Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Mar 14, 2007 02:22am | #1

   Is there someplace that a picture or two of the chest can be seen?

   John W.

1. 
   stephen13 | Mar 14, 2007 02:28am | #2

   A book was written by the tool and trades history society title of the book is the tool chest of benjamin seaton. on the front cover is a full picture.The book was published in 1994.

1. 
   JohnWW | Mar 14, 2007 10:18pm | #3

   Amazingly we have a copy of that booklet in our library.  While I can't tell you how the piece was made, I can tell you how I would build it.

   I would build the till separate from the chest as a box that was then attached to the inside of the chest with screws through the top, from the outside into the frame of the till.  The outside of the box was only painted and the handle pieces on the ends were also attached with screws that were puttied over, so this would fit with the original construction.

   The back of the till need to be a board that is thick enough to hold a saw handle off of the top's inside surface, probably 5/8" to 3/4" thick.  Since the saws go in from opposite sides, there must be an inner divider that keeps two saws in the same compartment from rubbing against each other which would damage the teeth.  The divider could be thin, 1/4 inch thick would be adequate. 

   It is probable that there are small blocking strips at the opposite ends of each of the two sections in a compartment to prevent accidentally inserting two saws into the same section from opposite ends.

   The unit is obviously divided into three compartments from top to bottom by two horizontal dividers, probably 3/4" to 1" thick.  I would build the box with the top and bottom horizontal pieces and the two similarly sized horizontal dividers all grooved lengthwise to accept the thin dividers that separate the saws in each section.  The dividers would just slide in after the rest of the till was assembled and they probably wouldn't need any glue to hold them in place.

   After the back and the four horizontal pieces were assembled, the front piece would be attached to the box and then veneered.

   The entire piece could be made with glue and screws, or nails, since the only prominent surface, the front would be covered with veneer which would hide the hardware going into the dividers and top and bottom pieces.

   John White

       

   Edited 3/14/2007 4:05 pm ET by JohnWW