Tool box

”I think I need to make another door”

That’s funny Jim, but French fitting the tools would probably be the best solution, not to mention the coolest solution. Looking good so far though.

-- Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.

French fitting is the coolest, I agree, but the most difficult. It much more difficult to change.

I assume the pictures are sideways? This is why boxes and chest were so much more prevalent. They were easier to make and use. Once you stand everything up you need to hold it in place.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

A tool kit is a very personal thing Jim. I mean the choice of tools, their sizes, etc. My only suggestions are that you first find a way to try out different arrangements before you build. It seems you are already working on that one. You might also consider outlining your actual tools and clip out each image so you can play around with different options with toolbox size sheets of paper for each layer. At the same time you could determine a maximum size and play with that too. You might also load all the tools you want to include into a box just to see if you are satisfied with the total weight. You could also build a mockup from cardboard joined with hot glue and tape for hinges. Another idea is that you could have travel luggage type wheels on it with an extendable handle to ease transporting it around. These are just ideas, not necessarily good ones, but it’s all I could think of. I’m looking forward to seeing how you do this. Good luck with your project!

-- Mike, American in Norway

Any thought to using magnets?

Also I think you should have at least one mystery tool that makes people scratch their heads when they look at your tool box. Something that looks like a cross between a chisel and a plumb bob.

-- Mauricio - Woodstock, GA - "Confusion is the Womb of Learning, with utter conviction being it's Tomb" Prof. T.O. Nitsch

Good call Mauricio. How about it Jim? Got any room for thing-a-me-bob. And how about a secret compartment? How cool are they? I’ve heard it said that artisans of old used to hide their burying money somewhere in their toolboxes just in case they popped their clogs when they were at work.

-- Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.

I would like to add a secret compartment to all my projects. One day I’m going to start doing that. Secret compartments are the mutt’s nuts! (How you like that Andy? I learned that on a British woodworking forum).

-- Mauricio - Woodstock, GA - "Confusion is the Womb of Learning, with utter conviction being it's Tomb" Prof. T.O. Nitsch

I like it Mauricio. It is basically a nicer way of saying the real expression which is the ‘dog’s bollocks’. We also use the ‘bee’s knees’ to mean the same thing. Personally I like to mix them up and say the ‘bee’s bollocks’ and the ‘dog’s knees’.

-- Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.

Thanks guys, I like the idea of a secret compartment but if I share it here it won’t be secret anymore. I also like the idea of a mystery tool, I’m open to ideas on that one.
Thanks for the suggestion of the paper cut outs of the tools, but the real puzzle is the fact that it is three dimensional.
At the moment I really don’t want to hold tools directly with magnets. I had considered a keeper bar that might secure several tools, like on the door, the bar being held by magnets.
The door at the moment is made from 1/2” stock, the French fitted panel is 3/4” combined that takes up 1 1/4” of the 3 1/4” of the interior space. If I make the door from 3/4” stock and inset the tools in the door I can gain a whole 1/2” of interior space. I know I’m crazy.
I have to be able to easily carry it. No wheels. They wouldn’t bounce down the dock very well. I like the size and shape because it is easy to carry up a ladder if the boat is still on the hard.
Jim

-- Jim, Long Island, NY Ancorayachtservice.com home of the chain leg vise