The design and build naturally started with the case. I chose white pine to cut costs for a first (potentially disasterous) build and because that's what was traditionally used. If this turns out well, a hardwood version might come next.
As a new woodworker, I’ve managed to collect a small battalion of tools. Most of these are cheap buys at flea markets, hand-me downs, or used purchases from fellow editors on staff. It’s been weeks now that this cache has carelessly floated around the shop. So, I decided it was time to make something to keep them safe and centralized.
Looking around the FWW workspace it’s hard not to be overwhelmed with the quality of my co-worker’s tool boxes. Mike Pekovich’s tool chest, Associate Art Director John Tetreault’s heritage chest, and Matt Kenney’s set of travel chests are all killer designs with innovative storage solutions built right in.
In addition to these, the one style tool chest that always pulled at my heartstrings, was the traditional Japanese pine tool box discussed in Toshio Odate’s “Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit, and Use.” The tool box of the Japanese artisan craftsman, or shokunin, is simple in it’s exterior construction and contained no drawers or trays.
So, my goal is to combine the simple design and materials of Odate’s shokunin box, with divided storage like modern-style chests.
The bottom and side panels are attached via grooves and dados to the front and back. The lid will be removable and close with a wedge. On the inside, the bottom will have divided storage for iron planes. Four trays will ride on top of the plane dividers and these will hold chisels, marking instruments, and so on.
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The design and build naturally started with the case. I chose white pine to cut costs for a first (potentially disasterous) build and because that's what was traditionally used. If this turns out well, a hardwood version might come next.
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With all the case pieces cut to size according to my drawing, the first joinery cut was the groove that would accept the bottom. So far so good.
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To match that, I had to rabbet the bottom for a light friction fit... I failed. The rabbeted portion was too skinny and too long. No worries. I cut off the mistake and shortened the side panels to match. The second attempt fit great. I used the same setup to run all the grooves for the case.
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I also had to cut the stopped dados for the side panels perpendicular to the bottom groove. Time for another mess up. The original dado (seen in the last photo) was on the wrong side of the line. Whoops. I had to shorten the front and back and recut the dados farther into the case to avoid weak end grain. Time to fit the side panels.
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The stopped dados had leftover material that the dado set couldn;t get to. I cleared it out by first chopping down the walls of the dado, then clearing the waste and flattening the bottom with the chisel turned bevel down.
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After a lot of work with a shoulder and block plane, the basic case was dry fit. Is it perfect? By no means. But, it felt good to have something that came together after having to redo most of my work at least once.
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Glue-up is always stressful, but consistent planning and having everything I needed within arms reach helped it go smoothly.
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The case is dry, but not perfect by any means. A little gap here and there, some tweaking that happened, but overall it's just storage for my tools and a great step in the right direction. Next post, I'll tackle the lid and wedge system, exterior handles and start designing the interior.
Comments
Very nice! I have a pile of white pine seasoning in the back yard. It looks like some will be used for this chest!
Dillon,
What a great post. This is how we all started, our mistakes are how one learns the fastest. I just can't wait until the next post.
Keep it up!
Welcome to the club. I can't believe how often I make mistakes just like these. I can't wait for the next post. Keep up the good work.
Nice post! how did you cut the profile of the front and bck panels ?
tooltips:
I used a bandsaw to cut the angled "feet" and hogged out most of the waste just shy of my scribe line. From there I used my rehabbed Stanley 220 block plane to clean up the large flat area, a spokeshave to flatten the angled section, and a 1" chisel to clean up the corners.
This was probably an over-complicated way of doing all this and although my results were good, they're definitely not perfect. I'm trying to use this project to clock as many hours, with as many tools as I can. It was my first time using a spokeshave and my first time doing stopped dados on the tablesaw. Both turned out well, but I am certain I will be better next time around.
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