Tool Score - Gerstner Tool Box

Someone had listed a Gerstner and Sons tool box on a local classifieds website, complete with a few tools.  It turns out that it was a model 42, in Oak. They listed it for $450, but I couldn't afford that.  I offered $250, and we settled on $300.  It was nearly theft on my part - the box alone goes for $350.  I also picked up another set of inside micrometers (Millers Falls Company), outside micrometer (Starret, No. 224 0-4"), and a 5" Brown and Sharpe sine bar :

So, on to the tool box.  It has definitely seen better days.  I don't really want to refinish it, though.  It is beautiful.

My biggest surprise was middle drawer that enclosed a 1940 10th edition of the Machinery Handbook (the bible for a machinist), with a hand written note that it was purchased in 1940.  If it was purchased for this tool box, that puts the tool box into the same era.

Next, I did a little drawer organization.  Starting from the bottom, I found end mills, cutting inserts, lathe bits, set screws, ball bearings, hex wrenches and boring bars.  I also found a weird little measuring device that I am unfamiliar with :

Next one up had punches, chisels, files, pencils/pen, and a the usual marking supplies along with a demurring tool set :

The third drawer from the bottom had a few clamps, a 0-1" outside micrometer (Geo Scherr Company), a 1-2" outside micrometer, dividers, compass, a few needle points that I am unfamiliar with, and an old pin chuck :

Next, we'll tackle the left drawers.  The bottom of the left side drawers contained some machinist jacks, v-blocks, clamps, and a little machinist vice.  One cool thing out of that drawer was a portable oiler, shown in the middle of this next picture :

Next was a bunch of taps (some custom ground for specific purposes) :

And then, in the top-most drawer on the left side, tap wrenches and a few dies (along with a random chuck key).  The cool thing was this tool box owner built his own die using a nut and either a mill or a drill :

Next, I went to the right side, starting from the bottom-misty right-handed drawer.  It was full of center drills, drill bits for a chuck, and drill bits for a morse taper (1MT).  It was just getting better all the time.

Next came with some solder, stones, o-rings, and some other odds and ends.  I am interested to know who "Carla" was - written on one of the measuring rulers found here :

Two left!  Next one on the right side was full of gear pitch gauges, feeler gauges, and other measuring tools.  This owner was definitely organized :

One thing in this drawer I was unfamiliar with was a craftsman tool looking like :

So, onward and upward.  The last drawer was filled with bushings, pins, welding tips, a couple of springs, and some rather weird stuff.  It also had two pieces of what looked like part of a sine bar, and four small parallels :

Finally, to the top.  This was a bit of a score in and of itself.  There were two squares, three micrometer stands, a small micrometer, a small mechanical micrometer, angle finders, an alignment device (Tubalcain/mrpete222 called it a "wobbler", and I am not sure of the official name), parallels/gauge blocks, and some right-angle blocks :

Yes, I think I scored.  For a grand total of $350, I ended up with four micrometers, three micrometer stands, rulers, alignment pins, drill bits, v-blocks, jacks, taps, dies, end mills, lathe cutting bits, inserts, set screws, dividers, and a host of other things I've already forgotten.