I just got an old top intermediate and bottom box made by kennedy. All three are solid but have a little surface rust in places. Has anyone ever repainted one, but left the crinkled finish? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Paint it up nice, and sell it. Standard Kenedy tool boxes are JUNK in my experiance. I am WAY more happy with my Husky roller bearing boxes! (not snapon by any means, but much better than kenedy)
You'll have a hard time dealing with the rust and not getting rid of the wrinkle paint, but there is some good news... You can purchase wrinkle finish paint if you shop around some. It goes on like any other paint, but then dries to that textured finish.
Both VHT and Eastwood sell some wrinkle finish paints, which are made with incompatible resins (they dry at different rates to create the wrinkle effect in the skin of the paint).
By the way -- I agree that Kenedy boxes are not all that... They don't hold up very well to hard "mechanic" type use -- and fare better at storing micrometers and calipers in the machine shop -- their main sales venue.
Pester your Snap On dealer to find you a good used SO box -- you'll be happy in the long run. Besides, the SO boxes all come with a lifetime warranty. I just ordered a set of slides for a really old SO box and it will work like new -- no charge to the customer!
Kennedy boxes are meant to be put in a machine shop, not in a service garage. I bet you wont find too many machine shops that dont have at least 1 kennedy tool box in them. They are more or less meant for storing Precision instruments. My machinest chest is probably around 50 years, and it is still performs flawlessly.
Paint it up nice, and sell it. Standard Kenedy tool boxes are JUNK in my experiance. I am WAY more happy with my Husky roller bearing boxes! (not snapon by any means, but much better than kenedy)
If you're not willin' to lay out for a Snappy or a Matco, Husky makes a pretty good box. Errrr.....some company in Canada makes a pretty good box. They're Stanleys, aren't they?
I've got two old Kennedys that are obviously for storing machine tools. I've never had one for mechanics tools. Paint it and keep it, man.
Kennedy boxes are meant to be put in a machine shop, not in a service garage. I bet you wont find too many machine shops that dont have at least 1 kennedy tool box in them. They are more or less meant for storing Precision instruments. My machinest chest is probably around 50 years, and it is still performs flawlessly.
ding ding ding!!!
was about to say this!
I never understood why people use craftsman or snapon or mac/matco etc... box's for machine shop stuff and than use kennedy box's for their tools?
i figured out twenty years ago that they are made specificly for machine-shop equipment and work great for that, but just are not made for regular tools...anyway...
Paul(looking for that goldmine...an old kennedy chest filles with machinist tooling! :smokin: hasn't happened yet and the mill and lathes sit in storage as I have no place to set up shop anyway..)
Yup. I was supprised too, but its true. I have two 54" wide Huskey top boxes, and one 54" wide roll-a-way. I'd have another rollaway but the local store quit stocking them. I have the top of the line snap on stuff here at work, but for home use, or machine shop precision tool use, the husky stuff is sweet. I literally wouldnt pay 100 bucks for a regular 36" wide (or what ever they are) Kenedy machinist tool box rollaway. The drawr sliders are junk, they collect dust, and coolant mist like nobodys business because of the sevearly outdated wrinkle finish.
Sure, the little thin drawrs are nice for storing lite stuff, so the top boxes are ok for that. Snap gages, small taps (under 3/8), and misc test indicators, etc. But the rollaway and intermediat IMO are a complete waste of money.
Dig'umz, sorry for ranting in your thread. Sore subject for me
I have never heard anyone call a Kennedy junk before...these are the cadillac of tool boxes. I understand sometimes you want to throw a couple hundred pounds in your box but are you seriously saying a Kennedy cant handle it?
I have 3 roll-away Kennedys myself and each drawer has alot...alot of weight in it. I dont know I guess different people have had different experiences but 60 years go by and they still hold their value and their weight.
I have never heard anyone call a Kennedy junk before...these are the cadillac of tool boxes. I understand sometimes you want to throw a couple hundred pounds in your box but are you seriously saying a Kennedy cant handle it?
I have 3 roll-away Kennedys myself and each drawer has alot...alot of weight in it. I dont know I guess different people have had different experiences but 60 years go by and they still hold their value and their weight.
I see about a hundred Kennedy boxes a day in my route travels as a Snap On Dealer, and I also see about half of those dudes wanting what I sell... :grinpimp: The major sticking point is that their Kennedy box isn't worth squat as a trade in... Once we get past that hurdle, they are very happy to do the deal.
Are there lots of ancient Kennedy boxes floating around out there, still doing their jobs? Yup... And have you ever looked at them? Most of their owners have made a frame with real wheels so that they can still roll the box around. Most of them are screwed and welded together. They are scabbed into every configuration under the sun, just so that their owners can store their tools. I've even seen them welded back-to-back... Once people move up to our stuff they get a solid -- welded -- box with the top that they desire (from rubber to butcher block to stainless) with the drawer configuration that they want, in the color of their choice, with a lockable hutch or top box, wheels that roll over almost anything, and a lifetime warranty that even covers paint...
After someone gets one of ours, it is almost funny how all the other guys that didn't make the jump think that the dude is pretentious, just for having something that he actually likes to work from. I'd call it "tool box envy".
Ok, Ive heard enough Snap on propoganda for one day. Ill put a Lista cabinet up against your snap on box for quality ANYDAY.
Anyway, Kennedy toolboxes are, like I said, a staple in machine shops. They arnt designed for 500lbs of wrenches, sockets, prybars, and air tools,they are meant to hold precision measuring equipment that is delicatly placed inside.
Id also Like to point out that there are two seperate lines of kennedy boxes... Mechanics boxes and machinest boxes. Brown wrinkle chests are machinest boxes... no heavy construction, but designed to protect instruments.... not have tools chucked in them all day. Also, one may notice that kennedy machinest boxes dont cost nearly as much as thier mechanics boxes.
I think that I was comparing Snap On to Kennedy -- based on what I see day in and day out.
Anyway, Kennedy toolboxes are, like I said, a staple in machine shops. They arnt designed for 500lbs of wrenches, sockets, prybars, and air tools,they are meant to hold precision measuring equipment that is delicatly placed inside.
It's more like 5000 pounds... and a good amount of the stuff that technicians use these days is HIGH precision stuff, including the same measuring tools that machinests use, plus computer-related gear that costs in the thosuands of $$$.
Id also Like to point out that there are two seperate lines of kennedy boxes... Mechanics boxes and machinest boxes. Brown wrinkle chests are machinest boxes... no heavy construction, but designed to protect instruments.... not have tools chucked in them all day. Also, one may notice that kennedy machinest boxes dont cost nearly as much as thier mechanics boxes.
Duh... I see both -- neither is any better quality than the common Craftsman boxes that Sears sells. Neither will hold their value in the used market either... Just my observations from being there and doing that.
If I remember, I will post pictures of the Huskys I have at home, but I dont get off the slope till some time in October.
And yes, Kennedy machinist boxes are junk IMO, even for light machinist tooling. I am mostly discusted with their drawer sliders. But the drawer handles are crap too, and the drawer thats designed to fit a Machinerys Handbook is so damn small that your almost gotta pry the book out!
There are much better boxes out there for the money.
Im not a big snap on fan cause of their retarded high prices, but I gotta say that I do like their drawer locking mechanisms.
$6300 for a 54" wide snapon rollaway!
600 for the Husky at home depot!
I would LOVE to have a couple nice snapon rollaways and top cabinets at home, but its never going to happen. I can line one entire wall with husky top and bottom boxes, for less than the price of one nice snapon top and bottom. For me the choice is clear.
Im not trying to say that husky is better than snapon by any means, just that for the home user Husky brand tool boxes are really nice and cost effective. If they wear out, or break apart, I can replace them with a quick trip down to home depot and 900 dollars later Im out the door with a top and bottom 54" wide rollaway set. :smokin:
I'd have to agree with you about the Snap On prices and I sell them... They are HIGH!
The only thing that makes it worth it is the trade in price you get back on that box from us versus the others out there. I'm working a deal right now to trade a dude out of his Camaro limited edition box for our new 12 footer, and I'm giving him $13,000 for his USED box... It's like buying a house or a car -- you have to trade up, not bite it all of in one chunck.
Another good value for the money are both the HF box and the stainless box that Sam's Club sells. Heck, I'm not against a good box for the money -- I just have to pay the rent, so I sell what makes me money... :grinpimp:
I'd have to agree with you about the Snap On prices and I sell them... They are HIGH!
The only thing that makes it worth it is the trade in price you get back on that box from us versus the others out there. I'm working a deal right now to trade a dude out of his Camaro limited edition box for our new 12 footer, and I'm giving him $13,000 for his USED box... It's like buying a house or a car -- you have to trade up, not bite it all of in one chunck.
Another good value for the money are both the HF box and the stainless box that Sam's Club sells. Heck, I'm not against a good box for the money -- I just have to pay the rent, so I sell what makes me money... :grinpimp:
When I was in the shop I had a snap-on box. But at home I have a Waterloo box, not bad for the money. Granted they wouldn't take the abuse they do in the shop but at home I only use it 3 or 4 times a week.
My personal opinion on why guys buy a $13000 snap-on box is because they can pay for it by the week. Granted it makes you money but it has got alot of mechanics and bodymen in alot of financial trouble over the years. I would rather have a box that fills my needs and is paid for than have a top of the line box that i oue a qaurter of my yearly salary on.
Again not saying your stuuf isn't good because it is, but the average guy with a home shop has no need to pay that much for a box.
LOL, thats messed up. 10 years of using that damn drawer and I never noticed the hole! WTF.
Well, I guess I can scratch that off my list of dislikes, but they are still junk.
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