# Dutch Tool Chest



## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*need a place to store my handtools*


















(photo stolen from below mentioned blog, for inspiration)

Since i seen C Shwarz blog about his Dutch Tool Chest i have been planning to make one. I like the Anarchist Tool Chest as well but the idea of having to bend over to get my tools out did not appeal to me. Wall hung tool racks I like but the constant humidity/temperature changes where I live plays hell on my tools.

I waited for the Pop Wood article to come out in Oct 2013. I looked it over and went to the Blue store and picked out some Pine 1×12s for the eventual build. Brought them home and stuck them in the rafters of my shed/shop for whenever I could get the time to put it together.

Fast forward through a lot of setbacks, work, back surgery/recovery, weather, finances, house repairs, etc.

During all this time I drew out some ideas and some modifications to the original large chest. I knew the chest would rarely be moved, and that i wanted to be able to fit my Disston D8 saws inside. Another idea i have/had was to have a drawer, of sorts, to pull out and be able to sharpen my chisels and plane blades while standing at the chest. We shall see how the ideas work out.


















So the dimensions I came up with were 36" tall at highest point, 30" inside width and stayed with the original 14 1/4" inside depth. I plan on making a small separate stand on casters to sit underneath to bring chest up to a comfortable height to reach the tools and also have the sharpening drawer/tray in the right spot.

The plan is to make this will nothing but hand tools, as it is a handtool chest and a good skill builder in my opinion.

More to come later, chest is almost built but i am back-filling the build in a blog and will have to do it in small parts as im afraid my computer will crash at any moment.

special thanks to Chris Albee (Mosquito) for his videos on his build, as they gave me the kick in the rear to jump in and do it. Also watching someone do something I have never tried myself helps me learn a lot better than reading about it in a book.


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## retired_guru (Sep 5, 2014)

Tugboater78 said:


> *need a place to store my handtools*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looking forward to seeing the finished chest, Justin.


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## siavosh (Apr 11, 2013)

Tugboater78 said:


> *need a place to store my handtools*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Likewise. I've committed myself to having my simple Japanese toolbox as my one and only, but seeing these, I almost want to jump in and build one.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *need a place to store my handtools*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sweeeeeeet


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## ratchet (Jan 12, 2008)

Tugboater78 said:


> *need a place to store my handtools*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow. It looks great!


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *need a place to store my handtools*
> 
> 
> 
> ...





> Wow. It looks great!
> 
> - ratchet


oh that's not mine, that is an inspiration picture of from chris schwarz's blog 

i shall edit and clear that up eh?


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## Dutchy (Jun 18, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *need a place to store my handtools*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I keep repeating it

Dutch means that it is from the Netherlands. But this model of tool chest is for so far I know from Germany. The dutch model is really different. When a German says "I,m a german" in his own language he says "Ich bin Deutsch". And in the USA made other think that he was Dutch. It Is also called Pennsylvanian Dutch.

When you google "timmermanskist" you will find (pictures) the dutch model.
When you google "schreiner werkzeugkiste" you will find (pictures) the German model.

It's up to you which most resembles.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *need a place to store my handtools*
> 
> 
> 
> ...





> I keep repeating it
> 
> Dutch means that it is from the Netherlands. But this model of tool chest is for so far I know from Germany. The dutch model is really different. When a German says "I,m a german" in his own language he says "Ich bin Deutsch". And in the USA made other think that he was Dutch. It Is also called Pennsylvanian Dutch.
> 
> ...


aye, I have seen the comparisons and i agree with your accessment, just calling it by what the "experts" have coined it as


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*setup and a beginning*

I needed a few things to happen before i started this build. The chest joinery, while fairly simple, required me to have a few fixtures and tools i did not have. Since i have full intention to do this with hand tools, this required a few jigs as well.

One of the big parts of making this chest was the Dovetailed bottom. I have never attempted to cut a dovetail before this, though have always wanted to try. I did not have a true dovetail saw, though not necessarily needed. I have a couple cheap eastern style saws that could probably do it, but don't feel comfortable using them. So.. in comes a decent saw










A Tyzack dovetail saw and a D8 thumbhole rip saw purchased from Chrisstef

Now I felt like I had a fighting chance to tackle the mystical dovetail.

testing the cutting ability of the saw:









Since I have a saw now, next thing would be a way of holding my boards so that i could cut them so i grabbed some scrap plywood and some hardware and made me a quick and dirty Moxon style vice. I have full intention of making a more attractive one in the future, probably attached to a dedicated joinery bench.










some practice:




































I thought it wasnt to bad for a first try.

Also needed a way to cut my boards down to rough size with my handsaws so a sawbench was born. Plans and execution of this came from Bill Schenher at billyslittlebench.com, though i initially saw the design somewhere here on Lumberjocks. This was built only using handtools, cept for the angles cut on the feet, good practice for the dados, tenons, and big dovetails, that will be used in dutch chest. ( maybe not the tenons but..yeah..)










During one of the many snowfilled days where kiddos were out of school, i brought some work jnside the house and made a few of these too.








Paul Sellers inspired dovetail marker

Got these things lined up and cleaned up my mess, gathered up my tools, and went out to the main shop and pulled down my stored boards. These were 1×12x12, and i couldnt get them inside the shop as is. I set them outside on my carport and something came up and couldn't get them cut and inside the shop immediatly. It decided to pour rain for the next 2 days, but next morning after setting them out i got up and started cutting them to shorter lengths. As i am cutting i notice they have warped/bowed since i set them out. so bad i wouldn't be able to do any joinery. I had picked out the best boards i could find last year, mostly rift/quartersawn, but you all should know the selection at the home centers. Probably didn't help I had them stored in the rafters, then brought out into moist conditions. I sighed, then decided i was going to get some other boards and hope maybe i can salvage the old ones for something else, so stickered them in the shop with some weight on top and hoped maybe they would straighten out.

Tax return got deposited last week so i went on a road trip up to northern KY. Hit up Cold Springs and Florence Orange stores and dug through their bunks. I am pretty sure these are the ones C Schwarz digs from, but who knows and really cares, they the closest to me.

Ended up getting a couple poplar 1×12s, some cedar pickets, and some douglas fir. Cedar is for a few small honeydos, fir is for a revamped workbench idea.










And finally a start:









Thats it for this installment, onto the next one, construction shall commence therein.

Thanks for reading my ramblings.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *setup and a beginning*
> 
> I needed a few things to happen before i started this build. The chest joinery, while fairly simple, required me to have a few fixtures and tools i did not have. Since i have full intention to do this with hand tools, this required a few jigs as well.
> 
> ...


Very creative, love the determination. Looking good Justin!


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *setup and a beginning*
> 
> I needed a few things to happen before i started this build. The chest joinery, while fairly simple, required me to have a few fixtures and tools i did not have. Since i have full intention to do this with hand tools, this required a few jigs as well.
> 
> ...


Those are pretty good looking first dovetails. A good saw makes a lot of difference cutting dovetails. I bought a better saw before my second practice set and it made a big difference.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Tugboater78 said:


> *setup and a beginning*
> 
> I needed a few things to happen before i started this build. The chest joinery, while fairly simple, required me to have a few fixtures and tools i did not have. Since i have full intention to do this with hand tools, this required a few jigs as well.
> 
> ...


Those are nice. Keep up the good work.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*construction begins (dovetail sides to bottom)*

It started with me cutting my sides, bottom, and shelves/dividers to rough length with my xcut D8 on sawbench, then cleaning/squaring up the ends with my Stanley #4 1/2 and the sides with my #5 1/2 and #8.

I then ganged sides up in my moxon and go in house and refresh my memory on layout with Megan Fitzpatricks youtube video .










I then proceed to mark out my tails and to cut them. I ran into some trouble, what little practice i had with cutting some dovetails was with completely seasoned, dry wood. This poplar was still fairly wet, saw kept binding in the cut even my thin bladed eastern saws did the same. I tried for some time to force the issue but it was futile, so i went in the house and slept on the matter. Next morning i woke up, with an idea, wax the saw plate. 30 minutes later i had my tails cut. Live and Learn right?

time to do some chopping and paring…









test fit, little too tight, need more paring. Remarked with knife to make sure i didn't go to far

















didnt get pics at dry fit but here is one after glueup and running blockplane across them









after watching a few short videos of people building this in classes, i think i went overboard on the number of tails/pins, but is probably better that i did this many dovetails are now demystified for me..

begin layout of dados for shelves..


















rest in next episode…

thanks again!


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *construction begins (dovetail sides to bottom)*
> 
> It started with me cutting my sides, bottom, and shelves/dividers to rough length with my xcut D8 on sawbench, then cleaning/squaring up the ends with my Stanley #4 1/2 and the sides with my #5 1/2 and #8.
> 
> ...


Damned solid dovetails, Tug! I mean seriously, it looks great! Keep trucking, loving the series.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Tugboater78 said:


> *construction begins (dovetail sides to bottom)*
> 
> It started with me cutting my sides, bottom, and shelves/dividers to rough length with my xcut D8 on sawbench, then cleaning/squaring up the ends with my Stanley #4 1/2 and the sides with my #5 1/2 and #8.
> 
> ...


Hell yea Tug. A mighty fine set of tails there. Id say that I instilled a bit of voodoo dovetail magic in that Tyzack but we all know better, youre a much better operator than I.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *construction begins (dovetail sides to bottom)*
> 
> It started with me cutting my sides, bottom, and shelves/dividers to rough length with my xcut D8 on sawbench, then cleaning/squaring up the ends with my Stanley #4 1/2 and the sides with my #5 1/2 and #8.
> 
> ...


thanks fellas *blush* they aint perfect but I am pretty pleased with the results considering that other than my 1 practice piece and the saw bench, these are my first gang of dovetails.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*dados and main carcass assembly*

measuring/marking out the dados for the shelves
















marked out the bottom shelf 8.5" above the dovetail baseline with a knife








used the shelf to mark the other side of dado in the same manner after cutting a "knifewall" 








Used my Millers Falls router plane set at 3/8" depth to cut the baseline of dado


























didnt get any pictures of cutting out the dados but same process as described in Paul Sellers video here, and in Chris Albees dutch chest videos here









using the router plane to clean up the bottoms of the dados









took first side after cutting to finish marking out the other side rinse and repeat

sides bottom and top shelf are Poplar, the middle shelves are pine, from the original boards i was going to make this from. the straightest pieces.

no pictures of any of it but i then cut the rest of my shelf boards to size, and got them ready and did a test fit, without any clamps it all held together and was perfectly square. I will admit it, i was damn proud, handtools seem to allow me that precision, and ability to adjust quickly ( off just a hair? grab the fine cut #5.5 and trim, or a chisel and pare away)

so I cleaned up all the chips and mess i made, put away my tools i didn't need ( shoved them over to the side)

and did a very hectic, fast glueup, this is where i kinda wish i had some hide glue.. 6 dados and 2 sets of dovetails to glue all at once.

in the clamps, no need to skew any to make square…


















cleaned up shop and left it overnight to dry.

thats all for this edition, im sure i will editing at some point.

next section, screwing shelves in and nailing in stationary front pieces.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *dados and main carcass assembly*
> 
> measuring/marking out the dados for the shelves
> 
> ...


Coming together quickly, nicely done.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Tugboater78 said:


> *dados and main carcass assembly*
> 
> measuring/marking out the dados for the shelves
> 
> ...


So you pretty much just chisel a line and the router takes care of the rest?


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *dados and main carcass assembly*
> 
> measuring/marking out the dados for the shelves
> 
> ...





> So you pretty much just chisel a line and the router takes care of the rest?
> 
> - TheFridge


Close, the video he linked is also in a blog entry with more pictures of the process (down beyond where the video is posted)
http://lumberjocks.com/Mosquito/blog/44817


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *dados and main carcass assembly*
> 
> measuring/marking out the dados for the shelves
> 
> ...


what Chris said above 

wish i coulda got a couple pics, easier to show if in video.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Tugboater78 said:


> *dados and main carcass assembly*
> 
> measuring/marking out the dados for the shelves
> 
> ...


I saw it. But I didn't pay too much attention to the work as I couldn't stop staring at the dude in the video. I'm not gay or anything. But that is one good looking dude.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*screw it to it and put on the lingerie... *

Broke out the eggbeater drill, brace with countersink bit, and a screw driver. Marked out my holes with combo square and awl. Drove in some #10 1 1/4 slotted screws by hand, ended up with a blister. .


















4 per side per shelf, overkill i believe, planned on only 3 but apparently my subconscious kicked in and made me do 4.

















they are all clocked inline with the grain for you ocd individuals (wish i had some Citric acid to remove the zinc plating) I shoulda went with my first idea and countersunk with a bit that i could put a plug in.

So I crosscut the upper front (bra), to width, ripped to rough height with my duo of D8s. Then quick clamped it up in place, marked out the 30 degree bevel continuing it off the sides bevel.









Then clamped it in vice and worked it down with grandpas #5 and smoothed out final with my T12 5.5. Didnt get picture of the bottom front (underdroopers) but same deal minus the beveling.

















sitting on my sawbench










Installed with a bit of glue and some 1 1/4 cut nails, set about 3/16 below surface.

thats it for this installment, next part, tongin' and a groovin' and a back.


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## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *screw it to it and put on the lingerie... *
> 
> Broke out the eggbeater drill, brace with countersink bit, and a screw driver. Marked out my holes with combo square and awl. Drove in some #10 1 1/4 slotted screws by hand, ended up with a blister. .
> 
> ...


Lot of work…looks great!
I like the base that the chest is sitting on in the next to last photo.
Thinking of something similar for my chest.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *screw it to it and put on the lingerie... *
> 
> Broke out the eggbeater drill, brace with countersink bit, and a screw driver. Marked out my holes with combo square and awl. Drove in some #10 1 1/4 slotted screws by hand, ended up with a blister. .
> 
> ...


The "base"is actually my saw bench, but will be building a base for it… though will be slightly shorter..


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## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *screw it to it and put on the lingerie... *
> 
> Broke out the eggbeater drill, brace with countersink bit, and a screw driver. Marked out my holes with combo square and awl. Drove in some #10 1 1/4 slotted screws by hand, ended up with a blister. .
> 
> ...


Ah, now I see, Justin.
Still no saw bench in my shop…so I don't recognize them easily.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*Tongin' and a Groovin' *

After i finished the previous steps i decided, despite what Schwarz says about it, to put some finish on the inside. No pictures, figured no need. I masked off all the edges i didnt want anything on, then applied roughly 2-3 coats. Really all i did was use up the last of my Zinnzer clear waxed shellac, will apply some wax in the future.

But onto what this part of the blog is about.

I bought, off ebay a year or 2 ago, a decent Stanley #45 with a basic set of cutters and most of the parts (missing a skate knicker, knob for fence). It came with a basic set of cutters, straight plow cutters from 1/8 - 1.25", beading cutters from 1/8 - 5/8, a sash cutter, an ogee, and a tongue cutter. The original fence was broken, only thing holding it together was the rosewood piece, i got a replacment from Smitty and it worked fine.

I have never seriously used it. Sharpened up the straight cutters and cleaned the plane up a bit, maybe tried tomake a bead on a scrap, then put it away for when i had time to play with it more.

Now is that time, i wanted to do tongue and groove for the back portion of this chest. Blew the dust off, stropped the tongue cutter, and roughly did adjustments.

Being my first try i have some issues with my ability to work the plane. Keeping it balanced and finding the right grip, etc. I tried to cut a couple and kept breaking them apart. Threw some wax on the runners and fence thinking maybe i was getting too much resistance and still had trouble. So i went in house, fired up my bluray, loaded up Chrisstef's 45 videos on youtube, and studied How he used it. Also messaged him with my woes and he offered some advice.

I then slept on the matter. Woke up the next morning with a fresh mind, after some coffee. Went out, made some more adjustments and tried again.








A successful tongue! 

















Though it is a bit offcenter.

















I grabbed my #5 and 5.5 and took my board down to flat and square

tried again after some fence adjustments..









Got it!!

Time to get to work..









Well i got all my tongues done, took my #220 block plane and made a couple passes on all sharp edges before i removed from vice.

Then i went to set up for the grooves. Installed, what i thought, was the right size cutter, adjusted the plane to center the blade for what should be a flush fit on the tongues.

Ran into a couple issues…

The cutter, needing to be the 1/4" size, was actually 5/16 (failed to actually measure), too big in any case. Sloppy fit, so i dug through my cutters and lo and behold, i have no straight cutter of the correct size. ( None to be had, where i have looked, online so if anyone has a spare, i would be interested. Messaged NHplaneparts on ebay, he had none at the moment but said he would keep an eye out for one.)

I needed this done, so i got the idea, since it was the correct size, to use my 1/4" beading cutter. This actually worked well. Tried just cutting a bit deeper at first to make everything flush but… The ends of the boards will be visible and it looked like crap on my first fitting i went to the correct depth and cut the bead out with a chisel. Broke the edges with the block and called it good.

Thats a wrap on this here post..
onto the next one when i get the time…

Thanks for reading


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Tongin' and a Groovin' *
> 
> After i finished the previous steps i decided, despite what Schwarz says about it, to put some finish on the inside. No pictures, figured no need. I masked off all the edges i didnt want anything on, then applied roughly 2-3 coats. Really all i did was use up the last of my Zinnzer clear waxed shellac, will apply some wax in the future.
> 
> ...


That picture sure matches the title! Looks like a great time in the shop to me.


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## Slyy (Nov 13, 2013)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Tongin' and a Groovin' *
> 
> After i finished the previous steps i decided, despite what Schwarz says about it, to put some finish on the inside. No pictures, figured no need. I masked off all the edges i didnt want anything on, then applied roughly 2-3 coats. Really all i did was use up the last of my Zinnzer clear waxed shellac, will apply some wax in the future.
> 
> ...


Tug - love the blog blast! The chest is coming along. Any work in the back issue?


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Tongin' and a Groovin' *
> 
> After i finished the previous steps i decided, despite what Schwarz says about it, to put some finish on the inside. No pictures, figured no need. I masked off all the edges i didnt want anything on, then applied roughly 2-3 coats. Really all i did was use up the last of my Zinnzer clear waxed shellac, will apply some wax in the future.
> 
> ...


Run out of time to finish up blog up to my current progress but will fill out the rest as i can. Still need to edit the previous ones a bit, was in hurry to type them out between computer crashes. Now it will all have to be done via phone between lost signal and work schedule.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*back done/ breadboard fallfront and more*

















The two previous images are from 4 weeks ago before i left for work. The back was done up with pine i had on hand. Unfortuently as i was installing the last couple boards i noticed they had developed some twist and that i had a knot too close to an edge. I decided while at work i would replace with my remaining poplar that i was saving for another project.








After returning home and replacing the upper 3 planks.

Then i proceeded to glue up panels for my top and the fall front.








The finished glueup for top








Fallfront glueup in progress
I squared up my panels using my planes.
















End grain shavings…








From a "jack" plane crafted by BigRedKnothead, sitting toe to toe with one of my #5.5s

Got out my Craftsman #78 clone made by Sargent and attempted my first ever breadboard ends.
















My ends are 2" wide, a little wider than the #78's cut. Had to get out my #5 and clear off the rest

















Not perfect, my blade on the rabbet plane is a little off square, gotta fix it soon. Was aiming for 1/4 tongue but ended up with 5/16. Just left it as is and adjusted accordingly. 








As i didn't really have any good instruction on how to do breadboards i just guessed at what i needed. Left a 1/4 tongue the full length other than 1/2" on each end . Longer tongues 2 "wide roughly 3" apart. Center tongue was a bit less than 3" from outside, just made sure it was centered. Longer tongues were originally 2"long but i cut then down to 1".








Used my first power tool for the breadboards, to hollow out the mortices, needed to get this done and didnt trust my hand drilling or hand cutting mortice skills yet.

















Drawbored the pins, center pin solid, while outers left with play for expansion. These turned out nowhere near perfect but good enough for a tool chest. Blew out 2 of the boards on back end, offset to far i believe. They on the inside and not gonna worry.








And panel in place, marked for trimming, no pics of this but got it fit just right.

Onto the next step and some assessories ( actually did some of these in between some of previous steps.








Battens? For fall front locking, bookmatched Ash with BLO finish, will wax when dried out.








And in thier spots for now. I have been working out of the chest due to space constrictions.
Need to make a stand for it, wanted to make a smaller lower chest for it to sit on but it would be less than 10" of space if i put it on casters. So just a basic shaker style bench perhaps instead.








Prototype tool rack for chisels and whatnot, need to find a good configuration and put a permanent fixture in.



































Guides for the battens to mount on backside of fallfront, made of walnut, hand cut and formed with chisel and rasp. Put on some BLO before i walked out of shop tonight.

Thats all i got for now, been a while since last installment and lots of pictures to upload. Maybe i can finish this soon.


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## ToddJB (Jul 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *back done/ breadboard fallfront and more*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looking great, Tug. I really like your pulls.


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## siavosh (Apr 11, 2013)

Tugboater78 said:


> *back done/ breadboard fallfront and more*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looking good, I gotta make one of these. Have you decided what color to paint it?


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Tugboater78 said:


> *back done/ breadboard fallfront and more*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is coming along quite nicely.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *back done/ breadboard fallfront and more*
> 
> 
> 
> ...





> Looking good, I gotta make one of these. Have you decided what color to paint it?
> 
> - siavosh


Yes, i will be using Lexington Green milk paint


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*fall-front together and installed*

A quickie post

I didn't mention making the red Oak pieces to latch behind the lower lip of the cabinet before. These are just big enough to fit below the lower shelf . The article in the magazine mentions making these the full length to subdue expansion, but I have breadboard ends for that. I measured and marked where the batten guides need to go, with a brain fart or two. You will probably notice a few holes in a picture or two where I mounted them where they didnt need to be.










Ash battens, walnut guides, red oak lip guides and breadboard pins, poplar panel, pine ply bench. Lots of wood species repping on this piece. Trying to use up small scraps…

The shiny screws are distracting and the phillips heads are annoying, will likely replace and strip the shiny off on some replacements.










Some block sanding up to 320 to take the smudges and whatnot from my grubby hands.









A few coats of a BLO/MS mix applied


















And in its place, now to get working on the lid, tills for the tools and prep for a few coats of some Lexington Green milk paint on the outside. 









Thanks for reading!


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *fall-front together and installed*
> 
> A quickie post
> 
> ...


That is looking good.


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## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *fall-front together and installed*
> 
> A quickie post
> 
> ...


Looks like a great use of scrap woods!
Cannot wait to see the milk paint…sorta wish I had used it.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*Put a lid on it..*

It has been some time since i did any work on my chest. I made a few tills to hold most of my tools, but they need refinement and will be covered in a later post. Been storing my tools and working out of the chest since last blog entry though.

The other day i was cleaning up shop before i left for work. Been working on house remodeling the last couple weeks using the dust creating tools frequently, tsaw, mitersaw, router, sander, etc. Lots of dust to clean off, a whole lot of it settling on my tools sitting in chest. I pulled everything out and wiped everything down with jajoba oil and feed and wax.

While doing this i was eyeballing the panel i had made and cut to rough size, at same time as i made the fallfront, leaning against the chest. Finally decided it was time to get these tools covered up. So i went to work on it…









cutting down the ends for breadboards.









Almost there









Ash breadboards pinned to a poplar panel.









Morticed and installed hinges ( got mine from Lee Valley)









And it's in place. Had to do some fine tuning to the mortice and loosen/retighten a few screws so it would close properly.


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## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Put a lid on it..*
> 
> It has been some time since i did any work on my chest. I made a few tills to hold most of my tools, but they need refinement and will be covered in a later post. Been storing my tools and working out of the chest since last blog entry though.
> 
> ...


looks great, Tug!
I like the breadboards on your lid!
Constantly opening and closing mine to fight power tool dust, too.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Put a lid on it..*
> 
> It has been some time since i did any work on my chest. I made a few tills to hold most of my tools, but they need refinement and will be covered in a later post. Been storing my tools and working out of the chest since last blog entry though.
> 
> ...


Nice work, Justin. A lid on a toolchest is huge… it sets you apart from the Milk Crate crowd.
.
.
.
.
(Not that there's anything wrong with milk crates, of course!)


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Put a lid on it..*
> 
> It has been some time since i did any work on my chest. I made a few tills to hold most of my tools, but they need refinement and will be covered in a later post. Been storing my tools and working out of the chest since last blog entry though.
> 
> ...


Great progress Tug and bread boards to boot!

ps Hinges look familiar too


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Put a lid on it..*
> 
> It has been some time since i did any work on my chest. I made a few tills to hold most of my tools, but they need refinement and will be covered in a later post. Been storing my tools and working out of the chest since last blog entry though.
> 
> ...


Good looking tool chest.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*some paint for the exterior*

Took out all the tools, and prepped the chest for some milk paint.









Figured I would snap a pic of my dovetails again before I covered them up.









First coat of paint, Pitch Black









Used a fine mesh scotchbrite pad to smooth it out, wiped down with a damp cloth,waited till it was dry.

Onto Second and third coat, Lexington Green



















Only put 1 coat on the back, left the black bleeding through
Bottom also only got green around the borders, figured no real use in another coat on it.


















After looking at it, and some discussion with fiance and the fellas over SotS thread, I decided to on some wax/oil over top.

I used Howard's Feed and Wax, as it was handy.


















Pulled out and set on top of my neighbor's AC condenser for a lighted photo op…


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *some paint for the exterior*
> 
> Took out all the tools, and prepped the chest for some milk paint.
> 
> ...


Looks good Tug. Should be awesome when the hardware is back on.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *some paint for the exterior*
> 
> Took out all the tools, and prepped the chest for some milk paint.
> 
> ...


Have a latch in the mail.

Not sure if I am going to put handles on it atm, it will require 2 people to carry, I may make some wooden handles just to have something to pull on if I need to drag ( has no wheels and not sure if I will put any on it) it to a new spot.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *some paint for the exterior*
> 
> Took out all the tools, and prepped the chest for some milk paint.
> 
> ...


I have mine on another cabinet and that one is on a dolly so everything moves easily.









I use a hand cart when I travel with it.


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

Tugboater78 said:


> *some paint for the exterior*
> 
> Took out all the tools, and prepped the chest for some milk paint.
> 
> ...


That looks really great Justin. I like the colour too.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*Paint on, nearing the "end" (some additions)*

End.. being a fluid term, since it will be a long time before a toolchest will ever be finished.

Organizing, rearranging due to acquistion of "new" tools, always changing to fit needs, and adding personal touches leaves the end somewhere on the far horizon.

But I am getting close to saying this chest is done… enough. Then move on to other things.

That said, bear with me as i edit this post over next day or two. I am juggling time constraints, my phone and the site at constant war, and multiple devices as my computer is on the fritz.

I am/will be editing my previous entry with pictures. If you have looked at it already, give it a couple days and it will be a bit different as well.

After finishing with painting, one idea i had was to make the lid usuable while closed. So i went through my scraps and found a small piece of oak and worked it down with my block planes, saw and chisel.









Not planning on making the sawbench anytime soon, but was what i had handy for demonstration.

Before i pulled chest out, made the lid, and painted i had it sitting on an old upper cabinet i salvaged at some point.
The thing on the floor at far right









It put the chest at a comfortable height so i took some measurements. O

Once again dug through scraps and some salvaged wood. I found a 2×4 and 2×6 i had pulled out of the trash one evening where an old store in town was tearing out some shelving. They were painted black and apparently were fingerjointed together to get more length. ( Fingerjoints i decided to use as a feature, as well as the slight bit of paint left in deep holes)

Ripped them down to around 2.5", and cut to my lengths i needed with my paired D8 saws. Then planed the paint off with my #5, took my lightcut #5.5 to "smooth" all pieces down.
I wanted to do some mortice/tenon joinery but time wasn't on my side ( not that it woulda taken a lot more of it, my skills in that type of joinery is wanting though) I decided to bring out the Kreg Jig and do some pocket screw joinery.

Made a simple stand.









The outside deminsions of chest sits flush to outside of stand. The rot strips, as i have been calling them. ( no pictures of them, forgot to) Oak pieces 1 1/4" tall, 2" wide and 1" short of total chest depth, that are screwed to the bottom 6" in from the sides. I made notches on inside edges of my front and back crossbeams so the strips would fall into them and hold the chest in place. The stand is not fastened to the chest in any way but with it falling into the notches.



















Some of the "design features", finger joints are in middle of all 4 legs, paint showing is actually on inside and hidden though


















This was finished with a with a BLO/MS mix, let it soak in with a few applications. Wiped dry, the rubbed down with some paste wax and a grey ScotchBrite pad, dried and buffed out.

Chest sitting on stand, in place.









Look at the shop as i walk out at 2am, after i put most of my tools in the chest in rough orderand cleaned up a wee bit. 









Next installment will be an everedited post having to do with organization within..

Thanks for stopping by!


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Paint on, nearing the "end" (some additions)*
> 
> End.. being a fluid term, since it will be a long time before a toolchest will ever be finished.
> 
> ...


I was wondering what the cleat on the lid was for. Pretty clever in fact I think I'll do the same. Great job Tug. As for the organizing, it never ends.

Edit: Quick question. Will racking be an issue with that base? Should be easy to add a couple of diagonal braces maybe?


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Paint on, nearing the "end" (some additions)*
> 
> End.. being a fluid term, since it will be a long time before a toolchest will ever be finished.
> 
> ...


The cleat kind of finishes off the top and the base is needed. You won't have to bend down so far to get tools.
Real fine looking tool box.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Paint on, nearing the "end" (some additions)*
> 
> End.. being a fluid term, since it will be a long time before a toolchest will ever be finished.
> 
> ...





> I was wondering what the cleat on the lid was for. Pretty clever in fact I think I ll do the same. Great job Tug. As for the organizing, it never ends.
> 
> Edit: Quick question. Will racking be an issue with that base? Should be easy to add a couple of diagonal braces maybe?
> 
> - theoldfart


 I thought about that after i made it, and it probably is a possibility, but i can probably put in a couple braces. I probably will at some point in the near future.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Paint on, nearing the "end" (some additions)*
> 
> End.. being a fluid term, since it will be a long time before a toolchest will ever be finished.
> 
> ...





> I was wondering what the cleat on the lid was for. Pretty clever in fact I think I ll do the same. Great job Tug. As for the organizing, it never ends.
> 
> Edit: Quick question. Will racking be an issue with that base? Should be easy to add a couple of diagonal braces maybe?
> 
> ...


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## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Paint on, nearing the "end" (some additions)*
> 
> End.. being a fluid term, since it will be a long time before a toolchest will ever be finished.
> 
> ...


Looks fantastic, Justin! I like the base idea; mine is on a furniture dolly of sorts.

Gotta say Thanks! I was getting all sad since my chest is coming to an end of the build…but the 'end' only comes when I'm dead and no longer modding it! LOL!

Going to buy a useless tool on eBay to celebrate!


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

Tugboater78 said:


> *Paint on, nearing the "end" (some additions)*
> 
> End.. being a fluid term, since it will be a long time before a toolchest will ever be finished.
> 
> ...


Nice job Tug. It looks great on the stand you made. It really show it off. That will serve you for many years to come and then someone else too.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

*"Jewelry"*

I had a couple things I had sitting around I wanted to add to my chest to make it mine. One I've had for ~23 years, just waiting for a repurpose.

The most important thing, I installed a "pull" on the fall-front, that just happens to be able to open a bottle of beer.









A few years ago Marlboro sent me this for my birthday, I am not sure why. But anyway, I put it away in a cabinet thinking I would find a use for it one day. At some point while building chest I figured it would be a good place to mount the fixture.









The item to personalize this chest used to be on a leather belt. Parents had some belts made for my brothers and I for Christmas one year around the time I was 14. They all had our names on brass plates riveted on. Though I outgrew the belt many years ago, for some reason I have kept it.

When I started the chest I knew I would mount the plate on my chest so everyone would know it was mine for sure.



















Flush mounted..









Thanks again!


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## racerglen (Oct 15, 2010)

Tugboater78 said:


> *"Jewelry"*
> 
> I had a couple things I had sitting around I wanted to add to my chest to make it mine. One I've had for ~23 years, just waiting for a repurpose.
> 
> ...


Two nice touches Justin, looks great !


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *"Jewelry"*
> 
> I had a couple things I had sitting around I wanted to add to my chest to make it mine. One I've had for ~23 years, just waiting for a repurpose.
> 
> ...


Excellent ideas, and you're right: those touches make it yours! Good post!


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Tugboater78 said:


> *"Jewelry"*
> 
> I had a couple things I had sitting around I wanted to add to my chest to make it mine. One I've had for ~23 years, just waiting for a repurpose.
> 
> ...


Some day in the future there will be a discovery of the Justin tool chest. Books will be written, videos made, posters printed, and scholarly dissertations presented. Truly a legacy


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## dannorocks (Mar 5, 2015)

Tugboater78 said:


> *"Jewelry"*
> 
> I had a couple things I had sitting around I wanted to add to my chest to make it mine. One I've had for ~23 years, just waiting for a repurpose.
> 
> ...


Looks great. Going to last you a long time and a wonderful opportunity to keep your tools where they belong when not in use! I almost decided on a dutch tool chest but ended up deciding on going with the cabinetmaker's style. Still in progress as you have seen. Definitely something to be proud of and something that makes you smile each time you walk into your shop.


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