Yeah, I have a problem...
Left SE Michigan at 11:00 AM
Drove 3.5 hours
Had a catastrophic left front tire blowout on US2 west of Sandusky, OH
Waited an hour for AAA to show up
Saw some really interesting (and sketchy) areas of Cleveland, OH
Made it to Cleveland Heights, OH
Had to re-negotiate price (some undisclosed issues)
Battled the rush hour traffic out of Cleveland to find a Discount Tire that was still open
Ended up buying four new tires (Michelin Defender LTX M/S - $1180)
Made it home at 10:00 PM
Seller had this listed for $150. I ended up paying $130 for it, which was still a bit too much. But it's the 7 drawer + bay lower that I've been looking for. It has a 02/74 date of mfg, and is a bit rough around the edges. But it's got 'good bones'. No major dents, only minor dings around some of the drawers, and the bay door. One of the caster wheels is bad, as all the ball bearings have went MIA. Which isn't unusual. Happens when these cases (usually overloaded) are rolled around over cracks/bumps/curbs/etc. with reckless abandon. You don't buy (or shouldn't buy) any tool box, with casters/wheels that are basically only meant to support the box. Maybe move it a couple feet every now and then, not drag it fully loaded the length of the building (with a bad or no floor) several times a day.
The big issue: It is missing all the outer slide spring clips. Which prevent the drawers from being pulled out of the box. Not having them, makes the box unusable, and basically scrap metal. Those clips are available, cheaper ones ($12-$25) are drop shipped from, you guessed it: China. The good quality ones (and probably also Chinese), are double/triple that price. They are also sold in 12 packs, which means... I need two packs (7 drawers x 2 clips = 14). Advised the seller of this, and almost walked away, when he balked at re-negotiating the deal. Which would have been a bummer, having had all the problems already, and not knowing what problems I might have on the way home. It also didn't have a key, but it did have the lock cylinder, so that was going to be another $25 to get one cut to the lock code. Obviously, the Craftsman Chevron logo is missing. And those are unobtaineum, although 3D printed versions are available. But also pricey.
The Husky 8 drawer upper box, is in very good condition. I'd give it a 9 out of 10 for a box of this age. Made in Canada, haven't found a date of mfg yet, but I've gotten it all cleaned up. Drawers are all in excellent condition. Only a bit of surface rust/pitting inside the top storage area, but nothing extreme. The drawer slides are all in excellent condition, not all gooped up. I had to get a key cut for the lock, but that was all I did, other than remove the labels and clean it up:
The photo (fluorescent lights in basement) make the color look orange. I wish it was orange, but it's red.
Don't know what I'll do with it. I may try and sell it, but I could also use a bigger box to hold all my measuring 'stuff'. I currently using a couple smaller Craftsman tool boxes for that. This one is sort of an odd-ball width: 26.5", where as the Craftsman are all around 26".
More to follow....
)
great project
