how heavy is an empty chest?

An empty antique tool chest easily weighs between thirty and fifty kilograms. Solid pine boards, thick bottom panels and heavy cast iron hardware add up quickly. You'll usually need two people to lift a full-sized example. Once loaded with hand tools, they become virtually impossible to move without a cart.

I found a large wooden box in my grandad's shed but it's painted a really ugly dark brown over the wood, should I strip it all off to see the pine underneath?

Leave the paint exactly as it is. That dark brown layer is likely a traditional scumble glaze, applied by the original owner to protect the softwood from damp sites. Stripping the exterior ruins the historic surface and removes the visual character. Buyers want to see the authentic wear from its working life, not bare, sanded pine.

missing internal sliding trays?

Missing tills pose a common problem. Tradesmen often pulled them out to use on a bench and simply lost them over the years. You are left with empty wooden runners fixed to the internal walls. Finding replacements that fit the existing runners is nearly impossible. Many buyers choose to have a cabinetmaker build new trays to match the old carcase.

My chest has a really complicated veneered picture of a star on the inside of the lid, did someone add this later to make it look fancy or was that normal?

Craftsmen did this from the start. The inside of the lid provided a large, flat canvas protected from the weather. Young cabinetmakers used this space to show off. A complex compass star proved they could handle delicate inlay work, acting as a visual CV.

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Antique Tool Chests

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Built by craftsmen to transport and protect the tools of their trade, an antique tool chest is typically a heavy, floor-standing wooden box fitted with a complex system of sliding tills.