Chisel Box

With the box I recently made for my wife (my first real project), I felt like I had to agonize over every single little step. I needed something I could just “throw together” without worrying too much about how it looked. I just wanted to build something, and for it not to take months. Enter the chisel box.

A chisel box doesn’t have to look nice. It’ll rarely leave the shop. Nevertheless, I found myself caring a little too much about it, and had to keep reminding myself, “It’s only a chisel box” as the project went on and things kept going wrong. Here are the lessons I learned along the way:

1. Use the pencil! If you notice in the pics, the halfway decent chisel (if I do say so myself) which I woodburned onto the front of my chisel box is actually on the back. Way to go, Eric, for botching which side you thought the front was when you woodburned it on! (The box was glued together and I hadn’t cut the lid off yet.) It’s only a chisel box.
2. Use a flush-cut saw to do flush-cut work. I thought I’d glue the two end pieces on a bit too long and then cut them flush with my saw. Well you can see the graze marks on the back of the box where the set of my saw caught the box. It’s only a chisel box.
3. Support plywood when screwing into it. I didn’t have a drill bit small enough, so I couldn’t pre-bore my holes for the screws (hinges and clasp). When I drove the screws in, it started ripping apart my cheap plywood. I had to glue and clamp it back together, further complicating a simple project. It’s only a chisel box.
4. Don’t go all overkill with the nails. I didn’t know what length nails I’d need. I was afraid that butt-jointing plywood with tiny nails wouldn’t be strong enough, so I went with bigger nails. In a couple spots, I got too close to the edge of the plywood and it’s bulged out a little. Don’t ask me why I didn’t use screws. I don’t know. It’s only a chisel box.

All in all, I’m happy with it. It holds my chisels securely with a minimal amount of wood (important considering I have to lug them overseas and back). It looks okay. And I learned a lot even though it was a simple project.

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com