| Project by Joe Brumley | posted 487 days ago | 832 views | 2 times favorited | 11 comments |  |
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I have finally completed my toolbox with the addition of the tool tills. The two tills that are simply boxes were really straight forward even though I did manage to layout and cut the tails on the first one I made on the ends instead of the sides.
The saw till on the other hand took a little more working through. I managed to layout and cut the dovetails relatively quickly but then came the challenge of trying to figure out the most efficient method for fitting the ends to the ledger. I ended up using my table saw with my cross-cut sled and getting really close to the fit then bringing it home with my rabbet block plane. This is the first time I had worked with thin material and after resawing some of the wood bowed. This made hand planeing and putting the pieces together a little more challenging. Also the saw box does not rest flat against the sides of the case because the top of it bows out slightly. A minor detail since it is my tool box and it holds tools really well but if someone was paying me for it I would have gotten another board. Another thing that I did was under cut the dovetails on the saw box. I didn’t think about the fact that I would be removing material from the ends and how that might cause a gap to appear. Well that is exactly what happened and in a couple of spots there are gaps between the tail and the seat of the pin. If you look close at the second picture you can see what I am talking about in the second tail from the top on the right. Woodworking is a constant learning experience isn’t it.
For a finish I decided to try my hand at spraying shellac. My shop is not really a good place to spray a finish as the furnace is in there and the fumes end up all throughout the house. For my first time at spraying shellac it went ok, but I can see that I have a lot of practicing to do at spraying a finish. The spray gun I use is the Wagner Fine Spray that sells for about $100. I am pleased with how well it works, I just need to use it more often.
Well that’s it for now. Enjoy.
-- Joe, Indiana, http://www.crookedshack.com
11 comments so far
lew
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4483 posts in 649 days
posted 487 days ago
Beautiful Work!
Lew
SteveKorz
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2030 posts in 607 days
posted 487 days ago
Wow, I like this a lot, very nice!
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
Dusty56
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3460 posts in 581 days
posted 487 days ago
Well , even after you’ve noted all of the “flaws” for us , it still looks beautiful to me…if you never make a mistake , you’ll never learn how to fix anything : )
Great work in my opinion…someday I hope to get brave enough to attempt dovetails on a project . Have a great day and thanks for posting this beauty .
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
gusthehonky
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131 posts in 635 days
posted 487 days ago
Wow! Sure to be a family heirloom.
These are my favorite projects, a great source for inspiration. I love the way they show off a craftsmans skill as well as revealing hints of the owners personality. Another item on my to do list, I’m still using one I built almost 20 yrs. ago from 1/2” scrap ply—time to upgrade.
-- Ciao, gth.
Tim from Iowa City
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183 posts in 494 days
posted 487 days ago
Very nice work Joe. Looks great. Flaws??? I call those character marks. :)
-- Tim from Iowa City, IA
Texasgaloot
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467 posts in 594 days
posted 487 days ago
You know, it is said that the Shakers would purposefully leave a flaw in their work, the idea being that only God was perfect and they had no right to approach perfection. You can quickly get into a circular philosophical argument there, but I am always quick to pull out the old Pee Wee Herman movie, after a spectacular bike crash: “I meant to do that.”
Seriously, now that I’m admiring your work, I’m seeing all kinds of things I want to go back and change in my own toolbox. Sheesh.
-- There's no tool like an old tool...
romansfivefive
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258 posts in 666 days
posted 487 days ago
That looks great. perfection is an illusion, there is never an end to how we can improve things. My friend used to always say that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, until you have to mow that lawn. I guess that is the same as how we look at our own faulty work in comparison to the work of others. Any honest craftsman can point to features in thier work that could have been done better, regardless of how skilled they are. take pride, it is a great project
-- www.robneves.com
YorkshireStewart
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781 posts in 795 days
posted 487 days ago
It’s a delight to see work of this quality and you drew me back for another look at your lovely toolbox
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
PineMan
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57 posts in 488 days
posted 487 days ago
Interesting concept!
-- I never started a project I couldn't screw up.
jockmike2
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7299 posts in 1140 days
posted 486 days ago
great job, give yourself a break, we are our own worst critic. Only God is perfect, as someone said.
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
Joe Brumley
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63 posts in 675 days
posted 486 days ago
Thanks guys for the kind words. I wasn’t necessarily pointing out flaws to be hard on myself. I hope you guys don’t think I am some masochist woodworker. I was just making note of them in order that next time I remember to take those things into consideration. I know there is no such thing as the perfect piece because there is no such thing as the perfect price.
I guess this is how I motivate myself to improve. If it’s not good (relatively) then I have to make it better. I am very happy with the outcome of the project because I have never done one before. I guess I equate it to Norm’s show. He builds two of everything. The second one he builds most likely has some improvements on it because he was able to work through the whole process already. That doesn’t mean that the first one is junk. Norm is going to note what he did wrong on the first one so that he can tell the viewer what to do right. I use these project posts as a sort of note environment to myself as well as to show my work. I could make a note of the good parts of the case but then you guys would think I was full of myself and never look at my posts again (maybe?). Anyway, I really do appreciate the feedback that I get on this site. Everyone is very encouraging and I love the support. It means a lot coming from other craftsman.
-- Joe, Indiana, http://www.crookedshack.com