I am in the process of building a tool cabinet for my shop. I have had a collection of hand tools sneak up on me going down the slippery slope and want a nice place to keep them. The cabinets I have seen have finger joints for the carcass. Is it ok to just put the plywood in my D4 and cut dovetails instead of setting up to cut finger joints?
Jeff
Replies
WHAT!
You would actually stoop to putting those beautifully restored hand tools in a plywood box? The hand tools Gods will surely roll over in their graves! You don't want it to rain for forty days and nights do you?
<G>
Nothing short of a proper solid wood cabinet fashioned using those tools will do, repleat with hand cut dovetails, mitred frame and panel doors, and hand planed before applying the shellac finish (No, you don't have to french polish, but that would be preferred).
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Oh, my apologies Bob. I did forget to mention that it is 3/4" Red Oak AAAAAA Grade. Does that make it a little bit better? By the way, can I cut dovetails in it or do I need to cut finger joints?
Thanks,
Jeff
Jeff,
Mr Bailey's great-great-gandson is here watching over my shoulder and he has threatened me with an endless supply of rusted and neglected planes that I will be forced to fettle into working shape if I respond to your question. <G>
But seeing as it is a nice grade of Oak, try on some scrap pieces if you have some. I'm sure that getting the pieces cut cleanly will be a challenge if using power tools, i.e. router? Backer boards would seem necessary.
You could obviously handcut them but I wouold think that getting out the waste will be tricky with the opposing grain direction of the plys.........
I made mine (My first attempt at handcut dovetails) out of solid wood (birch). It's actually recycled wood flooring glued together to make panels. The entire cabinet was made with hand tools, It's not the prettiest, but it works for me.
I'll get some pics and post tonight.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hey Jeff,
Hope you didn't think I was being a jerk. Went up to the shop when I got home from work, but had to mow the back 20 first.
Here's some pics of what I did. It's kinda crude but I hope it might give you some ideas. Bear in mind that this was the first project that I did entirely with hand tools. It was truly a learning experience for me.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Morning Bob,
I don't think you were being a jerk. I read all your posts and love your enthusiasm. This is about the same cabinet I would like to build only bigger. I could glue up panels from hardwood but am worried about seasonal movement. One cabinet I seen was here on FWW and they used finger joints on that plywood. I guess I'll just have to play around with it and see what the plywood looks/acts like with dovetails or finger joints?
Jeff
Seeing as how I am cheap, I've made five or six blanket chest from baltic birch with dovetailed corners. The dovetail jig(keller) has a backer board behind the piece and sometimes I clamp a 1/4" piece of scrap in front. Be warned that the glue in some ply is hard on router bits.
Disclaimer: I haven't had a chance to play with this, but a buddy of mine has suffered through it. Here's what I recall of his adventures.
He started out trying full / through dovetails, and was seeing quite a bit of blow out on the backs of the boards. I can't recall if he tried putting a backing piece in for support or not. He may not have had the room with his jig as I think he was using 3/4 ply.
I believe he switched to blind or half-blind as that managed to disguise things quite nicely.
So, it can be done, but you'll need to experiment and see what results you're getting. I would be curious to know what you finally end up choosing.
Glen
It is pretty much dependant on how many plys the plywood has, and how void free it is. 5 or 7-ply 3/4-inch plywood will probably look bad, with either dovetails or finger joints. If it is the strange hardwood veneered plywood they well at HomeDesperate, there will be far too many interior voids to even attempt it. And, the joints will not be particularly strong. All of the glued surfaces will be 50% end grain wood, no clean faces to join with glue.
If you have 15 or 17-ply 3/4-inch plywood, it will still look bad, but might be strong enough to bother with.
You'll be fine
Dave
The use of a high quality plywood is ideal for a tool cabinet. First it will cut the construction time considerably and second it will most likely provide adequate storage for even the best of hand tools.
In last winter's Fine Woodworking Tools and shops issue there was a tool cabinet illustrated with lots of fine hand tools. Those plans looked good to me and I lowered the vertical dimension and kept the rest the same. Instead of one cabinet I built two; which are mounted over my workbench. Whether you use dovetails or box joints, the plywood is the most practical choice. The box joints are fast and nearly ideal for
this form of construction. Here are some pictures of the cabinets that I built from the Fine Woodworking plan.
Moksha
Knife all of the cut lines deeply, especially the crossgrain ones. I would set the crossgrain cuts with a chisel a good 1/16" or deeper. The ply below the face may tear out and mar the face veneer. Personally I would handcut with a fine toothed japanese dozuki saw. If staining remember that endgrain will soak up stain and darken dramatically, sealing with a dilute shellac should even it up. I wouldn't worry much about glue failure with a dovetail joint so long as you arrange the pins and tails correctly, with the cabinet hang on the wall? Then treat as a drawer hanging up with pins on the top and bottom and tails on the sides. The mechanics of the joint will hold very well, of course you could "cheat" and run a long screw from the backside through the joint stopping short of the face of course. It worked for the 2x10 rim joists and band joists of my 12'x22' deck which is just pressure treated.
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