Piano repairman's toolbox

[ironhat]

I came across the reference to this on rec.woodworking. The beswt pic is from Taunton's. The original site referenced was at Gizmodo. What an efficient and beautiful layout and I'll bet it weighted a good bit too. The longer you scan the thing the more you can pick up. Do you suppose that there are five making gauges (one is on the left side) so that you can maintain a setting perfectly and conveniently while using another (or two) for other markings? Note the little 'shrine' to the Mason's compass, complete with columns and an arch. Five hammers and a mallet... too much to mention. Enlarge the pic a little and you'll find clamps, wrnches and some things that I can't identify (like right above the brace?). Enjoy, folks. I wish that I could claim that I located this one - better yet, that I owned it!

[cabinetman]

That's some toolbox. I first saw that in The Toolbox Book. Took a bit of planning I would guess. No, I take that back...a lot of planning.
.

[JoeyGee]

That box is probably my most favorite woodworking item. It is quite famous. It was even featured on NYW when Norm built his wall hanging tool cabinet. I think he noted it was in a private collection. I think it was in the Smithsonian at one point.

[crokett]

I read a more complete write-up on it a while back and can't find it any more. That writeup noted that the tools are so densely packed that it takes a few strong men to pick it up. He built the chest over several years at his job as a piano builder. It has ebony, ivory and other rare wood inlays that he got as scraps from the pianos.

[chopnhack]

The Studley tool chest, if i remember correctly. It is amazingly beautiful, but do remember that it was crafted along the way during his long career. I can only imagine the other iterations that must have fallen into obscurity.

[gsmittle]

The Studley tool chest, if i remember correctly. It is amazingly beautiful, but do remember that it was crafted along the way during his long career. I can only imagine the other iterations that must have fallen into obscurity.

That is indeed the Studley tool chest. Nahm says it was on loan to the Smithsonian, but is now back in it's owners private collection. Evidently it takes four strong men to lift it.

Pretty cool. Wish my shop was that organized.

g.

[wardprobst]

H. O. Studley was a pattern maker at Ivers and Pond Piano in Boston for the majority of his career. I had the privilege of seeing the tool chest at the Smithsonian in 2000 along with many other items during a special exhibit. It's little known now but at the turn of the century (1910-1929) one in eight workers on the eastern coast of the USA were involved in piano manufacture. It was probably the zenith of the American woodworking industry in terms of quality of product, materials and workmanship. I'm lucky that I get to work on a lot of that stuff and have restored quite a few of these instruments.
DP