# Machinist Toolcart



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Design*

Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here: 
 
I realized that I'll need some setup to hold the larger tool/components/etc as it just won't fit into the small toolbox. I looked around at kennedy, snap-on, and other similar toolcarts and they are either too big or too $$$ for me, so I figured I might as well build something that would match the toolbox.

After debating several design ideas, I think I'm going to go with the 'simple' plywood carcass with a butcher block top. the carcass will be made of mahogany topped plywood, the faceframes made of solid mahogany, drawer faces and butcher block top made of maple, and the pullies probably mahogany as well and should look something like this:










initial cost planning:
roller wheels = $25
16 12" full extension slides = $50
3/4" mahogany (MDF core) plywood = $100

Total cost under $200… still seem a bit high as I'll need to absorb the cost of lumber mostly but we'll see how this plan goes. With little to no time lately, and lack of materials it would be interesting to see how long it would take me to put this together…

Peace


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## shimster (Mar 3, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Looking forward to watching your trip on this one.


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## Lenny (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Nice to hear from you Sharon. As this venture begins, good luck.


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## chief101 (Oct 30, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Looks like fun. Good luck


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## KentS (May 27, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


I can't wait to see it done Sharon.

While you're at it, make two and send one to me.


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Glad to see you back in the shop, Sharon!
I guess this is about perfect weather for your shop!
Ellen


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Sharon,

That looks like a great plan. I hope that you get to it before it starts snowing - just kidding!!


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## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


I hope you can make some time for this project. I know you would do a fine job and have a great storage space for your hand tools, etc. Good luck Sharon!


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Looks like a nice project about to begin, but hey did you get the milling machine???


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Looks cool and a place to hang your shopvac on the side.


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## Maveric777 (Dec 23, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Looking forward to seeing this one come to be…. Very cool….


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


That looks great, Sharon.

Lee


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Nice design! I count 9 drawers. Wouldn't that be 18 slides?


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


thanks everyone. great weather, but time may be an issue for me.

Gary - nice catch, I actually have 1 set of slides already


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


At least you know I was paying attention


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Looking good.
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


I can't wait to see the finished product.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Hi Sharon, Are you going to use the cart for wood or metal working tools?


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


I hope that you will put up a blog about this. It's very nice and I will be watching for it.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


Ron. This is for metal working tools.

helluvawreck - this IS the blog, and you ARE watching it


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design*
> 
> Shortly After completing the toolbox that was posted here:
> 
> ...


So it is, *Sharon*. I remember the blog about the tool box so this is the second half or you might say the bottom half - the tool cabinet. I will be watching and it will be beautiful also.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*

Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.

I went to the local lumber supplier that carries mahogany plywood and bought the 3/4" material for the carcass and baking. While there I had them cut the 1/2 full sheet to 2 halves (2 quarter sheets) so it'll be easier for me to transport with my car (don't have a large truck anymore).

With the 2 pieces now sitting in the garage, the original design seemed a bit small to me. The idea was to have something small by design, but now with it physically in front of me it seemed a bit too small. so I designed to revamp the design and see how large I can make it with maximizing the usage of what I have (to still keep it on the smaller side of things). I came up with a slightly larger version of the original design which can be seen in the right version in the SketchUp image below. I personally found the 3+2 top drawers arrangement a bit overcrowded and at this size I figured it would also be too narrow to actually be useful so I removed the 3 drawer layer, and simplified the cabinet a bit which resulted in the version on the left below:










I also took all the parts and placed them against a 24"x48" rectangle to visualize the sequence of cuts and where each part would come from the sheet.

What I was able to accomplish yesterday was cutting the 4 carcass parts (sides, top, bottom) all beveled at edges to keep a nice flowing grain around the cabinet, and the dividing frame and block for the upper 2 drawer assembly to mount the internal drawer sliders to.

While making the beveled cuts on the 16" wide sides+top+bottom I managed to drop my miter gauge from the TS to the floor when I pulled it too far out of the miter slot. it left a nice bruise on my hand (as I instinctively tried to catch it as it fell) before it hit the concrete floor upside down and shattered the handle and bent the handle screw…. oh well…. I guess it is now a 950SE (originally a 1000SE, turned 998SE after 1st mishap… and now this). luckily nothing critical was broken and the Incra miter gauge still performs just as well. In future projects I'll have to rethink treating wide parts differently, either with a router, or circular saw where the part is stationary as I found to have very little control over the cut when trying to deal with wide parts for cross cuts on the TS and with safety in mind, the cut quality and the capacity becomes very limited (or maybe it's just me).

all in all, parts are cut sizing looks decent, small but not too small, and thats what I need at the moment:



















The drawer full extension slides I got came with plastic anchors that fit in 1/4" hole. you can either use those anchors or just screw the sliders directly to the wood. I chose to use the anchors, and see how well it would work . It did take an extra step, and am not sure it's really worth it or not. I used a story stick to make sure all mounting holes/anchors are spaced evenly since I seem to always end up with extension slides that are not even with one another so hopefully doing it this way (with the sides still unattached) will help out. I'll just have to make sure when I put all parts together that everything stays parallel and aligned. I based my mounting holes in relation to the top drawer assembly divider dado so that should make the aligning everything easier (hopefully):










Next would be to trim the dividers (horizontal and vertical) that were left a hair too long (to trim to fit later) and glue together the carcass followed by making the face frames (front and back) and the 1/4" backing.

Thanks for reading,
Peace!


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


tweaking is half the fun!


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## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


I admire your ability to combine design with utility. You're sure to have a good looking & compact storage unit for your small workshop!


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


I think that Rockler has some attachments that screw into your story stick and then have a hardened insert that screws into it. That way you have a drill center hole that doesn't get larger as you drill holes.

I need to find the box of mine. (Never used them)

Great looking base.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


You're an animal, Purp. Glad to see it. Very well thought out. Anything machinist is good in my book


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


Thanks everyone.

Ellen, once I'm done with this, you are welcome to stop by and tweak it all you want - have fun!

Karson, Thanks for the info, I used the storyboard for the pilot holes so did not give it a chance to get messed up, but it's good to know there are options out there.


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## Lenny (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


Looking good Sharon. Regarding the miter gauge incident, consider investing in the rubber-y floor tiles. I can't tell you how many times I have dropped a tool (chisels come to mind) and been thankful it landed on soft cushiony material instead of the concrete beneath it. However, I left an area around the TS uncovered so I can move it as needed. If I had the same accident you did, I think it would have landed on concrete too.


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## Wiggy (Jun 15, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


Oh, wow… that looks exactly like the tool I have in my studio!!
Well, my is metal and says 'Craftsman' on it… it's black and chrome… BUT, in my mind it looks just like this!
HA!
Dude… That is a freakin' jewerly box on industrial casters! Fannnn tastic!


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


Hi Sharon,

Man, you are good with sketch up!

The cabinet looks like it will be really nice.

Lee


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


Looks like it will be a beauty.
And perhaps a 126SE before the end of the blog.
Have a nice ride.
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


I like this blog. I impressed with the Sketch Up drawing. The new drawer design is good too. You can use dividers and trays depending on what you plan on putting in the drawers. (you know that). "Freakin' jewerly box on industrial casters!" Love it!


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


Sharon, just a thought, on the right side or the back of the cart you can add a flip up table top for a desk or out feed table. If I remember Lenny had a cool flip up design on his table saw for a out feed table.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Measure twice, Cut Once, then measure twice again, and cut once more.*
> 
> Its been a while since the previous post mostly because I wasn't sure I was happy with the original design.
> 
> ...


489tad - thanks. I thought about a flip top, and I may incorporate that at some point in the future, but at the moment this needs to fit into a small space, and will be used purely for the drawer storage for machining tools.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Dividers Fittings*

A small step for this tool cart, a huge step for woodworking…

or not really, but a small step nonetheless.

I was able to dry fit the mitered carcass, and trim the horizontal and vertical drawer dividers to make them fit while keeping everything square (or as close to square as I could manage):










had to leave it like that for the rest of the evening, but was able to sneak back to it for a short while longer and cut a 1/8" slot on all the fronts and backs of all the parts to later use to align the face frames to.

Next step I think would be to glue up the carcass square, and then move on to the face frames.

Thanks for reading,
Peace


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Gluing up the Carcass*

Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.

And so, I cleared the workbench from all the 'things' that always seem to end up on it (how is that always happening?!?) to have use of it's full length (barely enough) and laid down the carcass sides/top/bottom in their intended orientation upside down so that I can align their edges and then used blue painters tape to keep the parts aligned and together for the glue up.

It's one thing to flip up taped set of parts for a 6"x4" mitered box, but it's a whole other experience for a 20"x28" box that stretch far beyond the edges of the workbench from end to end. but somehow I managed it (some tape came off, but I had enough tape to keep things in place so I just had to replace some tap strips here and there when the parts were standing up on their sides on the workbench).

I then managed to slide a sheet of masonite underneath the carcass parts (I know, I should have had it there before I put the carcass parts) to protect the workbench from the glue spills, and I was ready to glue some wood!

Spread glue on the mitered corners (both sides) and started folding the whole thing together as the tape was keeping the joints aligned and tight. I added the horizontal divider before closing the last corner, and the vertical divider, and glued the last mitered corner only to realize (better now then 1/2 hour later) that the vertical divider was put backwards (with the drawer slide facing the back of the carcass). Now it's funny how quickly the glue actually starts to set as it was almost impossible to pull that divider out - and it's only held in a 1/8" deep dado and it's plywood so not a lot of long grain to long grain going on here, but I managed that as well. aaah, that was a close one.

I added some clamps mostly to keep proper pressure and to keep the joints even (I used it to push the top and bottom inwards a little) and to pull the dividers in properly:










And left it as as is for the night

As I mentioned in the previous post, I did route a 1/8" groove on the fronts/back of all the carcass parts to later align the face frames to it. the cut was done to allow for a spline to fit in, but didn't care much to make a perfect clean cut as it will be covered later. this is purely functional cut/groove:










And this is the victim…. the Incra 1000SE handle bolt. the plastic handle was completely shattered and this bent bold that keeps the miter gauge locked is all that is left:










I was thinking about machining a new one as a one piece aluminum handle+threaded end but am not sure Aluminum would be good enough for this so I may just try to straighten this bold and glue a handle to it - any suggestions (just trying to be creative here as opposed to just ordering a replacement part more than anything)?

Next I'll probably do the face frames since I may not have enough material for all the drawers at the moment. we'll see what the mood will strike with next.

Thanks for reading,
Peace


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Gluing up the Carcass*
> 
> Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.
> 
> ...


Looking good.

Seems like making your own handle should be easy enough. Strange that the bolt bent so much from just a fall. Oh well, maybe you can bend it back. Or find a new one at the hardware store. You could just use a straight bolt epoxied into a wood handle.

Steve


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Gluing up the Carcass*
> 
> Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.
> 
> ...


I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who ever glued up an assembly only to realize I had something in backwards. 

I think it is some sort of corollary to Murphy's Law that glue sets at three times the normal rate if a mistake has been made.


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## Jon3 (Feb 28, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Gluing up the Carcass*
> 
> Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.
> 
> ...


Why not machine one out of steel? You can always use a soft steel and heat treat it yourself after you've machined it.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Gluing up the Carcass*
> 
> Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.
> 
> ...


Steve, um…. so its not the usual 'fall'... my miter gauge is setup in a sliding sled it fell with the sled on top (weight)  or more 

Charlie - I wonder if we can use Murphys law and purposely design one part "backwards" so that when we put it the right way it would be against the design and in a way - a mistake. you think that would work?

Jon. I thought about steel. and in fact since it's a screw it probably doesn't need to be heat treated. I just didn't really feel I want to be holding a steel handle… a mental projection I guess, but that is indeed another option. thanks!

Edit: a thought came to mind to incorporate a steel base with a wooden sides for the handle - thanks Jon for making me rethink this.


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## chief101 (Oct 30, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Gluing up the Carcass*
> 
> Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.
> 
> ...


Looks good.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Gluing up the Carcass*
> 
> Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.
> 
> ...


As for your miter gauge. I got the 1000 SE also. The first thing I did was replaced that knob with a wooden one. I bought a long bolt of the right threads and simply turned a wooden handle for it, just like making a screwdriver. I'll try to get a pic posted tomorrow sometime. Sorry, that's the soonest I can. If I knew where I put the plastic one, I'd give it to you.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Gluing up the Carcass*
> 
> Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.
> 
> ...


Thanks Rance, that is what I plan on doing, although I may also turn the screw and make it into post to mount the wooden handle onto like you might see in kitchen knives (now if only I had the time to go at it).

would be nice to see what you did if you can find that photo. Thanks!


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Gluing up the Carcass*
> 
> Had another quick chance for some shop time and used that to glue together the fitted carcass. I didn't want to deal with the glueup the day before (after fitting the dividers) as I knew I would need a peace of mind and ample time to do the glueup properly and not rush through it.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing your progress. It is fun to watch.

It is amazing how often something can go wrong once the glue is spread, even after several flawless dry runs. I am glad that you were able to make the save!


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Front Face Frames are On*

Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.

So I joint a board with my #6 so that I can then rip it on the TS to long narrow strips 7/8" wide (to cover the 3/4" plywood with excess that I could then trim flush) and ~1/2" thick. I find that I am less inclined to use power tools lately - too much noise, dust everywhere, and the breaker keeps on popping (I live in a rental and only have 1 15Amp circuit I am running everything on, and it's not really wired properly as far as I can tell). unless I need multiple identical parts I find that handplanes, hands saws, and chisels are much more enjoyable to use.

I cut a center groove in all the face frame parts to match those I made in the carcass to take a spline, and from some left overs I was also able to mill some spline material ~1/8" thick:










I cut the splines into 6" sections which helped with the next step which was cutting the exterior frame to size and mitering the corners. the splines helped hold the face frame parts in place so taking measurements and marking the parts was easier with both hands available for that purpose. this left with the cut parts ready to be glued after a dry fitting:










here you can see the splines in place, I later (prior to gluing) moved them closer to the corners to help align the miter joints better:










I am kinda taking this slow, so I figured I'll do the frames in baby steps rather than preparing all parts and doing 1 glueup and so I glued up the exterior front face frames and then moved on to work on the dividers faces. I wanted to give the cabinet a clean look, and so the corner joints are all mitered, but I also wanted to give the cart a hint of the machinist toolbox I made which was heavy with dovetails to kinda tie them together. What I did was use dovetails to join the dividers in the face frame.

I cut the dividers to length (horizontal first, and after It was glued in and set I did the same for the vertical) keeping the length about 3/4" longer than the space it was holding for the joinery. I free cut the tails without really measuring the angles or anything. since there was just 1 tail on each side, I figured there is no need to try and keep them all the same. I place the divider at an angle and make a vertical cut that equates to an angle cut on the part. I find that if I place the part vertical and try to make an angled cut - it just doesn't work (for me):










After cutting the tails, I sliced off half of each tail's thickness. there is still enough material to 'grab' the joint, and the added step allows me to easily place the part over and register against the mating parts and trace the tail where the socket will be:










I then trace the tail, saw the side lines as much as possible, and chisel the rest:










Then it was glueup time - which wasn't very fascinating, so I didn't take a picture . That will have to wait until the next time - trimming time.

Slow going, but at least it's going. it starting to look better than I had thought it would, which is a nice surprise.

Until next time,
Peace!


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


You are making some good progress. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


Sharon:

A great job. I picked up about40-50 BD FT of mahogany in the last week. This was scrap from my window and Door MFG.

He said some of it was Anigre Mahogany. I can't find any reference to it on the web at least called mahogany. It seems to be have less pores in the wood, But I didn't look very close. I just piled it up some pieces were 8-10" wide and 24-30" long. others were 2X2 30" long.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


Karson, you get the best lumber deals I could ever imagine!

I'm curious about what you said was Anigre mahogany. I used Curly Anigre veneer for the drawer fronts on this box:


but wouldn't think this was in the mahogany family. is the one you have reddish like other mahogany? or is it lighter in color? when I researched Anigre I was able to find some light info, but I don't recall any reference to mahogany. curious…


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


No I'm not finding any reference to it being in the mahogany family either.

An interesting point is the references I see on the web say it's like African mahogany, however Larry called it genuine mahogany which is one of the classes of South American mahogany. They call it genuine mahogany because the don't keep track except that it's from SA. and not Philippians Mahogany.

I'm going to go back and talk to him again and check the sample on his desk. It might have a different spelling and be another species.

I'm making some more parts for my Antique car for the Children out of Mahogany and Sapele again this year. Last years parts that were mahogany are now Sapele or Sipo or Utle. I'm also using some Teak for the radiator and trunk deck lid this year.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


looking forward to seeing those antiques! how many are you making this year?

would also be curious to hear what Larry has to say about Anigre.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


I've got over 150 started 160 bases, but 210 trunks, fenders ?, seats 180. gas tanks 175. They were made out of 1" square mahogany and then rounded over on the router table. I use a bull-nose bit to round them.

When I start cutting parts i usually finish the board that I've selected and it sometimes leads to overage on some parts.

On the frames I only had 145 (Some were short and were counted as good so I had to cut another 18.

I do a lot of resawing on my bandsaw for these parts because I need 1/2" thick 3 X 8.5 and 3/4" 3 X 10 so I may start out with 2" thick stock where I can get 2 - 3/4" pieces or 1 1/2" thick where I get 1 3/4" and 1 1/2" piece


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## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


Your slow & steady pace combined with your skill with hand tools is a sign of real craftsmanship! I'm sure you'll be taken for a North Bennet St. School grad before long! And I can't wait to see the finished product.


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## Cory (Jan 14, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


I love the dovetail detail, Sharon. Keep up the good work and the updates!


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Front Face Frames are On*
> 
> Another small step forward. I was able to mill some mahogany today for the face frames. I milled some 7/8"x1/2" strips from 1 long board that I was hoping would be enough for both front and back face frames but unfortunately it only yielded enough material for the front which is also all I had time today to manage.
> 
> ...


thanks guys!


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Sneaking In the Back*

Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.

Yesterday I was able to sneak in some shop time while grilling outside:
1. Turn on Grill, let warm up
2-. Joint board flat and square
3. Place chicken on grill
4-. Rip board to get 2 1/2" strips ~3" wide
5. Turn Chicken so it won't burn
6-. Rip narrow strips to get 4×1/2" x 7/8" strips
7-. Cut a center groove in strips for spline
8. Turn chicken to the other side
9-. Cut notch in strips for cabinet back
10. Eat Dinner

Mind you - there was no rushing of cuts and safety was practiced as usual. This was merely a practice of good time management.

After dinner I went back and cut the miters and trimmed the parts to fit:









You can see the way the groove for the spline aligns with the carcass and the rabbet for the cabinet backing is set here:









I then cut the backing material (1/4" mahogany ply) based on the opening size + 1/2" in each direction expecting to have to trim it slightly to fit, but the dry fit showed that it was a dead on alignment and everything was nice and square, and mitered were nice and tight:









Unfortunately the wet gluing threw everything off as the pressure from the clamps got my alignments off - my mistake as I was trying to clamp each piece after I glued it in as opposed to putting all parts on with the glue, align them, and then apply the clamps. oh well - it IS the back of the cabinet, and with some work it can be cleaned up.

Looking back, in retrospect I would have done things differently. If I were to do this again, I'd dress up the plywood with the front and back edging prior to cutting it to size and cutting the bevels for the mitered joints of the box as it would make the whole things much easier and less prone to alignments and extra work. I knew this was an option from the beginning but decided to try to do things the way I have - good experience and a good lesson.

Thanks for reading,
Peace!

P.S. 
Prior to working on the back, I trimmed the excess from the front faces:


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Sneaking In the Back*
> 
> Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.
> 
> ...


The beauty of Multi-tasking !


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## steviep (Feb 25, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Sneaking In the Back*
> 
> Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.
> 
> ...


I need to learn this skill of yours.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Sneaking In the Back*
> 
> Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.
> 
> ...


So how was the chicken. What were the spices. We need all of the particulars.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Sneaking In the Back*
> 
> Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.
> 
> ...


thanks!

*Karson*: the chicken was great. It was a Soy sauce and honey grilled chicken wings. if you're ever in town, stop by for a taste


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## Wiggy (Jun 15, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Sneaking In the Back*
> 
> Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.
> 
> ...


LOL! Great job, Sharon.
If I had tried this, I would have ended up with raw chicken on my band saw and an open flame on my gas grill!


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Sneaking In the Back*
> 
> Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.
> 
> ...


Looking good. I would have burned the chicken for sure.

Seems I remember you got a shaper a while back. You using that to dado and rabbet the face frames?


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Sneaking In the Back*
> 
> Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.
> 
> ...


Sneaky.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Sneaking In the Back*
> 
> Since I do not find much time lately to get any progress I figured I'd try to sneak in some shop time in-betweens.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the comments, and be careful with that chicken in the bandsaw *Wiggy*!

*Cato* - I used the TS to rabbet and dado the face frames, I have the shaper set for ogee cuts. I'm not a big fan of using a router type cutter for dadoes and prefer a dado blade in the TS just based on the rotational direction of the cutting edges that seems safer on the TS (no binding)


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*a Trim and a Shave*

Now that the construction of the carcass was finished (as far as I can think) it was time to trim off the excess of the face frames (front was already done, and just had to do the back). I trimmed off the back as I got home from work. I used a block plane for that and brought the carcass into the house to continue working on it later at night when I get more time:










can still see the burn marks from the TS. Nothing that a good shave/scrape wouldn't clean right off:










Later at night I took the carcass to he basement where it will ultimately go and gave it a final shave to clean all the edgings and front face burn marks. The scraper did a great job merging the edging with the plywood and smoothing everything up:










Now I know the box still needs to be finished and the edges slightly broken to take the sharpeness off of them, but I couldn't resist the urge to see this thing in it's final form and assess the sizing/height/etc so I put on the 5" wheels (2 swivel, 2 non swivel). I chose to put the swivel wheels on the front as based on my access and trying to fit this into narrow spaces I think that this would be the best point of rotation as opposed to placing the swivels on the side . Come to think of it, this would cancel the functionality of a side pull handle so I may change this later on, but for now this seems more useful in my case:










This project keeps on changing sizing on me all the time, during the design period it seemed properly sized. then when I cut the parts, it seemed like it was going to be too small. Then when I brought the assembled carcass into the house it seemed too big. and finally, when I put on the wheels, placed it right side up (why isn't it upside up? shouldn't the right side be on the right side?) and placed the toolbox on top of it - it looked JUST RIGHT! sizing is perfect, height is perfect. looking better and better (to me) every minute:










Now sure what I'll tackle next, either finishing the carcass, or building the drawers each with it's own pros and cons…. we'll see what the muse will dictate.

Thanks for reading,
Peace!


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## Jon3 (Feb 28, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *a Trim and a Shave*
> 
> Now that the construction of the carcass was finished (as far as I can think) it was time to trim off the excess of the face frames (front was already done, and just had to do the back). I trimmed off the back as I got home from work. I used a block plane for that and brought the carcass into the house to continue working on it later at night when I get more time:
> 
> ...


Looking good.

The burn marks look like stoppage marks. Are you keeping your piece moving across the TS through the entire cut, or are you doing hand-to-hand switch off that is causing you to stop the piece mid cut?


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *a Trim and a Shave*
> 
> Now that the construction of the carcass was finished (as far as I can think) it was time to trim off the excess of the face frames (front was already done, and just had to do the back). I trimmed off the back as I got home from work. I used a block plane for that and brought the carcass into the house to continue working on it later at night when I get more time:
> 
> ...


Thanks Jon - good catch. that is indeed where I stopped to fetch and use the push stick to complete the cut.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *a Trim and a Shave*
> 
> Now that the construction of the carcass was finished (as far as I can think) it was time to trim off the excess of the face frames (front was already done, and just had to do the back). I trimmed off the back as I got home from work. I used a block plane for that and brought the carcass into the house to continue working on it later at night when I get more time:
> 
> ...


Nice job Purp.
I do like it in the basement better.
Or should I say down in the basement (as if a basement would ever be up).

Steve


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## ryno101 (May 14, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *a Trim and a Shave*
> 
> Now that the construction of the carcass was finished (as far as I can think) it was time to trim off the excess of the face frames (front was already done, and just had to do the back). I trimmed off the back as I got home from work. I used a block plane for that and brought the carcass into the house to continue working on it later at night when I get more time:
> 
> ...


Lookin' good!

Personally, my favorite part is how it is serving as temporary functional storage for your Whole Foods groceries!


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## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *a Trim and a Shave*
> 
> Now that the construction of the carcass was finished (as far as I can think) it was time to trim off the excess of the face frames (front was already done, and just had to do the back). I trimmed off the back as I got home from work. I used a block plane for that and brought the carcass into the house to continue working on it later at night when I get more time:
> 
> ...


This is definitely coming together rather nicely.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Drawers: Part I*

I've been sort of stuck with this project once it was time to get to the drawers mostly because for lack of material. I wanted to keep all the drawers made of same material and not pick and choose from what I could find at hand, and the only material that I have at ~1/2" thickness range that would make a good fit is some QS oak boards mostly 3 1/2 foot long:










I ran calculations and found that If I went with my desired drawer depth of 14" I will not have enough material to make all the drawers, but at 13" depth I just might…

now was the moment I was asking myself why did I choose to use 12" drawer slides, 14" depth drawers and 15" deep cabinet?!? why not just go full 16" drawers + slides and 17" cabinet… but I digress. I sure wouldn't have enough material for any longer drawers.

The real issue for me here is the lower taller drawers. in my design I chose to have the drawer pull on top of the drawers which physically call for the slides to be at the same level meaning on the top of the drawer. This means that a 6" drawer has to have 6" sides as the slides are installed on the top of the sides. If I had the slides on the bottom of the drawer, I could very well use 3" material for the drawers keeping the upper half of the drawer open. for tall items this would not make a difference, but it would make it difficult to stack things in those drawers, although I have a solution for that as well. the main thing is that I would have to move the drawer pull handles to the lower part of the drawers and I am not sure how that would work visually… I'll have to play with this in SketchUp and see what I find.

Nevertheless, I really wanted to utilize some time that I had and decided to cut whatever parts I can from whatever material I have at the moment, and at least have some of the drawers done, and deal with the larger drawers later (should I choose to lower the slides, I would then have more than enough materials, or if not- at least I'll have something to work with).

So… I started cutting all the parts in batches based on final sizes (which is why I wanted to cut all drawers parts now using one setting on the TS as opposed to having to reset it later to make additional cuts to match existing parts). Once all the parts were cut to length, I ripped the parts for the upper 4 tiers of drawers (5 drawers total) as they were somewhat shallow, and shorter than the thickness of the boards I was working with (except 1 drawer which is 3" tall) and using my sled with Incra's precise positioning and an 1/8" drill bit (google it or see how I use it here: http://lumberjocks.com/PurpLev/blog/20231) proceeded to cut the finger joints for these drawers:










I really like finger joints for drawers, aligns and holds well even during dry fitting and has a nice look to it. And so, I end up with the 5 top drawers (2+1+1+1):










...And then I noticed - heck…. I don't have any 1/4" plywood for the bottoms. So my options at this point are either to use masonite which I have enough for all drawers but it's less then 1/4" thick, or go and buy some 1/4" plywood material. I am still undecided and may end up using masonite for the time being with the option of replacing it later with thicker material if needed (I always leave the back of the drawers open with the option of replacing the bottom).

For the time being I am left with the following material:










This is good for 2 pieces per side per drawer for each of the remaining 3 drawers this is about good for the 2×5" + 1×6" drawers, and 1 piece per back+front for each of the drawers leaving the back+front parts at only a bit less then 3". If I choose to keep the slides where they are at (high) I may end up using narrower parts for the front/back of the drawers and will have to fandangle the fronts to have proper support (doable) OR I may end up lowering the slides on those drawers and just make the drawer frames at ~3" all around with possible stackable boxed that would fit on top to utilize the entire height of the drawers for stackable items.

A little more progress, and a few new concepts to think about in the evolution of this project.

Thanks for reading,
Peace!


----------



## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Drawers: Part I*
> 
> I've been sort of stuck with this project once it was time to get to the drawers mostly because for lack of material. I wanted to keep all the drawers made of same material and not pick and choose from what I could find at hand, and the only material that I have at ~1/2" thickness range that would make a good fit is some QS oak boards mostly 3 1/2 foot long:
> 
> ...


Bottoms? You need bottoms in drawers?? ;-)
Your drawers are looking really nice… I particularly like the box joints…strong and attractive.
Ellen


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Drawers: Part I*
> 
> I've been sort of stuck with this project once it was time to get to the drawers mostly because for lack of material. I wanted to keep all the drawers made of same material and not pick and choose from what I could find at hand, and the only material that I have at ~1/2" thickness range that would make a good fit is some QS oak boards mostly 3 1/2 foot long:
> 
> ...


Looking good, yes material short is a way I know…
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Drawers: Part I*
> 
> I've been sort of stuck with this project once it was time to get to the drawers mostly because for lack of material. I wanted to keep all the drawers made of same material and not pick and choose from what I could find at hand, and the only material that I have at ~1/2" thickness range that would make a good fit is some QS oak boards mostly 3 1/2 foot long:
> 
> ...


Nice.
Maybe put some veneer on that masonite to make it worth the beauty of this build?

Steve


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Drawers: Part I*
> 
> I've been sort of stuck with this project once it was time to get to the drawers mostly because for lack of material. I wanted to keep all the drawers made of same material and not pick and choose from what I could find at hand, and the only material that I have at ~1/2" thickness range that would make a good fit is some QS oak boards mostly 3 1/2 foot long:
> 
> ...


Thanks for the comments.

*Pat* - yes, I know 1/4" ply is not 1/4" but it's thicker than the 1/8" masonite (which is also not really 1/8" but actually more like 3/16") for some reason I have the feeling plywood would be more capable though to support heavier loads- I could very well be mistaken. *Steve* - I actually like the look of the masonite and the fact that it's smooth and doesn't stain as bad as plywood, it's just the load factor that I'm concerned with

*Ellen* - yes, most drawers require bottoms but most books will never tell you that, I discovered that by trial and error 

*mads* - glad to know I'm not the only one


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Half Finished and Drawers Part II*

This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.

And so I gave the cabinet a good sanding with 220 and ROS all around (outside and as far as I could inside just for sport as it doesnt really matter) and mixed the collected sawdust with some shellac which was my 1st coat (sealer). I like using shellac as 1st coat as it dries super fast, sands easily, and seals well - all good qualities for a base coat. I also will mix sawdust with it at times to darken it and help fill up pores in open pores woods such as mahogany. If I really wanted to seal the pores I'd wet sand it as well, but in this case, it's a toolcart, I just want to protect it from oils and spills more than anything and don't really have a high desire for a luster finish so I put very little effort into this finish as long as it does it's job and is even.

After the base coat I applied 3 more coats of oil based polyurethane. I know some people don't care much for finishing (as much as I don't care much for glue ups) but I really love how the wood comes to life with every coat of finish thats put on it. seeing the depth comes to view right in front of your eyes as you apply one more coat on it… mm mm good.

I think I was giving myself too easy of a time, and the top coat of poly was applied with too hard of a rag which left drag marks, and generated a lot of bubbles that if you'll look closely are very easy to spot, then again - I only want this finish for protection and for additional tone to the cabinet, other than that it looks good enough for it's purpose and I can always reapply and clean it up in the future if really needed.

I applied the finish on the outside and sanded between each coat to flatten the finish. I also applied finish on the inside of the cabinet, but did not bother to sand between coats. I only finished the inside to keep the material evenly sealed on both sides, but the inside will never be seen or touched and doesn't have to look/feel smooth/good as long as it's just as sealed as the outside its all good for me.










And so once finished, it matches the toolbox real nice. This was a selling point for me and one of the reason I went with this build and with this material and I'm glad it came out the way it did:










Now wait a minute…. where did those drawers came from?!?

Well, After the last installment of this blog series I had dried fit the drawers and they were left as is. Last weekend I had a chance to flip on some power tools, and was able to address those drawers.

Recently I have been contemplating reducing power tool usage and power tool ownership in favor of equivalent hand tools, but I just couldn't go with letting some things go (at least not yet). Why am I bringing this up? because it was really nice being able to pop in an undersized router bit for 1/4" plywood in the router table, set the fence 1/2", raise router bit to half the width of the drawer material thickness and route all those drawer bottom grooves (in 2 passes).

After having the grooves setup, I ripped the backs of the drawers at the groove upper line so that I can slide the bottoms in and out of the drawers once put together. This will allow me to always replace the bottom if needed which also means that for the time being I will be using masonite for the bottoms and if it will structurally not hold up over time I can replace it at a later date.

unfortunately when I cut the masonite to size, I miscalculated my cuts and forgot that the back of the drawer is fully cut which means the masonite should have been cut longer so that the screw in the back will go through it. oh well, I guess the screw in the back holding the bottom from sliding out will just have to be behind it:










And so, with grooves in place, and pieces cut and ready to go it was glue up time and boy do I not like that part… especially when you have so many finger joints you have to fill with glue. But, this has to be done and so I applied glue to all parts, and clamped it together. at first I used 2 clamps in each direction and over tightened them to pull the finger joints in tightly (an alternative to using a mallet) as the joints are tight and with the glue they are even tighter. NOW. This also meant that the over pressure was throwing the drawers off of square. SO, once the joints were pulled in tight, I removed 2 clamps, and loosened the other 2 clamps, used some shear force on the drawer to square it up, and then tightened the 2 remaining clamps only slightly just to keep the drawer from moving around but still with very little pressure:










This resulted in nice, square and ready for some cleaning up drawers:










They don't have to look pristine as they will have drawer fronts, but just have to be decent which for me they are.

After that I used some shims and install the drawers into the slides which were preinstalled in the cabinet. this has worked better for me then having to install the slides after the cabinet was built, but then again to each their own:










Now what about that element I was talking about?

with the cabinet finished and "protected" I rolled it out of the way…. but alas I rolled it INTO the way of the broken stair that we have in the basement with the exposed metal.

I heard the crack… 
I felt the crack…
oh dear…

it pretty much gouged a thumb-sized area off of the cabinet side:










so glad this is not going to a client. but then again, if I was setup to build things for clients, I probably wouldn't have been building it in my basement to begin with.

So… I'm a woodworker right? can fix wood right? on with it. a bit of glue, caul and a clamp:










And an hour later:










I might still try to conceal it a bit better with a marker, or some home brewed stain. not pretty, would have been better if it didn't happen (considering this project is not even finished yet) but - it did happen, so might as well move on with it. could have been worse.

In conclusion. Half finished, Half Drawers, Broken and Fixed, this project has gone through a lot of progressions and changes in a short amount of time. Still have to finish the rest of the drawers, apply drawer fronts+pulls and finish them, and start organizing the internals of the drawers… not necessarily in that order

Thanks for reading,
Peace.


----------



## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


A really nice piece Sharon. I think everyone has the same view of power/hand tools. Hand tools let you feel the wood but oh those power tools save so much time and make us look better than we are right away. I'm sticking with them I'm afraid. They've all become important. In another way too. It lets you make more progress in the limited time available.

Anyway, I've been following this and the other section of this piece since you've been doing it. Tons of little precision techniques learned tied into one unique piece. You must feel much more adept at certain things now.


----------



## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


Great work, Sharon. I particularly like the way the tool box matches the new stand. 
Looking forward to seeing the drawer fronts on them.
I'm surprised you have any time for this after answering you fan mail from the interview ;-)
Nice work, as usual.
Ellen


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


It's very brave of you to share with the world the trials and tribulations we all go through in a project. 

This is coming together, Sharon. I know it will be something to be very proud of when you're done.


----------



## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


Despite the slight gouge (now fixed) your tool box and matching cabinet look great! And I think your mix of hand and power tool use is just right. Nice work Sharon!


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


Sharon yes things happen on the way, this is what we call learning, and aint that just wonderful.
It's looking really good, I start to be quite jealous in a happy for you way.
Best thoughts,
Mads


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the comments.

*Charlie* - I have nothing to hide… err… never mind… but in all honesty, I sometimes wish I knew others were running into the same difficulties and same issues I'm facing all the time, so I figured I'd share it with others that might benefit from knowing this.


----------



## Jon3 (Feb 28, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


It isn't a real machinist cart until it is dinged up a bit.

(Also, get that stair fixed, if only to prevent this from happening to other beautiful work!)


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


hah - that is very true Jon and thank you. as for the stair I blocked it with a cardboard box in front of the corner to avoid repeats of this mishap. better lesson learned on wood than on ones leg


----------



## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Half Finished and Drawers Part II*
> 
> This project is half finished - Literally I mean. I figured since I'll be working on the drawers, and the toolcart is in the basement it'll get dirty, and oily finger marks might penetrate the wood and no sanding in the world will take those out, so I decided to finish the cabinet and protect it from the 'elements' around…. and boy did I get struck out by one of those elements… but more about that later.
> 
> ...


Hi Sharon;

Nice tool cabinet. And I'm sure the mishap bothered the "Bleep" out of you, but it is a tool cart, and as you mention, better that than a leg.

Very nice work.

Lee


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Drawers Part III: Decisions and Actions*

I was holding off on the last (lower and larger) drawers due to lack of material which in essence was a good thing as It made me rethink those drawer dimensions and ended up with what I believe is a better build, but more about that later.

What was the issue?

The lower 3 drawers are the largest/tallest at 6", 5", and 5", but I only had enough materials for 3 ~2.5" tall drawers + some additional material but not enough to glue material together to give me 6" and 2×5" drawers all around. My alternatives were to make shorter drawers that would end up housing taller items but without full support all around height wise, OR, scavenge materials and make the full height drawers one way or another.

I chose the former solution and just went along with what I had at hand to make 3 ~2.5" drawers:









You can see that this time around cutting the bottoms long enough that they slightly protrude from the backs of the drawers (see earlier post drawers part I where I cut them a bit too short).

Since my original plan was to have full height drawers with the drawer pulls on the top of the drawers which align with the drawers slides, now with the shorter drawers it also meant that I had to relocate the already installed slides for those. This is something that I was hoping to avoid which is also one of the reason I was holding off with this drawer builds until I am sure this is what I want to do. And so I lowered all 3 sets of slides to accommodate the new drawers:










You can see the previous location of the slides as it was left unfinished as I did the finishing after installing the slides. not exactly the most plan oriented project. I may or may not finish those strips at a later date (I probably should, but knowing my time schedule there is a high chance it will not happen).

To make sure everything is installed and aligned left to right and I installed the slides at the same height, and used the face frame of the cabinet as my front reference line (this was also the case originally with the other slides). the lowest slides were the easiest as they simply rested on the bottom of the cabinet. Then I placed a 3/16" masonite on the bottom of the cabinet and rested the lowest drawer on top of that to give it enough clearance from the cabinet. I used 2 clamps to secure the slides to the drawer in alignment, which left me with 2 hands to drill and screw the drawer to the slides:










Once that was done, I was left with the first installed drawer of the set which slid in and locked smoothly and easily:










The next 2 drawers were a bit more challenging as the slides had to be installed at the same height on both sides. but without anything to rest them on. Now that I think about it - I should have just cut some scrap wood to be used as a spacer between the lower (already installed) slide and the next one up, but well - too late now. Instead I used a combination square that rested on the cabinet bottom, and using a 2nd square made sure that the slides are installed at the same height and also square to the front of the cabinet:










Now I can honestly tell you that if I had done this a couple of years ago, the drawers would be all crooked, not close properly, misaligned, loped sideways, uneven, and having many other similar symptoms all at the same time. What I think made the difference this time around was having more experience under my belt and being more confident as well as more comfortable doing this, and the result is smooth acting nicely locking aligned, straight, evenly spaced, and really working well set of drawers:










Going back to the beginning of this post, I believe my decision resulted in a better option (for me) as these drawers can still carry taller items, but with the lower drawer sides there is easier access to the contents of those drawers. What more I can also stack smaller boxes on the drawers to get a 2-tier configuration on the lower 3 drawers if needed which can add more versatility to that storage space as well as more organization possibilities.

Obviously I am not going by plans or common knowledge but by experiencing and tackling things as I go along. this might have gone very differently if I had wider boards, but I guess sometimes some things just happen for a reason. Take what you get and make the best with it - it might lead you to better places.

I am a happy camper at the moment with how this is coming out.

At the moment, the remaining steps to complete this project are the drawer fronts+pulls, and later on internal custom storage organization and possibly a paper towel holder (although I am not sure about the later one).

Thanks for reading, 
Peace!


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Drawers Part III: Decisions and Actions*
> 
> I was holding off on the last (lower and larger) drawers due to lack of material which in essence was a good thing as It made me rethink those drawer dimensions and ended up with what I believe is a better build, but more about that later.
> 
> ...


The revised drawers look very functional. Nice job.


----------



## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Drawers Part III: Decisions and Actions*
> 
> I was holding off on the last (lower and larger) drawers due to lack of material which in essence was a good thing as It made me rethink those drawer dimensions and ended up with what I believe is a better build, but more about that later.
> 
> ...


Man, I wish I had a bit more expereince when I built the miter bench and storage…I have the issues that you describe, but mine re because two of my sides keystone….


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Drawers Part III: Decisions and Actions*
> 
> I was holding off on the last (lower and larger) drawers due to lack of material which in essence was a good thing as It made me rethink those drawer dimensions and ended up with what I believe is a better build, but more about that later.
> 
> ...


Thanks guys.

2 minutes after posting this entry I just couldn't be at the idea of the inside of the cabinet having those unfinished strips and fixed it while also applying 3 more coats of poly to the top which is now better protected and another and richer in colour AMD depth:









Cheers


----------



## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Drawers Part III: Decisions and Actions*
> 
> I was holding off on the last (lower and larger) drawers due to lack of material which in essence was a good thing as It made me rethink those drawer dimensions and ended up with what I believe is a better build, but more about that later.
> 
> ...


Good job Sharon! You're coming down the home stretch now.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*

We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.

and I was sick.

I waited until I could regain enough focus since loss of focus in woodworking is a bad idea and can only lead to disastrous consequences either to the project or worse to ones self and trotted to the garage only to find that the material I had planned to use didn't look all that fitting to the purpose of acting as drawer fronts. I wanted the front of the cabinet to have a balanced, even, and simple (no crazy grain flows) look to it but instead what a little plaining of the lumber I had revealed was some pretty wonderful grains that didn't match if ones life depends on it:










So after pondering about I decided that those boards will be better served for other purposes where they can really shine (under a glossy finish that is), made a cut list plan to see how much material I'd need and drove to the lumberyard (was hoping to avoid this, but after putting all this effort and planning into this project I'd hate to mess it up with the drawer fronts which are all about 'show'). I tried to keep expenses to a minimum so I chose to get some S3S 1/2" material hoping that if I get a straight enough board I can use it 'as is'. I found a 9ft board that met my requirements (width, length, and simplicity of grains) and had it crosscut at the lumberyard to fit in the car and off we went for a ride back home:










Once home, I rough cut it to the faces parts which were found to be far from straight (for some reason I expected a surfaced board to be jointed flat… I guess I was wrong) and had to joint and plane it down some. I tried to keep as much thickness as possible, not ideal but thats what I have to work with:



















took the parts to the cabinet and made sure it all fit (I actually had to trim some parts):










and so I was left with these faces:










And then the fun began. I ripped some 1"x1/2" strips of mahogany to make full width drawer pulls. to get a better grip I decided to route the bottom of the pulls. I setup my router bit at the appropriate height:










set my router fence at the appropriate distance to get a full cut (half bit wide) and stepped the fence back 1/8" (the Incra fence is a dream to work with for this purpose as it allows one to quickly move the fence at known and precise distances to sneak up on cuts or similar operations without fussing with anything). I then took 2 passes to get my pulls shaped up. Next I set a straight bit in the router table ,and routed a groove in the drawer fronts to align the pulls with. The groove was marked according to where the drawer slide is located per drawer so that the pulling force on the drawer will be in line with the drawer to avoid shear forces acting on the drawers and the pulls:










And then I cut the pulls to length per drawer (most are same size except 2 smaller upper drawers):










and I got these:










I wanted something that would fit well with the cabinet and be a full length pull. I think these will do well, and if not - I'll figure something else out somehow.

It's kinda painful throwing away cutoffs that you feel can still be used somewhere, but I just can't keep everything around it's just becoming very messy and overcrowded, and so I say farewell to some smaller pieces:










And went ahead and aligned and screwed the drawer fronts by drilling holes through the slots that would later accept the pulls. Currently this is just a place holder, and when I put in the pulls, the screws will be screwed in from the inside. I currently have 1 drawer that doesn't open well and I'll need to trim the drawer box itself as it's just too high and too close to the drawer above it (causing the problem) but other than that things look good, and the next step after some trimming and cleaning up would be finishing the drawer fronts and pulls, and putting them up:










Very glad to be done with the cutting process. now just a finishing touch!

Thanks for reading,
Peace!


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Pat, Thanks!

And yes! after building the top upper box I noticed that the pulls weren't working so well when the drawers were full and heavy. This time around I wanted a pull that was more practical especially since these drawers will carry a much heavier load as well.


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## Lenny (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Hi Sharon. First, you are correct about the weekend weather. It had to be a 10+ on a 10 point scale. Sorry you were not feeling well for some of it. I have been following your posts on this project even though I don't comment on each. You have almost completed a great, very personal, project. You put a lot of thought into each step of the process with wonderful results. It is coming out great. Best wishes as you begin the home stretch.


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Sharon,
That is one beautiful piece of shop furniture! Your selection of the drawer fronts was spot on. 
Ellen


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


I've been lurking on this project since it's inception with the original top part sketchups. Lots of skills used in this build over time and new tools acquired to get it done. You have the singular focus of an engineer. I hope you're feeling better soon.


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## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Sharon that the nicest Toolcart I've seen. Excellent work. My old craftsman one doesn't even compare to yours lol.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Hey Sharon,
That is looking really great. I am jealous.
Good choice on the new pulls. I bet they will help a lot.

Steve


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Thats going to look great.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the comments. glad to see people were reading this.


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


It's looking great!
You are going to have the most wonderful tool cart.
Nice details are now drawing the picture for us.
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Thanks Mads


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Sharon: A dices design and thanks for the details.


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


You're going to have a beautiful tool box! You may have to store it in the living room so you can show it off. It would be awful to hide it in your workshop.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Thanks Kason. and Thanks Hal - actually it won't be hidden in the workshop - it'll be worse - it'll be hiding in the basement.


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## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


The craftsmanship that you've put into this project will be a testament to your fine work. Have you switched to your basement to use as a shop instead of your garage?


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Thanks Lorna, and no I have not changed the shop location it is still in the garage, but I keep the metal lathe and mill in the basement which are the tools this toolcart is aimed to help with organization of.


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## littlecope (Oct 23, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Another Great Build and follow-along Sharon… Feel Better, and Finish it up soon!!


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Sharon,

This looks really, really good.

Fantastic job.

Lee


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Thanks Mike and Lee.


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## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Do you ever get the bittersweet feeling when your just about to finish a project. Its all good to have completed a project but the fun was building and planning. Your cabinet came out great and will serve you well over the years to come, thanks for sharing the journey my friend, take care of your heath and enjoy the beautiful fall season ahead…Wilson


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Almost there. The end of all marking and cutting*
> 
> We had a beautiful weekend, blue clear sky, sun shining and smiling, birds were singing, even the temperature was behaving - just a beautiful weekend.
> 
> ...


Thanks Wilson… alas this project is taking a step back, but all for the better.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Spoken Too Soon: A Lesson in Drawer Planning/Measuring/Fitting*

As I was fitting the drawer fronts yesterday I noticed that the fronts are being located with their bottoms pretty much aligned with the bottom of the drawers which made me think - shouldn't there be some overlay there? but I digressed and went on about it….

Looking back - I guess there should have been an overlay after all!

See, when I originally planned the drawers I setup a (from the bottom) 6" drawer followed by 2 5" drawers … and each drawer was planned to utilize the entire height so the 6" drawer was for 6" tall items (minus 1/2" for the drawer bottom and the distance of the bottom groove from the bottom of the drawer sides. see I already knew to calculate the -1/2" for the drawer bottom, but what I didn't realize until now is that I also should factor in another distance that is "lost" between drawers.

See, today I came and was all ready to open the drawers, make sure everything is nice and smooth, and prep the fronts for finishing - WRONG. some drawers just wouldn't open (I did say I wasn't fully focused yesterday didn't I).

As I mentioned, my plan was utilizing the entire drawer-space height for the drawer which means that the next drawer up would basically be 1/8" above from the drawer front beneath it ( or in some cases from the actual drawer). This lead to a big issue as if there was any minor imperfection in the slide operation (up-down movement) or even if there wasn't, the drawers would open and rub against the drawer front below it (just a couple - but still):










I also noticed that 2 drawers weren't exactly aligned left right and for the same slide above you can see that the left side was installed slightly higher:










And (ooopsy) they also opened downwards which meant that the slides weren't square to the front of the cabinet.

so much problems with just 1 thing - the slides….

My first reaction - total disappointment in my performance especially since I thought I was better than that. Looking back I know exactly how this happened, and I should have known better! (for sake of excuse - these were the drawers that I had to relocate since I ended up making those drawers boxes smaller than original plan which required the slides to be relocated lower in the cabinet see past blog in this series - but enough with excuses - they will not help us fix this - ever)

*Lesson 1: Allow distance between top of drawer front and drawer above it*
So in addition to the 1/2" loss of drawer height due to the drawer bottom there is another 1/4" loss of height due to allowing free movement to the drawer above, so a 6" drawer really means a drawer for items 5 1/4" tall. This is ok as long as It is known in advance and can be planned accordingly. This also means that yes - the drawer fronts drop some 1/8" below the drawer box which covers that "buffer zone" which allows for free movements of the drawers.

*Lesson 2: Dont be a slacker - Jig it up!*
Going back to my 'excuse', when I changed the slides and lowered them I pretty much freehand installed them using nothing but a square to measure location of slides, I guess this was my culprit and I should have known better and used a spacer-block to make sure the slides are installed evenly left to right and square to the front of the cabinet (I did use a square, but without a spacer-block I was juggling too many things and apparently screwed the squaring up - fact).

This time around, no excuses, no slacking, I got a block of wood (lesson 2 put to use) measured to give me the necessary gap between drawers (lesson 1 put to use) and installed drawer 2 (from bottom) slides:










Gap between drawers ? CHECK.
Drawer straight and opens square to cabinet? CHECK:










Rinse and Repeat:










Now with lower 3 drawers properly installed (these are the 3 drawers that were relocated) the 4th face frame won't fit - since I've introduced new proper gaps between the drawers which is good. I'll just have to trim the 3rd drawer face to make space for the remaining faces to fit properly. and I still have to trim 1 drawer (5th one from bottom) as the drawer itself is too high for my taste and is too close to the drawer above it:










But that will have to wait for another day…

Not what I expected of this day woodworking wise, but lessons learnt and all is not (yet) lost, just a little set back. not too excited about this, but could have been worse.


----------



## Brett1972 (Nov 5, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Spoken Too Soon: A Lesson in Drawer Planning/Measuring/Fitting*
> 
> As I was fitting the drawer fronts yesterday I noticed that the fronts are being located with their bottoms pretty much aligned with the bottom of the drawers which made me think - shouldn't there be some overlay there? but I digressed and went on about it….
> 
> ...


OOps! Like you said "lessons learnt and all is not lost". I think that I learn more from making mistakes than I do making it right the first time. It sure is going to be a nice set of drawers when you get them all completed.


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Spoken Too Soon: A Lesson in Drawer Planning/Measuring/Fitting*
> 
> As I was fitting the drawer fronts yesterday I noticed that the fronts are being located with their bottoms pretty much aligned with the bottom of the drawers which made me think - shouldn't there be some overlay there? but I digressed and went on about it….
> 
> ...


Drawer placement, is something that can catch you on every piece that you make.

I've found that a story stick drawn full size help in the visualization of everything should be.

Good luck on the de- and re-construction.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Spoken Too Soon: A Lesson in Drawer Planning/Measuring/Fitting*
> 
> As I was fitting the drawer fronts yesterday I noticed that the fronts are being located with their bottoms pretty much aligned with the bottom of the drawers which made me think - shouldn't there be some overlay there? but I digressed and went on about it….
> 
> ...


Geez, I thought this was a beginner's error. I don't feel so bad about my wooden efforts. Seems like every time I make something I forget some basic facet that causes some grief. Last time it was not making box joints deep enough. Fortunately it was a prototype for experimentation, so I just let it go.


----------



## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Spoken Too Soon: A Lesson in Drawer Planning/Measuring/Fitting*
> 
> As I was fitting the drawer fronts yesterday I noticed that the fronts are being located with their bottoms pretty much aligned with the bottom of the drawers which made me think - shouldn't there be some overlay there? but I digressed and went on about it….
> 
> ...


I spent over an hour I think installing the 2 full extension drawers on my lathe table (first set of draw slides for me). I had to redo it a few times, what a pain.


----------



## Cory (Jan 14, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Spoken Too Soon: A Lesson in Drawer Planning/Measuring/Fitting*
> 
> As I was fitting the drawer fronts yesterday I noticed that the fronts are being located with their bottoms pretty much aligned with the bottom of the drawers which made me think - shouldn't there be some overlay there? but I digressed and went on about it….
> 
> ...


I always look forward to your posts, Sharon. I appreciate you explaining your mistakes, though I doubt it will prevent me from making the same ones! The toolcart is looking great. Keep up the good work.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Finishing Touch*

After realigning the drawers by fixing the slides, and trimming some drawers, I made sure everything fits. I predrilled 3 holes in the drawer fronts through the pull slots that will later be covered, one in the center, and 1 on each side:










I transferred the center hole from the drawer front to the drawer and once alignment was satisfactory I transfered the other 2 holes as well:










I used my combination square ruler to space the fronts from each other, and made sure that all the drawers and fronts were aligned properly and that everything opens and closes with no interferences and smoothly:










Next I glued the pulls to the fronts covering the holes (that will remain there for alignment later on) and finished the drawers. the finish on the drawers is as follows:

1. 1st coat of shellac - dried after 1hr, easily sanded clean
2. 2nd coat of shellac - dried after 1hr, easily sanded clean
3. 3rd coat of oil based wipe on poly let dry 6 hours overnight
at this point the night (2am) has ended but I was able to already have the parts sealed and protected
4. 4th coat of oil based wipe on poly let dry for rest of the day (while I'm at work)










I found it interesting that I had the exact number of needed pyramids to keep the parts off the ground which allowed me to finish the entire part in 1 step as opposed to 2 steps (front and back).

I cam home from work, and lightly took off the shine of the finish with 0000 steelwool and felt it was good enough to be put on the cabinet.

I realigned and screwed on the faces with the center screw tight enough that it held the face in place, closed the drawer, made sure its all aligned well and lightly positioned the face properly if it wasn't. reopened the drawers, and drove in the 2 side screws (self drilling KREG screws with flat heads) to pull the fronts tight and flat to the drawers all across their width:










And Voila. the rolling toolcart is complete (construction wise):



I still want to french-fit the tools in the drawer, but that will take some time until I decide exactly how I want to do this. for now I have premade place holders that do the trick, so probably not something I'll partake anytime soon.

Cabinet is built, and works great! finally…

Thanks for reading,
Peace


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## therookie (Aug 29, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Finishing Touch*
> 
> After realigning the drawers by fixing the slides, and trimming some drawers, I made sure everything fits. I predrilled 3 holes in the drawer fronts through the pull slots that will later be covered, one in the center, and 1 on each side:
> 
> ...


very very nice I really like it.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Finishing Touch*
> 
> After realigning the drawers by fixing the slides, and trimming some drawers, I made sure everything fits. I predrilled 3 holes in the drawer fronts through the pull slots that will later be covered, one in the center, and 1 on each side:
> 
> ...


Cool: Nice build process.

Thanks.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Finishing Touch*
> 
> After realigning the drawers by fixing the slides, and trimming some drawers, I made sure everything fits. I predrilled 3 holes in the drawer fronts through the pull slots that will later be covered, one in the center, and 1 on each side:
> 
> ...


Nice job, Sharon.

Lee


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