# Machinist Toolbox



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Design - Feedback Welcome*

I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.

With my recent interest in machining, I find I need a toolbox to hold all my small gauges, tools, keys, wrenches, tooling, measuring devices, etc. A machinist toolbox would be perfect for the job. I've looked around, and to be honest- these boxes are quite complex in construction. Unlike a regular (tool)box which is like all other woodworking projects- a 4 wall box, with a floating bottom, and a floating panel on top that is sliced to open or house drawers, a machinist toolbox has openings on 2 sides - the Top, and the Front, making it impossible to construct a regular 4 walls box (with just 1 opening on the top).

I couldn't find much info online regarding construction of machinist toolboxes except for a couple of plans for purchase in places such as woodsmith (afaik), and I didn't really like the look of that particular box. What I ended up doing is searched for images of machinist toolboxes, and found some really nice ones made by Gernster (which I then learnt was a very reputable maker of such boxes). Even those boxes didn't seem to fit my needs though as in addition to housing small tools, I also want it to house my lathe quick-release-tool-holders, which are ~3" tall. I also wanted the toolbox to be on the smaller size, and so decided to design a custom box based on what I've seen in others.

I ended up making 3 versions of the design until I was happy with how it looks, and the joinery worked out well. This is one of those times where SketchUp really worked well and saved me hours of recutting by being able to draw out all the joinery and the panelling, and figuring out the weak spots, and the problematic areas.

The box if I end up building it (time constraints) will look like this:









And Opened:









Dimensions are 16"(w) x 10"(d) x 13.5"(h)
The box is made of mahogany frame, with maple drawer fronts, and probably poplar for secondary wood.
The front panel is automatically locked when the lid is closed, and hopefully I can incorporate wooden dovetailed full extension drawer slides for the drawers.

Lots of ideas, lots of plans, hopefully I can Bring this also through the build process.

Any design feedback, or ideas are welcome. Especially from folks who've built those before, but also from anyone else as well.

Thanks in Advance.


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## dannymac (Feb 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


if i made something that beautiful my mother or sisters would steal it for a jewlery box. keep your eyes on it once your finished it may get pinched


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## Pawky (Sep 22, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


How are you planning on having the front drawers lock when you close the top lid?


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## FirehouseWoodworking (Jun 9, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


You must include a "secret compartment"! It is traditional and a sign of the craftsmanship.

Just don't ask ME how to do it. I got nothin'.


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## AaronK (Nov 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


nice - i look forward to seeing this come alive. i also wonder about the locking mechanism. finally, do you plan to keep ts box in one place like a cabinet, or will it move around? if so, you might consider some sort of handles either on the sides or underneath.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Sorry I don't have much to add. But a cab like that could be quite useful.
I like it, good luck, I hope you get to build it.

Steve


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## docholladay (Jan 9, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Purplev,

Here is a link that shows how they build them at the Gerstner factory. Check this out.






Doc


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Sharon: A great start. Keep track of the build.

Great video.


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## boboswin (May 23, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Sharon, layout your tools on some paper and see what your fit is going to look like.
A 1/2" here or there is easy to adjust for at this stage.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Nice job Sharon.

The planning stage is often my favorite part of a project. (That, and seeing it finally leaving the shop)

Lee


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## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Great project,
I'm looking forward to following your progress.
I think it is something on most folks list.
Hardware?
jamie


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Go for it!
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


I really enjoyed the video, 
I noticed the guy that sands all day long with a out a mask or dust collection.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Thanks Everyone - some good points to consider. I have laid out some tools in SketchUp (my digital paper), but not all. I guess now would be a better time to see if it all fits than having 1 couple of tools that just wont fit later on. So thanks for the reminder Bob.

The construction for the sides is indeed using a rabbet to lock the vertical grain panel (that locks with dovetails to the bottom) to the horizontal grain panel (That locks with dovetails to the front and back). I don't have any QS lumber, and was planing on using mahogany which may not be as long lasting as oak but is what I have at hand, and I like the look of it. may not be the best option for longevity, but this is a smaller size box, and for private use and should receive it's proper care so I think It'll work out (hopefully lol).

The hardware for locking the front panel and drawer is indeed what Skarp has linked to (Thanks for the link, I didn't realize LV carried it and was planning on making it myself, but I might just end up ordering it from them).

Doc - Thanks for the vid link, these are all very inspiring!


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Yup Skarp, this is what this is - the first post in the blog.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Sharon, I like your design fine and I've seen the hardware available for these boxes. You also might want to check out Tommy J. McDonalds site. He has a tutorial on building a tool box and you might find that some of his ideas that he uses might help you. The box is not exactly like the one that you want to build but his videos are interesting.


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## fernandoindia (May 5, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Hi Sharon, I also like your design, and also had your same initial questions: I´d like to make a Heirloom Machinist Toolbox. For what? If I don´t use it immediately, will my wife keep it for her cheap bijou jewelry?

As being a toolbox, it will sat in a table or it will be movable? Could I lift that thing full of tools? In any case, is it necessary to lift it

Check Helluvawrek portable toolbox !!










Wuaw. That´s a huge toolbox indeed. Fortunately has two handles!! LOL

Ok, thank you for the blog and look forward to see wherever we end out this journey.

Regards


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

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Cool Sharon.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


Sharon: I just got the American Woodworker DVD's for all of their issues, They have a toolbox made by Earnie Conivers. I can print that off as a PDF if you want it. Send me your email address.


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## jm82435 (Feb 26, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


It is looking good so far…
wow, I just noticed I posted this exactly 1000 days ago. Time flies when you are having fun…

.
I like more drawers, so I built mine with more, but smaller drawers. I could send you some pictures of some flaws in a commercial one I bought so you can see how not to make one also…
Gerstners are made with plywood and veneers. (I have one of those also) I was worried that mine might have wood movement problems, but the solid cherry has been very stable.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


*jm82435* - that's a really nice toolbox. thanks for confirming the wood movement issue - I thought about the same thing, and also noticed that the Gernster boxes are made with plywood internal parts. If it's not too much trouble I would love to see some flaws in other boxes to know what to look for and what to avoid.


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## Pawky (Sep 22, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


jm82435, if you wouldn't mind linking to the pictures here, I would love to see what the problems were as well in the commercial ones


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## jm82435 (Feb 26, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Design - Feedback Welcome*
> 
> I've seen machinist toolboxes here and elsewhere a couple of times, but never felt they would be useful for my woodworking needs as they seem to be aimed at organizing smaller items/tools/etc, so I never paid much attention to these boxes.
> 
> ...


The top of the lid, and the bottom of the till (top lidded compartment) are made of plywood. The sides are solid beech. The sides were not dry or stable enough for the cross glue situation with the plywood and split. You can also see the top front piece is warped - not sure if it just twisted as it dried, or if the plywood behind it pushed the one side out as the whole box shrunk…





​


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Milling some Lumber*

I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.

Last night I went and picked up what boards seem to be most fitting for this project that will yield the best materials for the parts. The toolbox is 10" deep, but I did not find anything that wide. the widest I have is 8" so I'll have to make some glue ups for full width boards. I did get a good selection of mahogany for the exterior, and some poplar for the drawers (and walnut for the pulls):










Today during my lunch break I was able to roughly surface 1 face of each board (since these are 8" wide, I hand planed them as they would not fit on my jointer, plus since there are not many boards, it's easier to plane it by hand) getting it ready to be planned flat and parallel with the planer, then flipped it and using the planer surfaced the 1st face again to finish it off. I then jointed 1 edge by hand to have S3S boards that I could resaw from each flat face to get 2 boards ~7/8" in thickness each having 1 flat surface, and a jointed edge that I could then easily thickness to it's final dimension of 3/4". At this point I'm going to let the boards acclimate a bit to their new size and release any tension they might have had before thicknessing them to final dimension to avoid having them cup on me later on when it's too late.

So this is what it looks like now:










You can also see the parts print out from the SketchUp model that I keep on the workbench as a reference to sizing.

Next, some glue ups to get the boards to their full width of 10" (+some extra), and planing them down to final dimension before cutting them to size.

I also took the opportunity to swap blades on my planer as I got some nicks from hidden nails which gave the blades some hard beating (hardened nails). This is the first time I change blades on this planer, quite simple, although there are a lot of bolts to take off, and put back on. I ended up flipping the blades to their 2nd edge (double edged blades) and did not have to actually replace them as of yet. so far so good. I would leave the blades on if they were not nicked which leaves 2 stripes on the wood unplaned which can lead to trouble feeding the boards through. bottom line -the blades on the DW735 seem to hold well in general.

I also think I'm allergic to Mahogany which is not really good. it makes my skin itchy. until today I thought it was bug bites, but after todays experience planing those boards by hand and coming in direct contact with the lumber, I think the Mahogany was the source to my irritated skin all along.


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## Lenny (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


The green flag has been waved and "He's off!" Good luck on the trip Sharon.


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## DrPain (Sep 2, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Nice photos. I like the foreground interest, and the background looks like my shop


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Hi Sharon;

Looking good.

Question… what kind of camera are you shooting this with? They are remarkably clear.

Lee


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## Richforever (Mar 19, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing! All the comments, the mindset prior to doing the work, the reasons for doing it certain ways - all help. This is going to be a cool project.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Thanks! I'll try to blog this in small steps and address each part including the mindset and the reasoning. I have a feeling some folks might find it useful. I know I would have.

As for the photos - thanks. it's taken with a Canon 10D, 28-135 Lens at f4.5 with an external flash. I find that lighting and composition makes/breaks a photo more so than the camera being used, and have proven it many times with different cameras. Mind you - any photo taken with a digital camera regardless of make or model will not be as crisp and sharp as a photo taken on film so unsharp-mask, or adding mild sharpness to a digital camera can really bring out details.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Sharon,

Thanks for posting this. I somehow missed Part 1 in your series. I am glad that I noticed this one. Now I am all caught up!

It looks like you are off to a great start.

- Chuck


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## tinnman65 (Jan 19, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Looks like your off to a great start. I would guess long sleeves and a dust mask are going to be needed to survive this project, I hope it wont be to bad on you. I look forward to your next post.


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## twokidsnosleep (Apr 5, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Looking forward to see this progress…no pressure though, I know how hard it is to find time in the shop


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## littlecope (Oct 23, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


I'm in for the trip, Sharon… Take your time, get it right, and don't forget to have some fun!!


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


good point on the wood acclimating first

frustrating to come back later
to have things 'move'
i've learned to glue up inlays
and let them sit for a while
then sand and finish

have a good journey !


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## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Sharon,
I admire the fact that you are skilled with the hand plane. I need to pick up some skill which includes sharpening the plane iiron as well as setting it up. What type plane do you prefer for flattening the surface? Your craftsmanship is a fine blend of power and hand tool work. I look forward to seeing the finished product.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Milling some Lumber*
> 
> I am not sure how much time I'll have for this project, so I'm taking every moment I can and do baby steps to hopefully drive this thing through.
> 
> ...


Thanks folks.

Lorna - to flatten a surface I use the largest plane I have which is a #6 Stanley. If I had a #7 I'd use that one as it has a longer bed making it more true. If you have a plane, I highly recommend taking it completely apart and putting it back together, seeing all the parts in person really helped me get a better idea as to how it all works. sharpening the iron is a skill that is easier to accomplish than most people think, and is priceless in the long run. If you are ever in the neighborhood - stop by and I'll give you a tour (around the planes)


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.

I am at the point where I usually run into trouble. I have a tendency to want to work on the joinery and the problem is that I usually do that before I have all the parts ready leaving me with some parts that go together, but still require work to get the rest of it as well. This time around I decided to get all the parts ready before I get into joinery.

I ended up having to cut the 6" boards I had in half to make the final side panels of 10" since keeping them at full 6" width and glueing up another 4" board on one side would make them asymmetrical in an unpleasing manner.

I made the 2 side panels made of 3 vertical boards, and a top horizontal breadboard to (1) keep the vertical boards in line (literally), and (2) provide end grain on the front of the toolbox to mate with the front top rail which makes the top compartment and lid.

I had extra material length, and currently cut the sides 2" taller than the plan called for. I'll see how it looks proportionally and if it works out will give me extra 2" for drawer space, if not- I'll just cut it to it's planned height before cutting the joinery and dadoes.

I also glued up the bottom panel, and like the sides, ended up making it 2" longer making the toolbox wider. If it works out visually that will give me a bit more space, and if not - I'll cut it shorter.

For the drawer dividing panels, I ended up changing the original (tentative) plan of using solid panels, and decided to make those out of frames which would:
1. Reduce material needed - this will make it slightly lighter, and also makes it easier for me as I won't have to make up really large panels
2. Adds dimensional stability - since the parts are narrower they are less prone to expand, and also since the grain goes in both directions it'll help resist the changes slightly (the main thing is the parts being narrower though since if the wood decides to move - it'll move)

I still need to make the vertical dividers, but those are small and easy to machine, the more important parts I'm still missing and need to make are the 2 panels - top (lid) and back, both are large, and I'll need to get those done before I can put the whole thing together. So far this is what I've got:










So far so good, I hope this train keeps on going.


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## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*
> 
> Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.
> 
> ...


Looking good - progress being made!


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## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*
> 
> Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.
> 
> ...


Coming along nicely.

jamie


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## chief101 (Oct 30, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*
> 
> Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.
> 
> ...


Time and patience .


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*
> 
> Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.
> 
> ...


looking good sofare
and for the train thing you just have to ceep enoff coal in the tender and water on the boiler
to ceep the fire up to preventing the steam from going down…LOL

take care
Dennis


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*
> 
> Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.
> 
> ...


Looks good Sharon.

Lee


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*
> 
> Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.
> 
> ...


Keep the parts flying.

Well not flying, but keep them going.

Looking nice.


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## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*
> 
> Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.
> 
> ...


Your project is shaping up nicely! And I think mahogany was the perfect wood to use for this project. Keep up the good work!


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass parts ready for some groovin'*
> 
> Yesterday was such a beautiful day, wasn't too cold, and the sky was blue (today is cloudy and rainy). I was fortunate enough to be able to use the day for some woodworking.
> 
> ...


Sharon, this is very well done and I am enjoying it very much. Keep up the good work.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*

It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation










In essence I chiseled out the half lap hollows from the horizontal dividers rails to make 3 frames, 2 to hold the top 3 smallest drawers (one of them being the bottom of the top compartment), and 2 of them to hold the second tier of 2 drawers:










just to get a quick visualization (far from really getting any solid idea of what it'll look like though) I put the frames in approximated place between the 2 sides:










I've actually miscalculated a couple of things:

1. milled all the horizontal dividers parts to 1/2" where in essence I needed them to be 3/8", so today after the panels were glued up overnight, I ran them through the planer and thinned them down to 3/8" - easy as cake. to be honest, I didn't know if they would survive, but decided to take the change - it worked well.

2. top divider sockets were cut too wide, I forget that that divider is supposed to be housed into the front and back rail. to fix it , I glued it offset as can be seen in the pictures.

Next, I want to get the top panel (lid cover) milled and glued up, and the back panel which I am leaning towards "cheating" and using 1/4" luan plywood which is redish in tone and although not mahogany can still match up somewhat, and since it's the back, I might be ok with it. At that point I think I'll be ready for the joinery, and dadoing, followed by assembly of the carcass which will be a major progress point in this project.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


Looking really good.
Even I have made a mistake once, twice….. 19.235.839.986 times, and as long as we smile as we make them, life is a wonderful travel of learning. Don't you have some cut offs you can glue in?
Best thoughts,
Mads


----------



## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


Enjoying the process

jamie


----------



## littlecope (Oct 23, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


"It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going." I thought I was starting to read a bad novel… 
We had the same weather here, sans the rain… I don't think I've ever seen such a dark day, that wasn't raining…
Good progress on this, Sharon, even with the "design modifications"... Keep that train chugging along!!


----------



## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


Coming along nicely, Sharon, and in the kitchen too!
Stay warm… I don't think we'll see much warm weather here in New England for a while!
Ellen


----------



## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


Making some serious progress Sharon. Working in the kitchen? Man you're lucky.


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


Sharon, it all seems to me that it is going very well. I think that mistakes go along with the territory when it comes to woodworking. You have overcome the mistake and are on your way again. The series is great so keep up the good work.


----------



## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


Looking good, Sharon, nice half laps.


----------



## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


This is looking good. It sure is fun when you are first able to cobble together some pieces to get an idea of what you are working toward.


----------



## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Bad Weather, Kitchen Bender*
> 
> It was pouring outside, and so grey, but somehow the train kept on going. I somewhat planned for this in advance, and made sure I cut all the parts in advance so that I can continue working later on on the joinery in a more flexible manner, and flexible I mean literally as the kitchen counter flexed as I chiseled away. Then again, I was able to get some progress done while being with the family and not isolated in the garage. My daughter sat next to me watching me carve the sockets out with interest (Ironically we watched 'surfs up' earlier the day where the main character was planing KOA timber into a surfboard) and helped me clear the chips, and mark the parts with the marking gauge so it was a win win situation
> 
> ...


I love the organized way your thought process works. Also getting your daughter involved in woodworking is great. I am exposing my 12 yr. old grandson to this art form and hope to pass on this passion to at least one of my grandchildren!


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Carcass Joinery*

Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.

Once the tails side lines are cut, I use a coping saw (mine if from Lee Valley and works really well) to remove most of the waste between the tails:










A coping saw is really a blessing in this situation, you can drive it real quick and turn it a sharp 90 to reach in narrow spaces. Before I had a coping saw I tried to remove the waste by chopping it all with the chisel - LOTS of work both for the woodworker and the chisel. If you remove most waste with a saw, the chisel work becomes real easy (single chop and it peels effortlessly).

to finish off the pin sockets, I marked the socket line with a marking gauge which helps position the chisel in the proper location as it sets right into the mark line. I then chopped half the socket off keeping the chisel not at perfect 90 degrees but slightly into the part being cut. The reason for this undercut is that the only part that matters on that line is the exposed line- the glue surface is end grain so does not really help much. If you try to keep it perfectly vertical then there is a chance that the angle will be slightly outwards making the joint not fit. With an undercut there is not much of a strength loss, and there will always be enough clearance behind the line so that the joint can slide easily in.

After chopping half the socket, I flipped the part to it's other side, and repeated the process. the reason for this is to make both chopping cuts exactly from the marked line on both sides inwards that way there is no way to miss or misalign the opposite marked line when you are chopping from the opposite side. it also protects from tear out:










At this point I had to call it quits for the day as being outside in an unheated garage at 19 degrees F wasn't exactly fun in the park, and 2-3 hours were the most I could endure. had to go back home and wait for 20 minutes to defrost before I washed up otherwise there is a risk of burning, or misjudging the temperature of the water - not a good thing.

While in the house though I was able to prepare the "panel" for the back. As I mentioned - I was planning on 'cheating' on this one. I took 1/4" plywood and laminated on one side of it the cutoffs from resawing the mahogany for the parts - I had some 1/8" leftovers that fit perfectly to make the back panel:










*One Day Over*

Today I got out and it felt WARM at 28 degrees F (after yesterday's 19). It's not the temperature - it's the references that are the joy killers.

Although I was not able to accomplish today all that I wanted, I did manage to transfer the tail lines from the sides to the bottom part, and the front/back rails, cut those in the same manner I cut the tails with the only difference it was all done with hand saws since the cuts are angled (a Table saw type sled could have helped - I have one in my mind that I'll design later on). and checked for a dry fit:










This is my 2nd dovetailed project. Some parts are a bit looser while other are a bit tighter - but I do notice progress and I can only expect it to continue in future projects. All in all - the fit is good, and the box holds well, is rigid, and does not come apart (still dry fit).

I was then able to route all the slots to house the panels and dividers. I was then able to fit the top panel that will be the bottom of the top compartment, and the rear 'cheater' panel which is still slightly too wide and will need to be trimmed (as you can see i the following picture it prevents the carcass from fully setting in):










The day was over, and the lights in the garage stopped working (it's that cold that all the electric cables become stiff, and all the connections start to lose physical contact and it's a bit finicky) so it was time to call it a day.

Tomorrow I hope to trim the back panel, fit the 2 remaining dividers, add the vertical dividers for the drawers, and route the drawer slides dadoes, and fit the top panel so that I could finally put the carcass together and glue it up leaving just the drawers to deal with.

It feels like I'm progressing real slow for some reason, on one hand I do realize this is no a-weekend-project, but on the other hand I had hoped I'd be already dealing with the drawers and be done with the whole thing tomorrow. maybe I need to focus on some smaller scale projects for a while (if only I could).


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Nice work!


----------



## AaronK (Nov 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


nice progress! i cant believe you do such work in the bitter cold we've been having. do you wear any kind of gloves?


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Thanks guys.

Aaron - no gloves, that is my tolerance gauge - when fingers hurt too much it's time to go defrost.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Looking good. I never seem to finish in the time I had alloted. Don't be so hard on yourself.

FWW had some articles on TS dovetails. In one of them, he had a blade ground a bevel for the tails, and then finished up the waste with a scroll saw. For the pins, he cut box joints, and then pared the angle on them with a chisel. Of course, they always make it look so simple. But it did look like a fast way to cut custom DTs.

That's going to be a nice chest.
Steve


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Look so much forward to see it done.
Best thoughts,
Mads


----------



## ruddy (May 9, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


A very interesting project indeed, and as SPalm said above, dont be so hard on yourself. You are doing a first class job.
I have made a couple of these over the years and I know it takes a lot of thinking time….but thats part of the journey. love your work


----------



## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Great blog Sharon!
It looks great… just remember, we are our own worst critics!
Ellen


----------



## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Nice progress, Sharon.

Lee


----------



## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


It's really coming along nicely Sharon! You are only being slowed by the frigid temps in your unheated shop. And I continue to admire your skill in using hand tools.
Lorna


----------



## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Good work, Sharon. Slow and steady is fine. Sometimes I find it is better when I take a measured pace at a project. Fewer mistakes and I feel surer when I cut. I can't always do this as my type A personality wants me to finish, 'NOW', most of the time. I sympathise with the cold workshop problems as I suffer with that too. I'd insulate but we rent and I'm not allowed to make any changes to the place. I too admire your use of hand tools for cutting dovetails, I'm a router bit junky in this respect. Good post and progress.


----------



## Cory (Jan 14, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Excellent work, Sharon. I have yet to try dovetails, either machined or hand cut. This is inspiring. It looks great and I can't wait to see the end product.


----------



## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Carcass Joinery*
> 
> Yesterday I was able to cut the tails on the carcass side parts. I used the bandsaw to cut the tails because the blade cuts straight and is narrow, although I did get some rough cut surface this time because I have a kink in the blade. I'm thinking in the future to use the Table saw with the blade tilted at ~10 degrees and the part passed vertically much like cutting box joints, but that will have to wait for future projects as for the time being -these tails are cut already.
> 
> ...


Looking good, I'm enjoying following your progress. It is a great blog.
Jamie


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Wet Fit*

Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:










Knowing the there are a lot of glue surfaces I didn't want to take the chance of screwing it up (since I wanted to eliminate all metal fasteners …lol) so I did the glue up in stages. First was glueing up the drawer dividers to one another. I used the side of the box and the 2 rails to keep things aligned and in position while I only glued the dividers to one another (horizontal and vertical) while the rest was dry placed so to speak:










Once those dried, I went ahead and glued the box parts including the sides, bottom, back, top, and rails. I also added one clamp at an angle to pull the box to straight as I noticed it was tilted slightly:










And I called it a night.

Today I was going to open up the lid and install the hinges. I realized that I cut the dovetails for the top tails incorrectly and not leaving enough material for the blade thickness to separate the lid from the box as I had planned. luckily I got a thin kerf blade from a fellow woodworker that just barely fit in between the tails (I wanted to have at least a full tail and 2 half pins on the lid to keep it together). Since I did not have enough material as I wanted, I did end up adding some braces to the 4 corners of the top compartment and the lid:










Those Rockler corner braces came in real useful here.

The hinges I use are SOSS type hinges and installation is real simple. Using a 1/2" forstner bit I drilled 2 overlapping holes for the hinge body, and 2 more holes on the edges for the screw mounts and it fits real snug and holds real well. I really like these hinges:










All in all, there are things to improve and to learn for the future, but I really like how this is coming along:










Only thing left to do is the drawers and later on the front panel to lock the drawers in place. Both of these may have to wait though as my available shop time has come to it's end. I'll try to sneak in an hour here and there to at least get the drawers done so that this can be functional.

Thanks for reading,
Peace.


----------



## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


It is looking great.
You are getting it together.
thanks for sharing
Jamie


----------



## chief101 (Oct 30, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Very njce so far.


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Hey Sharon,
Nice recovery. And the hinges look great.
This is really looking nice. I mean really nice. I want one.

Steve


----------



## Timbo (Aug 21, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Its looking good Sharon. The third pic is my favorite, is that 10 clamps on the box?

Always wondered if the SOSS hinges were difficult to install, now I know.


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Sharon: The box is coming along great. It's starting to look like a box.


----------



## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


It's looking real good, Sharon!

Lee


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Good looking box. Very nicely done. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Thanks Jamie, Dale, Steve, Tim, Karson Lee and Tom


----------



## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Most impressive, Sharon. That is coming along nicely.
Ellen


----------



## Brad_Nailor (Jul 26, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Wow Sharon..that is looking sharp. Great work….that is going to be one nice tool case.


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Sharon, this tool box is beautiful and your craftsmanship really stands out on it. It's really coming along and my hat is off to you. It's also very well presented and I appreciate your posting of this whole tool box section to your blog. I'm making it a favorite because one of these days I'm going to build a nice tool box like this and I will refer to this when I do.


----------



## Dez (Mar 28, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Coming right along! Nice job, too bad you are running out of shop time as you say.


----------



## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


It's going to be a beautiful box.

I like your approach to the glue-up: thoughtful, systematic, and logical.

Good luck on the home stretch


----------



## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Good job Sharon!  I like the way you go about problem solving. The tool box is going to be great!


----------



## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


The box is coming together nicely. Thanks for sharing your process with us all.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Thanks for the comments gals and guys.


----------



## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


I think you are one of those guys that is always looking for constructive critisism, but I've never built anything like this so I can't really offer anything. Besides, I'm of the opinion that once you get to a certain point, you know when something could have been done better. As an independent examiner though, I think this looks really good. I'd be proud to build something like this as you are.

Keep up the good work. I always learn stuff from your blogs.


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Wet Fit*
> 
> Yesterday as planned I was able to trim the back panel, and fit the horizontal dividers and top panel so that it all fits together:
> 
> ...


Sharon I feel jealous in the most wonderful way! You are getting a wonderful toolbox there.
Marry christmas,
best thoughts,
Mads


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Draw me a Draw*

What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!

As planned, I cut the drawers parts on day 1 (not a full day, but it did happen on the first day). On day 2 I was able to build the drawers and glue them up. The plan was to use half blind dovetails for the solid maple fronts. I must say, making these many dovetails at such a small scale was exhausting (but good practice)! the joints improved from one drawer to the next, not all perfect, but considering the scale, the fact it was my first dealing with halfblinds, and the shear amount of those I think I fared well:










Once the drawers were dry, I was able to work on the fit today. they were pretty much on the money, with just slight need to trim off the front/backs pins. Low angle block plane really worked great for this. At first I clamped the drawers sideways on the bench, but that didn't seem to give me enough stability:










Then I remembered I can really pull out that vise exactly for this purpose. holding the drawer this way was great and made work real simple:










Finishing off the drawers, I scraped it off which led me to wonder. I noticed some folks do not create a burr on their scrapers, but just use a file to 'set them up'. from my experience that will scrape nice dust. but with a burr on the scraper it gets some pretty thin and unique shavings:










Does anyone have input on this? do you just file your scraper? does it create shavings? or just dust/particles?

Anyways, I chose maple for the drawer fronts so that it'll blend nicely with the maple veneer I chose for the fronts that I had lying around. I also installed the slides for the 2 large drawers (accidently overrouted the drawer side and blew out the front of the drawer which needs some fixing), and drilled 1" diameter holes for the pulls which I'll put later on.

All in all, almost done and done with the build and it all fits nicely together:










Yes, the box is already finished, but the drawers fronts are not yet and I'll discuss the finishing on a post all by itself.

time to get some rest!


----------



## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


Absolutely wonderful.
Thanks for sharing, it is looking fantastic.
I would be so proud if I had made it.

Jamie


----------



## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


Wow.

Fantastic progress. Great looking dovetails !

FWIW … I remember looking through a FWW article about preparing card scrapers. They favor a slight burr, and say that the result is fine, wispy shavings, not sawdust.

Rest well deserved. Great job !


----------



## AaronK (Nov 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


yowzer! what a billion tiny little tails they are! what sort of saw did you use for these little guys? I bet the little razor-type dealies would be perfect for this. anyway, they are way better than what i could manage and should hold together very well.

todd clipinger posted a video about how he only files scrapers and uses a random orbiter to finish sand. I tried his method: it's quick n dirty and did resutl in shavings, not just dust, but the surface was definitely not finish ready. since you are fine with rolling the burr to get a sharp edge and are not using power tools to finish the surface, i'd just stick with it. That said, I tend to get better results with my #4 plane and only use the scraper for tricky/tight spots. maybe my scraper setup is not good enough. what's your experience with that?


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


Thanks!

*Aaron*, I use a japanese dozuki (is there any other type of dozuki?!? lol). As for the scraper goes, If I can get by with the #4 I will, but sometimes I get milling marks even from my #4 and instead of worrying about it I just go over it with a scraper to clean it off. the surface after scraping is glass smooth with a shine. If I'll sand that surface it WILL make it look less attractive - I tried. I now only sand between coats of finish (with this project oddly different for a reason, but I'll discuss that later)


----------



## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


Yikes - that is a lot of great dovetail work. You should be very happy with your progress.

I do keep a burr on my scrapers. I find it to be an amazing and satisfy-to-use tool.


----------



## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


Really nice work. You must have a lot of patience for all those.


----------



## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


thank´s for sharing and it starts to look real good .-)

a burr is made here 

looking forward tothe next installment

Merry Chrismess
Dennis


----------



## Marc5 (Apr 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


You made yourself a very nice tool box. It is nice to see the hand cut dovetails. Good Job!


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


My ohh, thought you said you had no time…
Fantastic to see the wise on the workbench like that.
Best thoughts and a marry christmas,
Mads


----------



## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


The figure on the maple is striking. Your patience and hard work, especially with the hand cut dovetails has paid off. Looking forward to seeing the final chapters of this project!


----------



## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


Hi Sharon;

It's looking beautiful!

I always put a burr on my scrapers. I love the fine shavings it will produce.

Again, your box looks really good.

Lee


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


Thanks everyone! (now back to rest)


----------



## chief101 (Oct 30, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


All I can say is Beautiful


----------



## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


WOW! What a beautiful tool box!
You have really outdone yourself on this one!


----------



## Timbo (Aug 21, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


Coming along fine Sharon, this is going to be a great tool box for years to come. The drawer fronts look superb.


----------



## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Draw me a Draw*
> 
> What do you know, I was able to use the last 3 days for some extra shop time!
> 
> ...


This is coming along really well, Sharon! You're encouraging me to get more into hand tools, too.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*

I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.

Mahogany much like Oak has large open pores. My finishing goal was more for practice than necessity, but I was aiming for an antique polished look - shiny outside. I knew I would have to fill in those pores if I want an even polished surface. So my plan was to start with a filler coat which I tried to concoct using dewaxed shellac and mahogany sanding sawdust (from a 220 grit paper). It was suggested to me that this may not be fine enough dust to penetrate the pores, but I figured I'd give it a try and at least gain some hands on knowledge from experience.

So first coat was a concoction of the aforementioned shellac with sawdust. I was surprised how well the sawdust blended in with the shellac, but I think I should have used more sawdust (I didn't want to sand too deep into the wood, and was somewhat displeased with the sanding degrading the polished look of the wood after it was planed and scraped earlier):










The Shellac gave the wood a real nice warm tone although I'm not sure if poly would not give similar results off hand.

Note to self - Shellac is much thinner than oil poly (which is what I have been used to brushing up till now) and should not be brushed too heavily as it WILL run (not too concerned as this is a toolbox, but still…).

I ended up doing 2 coats of shellac and sanded in between - I did not get the results I wanted. the pores were NOT filled as much as I had planned them to. If I ever need to finish a furniture piece of mahogany I'll use proper pore filler, for now - not a biggy, I should however have wiped it on rather than brush it on. for some reason I thought it would be easier for me to reach into and between the dividers with a brush - it wasn't.

Now My necessity goal was to protect the box from machining mess such as oily/greasy hands, so Poly was set for the top coat(s). I used General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Satin for those. I had previously always used minwax poly and had good results with it, but figured I'd give this one a try and see how they compare. look wise I don't see much of a difference, but the ArmRSeal is thinner and probably comparable to minwax wipe-on poly (which I've never used - I always mixed my own with mineral spirits just for the last 2 coats to get them thin and even). I dropped the brushes (which were old and started to break down on me with the shellac) and just wiped on the poly. I was surprised how much easier it was for me to reach into tight spots with the wipe, so much more than it was with the (foam) brushes earlier - oh well, lesson learnt.

I put on 3 coats of poly on the carcass at which point I was done with the drawers construction at which point I did 2 coats of shellac on the drawer fronts, followed with 2 coats of poly on those as well. it was quite pleasing feeling the glass smooth surface of finished maple compared to the mahogany with it's open pores.

Another thing I noticed was that I sanded between coats on the drawer fronts with 220 grit whereas I used 600 for the carcass which I think was way too high to really knock off any high spots on the finish and just 'smoothed' it out around it. This led me to think - I probably always used too fine sanding between coats using 400 grit (I ran out of that one so used 600 which was the only thing I had higher than 220) and should use 220-320 from now on to even out the finish. I noticed that the 600 didn't really clean off the runs I had on the side of the carcass… oh well, lesson learnt.

I ended up sanding the carcass 3rd poly coat with 220 grit, and added one more coat of poly on it.

All in all, I'm pleased with the results. it has the antique 'used' distressed look that I was going for minus the polished top panel:

Front:









Top:









Side:









Here's the before image of carcass with 3 coats of poly and unfinished draws:









And the After with it all finished, PLUS I patched the large drawer front which was previously blown through when I routed the drawer slide channels:









Not too shabby.

Conclusions - use proper pore filler, wipe on the shellac, sand between coats with a courses grit than 400.

Now to really finish this off I need drawers pulls, front panel to lock the drawers, and I want to add feet to protect the carcass bottom, BUT, there is no pressure on those as the toolbox is fully functional and already houses all my lathe tools as it should.

Thanks for reading,
Peace.


----------



## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Looks good Sharon.

Lee


----------



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

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


sweet. Looks great from these angles.


----------



## littlecope (Oct 23, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


You did a Great Job on this build Sharon, it looks excellent…
I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the making too!!
Well Done!!


----------



## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for the precise telling, think we who read has lerned from you.
Best thoughts, and a happy hollyday,
Mads


----------



## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


"houses all my lathe tools as it should".
Indeed. That would be a wonderful addition to any shop. What a treat to have nice things to hold our tools.

Good job,
Stevee


----------



## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Looking really nice, I think you have the right look.
Used but not abused.

Cant wait to see the final

Jamie


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


This is a wonderful toolbox, Sharon, and a great presentation of what you have done. I've been totally covered up and haven't had the time to read it all but I definitely am planning to go back over the whole thing carefully because I want to build me a chest similar to this and feel like I can learn a lot from what you have done. Your toolbox is a beautiful thing.


----------



## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


thanks for the 'finishing' journey

never to late to learn

great build

merry to you and yours


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Sharon: It looks great. What I've done on filling pores is to use danish oil and use a ROS with paper without holes and sanded it while it was still wet. The sanding /oil slurry is somewhat compacted into the pores. I let it dry and then use a putty knife and try to cut the excess off the surface with a sliding motion. I find that if I'm careful I don't pull the mix out of the pores of the wood.

The blog that has the walnut is here

I didn't want to point out the big holes in the front of your drawers. I hope you have something that can cover them up without some noticing.


----------



## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Nice. I'm still amazed when someone says, "I think I'll build myself a <blank>", then builds it.


----------



## AaronK (Nov 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


nice work - and so quickly too!


----------



## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


A journey well worth travelling. Well done, Sharon.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Thanks everyone.

*Karson* - Thanks for the link with the extra detail. I tried doing something similar using the shellac, and wet sanded it - alas with 600 grit paper. I should have used a coarser sand paper, and probably the ROS to really generate some sawdust. I'll try that one next time around.


----------



## wchips (Dec 11, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Looking good Sharon Happey Holidays


----------



## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your insight all along the way to making this fine tool box! I think your finishing tips will help me on my future projects.


----------



## DrPain (Sep 2, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


I'm not an expert on finishing, but I think if you're trying to get a mirror finish it isn't so important to get sawdust into the pores as it is to simply fill them up with finish to the point where you can sand to a flat surface. I've done a lot of finishing with shellac, and it is much thinner and builds up much more slowly than something like poly. Two coats would not be enough to fill the pores in something like mahogany. And you would want to brush on (thicker) rather than wipe on. I did some cutting boards with mahogany this Christmas and after five or six brushed on coats and French polishing there were still noticeable pores in the mahogany. BTW, Flexner says that there's no real advantage to shellac as a sealant/pore filler, so if you're going to finish with poly you might want to just use that for the initial coats as well.


----------



## AaronK (Nov 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


using multiple coats of poly and sanding them back gave me almost too smooth a finish on the mahogany top of my blanket chest. its not a thick layer on top that gives a plastic appearance, just perfectly filled grain.

it DID take a long time, though, and that was in the summer. To do it right you need to wait for the finish to be hard enough to sand cleanly. that might take much longer in the cold than even 10 coats of shellac.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


Lorna, you are welcome 

Scott and Aaron - the advantage of using shellac as the first couple of coats is that it sands easier than poly and dries MUCH faster (45 min compared to 6 hours before you can put additional coat), thus is it usually used as a sanding sealer ('sanding' as in it is easier to sand it down flat on the first couple of coats to make the base for the rest of the finish which then requires less sanding to flatten it for smoother results). That is the reason I decided to use shellac. As for the necessity for pore filler - you are correct, if you put enough coats of poly and sand it down - eventually you'll generate a perfectly flat surface, but I think that with a pore filler you reduce the number of coats required = less time to get the same results.

So in essence I agree with you both and using multiple coats of poly would eventually work, but I was (a) trying out working with shellac for the first time, and (b) wanted to test my theory of pore filling (which I still want to give another try using suggestions made by Karson above and in his original post). The box is super smooth to the touch, but you can still feel the pores, and it does not have the french polish mirror shine thats all. I still believe that (comparing time) 6 coats of shellac have a better chance of filling the pores than 1 coat of poly as a base. I'll try it out next time and post results


----------



## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


You keep nudging the bar higher and higher, don't you ?

Such a great piece. Thanks for the ongoing detail and pictures !!


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


heh, it's either that or shoveling snow, and I'm already done with the later… (thanks  )


----------



## AaronK (Nov 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Not Yet Finished, but It's Finished*
> 
> I mentioned it in the previous post and as I was working on the drawers I had the main carcass take the finish to make use of time.
> 
> ...


no no dont get me wrong: I was advocating your use of shellac. poly would take FOREVER in this weather


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Pull My Finger...*

Jack and Jill, 
Went up the hill.
To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down,
And broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Then up Jack got,
and home did trot.
To old dame dob,
Who *fixed his KNOB*,
With vinegar and brown paper.

What does this have to do with a machinist toolbox? well. I also had to fix my knobs, but not with vinegar and not with brown paper (although the walnut IS indeed brown)... read on:

I wasn't feeling too well today so I probably should not have done much work, but being so close to the end I couldn't resist.

*The drawer pulls*

My original concept was to use a rectangular pull indented into the drawer front and have a 1" hole to allow finger access to the pull:










The concept was good, and I like the design, however it entails a practical flaw - at 1" diameter hole, there isn't enough room to fit 2 fingers in order to grab the pull. Back to the drawing board…

I thought about constructing something similar to this:










But at the scale I'm working with I decided to go with something more mechanical put and simple. The idea is - I needed to figure a way to create some surface that would counter the pulling force of a finger, and I came to the following pull:










It will fit into my 1" diameter holes, allow ample access for 1 finger which will then catch on the back angle. In theory this can also be done without the back 'disk', but since I had drilled 1 pull hole in a drawer front too deep (not too deep - that drawer had different mechanics that blew the drawer bottom through the hole) I figured this would cover it up, Also it makes alignment in the 1" hole real easy as it fits snugly inside and won't fall off due to gravity.

To make the pulls I started with a hole saw, 1 1/4" diameter. The 1 1/8" diameter hole saw created a plug that was a tad too loose in my holes so I chose on going oversized than undersized.

Next I used my lathe and turned those plugs to a piston fit in the holes to within 0.001" in diameter - not really necessary, but it was good practice on turning to specific size:










Once I had a good fit, I pushed the plug into the drawer front, and marked the depth. At that point I was able to cut off the excess on the bandsaw. The parts being so small and round (hazard) were not an easy cut. I used wooden screw clamps as a sled since it has a good amount of surface that can safely ride the saw table and cut the line:










Once I had the sized plugs it was time to shape the pulls. Again using the same technique with the wooden clamps I held the parts on the 'front' of it, and cut 2 lines. 1 parallel to the back of the pull, and another angular to make the front of the pull:










The angle should be ~30-45 although it isn't that relevant and won't really be seen anyways. The important thing here is to create a back angle surface that will counter the pulling force of the finger. The shallower the the angle the more material is left on the pull making it more stout and less delicate. I freehand cut all of the pulls without worrying about internal appearance, and put 2 coats of poly on them to enrich the color more than any other reason:










I still haven't decided if I'll glue those in (silicone) or screw them in. At the moment I'm favoring the silicone to avoid introducing another material to the drawers fronts.

While at the saw, I also cut the 4 legs, and the parts for the front panel. this baby is coming to a complete state soon.

Thanks for reading,
Peace.


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


Sharon: I see that I kicked you into the hole filler upper. Nice concept and creation.


----------



## fernandoindia (May 5, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


nice creation on the pulls. be watching the final outcome. Great blog Sharon., Thank You


----------



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

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


I think what you made is much better than the original idea. Well executed! Can't wait to see them installed.


----------



## alba (Jul 31, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


A very unique knob.
That is thinking inside the box. 

Thanks for sharing

Jamie


----------



## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


looking good sofare but will the design change work ….
we just have to sit excided on the flat and wait in patience 
till the master himself reveal the secret with bravur ,bells and wissels

thank´s for sharing the toturial

take care
Dennis


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


I actually like the new ones better, Sharon. Of course, if you really don't like it, I'd be glad to come buy and pick up the whole thing so you can start over ;-))
This is turning out to be a beautiful project.
Ellen


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## twokidsnosleep (Apr 5, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


Good problem solving skills and thoughtful enough to work out the bugs before cutting for all the wrong design pulls.
I would have cut first, asked questions later …..and screwed it all up
It is really coming along!


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## nobuckle (Nov 3, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


Those are going to look great. It's great to have the skills to work in such a precise manner. Having the machines to carry it out is even better. Look forward to seeing the finished chest.


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## Brad_Nailor (Jul 26, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


Sharon…great idea, great Sketchup model, great execution! That box is going to be an heirloom piece!


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## moonls (Mar 23, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


Your problem-solving skills are great! I cin't wait to see the final post on this project.


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## jm82435 (Feb 26, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


Nice job. I like the knob design also. It looks like it gives more clearance for fingers.
When you said you were making it to house your lathe tools, I was thinking wood lathe.
I use my metal lathe for wood projects too. Yours looks nicer with the quick change tool post.
What type of insert do you use when turning wood?


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Pull My Finger...*
> 
> Jack and Jill,
> Went up the hill.
> ...


*jm82435* - Thanks. I do not use inserts. I have a some brazed carbide cutters that I got with the lathe, and am using those with the wood in this example, I have recently switched to HSS cutters though which I can grind myself to a better point.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*

Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.

Just received the locking hardware from Lee Valley which was the last thing I needed to finish this build at this point. I thought about making the locking set myself, but seeing the set LV offers it just didn't make any sense so I just ordered it from them with the Free Shipping they offer this week. arrived in 2 days and installed today - very nice set, and works like a charm.

The set I got is this one:









And can be found here:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,250,43298&p=32762

This Toolbox is officially considered complete, and has been posted here on LJ:



I will keep this thread alive as I still plan on making custom drawer inserts for all the toolings and such.

Thanks for reading, and have a Happy New Year!


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


Well I guess this answers my question. Great looking addition. No key lock I see!


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

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


Nicely done Sharon. Final touch and it's complete. Hope to see it in person some day.


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## Lenny (Sep 28, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


As always Sharon, a well executed build…wonderful craftmanship. Way to go!


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## chief101 (Oct 30, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


A well crafted and beautiful toolbox..


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## twokidsnosleep (Apr 5, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


It really is gorgeous


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## againstthegrain (Feb 16, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


Too sweet! Well done.


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## Gerry1 (Jul 12, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


Sharon,

Nicely done my friend… The combination of wood figuring and complimentary colors make the end result WAY too pretty for the shop…....


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


thanks for the comments - I could try to build the toolbox not pretty on purpose so that it'll 'fit in a shop' - but why bother - it's the same amount of work.


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## sfdve (Dec 10, 2018)

PurpLev said:


> *Wrapping it up - Lee Valley Style*
> 
> Not much to say, nor anything to show in this post.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing the amazing ideas in your side, I think that you don't know that many people are learn with your post and they get a new ideas for working. First I am interested in assignment writing services but my father is don't like this work and he wants to give me some wood techniques now i am interested after read your posts.


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