Would you spot tool chest treasures, for woodworking, in the wild?
Beat up old tool chest
I was browsing facebook marketplace - which I hardly ever do - and came across this posting.
It was a treasure trove! I ended up getting the whole tool chest for $35. There were some real jems inside, that if I didn’t turn them into users, were individually worth more than I paid for the chest. Can you spot them?
Here’s what I spotted:
How about this hand crank grinder, and the brace.
Chisel handle? Looks like a backsaw too.
The chest seemed to be from an old timer who had a mixture of old vintage woodworking tools, as well as some metal working thngs, and some general household fix up items. Not seen in the before and after pictures, there were a ton of rusty long boring bits as well as a ton of lovingly well used files - some of which I am able to salavage and make users. The files were both flat and rounded.
The chest ended up being too far gone to use or recycle. Rust permiated the wood on the floor of the chest. Sliding totes were long gone and the outside was thick with many layers of paint, some of which I’m sure was lead based. Rusty nails were protruding out the bottom and the outside was pretty beat up.
Now for the scores…
Turned out to be a E.C. Atkins and Co Backsaw. 14” - 11 PPI.
Turned out to be a Pexto 7008 Brace.
Turned out to be a Utility (Prairie) brand hand tool stone crank C-6 1 M.
And for the big score, at least due to the desirability of these chisels…
Turned out to be a nice set of E. A. Berg - Swedish made chisels.
- 1” / 25mm - beveled
- 1” / 25mm short - beveled
- 5/8” / 16mm - beveled
- 3/4” / 18mm - firmer
- 1/4” / 7mm - beveled
- Working By Hand Blog, Swedish Chisels
Seems like this old timer (not who I bought the chest from), was into woodworking due to the quality of the saw and chisels. I’m slowly restoring these items, restoring and replacing handles, and honoring them by making them daily users.
Happy hunting!