# The Anarchists Tool Chest‎



## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

I have decided to build this chest but am stuck on materials. I don't have access to eastern white pine and need some Ideas on what to build this English chest from. I wont build the chest with only hand tools I simply don't want to spend the time to hand cut that many dovetails when I can do it faster with a Keller Jig. However I do want this to be a good project and so I want it to turn out as good as I can make it this chest will be used only for my hand tools and will compliment my wall chest and saw and plane tills that will help get the shop better organized and a safer and more user friendly work environment. I am in California so If your close to me and have Ideas on wood to build with I would love your input I will use the design right out of the book so that part is a done deal. Ideas on where to get the hardware and caster types etc etc. Also feedback and photos of the chest built by you would be great. This was not my first choice for storage but wall space has become a commodity in my shop so a rolling cabinet is logical.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

Lance, I cannot answer your questions but ti is certainly good to see you posting on LJs again.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Tip of the day: Go and check out the Tool Chest i built. Not one dovetail in sight. It is also the latest project I posted.

Just resize it to ehat YOU need. Mine is a bit small to match the small shop I'm in. I used frame & panel construction. Raised the panel with a #4 handplane, too…


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## RockyTopScott (Nov 16, 2008)

Wazzup Lance? Welcome back.


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## DaveinCA (Feb 23, 2010)

Hi Lance, I would consider Douglas Fir as a good local species for an alternate. Visited a small family run mill some time back that is about 30 miles from you that had some nice inventory stored away, I will get you the info. Pretty good KD stuff is also available at most of the lumber resources in our area.


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## chopnhack (Nov 5, 2011)

Hi Lance. I second Dave, but would also mention looking at framing lumber from a box store. Its going to be painted anyway, right! Rip down on bandsaw to desired thickness. Get a 2×12 and the box can be done in 2 board widths


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

If youre gonna paint it why not use poplar. I think that most of the time a tool chest was built with whatever was most plentiful and cheap. I say use whatever you got on hand. I wouldn't over think it bro.


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

Poplar sounds right to me. Ash would be great, but don't see why you should pay a premium for it over poplar. DF is nice wood, I wouldn't resaw construction lumber - it will bend and twist before your eyes. The "KD" stuff is drier than the regular stuff, but it's not dry. If you could find a sawyer who has 1" stock of clear DF, that would be a different story.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

A couple of teasers









A pine back of raised panels surrounded by Walnut









Open up the three board lid to find a few items









Take out the lift out tote tray, and slide the sliding one away.

One can use what ever local wood one has ( I had the walnut stashed away in a Barn) and adjust the sizes to what the stash of lumber dictates. One could add a glue block behind those feet, and add casters to rool it around. Mine will stay in it's own space, for now









YMMV


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I think poplar would likely be the cheapest but you could also look at ponderosa pine or sugar pine.


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## Ripthorn (Mar 24, 2010)

I love alder, I missed it while I was in NY. A little more expensive than poplar, but a much nicer wood, in my opinion. Should be easily had in CA. If you want to go less expensive, doug fir might work, though any softwood will have knots that will need to be addressed. Whether that bothers you is up to you, but I don't like big ol' knots in my boards.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Okey Dokey Dude, good to have you back. I used poplar on my ATC









It's pretty much right out of Schwarz's book with a few mods;









The hinges are from Woodcraft, the lock from LV and the casters are from HomeDepot.
I'll post part numbers/pics later.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Dude, hinges , casters ,lock
Casters are the same as Schwarz used in his book.


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## alohafromberkeley (Oct 26, 2011)

I've been wondering about materials myself…..I have access to old Redwood fence/siding boards and pine shelving….If I still lived in Humboldt, I'd build it from barn siding…most of salvage stuff was old-growth Redwood and Doug Fir….BTW, that's a nice looking chest, Kevin…...........Wes


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thanks for all the help Dave where is this mill I have no problem using Doug Fir if its nice and wide and about 1 inch thick so I can smooth it up for the chest

Thanks to all of you for the feedback haven't posted in a while and I do miss you guys a great deal Well back to the shop.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

Lance , you easily buy some one by at your Lumber yard


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Chris Schwartz on The Woodwrights Shop showed his well thought-out tool chest…

If the video is on Underhill's website, might help you…

Have you seen Chris's chest? Might be in PW somewhere…


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

Joe its in his book the Anarchists tool Chest is the title of the book I have the woodwright on my dvr I must have watched it 50 times its one of the reasons I feel the chest will solve some of my storage issues.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Hey Dude… COOL… You're way ahead of the game! 

I remember him saying… "It all starts with your largest tool." etc. etc. which I thought was a COOL to go!
The way he divided the rest up was really COOL too…

Have you nailed down the wood you're going to use yet?

You could always use const. grade material… 2×6, etc. resaw in half & glue together to get wide panels, etc.  LOL

Keep working / thinking about it… it will help…

Later…


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

Dave Damsen has a lead on the wood so I am going to tap his source for some pine or fir and see how that goes .


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

COOL… let us know how it works out, OK?


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

Sure thing Joe I want to try to kick it out quick so I have more space the shop gets tight if it gets cluttered up I have a few duplicate tools and they take up room but are convenient to have 2 band saws and two radial arm saws.


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## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

If you have a Lowes around, they have something called "pine project panels" (or something like that). They are in the same Aisle as the s4s 1x boards (not with the construciton lumber). I used them on my Tool chest build:

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/55959

They are pine panels glued up from a lot of thin boards, but seem very solid, and were fairly flat as well, and they come in widths at least up to 24" perhaps more, which should be high enough for the sides of a tool chest. For me, it was the easy way to get the panels I needed.


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

Out Wood Shopping for this project! I have not found the wood I want for this peace but I will be shopping thsi week between working at the computer store and jury duty I want the wood to be ready right after the bench projects are done.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Done yet?


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

LOL…


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## sawdustdad (Dec 23, 2015)

Being on the west coast, the logical light weight wood would be alder. I'd avoid pine/fir. Out here on the East Coast, we'd use Poplar which is not much different than Alder.

Personally, I'd use Cherry, just because it's so nice to work with.

OK, another wood, maybe not available in your area, that I've used for a chest, is Butternut. It's a lightweight and blond version of walnut. Nice to work and looks great.

Finally, and this is a long shot, but something that would be really cool (and actually period correct) would be Chestnut. If you could find old barn beams and have them sawn, chestnut would be another excellent wood and is actually one of the preferred woods for such chests, at least east of the Mississippi. Chestnut is light weight and strong, but, alas, has all but disappeared.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

This is a wonderful tool chest. Nice work!

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


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## gargey (Apr 11, 2016)

FWIW I recommend that you avoid Douglas Fir. Use a hardwood.

I actually really like Douglas Fir for a lot of applications, but I wouldn't use it for this one. Structurally a good wood but not great for lots of joinery. The huge difference in hardness between the earlywood and latewood gets annoying, and its fairly prone to splintering and chipping out.

If you're gonna make something that's gonna last, might as well shell out a few more bucks for an entry-level hardwood (poplar, soft maple, cherry, macassar ebony).


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## Just_Iain (Apr 5, 2017)

Likely what I need to build but I would need to have a cushion for the top as it would be in the living room. Ah, the joy of living in an apartment (with no storage room).


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

2014 thread and I'm pretty sure thedude50 is banned.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

The main reason Schwarz made this chest out of Pine…was the weight was light enough to carry around..

I later made one out of Oak..









When such things were all the rage…









Have since moved on to better things


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## Holt (Mar 15, 2011)

I wound up with a bunch of $25 of purchase of $50 or more Lowe's coupons. After I cleaned them out of Bessey K Body clamps, I used the remaining certificates on those panels. If you are painting, they should be fine. I haven't put them under heavy stress, so I'm assuming the joints in the panels will hold. Drawback might be the thickness.



> If you have a Lowes around, they have something called "pine project panels" (or something like that). They are in the same Aisle as the s4s 1x boards (not with the construciton lumber). I used them on my Tool chest build:
> 
> http://lumberjocks.com/projects/55959
> 
> ...


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