Vintage toolboxes

[skeeterd]

I was looking on ebay for toolboxes and noticed vintage toolboxes with alot bids. So I searched completed listings and found most have sold for a decent price and some going for a couple hundred. I see a lot of toolboxes at farm auctions filled with tools, parts and general junk. They usually bring $5- $20. The toolbox itself could be worth twice that. Anybody on here watch for toolboxes?

 

[NHBandit]

Yep. Proto, Plomb, Snap On, Craftsman, Kennedy, among others. Most any well known US made vintage box is worth a few bucks but it has to be in good condition. If it looks like it fell out the back of a truck leave it. There's a forum I hang out on called the garage journal where there are lots of hardcore tool & tool box collectors. Good place to poke around and see what others are buying. Lots of oddball tools are worth bucks too. Example.. I recently bought a Plomb combination wrench that was an odd Grey finish and had a part number that began with "WF". Come to find out it was part of a WWII issue set of tools made for Wright Field and there are guys who collect those. My preference is automotive and motorcycle manufacturer marked tools from the early years. Ford stuff is common. Currently working on completing a Model A kit such as you would get with the purchase of a new car. Here are my tool boxes. A MAC set I bought new in 1974 when I was just starting out turning wrenches for a living and I still have it. And my current Snap On box I bought about 5 years ago.

 

[frankendime]

Yes. The old portable ones are the ones I look for. Rustier the better. Make great birdhouses...

 

[Baltimore]

Tool boxes are great, I usually can flip any old metal ones for $30 minimum, even with no brand name.

 

[dumpsterdiver]

All the thrift stores around me in NJ charge around $20 for the smallest size metal toolbox available. And the next day they are gone. One that size . . . I couldnt afford