep on Keeping on, Bear.
Better late than never! LOL. Thanks for the kind words. I picked up another one a couple weeks ago. Than plan is to take it down to the rail yard and leave some tools there, locked up.
You did a great job! I had a full Kennedy stack for a while when I was 9n the floor machining. I sold it when I got into engineering. Now I have a small top box I’m working on restoring, got some great pointers from the video!
I have a top box and roll away and have had them for 40 yr (was a machinist). The drawers aren’t sliding as easy as I think they should. I’m thinking a dry lube for the slides might not junk up as much as grease.
Great job. These things are crazy expensive, even used. And you're right, they're not that much better than Harbor Freight stuff, but... I haven't seen anything else with shallow multiple drawers like the Kennedy's have. If you've seen something comparable please let us know.
I bought a Kennedy 520 upper and lower for $188. The previous owner put his own felt over the original, so the original felt was like new. I used WD-40 to clean mine, this is what Kennedy recommends for cleaning their boxes.
Glad I found your video. I just purchased the same box but with a rolling base cabinet. It's been in a factory for quite a while and the owner is clearing it out to sell the building.
I got the same two...PLUS the bottom cart w/wheels and drawers as well as the side cabinet. Very tough cabinet's, factory powder-coated brown... changed my life. I think I paid 300 bucks on Craigs list...
I've been trying to find a roller. Had a lead on one that had a stuck drawer. Told the seller I'd come and get it, he agreed. Then he sold it out from under me. Oh well. Easy come, easy go.
Great job! I took delivery of my first Kennedy toolbox today via eBay and spent the afternoon cleaning it with Crud Cutter and vacuuming. I'm looking forward to loading it tomorrow.
I started as a lathe operator in 1973 and bought the Kennedy 11 drawer box through the company store for $43.50 new. I still have it today. Mint condition
Good stuff MLM! I don't have any Kennedy boxes, but I have found several Gerstners wooden boxes at flea markets over the years...most came complete with a selection of tools from the previous machinist owner 👍
Same here. I inherited a Kenndy Tool Chest in red years ago. It's what I use in the garage. Everything functions, locks, keys, etc. But it could use a nice overhaul after all these years. At the same time I kind of want to pimp it out but the bottom has Kennedy written on it. The top has a plate I can work around.
Thanks for the video. To protect the top front cover from scratches, put some self-adhesive felt on the raised parts of the bottom cover. Another trick is to put the cover so the outside faces up - any scratches will be on the inside and not normally seen. To line the drawers, I used a solid black mechanics tool box liner. If felt is desired - black is close enough in color to the Kennedy brown that it looks alright. (The choice of liner material is a personal choice.)
Hi , My name is Alan Thomas an I bought a box just like this one at the Santee swap meet in San Diego . He was asking $50 OBO but after talking to him for about 30 minutes and got ti for $10 cash and was so excited . Strange there are no handle on the side of the box and on top of the box there use to be a handle but now just the metal triangles are left . I'm going to clean it up just like you have done . I reload ammunition and need a place to store all my gauges and things . I went through a Divorce last year and my ex-wife decided to sell all my tools except the reloading presses. I got reimbursed 65k for her screw up but that's another story . Thanks again for all the Ideas on the cleanup and lube
Great find, Alan! They are nice boxes, but no way will I ever pay full retail for one. I still keep my eye out for them on CL and FB. You can never have too many. lol.
Your kinda paying for the Name, but in my opinion they stand up to Time better then a lot of other Box's. My set is from the 70's I believe and still functions like new.
There’s no alternative to quality made tool storage. There is a whole industry created just to copy what American manufacturers make. That market exists just to destroy what few American tool manufacturers that are left. I will always choose to invest in America first even if it means spending my last 50 bucks. Thanks for sharing. I love to see people restoring old tool boxes.
I would agree, if these things were made any better than the import stuff. The only thing special about these are the shallow drawer depth, which I love. I would NEVER pay full price for one of these unless I won the lottery or something. They are the most over priced tool box I have ever seen, even more so than Snap-On. At least Snap-On has ball bearing slides on drawers that will hold 300 pounds. I love these tool boxes, but they are not worth the retail price. Same for Snap-On - I'd never buy any of that brand new. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
They are a nice looking toolbox but the quality isn't there unfortunately. New boxes are made with 22 gauge steel. This isn't thick enough IMO. If you are buying new the prices are INSANE! Lots of different pricing too, cheaper on Amazon than the Kennedy website. Couldn't figure out why, such as different grade... I got spooked and passed. If someone gave me one or I found one cheap I might but after all my research I'm not in love with them. You did a super nice clean up on those AND you're the FIRST person to say the quality isn't great. Thanks for the video!
Nice score for 100 bucks or less. Everytime I run across a machinist box for sale t is either beat to crap or the seller thinks it is made of gold and wants way too much.
That is another way it could be done. I just bought a couple more boxes. I think one needs a handle. I will try this method if it does. Thank you for watching!
My dad had one of these when he passed away and I never understood the attraction with it. It didn't hold that much and they really weren't super high quality. The coolest thing about it was the drawer for the handbook. Outside of that, I sent it down the road at a garage sale for 20bucks after I removed the good stuff. Nostalgia definitely has a price and you did a nice job cleaning up your box. I picked up a big ass Stanley Vidmar and loaded it with trays, plenty of space to hold all my toys. No problem storing big chucks or even a vice in that sucker.
@@MyLilMule I rescued my Stanley at a scrap yard. Best 300bucks I've ever spent. It's practically new! Yes, they are stupid expensive if you want a brand new one.😱
Kennedy and Gerstner have been the quality measure for machinist boxes for roughly 100 years. Literally, all other machinist boxes ( many good old American brands of boxes, most decades gone) were second tier to these two brands. Both companies are still in business, and both are still considered top of the heap. I don't get those bad .mouthing the brand. I have two Kennedy 7 drawer tops, one 2 drawer Kennedy mid box, and a small 6 drawer roll cab that is Kennedy as well. Both top boxes were well used and bought cheap. Both were repainted decades ago, and they still perform as new. I also have a 7 drawer Gerstner, and another oak 7 drawer top box of another brand. Waterloo used to make decent quality copies of Kennedy boxes that appeared to be good quality. No clue if that is still the case. For my money, I would take a used Kennedy over any non domestic machinist box every day of the week. There is a reason there are tons of Kennedy boxes on the secondary market. That reason is, they were the best for metal machinist tool boxes.
Kennedy boxes aren't cheap, but after 40 years or so you'll have trouble remembering what you paid for them. Cheap and American made don't go together.
The problem is, these boxes are cheaply made and are still expensive. They're not built like a Snap-On, or even a US General. The construction of a Kennedy is no better than the cheap Chinese box I have from Hazard Fraught. The difference is in the shallow drawers. That's what I really LOVE about the Kenendys.
Kennedy boxes are the go-to, even though the consensus seems to be they are overpriced. The shallow drawer design is perfect for machinists, but the friction drawer slides and tiny handle pulls are very underwhelming in my opinion. Automotive boxes far surpass these in terms of build quality, and for a fraction of the price. If craftsman/husky/harbor freight came out with a design with small drawers and ball bearing slides, I'd buy it in a heart beat. But sadly I don't think the demand is there, seeing how the machinist trade is going. The Proto J442719-10RD-D is an alternative 10 drawer, drop front design, and westward and grizzly make cheaper versions of that. Nice restoration!
The handles on these are just junk. I've broken a couple more on these old boxes. Need to come up with an alternative way to attach them. I'm thinking I might drill and tap the handles and put a screw in. Or machine some replacements from steel/aluminum.
@@MyLilMule yep I agree, I've thought about upgrading with a handle that's a bit easier to grab onto, and sturdier. Only restriction is the front cover doesn't leave much room. Post a vid if you come up with a solution!
I inherited a Kennedy rolling tool chest from my grandpa and I love it. I was going to buy a top chest to go along with it until I saw the prices for new. So I found one on eBay for just about $100 including shipping, bought it.
Now I'm waiting for it to arrive, looking up restoration videos for inspiration. Thanks!
That is awesome! Look on your local Fakebook and Craigslist. There's a bargain to be had out there I am sure.
*Love your 'maybe not perfect but will work for me' attitude! My kennedy buckles (matching yours) are broken, where can I get some that match? Kennedy's don't!*
@1nvisible1 I’ve never found any that match.
I have my Dad's two-piece set just like yours. I have a photo of him and my grandfather attached with rare earth magnets on the inside of the lid so I can see it every time I open it up.
- Rattle can automotive single stage clear coat brightens up the Kennedy crinkle to nearly new condition, scrub the box down and degrease with Simple Green. Spray light mist coats of the clear coat to over the crinkle. Stop when the crinkle paint just starts to get a dull sheen, not a shine. Used Duplicolor brand, have done so on several boxes with great success, maintains the original paint. Experiment somewhere that doesn't show like the bottom of the box to get the look right.
- Lightweight high quality felt yardage from a fabric store, plus a can of spray contact cement restores missing or worn felt to like new condition. This is the closest that I've found to what's in the earlier Kennedy drawers, it's thicker than the contact paper backed felt so it protects tooling better and deadens the tinny sound of the metal drawers. Goes down easier than the contact paper felt too.
Excellent tips. I just picked up another stack of boxes, I'll have to give it a try. Although these latest ones have some rust on them, it may not be worth the effort to do much more than clean them and use them.
I found a standard sized Kennedy with tray and a few odds and ends tools for $2 at a yard sale. Glad to have an old friend back.
Not bad. I picked up a 520 and have bottom rust (layed in water). Basicly cleaned up and painted with a close enough color wrinkle paint, came out nice. For felt used wifes material wheel cutter from her sewing room and cutting mats, put bottom and fours side with the peel and stick felt.
If it looks good, it is good. ;)
I have the same one my retired machinist friend also rusted in the bottom part because he left it in the backyard. I will try to restore it.🙏🏽
Will Gregg, here I am a year later watching while reserching how & when the company was establized. Lot of history to absorb over the Kennedy Brothers start in 1911. My last tool buy you saw, and paid no attention to the tool chest that coome with it until i saw the same box in one of Randy Richards latest video's. I having a twin to his (Model 256) and made my day. Here a channel called The Den of Tools on YT that shared the full History of the company. Your make over was top notch, Keep on Keeping on, Bear.
Better late than never! LOL. Thanks for the kind words. I picked up another one a couple weeks ago. Than plan is to take it down to the rail yard and leave some tools there, locked up.
You did a great job! I had a full Kennedy stack for a while when I was 9n the floor machining. I sold it when I got into engineering. Now I have a small top box I’m working on restoring, got some great pointers from the video!
That is awesome! Glad you found it useful!
I have a top box and roll away and have had them for 40 yr (was a machinist). The drawers aren’t sliding as easy as I think they should. I’m thinking a dry lube for the slides might not junk up as much as grease.
Probably. Maybe some spray graphite would have been a better choice.
Great job. These things are crazy expensive, even used. And you're right, they're not that much better than Harbor Freight stuff, but... I haven't seen anything else with shallow multiple drawers like the Kennedy's have. If you've seen something comparable please let us know.
Yeah, they are very overpriced! I haven't seen anything else like it.
I bought a Kennedy 520 upper and lower for $188. The previous owner put his own felt over the original, so the original felt was like new. I used WD-40 to clean mine, this is what Kennedy recommends for cleaning their boxes.
Not too bad for an upper and a lower. Are you talking about the rolling lower cabinet or the 2 drawer lower?
@@MyLilMule just the 2 drawer lower.
Glad I found your video. I just purchased the same box but with a rolling base cabinet. It's been in a factory for quite a while and the owner is clearing it out to sell the building.
Glad it was helpful! I still don't have a rolling Kennedy base yet. They seem to sell for a lot more than I am willing to pay.
I got the same two...PLUS the bottom cart w/wheels and drawers as well as the side cabinet. Very tough cabinet's, factory powder-coated brown... changed my life. I think I paid 300 bucks on Craigs list...
I've been trying to find a roller. Had a lead on one that had a stuck drawer. Told the seller I'd come and get it, he agreed. Then he sold it out from under me. Oh well. Easy come, easy go.
Great job! I took delivery of my first Kennedy toolbox today via eBay and spent the afternoon cleaning it with Crud Cutter and vacuuming. I'm looking forward to loading it tomorrow.
I hope you got a good deal! They are nice tool storage, especially for small stuff.
I started as a lathe operator in 1973 and bought the Kennedy 11 drawer box through the company store for $43.50 new. I still have it today. Mint condition
They are very useful, and if taken care of, will last multiple lifetimes.
Now its a bazillion fuckin dollars lol.
Sell me that Kennedy box will ya? :)
Good stuff MLM! I don't have any Kennedy boxes, but I have found several Gerstners wooden boxes at flea markets over the years...most came complete with a selection of tools from the previous machinist owner 👍
I'm hoping to find a great deal on a Gerstner one of these days.
Oh, I had a bottom box before the roll away. They don’t come with felt lined drawers.
I learned that after the fact. Not sure why they don't.
Good video. I got a used one to work with when it comes in.
Thanks. I just picked up another set of these, so I have to go through it. It's got some rust on it, not sure if I will paint this one or not.
My grandpa had one it needs some TLC your video is giving me ideas on how to fix it up
You bet! Thanks for watching. I just picked up another set I need to clean up. LOL
Same here. I inherited a Kenndy Tool Chest in red years ago. It's what I use in the garage. Everything functions, locks, keys, etc. But it could use a nice overhaul after all these years. At the same time I kind of want to pimp it out but the bottom has Kennedy written on it. The top has a plate I can work around.
Thanks for the video.
To protect the top front cover from scratches, put some self-adhesive felt on the raised parts of the bottom cover. Another trick is to put the cover so the outside faces up - any scratches will be on the inside and not normally seen.
To line the drawers, I used a solid black mechanics tool box liner. If felt is desired - black is close enough in color to the Kennedy brown that it looks alright. (The choice of liner material is a personal choice.)
Great idea!
Hey, really appreciate the video. Was trying to figure out how to get these new pulls on a vintage Kennedy box.
Glad it helped you out.
Hi , My name is Alan Thomas an I bought a box just like this one at the Santee swap meet in San Diego . He was asking $50 OBO but after talking to him for about 30 minutes and got ti for $10 cash and was so excited . Strange there are no handle on the side of the box and on top of the box there use to be a handle but now just the metal triangles are left . I'm going to clean it up just like you have done . I reload ammunition and need a place to store all my gauges and things . I went through a Divorce last year and my ex-wife decided to sell all my tools except the reloading presses. I got reimbursed 65k for her screw up but that's another story . Thanks again for all the Ideas on the cleanup and lube
Great find, Alan! They are nice boxes, but no way will I ever pay full retail for one. I still keep my eye out for them on CL and FB. You can never have too many. lol.
Your kinda paying for the Name, but in my opinion they stand up to Time better then a lot of other Box's. My set is from the 70's I believe and still functions like new.
Paying for a name, yes. But, I have Craftsman tool boxes that are older than these Kennedys and are in great shape at 1/5th the cost.
@@MyLilMule Craftsman are Solid too, at least the older stuff is. I've recently heard they ain't what they used to be...
There’s no alternative to quality made tool storage. There is a whole industry created just to copy what American manufacturers make. That market exists just to destroy what few American tool manufacturers that are left. I will always choose to invest in America first even if it means spending my last 50 bucks.
Thanks for sharing. I love to see people restoring old tool boxes.
I would agree, if these things were made any better than the import stuff. The only thing special about these are the shallow drawer depth, which I love. I would NEVER pay full price for one of these unless I won the lottery or something. They are the most over priced tool box I have ever seen, even more so than Snap-On. At least Snap-On has ball bearing slides on drawers that will hold 300 pounds. I love these tool boxes, but they are not worth the retail price. Same for Snap-On - I'd never buy any of that brand new.
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
They are a nice looking toolbox but the quality isn't there unfortunately. New boxes are made with 22 gauge steel. This isn't thick enough IMO. If you are buying new the prices are INSANE! Lots of different pricing too, cheaper on Amazon than the Kennedy website. Couldn't figure out why, such as different grade... I got spooked and passed. If someone gave me one or I found one cheap I might but after all my research I'm not in love with them. You did a super nice clean up on those AND you're the FIRST person to say the quality isn't great. Thanks for the video!
The only thing I like about them is the shallow drawers. Everything else is "meh." ;) Thanks for watching!
@@jcsrst I have no dog in this fight but I have one from the 20s that disagrees about the quality. It's a beast.
Nice score for 100 bucks or less. Everytime I run across a machinist box for sale t is either beat to crap or the seller thinks it is made of gold and wants way too much.
Well, this one was beat to crap! 😂
instead of a squarer holes modify new handle superglue plastic weald and glue in some sheet metal tabs
That is another way it could be done. I just bought a couple more boxes. I think one needs a handle. I will try this method if it does. Thank you for watching!
@@MyLilMule you could sell them
@@liuwang2201 I might 3D print them instead.
@@MyLilMule I jest made a cart for my boxes from 2ⅹ6 cedar I should have done it year-ago looks' good
My dad had one of these when he passed away and I never understood the attraction with it. It didn't hold that much and they really weren't super high quality. The coolest thing about it was the drawer for the handbook. Outside of that, I sent it down the road at a garage sale for 20bucks after I removed the good stuff. Nostalgia definitely has a price and you did a nice job cleaning up your box. I picked up a big ass Stanley Vidmar and loaded it with trays, plenty of space to hold all my toys. No problem storing big chucks or even a vice in that sucker.
Those Vidmar cabinets are nice for sure. Expensive, but I think they are made better. 20 bucks! Wow, and I thought I got mine cheap. ;)
@@MyLilMule I rescued my Stanley at a scrap yard. Best 300bucks I've ever spent. It's practically new! Yes, they are stupid expensive if you want a brand new one.😱
@@jagboy69 I'm hoping someday I'll spot one at some obscure auction and get it on a $30 winning bid. 😂
Why are Kennedy's valued more than the Horrible Freight shitboxes? MADE IN USA, BABY!
That might be why the COST more, but that doesn't explain why they are VALUED more.
@@MyLilMule Yes it does! I do NOT value any of my China tools. I do value my vintage USA tools.
@@branned No, it doesn't. ;)
@@MyLilMule OK, you cheap value China tools.
Kennedy and Gerstner have been the quality measure for machinist boxes for roughly 100 years. Literally, all other machinist boxes ( many good old American brands of boxes, most decades gone) were second tier to these two brands. Both companies are still in business, and both are still considered top of the heap.
I don't get those bad .mouthing the brand. I have two Kennedy 7 drawer tops, one 2 drawer Kennedy mid box, and a small 6 drawer roll cab that is Kennedy as well. Both top boxes were well used and bought cheap. Both were repainted decades ago, and they still perform as new. I also have a 7 drawer Gerstner, and another oak 7 drawer top box of another brand. Waterloo used to make decent quality copies of Kennedy boxes that appeared to be good quality. No clue if that is still the case. For my money, I would take a used Kennedy over any non domestic machinist box every day of the week. There is a reason there are tons of Kennedy boxes on the secondary market. That reason is, they were the best for metal machinist tool boxes.
You do realize you don't have to remove those clips to get the drawers out?
Yes. But easier to clean everything.
Kennedy boxes aren't cheap, but after 40 years or so you'll have trouble remembering what you paid for them. Cheap and American made don't go together.
The problem is, these boxes are cheaply made and are still expensive. They're not built like a Snap-On, or even a US General. The construction of a Kennedy is no better than the cheap Chinese box I have from Hazard Fraught. The difference is in the shallow drawers. That's what I really LOVE about the Kenendys.
Kennedy boxes are the go-to, even though the consensus seems to be they are overpriced. The shallow drawer design is perfect for machinists, but the friction drawer slides and tiny handle pulls are very underwhelming in my opinion. Automotive boxes far surpass these in terms of build quality, and for a fraction of the price. If craftsman/husky/harbor freight came out with a design with small drawers and ball bearing slides, I'd buy it in a heart beat. But sadly I don't think the demand is there, seeing how the machinist trade is going. The Proto J442719-10RD-D is an alternative 10 drawer, drop front design, and westward and grizzly make cheaper versions of that. Nice restoration!
The handles on these are just junk. I've broken a couple more on these old boxes. Need to come up with an alternative way to attach them. I'm thinking I might drill and tap the handles and put a screw in. Or machine some replacements from steel/aluminum.
@@MyLilMule yep I agree, I've thought about upgrading with a handle that's a bit easier to grab onto, and sturdier. Only restriction is the front cover doesn't leave much room. Post a vid if you come up with a solution!