The Traditional Metal Cantilever Toolbox

Ahhh.. the cantilever toolbox. Now where do I begin? From the first sentence, the discerning reader will know that I enjoyed writing this particular post very very much.

Now we're taking a trip down memory lane. My first tool-box was similar to this. It was purchased at a princely sum of RM28.00 from Taimah Hardware in Section 8, Petaling Jaya in 1992. I brought her home one afternoon, carrying her in my arms like a beaming dad. I remember showing it to my dad, asking him "what do you think dad?". His reply was simply "Hmmph, looks just like you". Dad was a little sarcastic (thank God I never inherited that part of him, well maybe a little).

The cantilever tool-box has been around for ages. Most of your grandpa's has one in the backyard, store room or under the staircase. This was the norm of tool storage long before plastic tool-boxes and roller cabinets came into the scene. I'm not too sure when these tool-boxes first made an appearance but I believe it was around the 1920's as I had seen old photographs with the tool-boxes making special appearances in them.

The wonderful thing about these toolboxes are the amount of abuse they can withstand. They can hold a tremendous amount of tools and the separate compartments allow better organization of tools. The downside was the weight. Ingenious motorheads would attach castors to the bottom and pull them around with a rope, not unlike walking a dog.

What I personally like about this tool-box is its sense of nostalgia. This is one of the things which bound motorheads for many generations. Something almost all of us can relate to. My tool-box was given a custom paint job, branded stickers, carpeted flooring (yes, a good tip is to line the bottom of the compartments with a thin felt or cardboard lining. This will help prevent the paint from peeling and keeps the noise down a bit. The former causing a lot of unnecessary flakes n dust at the bottom of the box). You can also purchase small castors and attach them to the bottom of the box. Then it won't be so difficult to haul it around. Final tip - ALWAYS keep the heavy tools at the bottom compartment - but then, you probably knew that, didn't you.

Till the next post - The roller cabinet (I can hardly wait)