Tool Cabinet Variants

Manufacturers, configurations, Shovels, Axe, Wrenches, Oiler, F/E etc.
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Wingnutt
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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by Wingnutt » Tue Apr 18, 2017 5:47 am

Thanks, Dave.
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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by henry501 » Tue Jun 13, 2017 3:59 pm

All,

I have been carefully looking at the various photos of the 41-C-15 cabinets that have been posted and I THINK, based upon my observations, Dave may have a truly unmolested original cabinet. Here are my thoughts so please discuss:

If you look at the handles on the drawers of several of these cabinets some of them have scalloped edges where they are spot welded to the drawer front and others are 90 degree squared off. This variation in handles is mixed and matched on several of drawers of the Cabinets that guys have. On the other hand, the drawer handles on Dave's cabinet, which incidentally, still has the original locking bar, appear (from what I can tell in the photo) to ALL be uniformly 90 degree squared. No mixing and matching of different handled drawers.

So... while I cannot clearly see this detail on the Signal corps photos cabinets to prove which style of handle (all uniform scalloped, all uniform 90 degree squared off or mix and match of both) I SPECULATE that this may have been a design style per manufacturer and the fact that some of the cabinets recently acquired (except Dave's) having mix and match handles among the drawers might mean that while sitting in surplus, whole cabinets were made up from remaining serviceable parts from several manufacturers. Perhaps another answer may be that these handles broke off at the weld and a wartime expedient was to manufacture a new one (without the fancy scalloped edge) and just spot weld it back. Perhaps different manufacturers also explains the different (High vs. Low) handle placement on the bottom drawers.

Plausible?

Thank you,
Henry

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by henry501 » Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:08 pm

For those that have the 41-C-15 cabinets,

Two questions please if I may.

1.) What is the width of the individual boards that make up the butcher block top? Are the all that same width?

2.) What are the round wooden Plugs? that are on the front face of the cabinets? I speculate that they covered access holes to get a wrench on the head of a hold down bolt when fastening the top to the metal base so that it wouldn't spin when you tightened down the corresponding nut from the underside but only you guys that have these cabinets can confirm that so, please elaborate.

Thank you all for your help on this matter.

Henry

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by Wingnutt » Tue Jun 13, 2017 5:01 pm

They look like mortise plugs to me. My postwar cabinet only has two bolts through the top and no plugs for the hardware recessed in the mortises.
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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by sincitygpw » Tue Jun 13, 2017 5:55 pm

Hi Henry
On my 41-C-15 Cabinet there is a total of 16 boards on the top the one on front is 2 1/2" wide x 1 5/8" tall there is 14- 1 5/8" x 1 5/8" square in between, the back board is also 2 1/2" x 1 5/8" I measured 26 3/4" front to back x 28" across the front of the cabinet.On the wooden plugs they are 1 1/8" in diameter.Double check with Phil his top may be tighter because mine has some gaps. I can send you some pic's if you like. Phils cabinet and mine are identical. Also AZ Jeff.
Thanks
Dave
Last edited by sincitygpw on Tue Jun 13, 2017 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by henry501 » Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:56 pm

Greg,

Mortise plugs. Ah ha! Thanks for the correct terminology and for confirming my presumption of what their function is. Now I presume that since the 41-C-15's have three then there are three attachment points on those.

Thanks,
Henry

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by henry501 » Tue Jun 13, 2017 7:02 pm

Dave,

Thank you so very much for sharing the measurements of the top of your cabinet. Since the two outer and then the 14 inner "planks" are the same width respectively I'm thinking this was consistent for all of these cabinet tops. Phil and AZ Jeff, if not too much trouble can you confirm or deny this speculation on my part with the measurements of the butcher block top "planks" on yours?

Thanks very much,
Henry

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by Wingnutt » Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:31 am

henry501 wrote:Thanks for ...confirming my presumption of what their function is.
I'm not sure I've done that with respect to the function of the hardware.
henry501 wrote:...a hold down bolt when fastening the top to the metal base so that it wouldn't spin when you tightened down the corresponding nut from the underside...
The hardware in the mortises is not fastening the top to the cabinet. It's fastening the top together.

The mortises on mine and Tin Medic's are to recess the ends and nuts on the ends of long threaded rods. The long threaded rods extend the entire length of the top and are bolting the sections of the butcher block together as a top. Having built a butcher block with my dad many years ago, and another for my own kitchen in the exact same way, I suspect they were glued together first, but maybe not.

The top is fastened to the cabinet with three bolts on each side of the top, two corners and center. The bolts run through the top and then through holes in the top edge of the metal cabinet, which is essentially just a frame with 90* angled edges.

If you look at the photos of my cabinet, you can see the ends of the long threaded rods in the mortises on the back of the cabinet, and you can see the heads of the three bolts in the top on each side. You can see the ends of the rods on Tin Medic's front view photo.

I can't speak for Phil, Dave, Jeff or Roger, and although they can't "see" these long bolts in their cabinets due to the wooden mortise plugs, I highly suspect the wartime cabinets were built the same way.
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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by sincitygpw » Wed Jun 14, 2017 4:48 am

Hi All
Greg
You are correct there is three rods I can see mine through one of the gaps.
Henry
There is four square head lag bolts attaching the top to the frame,PM inbound still in the out box from last night!
Thanks
Dave
Edit Total of 8 lag bolts 4 per side
Last edited by sincitygpw on Wed Jun 14, 2017 12:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by henry501 » Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:03 am

Greg,

Yes, correct I presumed the hardware related to the mortise plugs was to fasten down the top the the metal base. Thank you for enlightening me. Dave and I have also been pm'ing and he also just set me straight on that issue too. So... very ingenious way to ensure that your glued "planks" (yes they were likely glued on these WWII tops as well) stay together, especially under what would likely be some pretty harsh climate and use conditions that might cause tops that were only glued together to come apart.

Thanks again,
Henry

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by henry501 » Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:25 am

Dave,

Got the PM just a little while ago. Thank you for that and for explaining, as Greg did, the function of the hardware in the mortise plugs. Also, thanks for the heads up about the square head lag bolts that do fasten the top to the base in each corner.

Now the only question that remains is: are the individual "planks" that make up the butcher block tops on these wartime cabinets the same on each of the examples Phil, AZ Jeff and eventually Roger (when his seller finally gets him the top to his base) as yours (16 total planks with the two end planks measuring 2 1/2" wide each and the 14 inner planks measuring 1 5/8" wide each).

Thank you,
Henry

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by Wingnutt » Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:44 am

The only dimension on mine that matters to me is the thickness, which, at 1-3/4", defies the clamping capacity on two (2) of the three (3) hand grinders and the very nice Palmgren bench vise I was hoping to clamp on it. The only grinder that fits is the Luther, and its red. (I would've preferred the black or green unknown brands.) All of them were purchased before the danged cabinet.
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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by Wingnutt » Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:53 am

This is a parts cabinet, not a tool cabinet, but I am posting it here in hopes that someone following the thread may be able to identify it, and, well, just because it's so cool. I don't know if it's military or WWII, but it looks like it has a highly probability of being interwar or WWII, and the construction and that hinged drop down locking "lid" smacks of field cabinet to me. It's not mine. I saw it on another site.
WWII OD parts cabinet 1.jpg
WWII OD parts cabinet 1.jpg (144.46 KiB) Viewed 2325 times
WWII OD parts cabinet 2.jpg
WWII OD parts cabinet 2.jpg (154.77 KiB) Viewed 2325 times
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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by Gordon_M » Thu Nov 02, 2017 12:29 pm

Looks like a postal sorting cabinet that admin would use?
Gordon

1941 Highway Trailer K-38
1944 Iron Fireman T-36 Snow Tractor
1986 Nolan Road/Rail trailer

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Re: Tool Cabinet Variants

Post by henry501 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 3:47 pm

Cabinet for a field post office set.

Thank you,
Henry


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