Anarchist Tool Chest...in a Weekend

Hello all!

I’ve made a few posts, but mostly I’ve just been a lurker. However, I wanted to share my latest project with everyone.

I made a version of the Anarchist’s Tool Chest….in a weekend. I kept track of my time, and I had 15 hours of construction time in this, not including the painting. I would have done it even faster, but I made a few mistakes and had to try to figure out how to fix them!

I sent these photos and description to Chris Schwarz. Chris blogged about it here:

Lost Art Press Blog

Since I thought some of you might like a few more details, I figured I’d make this my first project on LumberJocks. :-)

I’ve got a move across the country coming up. It was a little unexpected and many things need to happen really fast. I found myself standing in my shop asking myself how the heck was I going to pack all my stuff? I didn’t want to put tools in boxes, hope they don’t get damaged or start to rust, have to unpack them on the other end, and make time to reorganize them. Since I had been thinking about the idea of working out of a tool chest rather than pegboard and shelves, building a tool chest seemed like the best solution. The problem is I need to pack the shop up NOW.

I don’t have a ton of time to dovetail a case, skirt, dust seal, tills, etc., so this box is made of $30 BORG plywood held together with pocket screws and a few biscuits for alignment. The inside of the box is the same size that Chris outlines in his book, but the outside is a touch smaller due to using ply and not 1” solid wood.

The bottom of the chest is also a big time saver. I don’t have a tongue and groove plane, and while I could made the T&G on the table saw, I didn’t want to mess with all the set up if I could avoid it. So, I purchased some SYP, T&G “V” board from Home Depot. I cut the pieces to rough length, screwed them to the bottom of the chest since I didn’t think nails would hold as well in the plywood, and planed everything flush.

The bottom skirt is the same “V” board. Take off the tongue and there is an instant chamfer.

The top skirt and dust seal were just clear pine from the BORG. None of the skirting pieces were dovetailed, I didn’t even do miters. Just but joints with a biscuit and screws. They may not last forever, but the tools will be protected just fine.

The top is still an inch thick, but I didn’t have time for a frame and panel. So, 3/4” ply glued to 1/4” ply makes a hefty and stable top. The dust seal is biscuited to the top with some screws to help a little while the glue dried. (Yeah….it’s hard not to keep around some of Norm’s thinking!)

The hinge is a 30” length of piano hinge…nothing fancy.

The tills are done the same as the main carcass. Biscuit to align, screws to hold. The deeper till has a B/C Sanded ply bottom, but upper tills have 1/4” hardboard for the bottoms….again, no time for ship lapping.

The runners for the tills are poplar because that’s what I had. Nothing had to be planed to thickness since I had those pieces in the needed 1”, 1/2” and 1/4” thicknesses right from the craft wood section of the BORG.

My sawtill is a little shorter than Chris’s because I wanted to make the bottom sliding till able to move the whole depth of the box. (I’m not sure that’s really necessary, but I did it anyway!)

I also didn’t put in the divider for the molding planes because I don’t have any…someday, but nothing right now. (If anyone would like to send me some hollows and rounds….I’d be happy to install the divider to keep them safe and sound! :-)

I think that’s it for the construction differences. If you are on the fence about working from a tool chest, give this construction method a shot. It’s quick and built like a tank. If you hate it, you’re not out a ton of time or materials. Everything can be purchased from the BORG!

I’m really happy with how this project turned out, and it proves just what Chris Schwarz is all about with his books and teaching. Chris shows how he would do something with the tools and resources he has. He gives reasons for why he made the decisions he made and what mistakes he’s made in the past. He then leaves the door open for us to go out and find the way that best fits our time, skills, and budget to achieve the same goals.

Thanks for reading! :-)