Richard Link
10-15-2020, 3:03 PM
I have gotten into my head the desire to build a large woodworking-oriented Gerstner style chest based on an old woodworking plan drawn up in the early 1980s. Yes - I know there are lots of other plans out there but they appear quite simplified and don't have the features I am looking for. And - frankly - half the fun is going to be digging up these plans like an archeologist. In the process of trying to find these plans, I've run into some roadblocks and hope that another woodworking plan sleuth has been down these roads before.
The plan I am looking for is called "Large Craftsman Toolchest and Base #128" and was drawn by a company entitled "Morrison Originals" which was based in Detroit during the 1980s but appears to either be long defunct or has moved into some other business with another name. I can't find much about Morrison Originals other than at one point they drew up plans for furniture. At one point they had a #130 (which was a large tool cabinet) and a #128 (which was a mechanics style chest with a base). The only thing I can find other than a few blurry pictures of draftsman paper is an eBay auction (long defunct) for the #130 plan and a few photos of finished products built off the plans. I was able to find some old advertisements for these plans from the Morrison company in old copies of American Woodworker:
https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/6ca86aaa-d0f6-4a43-8378-3ffcd5314c85
The plot thickens. At one point, this exact plan was sold by a company catering to airplane builders and modelers called Aircraft Spruce which has a web presence. The Aircraft Spruce website in the united states does not list the plans any longer (for at least a year). However, their European website does list them ( https://www.aircraftspruce.eu/craftsman-wood-tool-chest-plns.htm (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aircraftspruce.eu%2Fc raftsman-wood-tool-chest-plns.htm&stzid=UgxsWn7WkjKtA84B_a54AaABAg.98clen5q4aH98dH5K Pprx5&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWFCVTdvZTROU2NOSW9ENGJJcGUtYT AzUzFlQXxBQ3Jtc0treUJrbGJzTUlma2FSVTJFSEwyTUcweHlo d2FZdjdvQTJodHNzb3I4RkhReGZ6Y2pkdy1iRThyLVJyM0cwRy 13UXl1X1A3ZEpuTWdYa1NRQnBtMjg3MXZkbFFtczFmbGJHR2ZF WklmSUpBNEwwM00wYw%3D%3D&event=comments)). It does say "quantity unknown." Bingo. BUT.....they will not ship them to the United States. I can get the shipped to Iceland or Montenegro or Guam (maybe not Guam) but not to the USA. I'm assuming this has to be some sort of copyright issue but its odd since the original company appears to be defunct and Aircraft Spruce definitely sold them in the USA more than a year ago.
https://www.aircraftspruce.eu/images/products_250x250/12-18350.jpg
So. Does anyone have any info concerning this Morrison Originals company such as some sort of a plan depository, another company selling their intellectual property and plans, or something else? I am beginning to feel like these plans are the equivalent to the holy grail - hidden in antiquity only to be found someday in a dusty attic box and resurrected.
Any assistance would be most appreciated as I appear to be at a dead end. Or perhaps someone has a friend in Iceland who would serve as a routing stop....
Rick
The plan I am looking for is called "Large Craftsman Toolchest and Base #128" and was drawn by a company entitled "Morrison Originals" which was based in Detroit during the 1980s but appears to either be long defunct or has moved into some other business with another name. I can't find much about Morrison Originals other than at one point they drew up plans for furniture. At one point they had a #130 (which was a large tool cabinet) and a #128 (which was a mechanics style chest with a base). The only thing I can find other than a few blurry pictures of draftsman paper is an eBay auction (long defunct) for the #130 plan and a few photos of finished products built off the plans. I was able to find some old advertisements for these plans from the Morrison company in old copies of American Woodworker:
https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/6ca86aaa-d0f6-4a43-8378-3ffcd5314c85
The plot thickens. At one point, this exact plan was sold by a company catering to airplane builders and modelers called Aircraft Spruce which has a web presence. The Aircraft Spruce website in the united states does not list the plans any longer (for at least a year). However, their European website does list them ( https://www.aircraftspruce.eu/craftsman-wood-tool-chest-plns.htm (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aircraftspruce.eu%2Fc raftsman-wood-tool-chest-plns.htm&stzid=UgxsWn7WkjKtA84B_a54AaABAg.98clen5q4aH98dH5K Pprx5&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWFCVTdvZTROU2NOSW9ENGJJcGUtYT AzUzFlQXxBQ3Jtc0treUJrbGJzTUlma2FSVTJFSEwyTUcweHlo d2FZdjdvQTJodHNzb3I4RkhReGZ6Y2pkdy1iRThyLVJyM0cwRy 13UXl1X1A3ZEpuTWdYa1NRQnBtMjg3MXZkbFFtczFmbGJHR2ZF WklmSUpBNEwwM00wYw%3D%3D&event=comments)). It does say "quantity unknown." Bingo. BUT.....they will not ship them to the United States. I can get the shipped to Iceland or Montenegro or Guam (maybe not Guam) but not to the USA. I'm assuming this has to be some sort of copyright issue but its odd since the original company appears to be defunct and Aircraft Spruce definitely sold them in the USA more than a year ago.
https://www.aircraftspruce.eu/images/products_250x250/12-18350.jpg
So. Does anyone have any info concerning this Morrison Originals company such as some sort of a plan depository, another company selling their intellectual property and plans, or something else? I am beginning to feel like these plans are the equivalent to the holy grail - hidden in antiquity only to be found someday in a dusty attic box and resurrected.
Any assistance would be most appreciated as I appear to be at a dead end. Or perhaps someone has a friend in Iceland who would serve as a routing stop....
Rick