Pilliod Machinist's Tool Chest

I recently had the VERY good fortune to have an acquaintance "give" me a machinist's tool chest and tools that were his grandfather's.  He says that his grandfather was a machinist in Detroit, but that is all he knows.

The chest is marked "Pilliod Company, Swanton, Ohio" in gold lettering on the front of the bottom drawer. The chest is oak.  The finish appears to be original and is in very good condition. It had a leather handle on top that is almost completely worn away.  The chest has 5 drawers of varying sizes with green felt liners, and the entire chest has a removable wooden front with a lock.  The lock and key still work.  It also sits on a base, but I do not think that the base is original.  It appears to be poplar and pine and not oak.   A couple of the drawers have some separation/cracking at the joints, but I can fix those fairly easily.

The chest is "full" of L.S. Starrett tools.   The tools are in very good condition, but have obviously been well used and taken care of for many years.

My acquaintance says that he was told that the chest dates about 1915, but has no way of knowing.

Does anyone know anything about Pilliod?  I looked in the archive for the OldTools mailing list, and an email to the OldTools list in 1998 from Chris Berger had the following information about Pilliod:

"The letterhead contained the following:

Established 1896
THE PILLIOD CABINET COMPANY
Furniture Manufacturers
Swantown, Ohio  43558
Telephone 419-826-3540
(I tried this phone # for the heck of it and it is no longer in service)

The envelope also was stamped:

THE PILLIOD CABINET COMPANY
Pilliod of Alabama, Inc.
Pilliod of Carolina, Inc.
105 - 117 Woodland Ave.
Swantown, Ohio"

Not much else about this company seems to have been discussed on OldTools.

If anyone has any other information, please let me know.  I will post whatever I find about this company to the blog for others that may be looking for this company in the future.

Thanks for the help!

Above photo is the chest with the front cover open.

Cover closed (lock still works)

Logo on front of bottom drawer

Tools contained in drawer #3

#2

#1

#4

#5

Comments

[Karl]

Wow! That is quite a nice addition to the shop. A quick search on the manufacturer yielded this:

"In January 1994, LADD acquired the Pilliod Cabinet Co., a High Point-based manufacturer of promotional-priced bedroom and occasional furniture, in a transaction valued at $54 million. The company, which was renamed Pilliod Furniture, Inc. following the acquisition, had annual sales of more than $85 million and factories in Ohio, Alabama, and South Carolina."

I also turned up an EPA report that cited the company for an infraction in 1994 and fined them $17k.

This is probably not the detail you were looking for, but it does show that the company existed as little as 13 years ago.

Cheers!

[JOE]

I USED TO LIVE IN SWANTON OHIO..AND WORKED FOR THEM FOR 17 YEARS.... PILLIOD IS AN OLD FAMILY NAME IN SWANTON AND WAS ONE OF THE BIG EMPLOYERS.
LOCALS USED TO CALL IT THE "BOX COMPANY" DUE TO BOXS THEY MADE, LIKE YOU HAVE, SILVERWARE CHESTS AND BOXS FOR MEDALS DURING THE WAR EFFORT... I WAS TOLD THEY USED TO MAKE KITES AS WELL... THEY ARE LONG GONE...THEY HAD BECOME A POWER HOUSE IN FURNITURE. THROUGH MANY BUY OUTS AND THUS QUESTIONABLE MANAGEMENT, THEY ARE GONE.....MY MOTHER HAD ONE OF THE SILVERWARE BOXS

[Matthew Sanfilippo]

Thanks for the info!!!

Matt

[Andy Evridge]

At one time, Pilliod also manufactured a proprietary design of valve gear, called Baker, for steam locomotives. Some of this product would have been shipped to the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima.

[Betty Jo Guest]

Did u ever find anything else about the pillod cabinet company. I have a silverware box with the silver set that was my grandmothers and would love to find out more about it

[Matthew Sanfilippo]

Hi Betty Jo,
The only other info that I have found is in another post at this link:

http://www.intheworkshop.info/2008/07/a-little-more-information-on-the-pilliod-tool-chest-and-company.html

[ROSE]

I HAVE A WOOD CEDAR HEART. MEASURES APPROX 8 1/2" X 9". IT BELONGED TO MY MOM WHO WAS BORN IN 1920, I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE SHE GOT IT. IT HAS BEEN IN THE DRAWER FOR YEARS AND YEARS WITH HER CHROCTED HANKIES IN IT. IT ALSO HAS A HEART SHAPED MIRROR WHEN YOU OPEN IT & A RED SILK LINING.IT IS QUITE LOVELY. THERE IS A LATCH AND LOCK, BUT I HAVEN'T COME ACROSS A KEY YET. I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS ITEM AND WHAT YEAR IT MAY HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED. IT IS PLAIN TO SEE PILLIOD SWANTON OHIO CIRCLED ON THE BOTTOM.

[RICHARD J. PILLIOD]

HELLO MY NAME IS RICHARD J. PILLIOD AND I AM FROM SWANTON OHIO. MY GRANDFATHER WAS THE FOUNDER OF THE PILLIOD CABINET COMPANY IN SWANTON. I HAVE A CASE JUST LIKE THE ONE ABOVE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS YOU CAN E-MAIL ME AND I WILL TRY TO HELP WITH ANY THING I CAN.

[Matthew Sanfilippo]

Thanks Richard!

A number of folks have emailed about Pilliod since this post and I will point them in your direction.

Matt

[shaun williams]

my dad dide last year and in the his shed i found a chest just like yours. my mum told me it was her grand farthers he was a toolmacker. the one that i now owne is very baterd on the out side but once undun ant in bad nick. and the tools are ok too. after reading about your chest i took a look at mine and could not see a base or any sine that there was one. but noing what the chest,s jobs were i can see wye it might have been added.

[shaun williams]

Shaun said sorry about the spelling he is profoundly dyslexic

[Matthew Sanfilippo]

Thanks Shaun,
I have enjoyed hearing stories from a number of people about Pilliod cases.

In some ways, being battered just makes it more personal!

Matt

[cloudemomma@aol.com]

Hello, I also have a older crusty wooden Pilliod Mine has 8 drawers Nice wood box with sticker Anyone know the value in price ? worth ? Im soon to List mine on ebay
thanks Joanne

[dan]

Hi,
Recently retired, I have begun making machinist cabinets. My interests have come from being in the hardware retail buisness for years and also knowing someone who made one of his own, as part of his toolmaker apprenticship in England...years ago.
The skilled apprentices from overseas had to make their own tool cabinets, then make their own tools to put in them.....when they were done after about 3years....they were tool makers with their basic tools....or die makers or what-ever their apprenticship was for. A huge number of then came to the U.S. and Canada...brought their tools with them.
In the States and Canada, there were 50plus companies who made machinist cabinets, under their own names or with other brands on them. E.i. Sears, National...ect. The last domestic surviver appears to be Gerstner..in Dayton (also made National brand).
Pilliod Cabinet was diversified enough to survive the depression apparently. Today they are alot rarer than other quality built cabinets. Like many companies, back when, alot of production was sold on a regional basis. In Ohio alone there were 5-6 companies making machinist cabinets. But then again, the Great Lakes region had alot of skilled people working in the war plants, and they must have bought alot of cabinets to keep their tools in.(didn't make their own)
Who-ever put the raised base on your cabinet should get an award. Most older cabinets have the bottom dammaged from moisture or oil and the bottom off the back of the case is almost always water damaged and de-laminted if it is veneered.
The felt mildewed...E.I. tools rusted.
Looking at the precission tools that are in it and it's general shape.....I'd keep it all intact and put silica gel packets in all the drawers to protect all of it from moisture and don't put it in the basement.

Nice find.

[Matthew Sanfilippo]

Thanks for the info! Very interesting. I find myself becoming more and more interested in old machinist cases, and your post is helpful.

Matt

[Bill Chennault]

Richard--

I THINK I have one of your grandfather's chests. I attempted to join this forum but apparently the software is not working.

I would certainly like your opinion of my machinist's chest, which has no markings.

Interestingly, it belonged to a tool and die maker in Detroit and was full of Starrett stuff, plus a lot of true American cutters.

I will check back here in a few days to see if you or anyone else can provide a method to contact you via e-mail.

--Bill

[elainek124@gmail.com]

I too have a Pilliod chest. It was my Dad's. He passed away last year. It was his Father's. At least I think it was. His Father worked for Walter Kidde and he assembled smoke and fire detectors and not sure what else. So, possibly he used it there? Not sure? It is in very bad condition. The drawers (lined with felt) are mildewed. I wanted to clean it up. Not sure how to go about it. I was thinking of using lemon oil on the wood. Not sure what to do to clean the felt.

[Gordon Haines]

Hi, Richard from Gordon Haines in St. George, UT. I found a Pillard box in my aunt's condo when clearing it out after moving her to assisted living. If you would like to have it and the contents, I'd be glad to ship it to you for the cost of shipping.

It is like the one pictured at the website below. It is filled with many files, monocles, and tweezers and a square labeled "A. D. Paterson." The wood and felt are in good condition but there is an area on the top which has damaged finish. The mirror is intact but darkened.Key is missing. Leather handle is cracked.