# Building my version of the Essential Tool Chest



## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

*The beginning*

I have always wanted to build a Gerstner style wooden tool box but the drawers were designed more for a machinist than woodworking. The project has stayed on the backburner for a long time. A few months ago i saw a picture and downloaded an article from FWW on the Essential Toolbox by Mike Pekovich. I had built a wall cabinet based on his design earlier and found that the design lent itself very well to personalizing it. The toolchest design seemed to be the same way. I really wanted a third row of drawers. I thought I could put in a row of two drawers just above the the other drawers without too much trouble and it would still look good. I started working on the two drawer idea then I priced the lock hardware and changed my mind to a single full width drawer that would look just as good and if I needed I could put in a divider. That lock hardware isn't cheap and while there are ways of running a lock down the inside and only needing to lock the lid. I like the look of the individual drawer locks and I don't have to make a living from my tools so locking and unlocking a bunch of drawers every day is not an issue. 
Wood selection was a no brainer. The local woodworking club I belong to had just recieved a call from the Idaho Historical Society. They are remodeling the museum and we could have the trim from part of the museumm if we would come and remove it. This was all red oak probably 75 years old or more. Red oak it would be and for contrast I decided to go with Bubinga for the drawer fronts and the panels on the lid.

Wood ready to go.









Pulled all the nails out cleaned finish off 
Glue up 









Started to cutting to rough size and planing to final thickness. First lesson when making changes in plans, change the dimensions on every page of the plan that those dimensions appear on. I cut the end panels 3" short, back to glue up for those pieces. The errors are big enough pieces that I will be able to use them some where else so not a total loss. After a day delay I cut the bottom well divider and lids to final dimesions and started on the dovetails. The bottom and sides will have handcut dovetails and the well divider will be hand cut mortise and tenons. When cutting dovetails in oak make sure your chisels are sharp and the strop is near. The tails are cut and I have started on the pins. Should have the sides jointed today.

Tails cut, Pins roughed out on one end of bottom.










More tomorrow or the next day


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## luv2learn (Feb 4, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *The beginning*
> 
> I have always wanted to build a Gerstner style wooden tool box but the drawers were designed more for a machinist than woodworking. The project has stayed on the backburner for a long time. A few months ago i saw a picture and downloaded an article from FWW on the Essential Toolbox by Mike Pekovich. I had built a wall cabinet based on his design earlier and found that the design lent itself very well to personalizing it. The toolchest design seemed to be the same way. I really wanted a third row of drawers. I thought I could put in a row of two drawers just above the the other drawers without too much trouble and it would still look good. I started working on the two drawer idea then I priced the lock hardware and changed my mind to a single full width drawer that would look just as good and if I needed I could put in a divider. That lock hardware isn't cheap and while there are ways of running a lock down the inside and only needing to lock the lid. I like the look of the individual drawer locks and I don't have to make a living from my tools so locking and unlocking a bunch of drawers every day is not an issue.
> Wood selection was a no brainer. The local woodworking club I belong to had just recieved a call from the Idaho Historical Society. They are remodeling the museum and we could have the trim from part of the museumm if we would come and remove it. This was all red oak probably 75 years old or more. Red oak it would be and for contrast I decided to go with Bubinga for the drawer fronts and the panels on the lid.
> ...


How fortunate to have gotten all that seasoned Red Oak, it will make a beautiful tool chest. I looks like you are off to a great start.


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## rrrun (Jan 1, 2010)

johnstoneb said:


> *The beginning*
> 
> I have always wanted to build a Gerstner style wooden tool box but the drawers were designed more for a machinist than woodworking. The project has stayed on the backburner for a long time. A few months ago i saw a picture and downloaded an article from FWW on the Essential Toolbox by Mike Pekovich. I had built a wall cabinet based on his design earlier and found that the design lent itself very well to personalizing it. The toolchest design seemed to be the same way. I really wanted a third row of drawers. I thought I could put in a row of two drawers just above the the other drawers without too much trouble and it would still look good. I started working on the two drawer idea then I priced the lock hardware and changed my mind to a single full width drawer that would look just as good and if I needed I could put in a divider. That lock hardware isn't cheap and while there are ways of running a lock down the inside and only needing to lock the lid. I like the look of the individual drawer locks and I don't have to make a living from my tools so locking and unlocking a bunch of drawers every day is not an issue.
> Wood selection was a no brainer. The local woodworking club I belong to had just recieved a call from the Idaho Historical Society. They are remodeling the museum and we could have the trim from part of the museumm if we would come and remove it. This was all red oak probably 75 years old or more. Red oak it would be and for contrast I decided to go with Bubinga for the drawer fronts and the panels on the lid.
> ...


It will be fun to watch your progress on this great project! Keep shooting, and keep writing, please!


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## SvenPHX (Jul 26, 2013)

johnstoneb said:


> *The beginning*
> 
> I have always wanted to build a Gerstner style wooden tool box but the drawers were designed more for a machinist than woodworking. The project has stayed on the backburner for a long time. A few months ago i saw a picture and downloaded an article from FWW on the Essential Toolbox by Mike Pekovich. I had built a wall cabinet based on his design earlier and found that the design lent itself very well to personalizing it. The toolchest design seemed to be the same way. I really wanted a third row of drawers. I thought I could put in a row of two drawers just above the the other drawers without too much trouble and it would still look good. I started working on the two drawer idea then I priced the lock hardware and changed my mind to a single full width drawer that would look just as good and if I needed I could put in a divider. That lock hardware isn't cheap and while there are ways of running a lock down the inside and only needing to lock the lid. I like the look of the individual drawer locks and I don't have to make a living from my tools so locking and unlocking a bunch of drawers every day is not an issue.
> Wood selection was a no brainer. The local woodworking club I belong to had just recieved a call from the Idaho Historical Society. They are remodeling the museum and we could have the trim from part of the museumm if we would come and remove it. This was all red oak probably 75 years old or more. Red oak it would be and for contrast I decided to go with Bubinga for the drawer fronts and the panels on the lid.
> ...


Thanks for posting, I'm looking forward to learning how to make this.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

*Progress*

The dovetails and mortise and tenons on the carcase are done. My dovetails are getting better. Practice does make a difference.

Tails done time for pins










Its square.










Cutting the mortises. The tape makes the knife marks easier to see,










A little touchup on one end and we can cut and fit the panels front and rear.


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## Ampeater (Feb 21, 2008)

johnstoneb said:


> *Progress*
> 
> The dovetails and mortise and tenons on the carcase are done. My dovetails are getting better. Practice does make a difference.
> 
> ...


Looks very nice. I made one out of Butternut and Mahogany about a year ago as a gift to my grandson. It was a fun build.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Progress*
> 
> The dovetails and mortise and tenons on the carcase are done. My dovetails are getting better. Practice does make a difference.
> 
> ...


Looking forward to the end product, and will be watching the progress


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## SvenPHX (Jul 26, 2013)

johnstoneb said:


> *Progress*
> 
> The dovetails and mortise and tenons on the carcase are done. My dovetails are getting better. Practice does make a difference.
> 
> ...


Nice! I think my wife would like one of these for her airbrush supplies … I best not show her it …


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## luv2learn (Feb 4, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Progress*
> 
> The dovetails and mortise and tenons on the carcase are done. My dovetails are getting better. Practice does make a difference.
> 
> ...


Your tool chest is coming along nicely Bruce. Looking forward to the next installment.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

*Carcase is done*

Yesterday and a little bit this morning was spent jointing and fitting the front, back and drawer dividers. I now have a complete carcase.

Drawer dividers in and fit.










Front and back installed and fit.



















I need more practice on my mortises but they got better as things progressed. Should be fairly easy to cover the mistakes.










On to the lid and drawers.


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## luv2learn (Feb 4, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Carcase is done*
> 
> Yesterday and a little bit this morning was spent jointing and fitting the front, back and drawer dividers. I now have a complete carcase.
> 
> ...


It is shaping up nicely Bruce.


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## HillbillyShooter (Feb 15, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Carcase is done*
> 
> Yesterday and a little bit this morning was spent jointing and fitting the front, back and drawer dividers. I now have a complete carcase.
> 
> ...


Beautiful wood, beautiful work!


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

*Lid is finished*

I spent yesterday cutting mortises and tenons and fitting the lid. I had a stupid attack and forgot to allow for the lid dado depth when cutting the mortises. I ended with a mortise a 1/4 wider than the tenon. Once everything was glued up I was able to find a piece of scrap that fit the gap precisely. I just cut to length, a little glue and push them in, once they were sanded down I could only find one repair out of four and that one you needed to know where it was to see it.

I got a good book match on the Bubinga. I was really happy with that after the resawing and squaring the pieces up.










I moved on and cut the drawer fronts.










Dovetail time for the drawers now.


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## Edwin (Mar 11, 2010)

johnstoneb said:


> *Lid is finished*
> 
> I spent yesterday cutting mortises and tenons and fitting the lid. I had a stupid attack and forgot to allow for the lid dado depth when cutting the mortises. I ended with a mortise a 1/4 wider than the tenon. Once everything was glued up I was able to find a piece of scrap that fit the gap precisely. I just cut to length, a little glue and push them in, once they were sanded down I could only find one repair out of four and that one you needed to know where it was to see it.
> 
> ...


Coming along nicely…


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## Dutchy (Jun 18, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Lid is finished*
> 
> I spent yesterday cutting mortises and tenons and fitting the lid. I had a stupid attack and forgot to allow for the lid dado depth when cutting the mortises. I ended with a mortise a 1/4 wider than the tenon. Once everything was glued up I was able to find a piece of scrap that fit the gap precisely. I just cut to length, a little glue and push them in, once they were sanded down I could only find one repair out of four and that one you needed to know where it was to see it.
> 
> ...


This is going to be a beauty.


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## luv2learn (Feb 4, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Lid is finished*
> 
> I spent yesterday cutting mortises and tenons and fitting the lid. I had a stupid attack and forgot to allow for the lid dado depth when cutting the mortises. I ended with a mortise a 1/4 wider than the tenon. Once everything was glued up I was able to find a piece of scrap that fit the gap precisely. I just cut to length, a little glue and push them in, once they were sanded down I could only find one repair out of four and that one you needed to know where it was to see it.
> 
> ...


The fruits of your labor are showing Bruce .


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

*Drawers*

Yesterday and today were relatively productive for the most part. I got the dovetails cut on the three drawers. I cut these with a PC 4200 series dovetail jig. The front is attached with halfblind dovetails. These are usually the easiest to setup and cut but for some reason I had a hard time setting things up. and when I cut them two came out tighter than I like two were right on and two were a little loose. I don't know why nothing moved. The through dovetails on the rear of the drawer were a different story altogether. I set everything up cut the tails. turned the plate around for pins, adjusted the plate for what I thought would give me a tight joint. set the depth on the router cut my scrap piece it fit perfectly best dovetails I have ever cut on that jig. Put the drawer backs in cut the pins and they all fit perfectly.










This morning I set up my router table to cut the dados for the drawer bottoms. Cut the sides on the first drawer everything good picked up the back. In the three steps from bench to router table I turne the drawer back around and cut the dado on the wrong side. I figured out how to repair that cut the rest of the dados correctly cut and fit the drawer bottoms. The drawers are looking good.



















Time to fit the locks. These are half mortise locks and FWW has an article on building jigs cut the mortises. I spent awhile making the jigs and started working on the installation. The first thing you do is find the center of the drawer front and drill and chisel out the keyhole. I got the first drawer front measured marked cednter measured from other side 1/16" difference split the difference remeasured and drilled the holes. picked tup the second drawer front measured measurements aren't the same as the first. The first drawer front was remeasured the key hole is off 1 inch.  Drilled the two drawers correctly and put on the nest jig routed out for the lock housing. Next jig routed out for the lock edges. Because of the length of my pattern bit I had to cut the top inset rabbet by hand that went well and I have locks ready to be installed in two drawers




























Tomorrow I will make another drawer this is the same drawer I cut the dado in wrong and that repair showed more than I wanted. I'll just bite the bullet and make a better drawer.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Drawers*
> 
> Yesterday and today were relatively productive for the most part. I got the dovetails cut on the three drawers. I cut these with a PC 4200 series dovetail jig. The front is attached with halfblind dovetails. These are usually the easiest to setup and cut but for some reason I had a hard time setting things up. and when I cut them two came out tighter than I like two were right on and two were a little loose. I don't know why nothing moved. The through dovetails on the rear of the drawer were a different story altogether. I set everything up cut the tails. turned the plate around for pins, adjusted the plate for what I thought would give me a tight joint. set the depth on the router cut my scrap piece it fit perfectly best dovetails I have ever cut on that jig. Put the drawer backs in cut the pins and they all fit perfectly.
> 
> ...


Iys coming together nicely!


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## Dutchy (Jun 18, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Drawers*
> 
> Yesterday and today were relatively productive for the most part. I got the dovetails cut on the three drawers. I cut these with a PC 4200 series dovetail jig. The front is attached with halfblind dovetails. These are usually the easiest to setup and cut but for some reason I had a hard time setting things up. and when I cut them two came out tighter than I like two were right on and two were a little loose. I don't know why nothing moved. The through dovetails on the rear of the drawer were a different story altogether. I set everything up cut the tails. turned the plate around for pins, adjusted the plate for what I thought would give me a tight joint. set the depth on the router cut my scrap piece it fit perfectly best dovetails I have ever cut on that jig. Put the drawer backs in cut the pins and they all fit perfectly.
> 
> ...


I've heard that the difference between an average woodworker and an excellent woodworker is his ability to hide his mistakes and accidents.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Drawers*
> 
> Yesterday and today were relatively productive for the most part. I got the dovetails cut on the three drawers. I cut these with a PC 4200 series dovetail jig. The front is attached with halfblind dovetails. These are usually the easiest to setup and cut but for some reason I had a hard time setting things up. and when I cut them two came out tighter than I like two were right on and two were a little loose. I don't know why nothing moved. The through dovetails on the rear of the drawer were a different story altogether. I set everything up cut the tails. turned the plate around for pins, adjusted the plate for what I thought would give me a tight joint. set the depth on the router cut my scrap piece it fit perfectly best dovetails I have ever cut on that jig. Put the drawer backs in cut the pins and they all fit perfectly.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately the hole is drilled in a blotch of different color and I haven't any thing even close to match it. I'm going to have to be average in this case.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

*Glueup*

I have been doing a lot of little things to get ready for glue up. I cut the mortise for the lid latch and fit the escutcheons in the keyholes. The escutcheons came out pretty close to straight up and down and in alignment. drilled and mounted the drawer pulls and handles.










Yesterday afternoon put the finish on all of the inside surfaces. Sanded and put a second coat on this morning. I'm using amber shellac on the oak, clear on the Bubinga. About 10:30 this morning I glued up the carcase.



















I taped off the lid and applied the shellac to the oak on the lid.










I just pulled the clamps off the glueup did a little measuring to make sure nothing slipped. Thing are about as square as you can get. Really really happy with that.
Might have this finished next week maybe.


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## Dutchy (Jun 18, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Glueup*
> 
> I have been doing a lot of little things to get ready for glue up. I cut the mortise for the lid latch and fit the escutcheons in the keyholes. The escutcheons came out pretty close to straight up and down and in alignment. drilled and mounted the drawer pulls and handles.
> 
> ...


This is more than average.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

*Ready to finish*

I expected to be farther than I am but things kept getting in the way. It's hard finding time for everything when you are retired.
I pulled the clamps scraped the glue squeeze out and sanded to 220. I started to install the drawers for the final fit and found two drawers wouldn't fit. I had glued in one of the drawer dividers upside down. After talking to myself a little I took a walk came back and cut one of the drawers down fit great and made another drawer. That turned out to be the best drawer I made for this tool chest.I guess practice does help. I also forgot to cut the mortises for the lock bolts. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had I cut the mortises before gluing in the dividers they probably would not have been in the right place. I used prussian blue on the bolt face and tried locking each lock to get a good imprint from the blue to mark wher I needed to cut. I still needed to enlarge the mortises to actually get things to lock smoothly. When I finished that I was definitely happy I hadn't cut them first. 
With everthing fitting and sanded to 220 I applied the first coat of shellac. Once that driedI located and cut in the lid hinges and lid latch plate. I used the finish to strengthen the edges of the oak so I didn't have any splintering with the chisel. The oak is super dry and splinters very easily. Thats what happens to wood in a climate where 20% humidity is considered a very humid day in the summer.

I now have the third coat of shellac on waiting for that to dry.

First coat of finish


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## crowie (Jan 21, 2013)

johnstoneb said:


> *Ready to finish*
> 
> I expected to be farther than I am but things kept getting in the way. It's hard finding time for everything when you are retired.
> I pulled the clamps scraped the glue squeeze out and sanded to 220. I started to install the drawers for the final fit and found two drawers wouldn't fit. I had glued in one of the drawer dividers upside down. After talking to myself a little I took a walk came back and cut one of the drawers down fit great and made another drawer. That turned out to be the best drawer I made for this tool chest.I guess practice does help. I also forgot to cut the mortises for the lock bolts. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had I cut the mortises before gluing in the dividers they probably would not have been in the right place. I used prussian blue on the bolt face and tried locking each lock to get a good imprint from the blue to mark wher I needed to cut. I still needed to enlarge the mortises to actually get things to lock smoothly. When I finished that I was definitely happy I hadn't cut them first.
> ...


Now that's really starting to look good…..


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Ready to finish*
> 
> I expected to be farther than I am but things kept getting in the way. It's hard finding time for everything when you are retired.
> I pulled the clamps scraped the glue squeeze out and sanded to 220. I started to install the drawers for the final fit and found two drawers wouldn't fit. I had glued in one of the drawer dividers upside down. After talking to myself a little I took a walk came back and cut one of the drawers down fit great and made another drawer. That turned out to be the best drawer I made for this tool chest.I guess practice does help. I also forgot to cut the mortises for the lock bolts. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had I cut the mortises before gluing in the dividers they probably would not have been in the right place. I used prussian blue on the bolt face and tried locking each lock to get a good imprint from the blue to mark wher I needed to cut. I still needed to enlarge the mortises to actually get things to lock smoothly. When I finished that I was definitely happy I hadn't cut them first.
> ...


Looks good! bet it will be a beaut with a final finish! My toolchest is on hold for a few weeks while ride the mighty flooded Ohio river.


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## BigRedKnothead (Dec 21, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Ready to finish*
> 
> I expected to be farther than I am but things kept getting in the way. It's hard finding time for everything when you are retired.
> I pulled the clamps scraped the glue squeeze out and sanded to 220. I started to install the drawers for the final fit and found two drawers wouldn't fit. I had glued in one of the drawer dividers upside down. After talking to myself a little I took a walk came back and cut one of the drawers down fit great and made another drawer. That turned out to be the best drawer I made for this tool chest.I guess practice does help. I also forgot to cut the mortises for the lock bolts. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had I cut the mortises before gluing in the dividers they probably would not have been in the right place. I used prussian blue on the bolt face and tried locking each lock to get a good imprint from the blue to mark wher I needed to cut. I still needed to enlarge the mortises to actually get things to lock smoothly. When I finished that I was definitely happy I hadn't cut them first.
> ...


Such a good build. Thanks for taking the time to post it.


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## Dutchy (Jun 18, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Ready to finish*
> 
> I expected to be farther than I am but things kept getting in the way. It's hard finding time for everything when you are retired.
> I pulled the clamps scraped the glue squeeze out and sanded to 220. I started to install the drawers for the final fit and found two drawers wouldn't fit. I had glued in one of the drawer dividers upside down. After talking to myself a little I took a walk came back and cut one of the drawers down fit great and made another drawer. That turned out to be the best drawer I made for this tool chest.I guess practice does help. I also forgot to cut the mortises for the lock bolts. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had I cut the mortises before gluing in the dividers they probably would not have been in the right place. I used prussian blue on the bolt face and tried locking each lock to get a good imprint from the blue to mark wher I needed to cut. I still needed to enlarge the mortises to actually get things to lock smoothly. When I finished that I was definitely happy I hadn't cut them first.
> ...


Almost finished. You had some trouble to overcome but in the end it turned out well. Nice chest.

I also liked your comment. Specially: It's hard finding time for everything when you are retired.


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## luv2learn (Feb 4, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Ready to finish*
> 
> I expected to be farther than I am but things kept getting in the way. It's hard finding time for everything when you are retired.
> I pulled the clamps scraped the glue squeeze out and sanded to 220. I started to install the drawers for the final fit and found two drawers wouldn't fit. I had glued in one of the drawer dividers upside down. After talking to myself a little I took a walk came back and cut one of the drawers down fit great and made another drawer. That turned out to be the best drawer I made for this tool chest.I guess practice does help. I also forgot to cut the mortises for the lock bolts. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had I cut the mortises before gluing in the dividers they probably would not have been in the right place. I used prussian blue on the bolt face and tried locking each lock to get a good imprint from the blue to mark wher I needed to cut. I still needed to enlarge the mortises to actually get things to lock smoothly. When I finished that I was definitely happy I hadn't cut them first.
> ...


That is one awesome looking tool chest Bruce. Nicely done.


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## HillbillyShooter (Feb 15, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Ready to finish*
> 
> I expected to be farther than I am but things kept getting in the way. It's hard finding time for everything when you are retired.
> I pulled the clamps scraped the glue squeeze out and sanded to 220. I started to install the drawers for the final fit and found two drawers wouldn't fit. I had glued in one of the drawer dividers upside down. After talking to myself a little I took a walk came back and cut one of the drawers down fit great and made another drawer. That turned out to be the best drawer I made for this tool chest.I guess practice does help. I also forgot to cut the mortises for the lock bolts. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Had I cut the mortises before gluing in the dividers they probably would not have been in the right place. I used prussian blue on the bolt face and tried locking each lock to get a good imprint from the blue to mark wher I needed to cut. I still needed to enlarge the mortises to actually get things to lock smoothly. When I finished that I was definitely happy I hadn't cut them first.
> ...


Great looking chest-destined to be a family heirloom.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

*Finished*

Finshed. While applying the finish I realized there was no hardware on the lid for opening it. It is exactly the same size as the box. The only way to open was friction on the sides of the lid.I laid one of the drawer pulls on top of the lid and it looked pretty good. I took an extra couple of days and ordered another drawer ring for the lid. After the last coat of shellac I epoxied in the escutcheon for the locks. The drawer pull came in today.










The box has 2 coats of amber shellac on the oak. and 4 or 5 coats of clear, The bubinga in the drawers and the lid have about 6 coats of clear shellac. I sanded between each coat.










This is the best job I have done on a project to date. I am really happy with the way it came out. Now I have to line the drawer bottoms with felt and figure out what tools to put in it.


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## Dutchy (Jun 18, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Finished*
> 
> Finshed. While applying the finish I realized there was no hardware on the lid for opening it. It is exactly the same size as the box. The only way to open was friction on the sides of the lid.I laid one of the drawer pulls on top of the lid and it looked pretty good. I took an extra couple of days and ordered another drawer ring for the lid. After the last coat of shellac I epoxied in the escutcheon for the locks. The drawer pull came in today.
> 
> ...


You have done a great job and when I understand it right it also enjoyed you, This chest looks better than the chinees aluminium below in your workbench.


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## HillbillyShooter (Feb 15, 2012)

johnstoneb said:


> *Finished*
> 
> Finshed. While applying the finish I realized there was no hardware on the lid for opening it. It is exactly the same size as the box. The only way to open was friction on the sides of the lid.I laid one of the drawer pulls on top of the lid and it looked pretty good. I took an extra couple of days and ordered another drawer ring for the lid. After the last coat of shellac I epoxied in the escutcheon for the locks. The drawer pull came in today.
> 
> ...


Nice blog series-thanks for taking the time to draft, photograph and share.


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## ugoboy (Feb 3, 2010)

johnstoneb said:


> *Finished*
> 
> Finshed. While applying the finish I realized there was no hardware on the lid for opening it. It is exactly the same size as the box. The only way to open was friction on the sides of the lid.I laid one of the drawer pulls on top of the lid and it looked pretty good. I took an extra couple of days and ordered another drawer ring for the lid. After the last coat of shellac I epoxied in the escutcheon for the locks. The drawer pull came in today.
> 
> ...


Thank you for documenting your build. It was very nicely done and easy to follow. The project came out really nice. I am preparing for my tool box and reading your blog answered a lot of questions.


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