# Tool Chest



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Design and Materials*

Hello.

I have decided to start work on my new chest tool. I am not sure when I will get around to starting the build, but I have got the design and materials ready for when it comes time to begin.

I bought the book by Chris Schwarz "The Anarchist's Tool Chest" back in the early parts of summer http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=67610&cat=1,46096,46109. I have always enjoyed reading his blog and when my friend told me about the premise of the book I thought it would be interesting and helpful. In his book he states that he wanted to write a book that he wished he had when he was 11 years old starting woodworking. He goes over the essential hand tools a starting woodworker will need, some non-essentials that are nice to have, and even the few machines that may be useful to the handtool woodworker. In the last part of his book he goes over the entire build of his new tool chest. He talks about how he came to its final design and construction and why it is built the way it is.

His book has helped me try to limit my selection of tools and stick with the basics. And after reading his book, and having worked in my shop for a few years, I have realized I need a tool chest. I often have a collection of saws, layout tools, and other important tools laying on top of my workbench collecting dust, dings, and chaos. So I recently read through the section of Chris' book on the tool chest again, to familiar myself with its design and function. I have looked at some other chests aswell, but find the tool chest of an anarchist to suit me best.









The anarchist's tool chest.

After going through the book again I made up my cut list and went down to my local lumber dealer, Exotic Woods http://www.exotic-woods.com/index.html. I picked up the white pine and white oak needed for the project. I got a great deal on ten 4/4" 12" wide by 6' long boards of white pine, free of knots and surfaced on two faces.



















When I took the lumber back home, I went through laying out the parts for the chest, starting with the largest and most visible parts first. Then I cross cut and ripped the parts to rough size using my newly refurbished panel saws.










Now I have a stack of roughly sized parts awaiting the day I have the time to start the project. Just for kicks I am going to do the entire build using only hand tools. Being white pine even the heavy chores like ripping and thicknessing will be a breeze. The only part I am concerned about is resawing about 9+ feet of 5 1/2" wide white oak by hand. I may give in and use the bandsaw, or perhaps make the newly famous Roubo frame saw to cut it http://logancabinetshoppe.com/blog/2012/01/episode-41-re-sawing-hand-tool-style/. Only time will tell.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Design and Materials*
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Looking forward to it, Carter. I've read the Anarchist's Toolchest and haven't found the need to build my own tool chest, but it's still a great book with a ton of useful information, especially for those just starting out with hand tools. That Roubo frame saw is quite interesting.

Good luck on the build.


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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I'm sure it will be fantastic Carter when you find the time to do it. Thanks for posting the link for the Roubo frame saw. I do follow Bob's blog, but I hadn't seen that yet. That's a monster although I think 36" would be more practical and easier for one person to handle. I can see one of those in my future, so if you do decide to make one, please blog about it.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Love this, will be watching!


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## capper55 (Mar 10, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Hi Carter, I'm in the process of building a new workshop and two of my key projects will be a new workbench and a tool chest. Your workbench project was both awesome and invaluable, so I hope you are able to get your toolchest underway soon. I can't wait to see it


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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I would like to get working on the chest soon myself. I have skipped planed most of the wood already, so whenever I can start making the time, I will begin building. I will hopefully get it built by the end of the summer.


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## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Why not make not make a cabinet? Hang the cabinet next to you workbench. I am not being a smartass. I have read the same book and found the message and list of tools valuable. Yet, I can not see the value in storing my tools in a box on the floor. Why have you decided that you do? Curious.

Thanks - Scott


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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That is a good question Scott. I thought about that too before and after reading the book. To answer you I made a short list of some things I think give a traditional tool chest an advantage over a wall hung cabinet.

1. Although the chest is heavy when full of tools, it is portable. So if you do travel, or do on job site work (probably not) you can take the chest with you.
2. The chest can be used as another saw bench. If you do have a small shop the chest can save you from making two saw benches and taking up more space. You you do plan on using the chest often as a saw bench I would make sure it is the proper height to be used as one.
3. No risk in dropping tools or have tools fall like is possible with a wall hung cabinet. 
4. Although most shops do not have as many windows as is ideal, the tool chest will not use up wall space or block windows if doors are open. I don't know that this is really a great point, as usually floor space is more precious than wall space.
5. It has the best method I know of for storing joinery/moulding planes. The space in the back of the chest for the moulding planes holds the planes vertically so you can see the profile and markings on the heel. And because they are in a chest they will keep clean.
6. The tills provide a storage system which allows you to store tools quickly and allows you to change the tool arrangment without making new holders and things like on a wall cabinet.
7. The chest protects your tools from dust.
8. And it's cool.

I figure I have to make some method of tool storage, a wall cabinet or tool chest, and the tool chest seems like the better solution. Plus the chest is a traditional appliance in any hand tool shop.


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## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Number 8 is all you need.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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I think I might agree, haha.


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## scottb (Jul 21, 2006)

CartersWhittling said:


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great project - and thanks for the links to the Roubo saw. The more I become a Normite, the more I become a Luddite too.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Starting the Shell*

Hello.

I happened to have little work today, so I had time to do some work on the tool chest.

A few weeks ago I had skip planed all the parts for the shell, and some of the oak. Skip planing is simply using a heavy set plane to remove the twist and warpage in a board. Thats all. You do not use a try plane or smoother at this point. By skip planing the lumber before hand, the lumber has a second chance to warp if it has to, since there was fresh wood removed from both faces.










Now a couple weeks after I have skip planed, the lumber has done its final "morphing", if it needed to.

Today I finished planing the parts to have them glued up.

First I laid out all the shell parts on the bench, and picked which pieces would be glued together to create each side of the chest. I marked on each board which direction to plane, so that I could match the boards according the grain direction.









These four parts will create the two long sides of the chest. I also matched the short sides up the same way.

I then began flattening one face of each board. Since I had skip planed previously to remove the warping, it was little work now to get each face flat. Because the pine is so soft you can get away with a slight twist or bend in a board. As long as you make sure the board is held straight when you lay out the dovetails, the joinery will pull any small bend out of the boards.


















Use winding sticks to check for twist.









The far right is a tiny bit high, though the picture hardly shows it. Since it was so little, I didn't bother spending the time to remove it. (I have a strip of green tape on the stick in the back. My winding sticks are each 4' long, and can connect together to create a 8' straight edge. A very useful tool.)

I next jointed each edge that was going to get glued. I first used a scrub plane to remove the rough edge on each board, and get past any splintering that might have occured when I skip planed.










I then clamped two boards that were to be glued together, and book matched the edges. By planing the edges together (with a plane that has a straight iron), you do not have to have the edge square to the faces, the joints will still match creating a flat face across both boards.










When I make edge joints I often create a slight hollow in the centre, creating a spring joint. If your edges have that small hollow (paper thin), then when you apply clamps (particularly across the centre of the joint) you will close up the hollow creating a tight joint along the entire edge. No more gaps on either end of a joint.

So after each set of boards were planed try and true, I glued them up.










After each joint dried I cleaned up each face with a smooth plane. This surface will be the inside of the chest. I made sure that this was the prettier side, since the outside will be painted.










I also jointed and thickness the boards for the bottom of the chest, and glued up the panel for the lid.










By the end of the day I had all but one of the case sides glued up with one face smoothed. Tomorrow I will thickness the boards to about a heavy 3/4".


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## Brett1972 (Nov 5, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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Looking good Carter! I always enjoy reading your posts on your projects. You do good work!

Brett


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Carter, I put you at about 20 to 25 years old way younger than the guys who got to take shop in school ,and I am taken by your skill for such a young man. I would like to know how and where you learned these old woodworking secrets that you possess. Did you go to one of the schools that teach woodworking or are you self taught and got this knowledge from books. I am 50 and I am a solid woodworker I class myself as an expert and still I learn new things from you. I read books on woodworking every day. I have for years and most of them are repeats of things that I already know. Not that I don't like learning from you but more that I would like to tap the source of your Knowledge base. so that I can add what you know to my Arsenal knowledge. If you don't wish to share this with me IO will understand but I try to know everything about wood working. If you prefer please Pm Me the information if it is several books can you giver me the isbn so i can order these.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


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Carter, you're doing GREAT!

I will enjoy seeing the rest of your progress on this project!

I also look fwd to your answer(s) to TheDude's questions… LOL


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## nobuckle (Nov 3, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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I have to agree with thedude50, your skills are quite impressive. I do not wish to flatter you but you really have talent. I've been an avid woodworker for good part of my life and I am just now learning how to use some of the more basic hand tools. Primarily because I've never had anyone to teach me. This web site has been an invaluable source of learning for me.

As with the others I also look forward to seeing your progress on this project. I also look forward to learnng some new skills. Thanks for being willing to share your knowledge.


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## JulianLech (Jan 13, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Looking forward to your future postings. I agree with the other comments; you do a great job and seem to have a natural talent for woodworking. I first learned woodworking over 30 years ago; mostly in high school (cabinet shop for 3 years). But I don't recall that much emphasis on hand tools. You appear to have a good grasp on the use of hand tools which requires more skill and experience than power tools & machinery. Keep up the great work.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Thanks for the comments. I am glad folks are learning some things, I am not just posting this stuff for my own fun, haha. I am not sure exactly what books I would recommend, I do read a fair amount though, but I think a lot of the learning comes from being in the shop a lot. I would recommend Bob's blog and podcasts to anyone wanting to learn basic hand tool skills and techniques http://logancabinetshoppe.com/

If you do not know who Roy Underhill is and you want to know hand tool work, then you need to watch his show and get his books now! I have found some of his books in my public library, and on PBS or his site you can watch his show http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/3100/index.html

Also search for "Peter Nicholson's - The Mechanics Companion", "Jospeh Moxon's - Mechanick Excercises" to read.

Although I have not read through all those books, there is lots of interesting info.

But just spending a lot of time in the shop using only hand tools will quickly develop your skills. I have milled boards with only hand planes, and when heavy work is neccesary I use my thickness planer. But I always joint my lumber by hand. So I have had countless dozens of hours planing wood by hand. I almost always cut joinery by hand as well.

When you do everything (or almost everything) by hand you learn how to take short cuts, predict how the wood needs to be worked so you can spend less time fighting with it and pick wood that will work with you, not against you. I have personally gotten to the point that I rarely ever consider using a machine (besides my bandsaw and sometimes thickness planer) to do a job, because I know it is quicker, more fun, less dusty, safer, easier, takes less space, cheaper, and more quiet than using a machine to do the job. Plus, half the reason I do woodworking is because it is enjoyable. To me building tools with machines doesn't produce as much satisfaction and enjoyment as when I build things with hand tools.

I find working by hand also changes your view of furniture. I find I no longer desire absolute perfection, but structural strength, integrity, and having a personal connection to each piece. Furniture you can tell a story about after.

I am 19 by the way.


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## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

CartersWhittling said:


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19! OMG! Such skills at such a young age, self taught! You are my hero. It took me until I was 40 before I got serious about this hobby. You've got a great start here. I 'm enjoying this build and looking forward to building my own tool chest soon.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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It's lookin good already


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


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very nice, Carter, its going to look great, looks like a fun build.


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Carter I don't mean to beat a dead horse and I will look at the stuff you pointed to but is this the source of your knowledge base. a blog ? I am unclear about this I would like you to kindly point out where you learned how to use hand tools and where you learned about them. I am looking to start a school and I need to have students leave my school with the tools you have developed. I know some poor slobs who have been intermediate woodworkers for 50 years and they will always be middle of the road wood workers i HAVE BEEN WOODWORKING LONGER THAN YOU HAVE BEEN ALIVE YOUR 19 SO YOU MAY HAVE AS MANY AS 12 YEARS IN THE SHOP But along your road you found a key to a knowledge base that i need to be able to teach students and have them leave a 3 year graduate program with the skill set you appear to have. so if you could please call me and discuss the books you used and the places you learned your skills I will be most grateful my number is 559-790-6295 I am on California time so please cann from 10 am to 9 pm to speak with me. Again keep up the wonderful work and I look forward to hearing from you .


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


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Dude, you just informed the World about your phone #!

You are going to be on every list one can imagine…!

Hope you don't have to change your number!

Enjoy! LOL


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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joe my number is alll over the world wide web i dont care who calls if they are a jerk ill block them


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## SubVette (Mar 3, 2014)

CartersWhittling said:


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Wow, very informational. I learned alot from this site and your "blog". I just started with using hand tools. The transition to hand tools is alot of fun and much more chalenging. Thanks for your time and information.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Sizing the Shell Parts*

Hello.

In the last post I left off with the shell sides glued up and flat on one face. Yesterday and today I had some time to finish sizing those parts.

I started off by thicknessing. If you are not a wood worker that has become comfortable with hand planing, then you will regret it with this project. The only way for most of us to flatten and thickness a board about 2' wide is with hand planes. So if you do not have the knowledge or skills yet to dimension lumber by hand, this project will show you why it is a good idea to learn how.

To begin, I use a marking gauge to scribe the thickness around each board.










Then I can start planing. Because some boards needed about a 1/16" to be taking off in places, I used my scrub plane across the grain. To keep the far edge from spelching I planed into the center from either side.



















The nice thing about using a marking gauge to scribe the thickness instead of just an adjustable square and pencil, is the knife line it leaves behind. When you plane down to that scribed line you can see it and know exactly when to stop.



















After that, I could use a try plane with the grain to flatten the scallops, then give the board a smoothing. I didn't bother smoothing the boards immaculately since after assembly this face will be planed when leveling out the dovetails.


















All the sides and the bottom boards planed to about 3/4" thick. I would have liked them closer to 7/8", but 3/4" was the thickest I could make them all. Although at 3/4" the chest will be a little lighter.

With the boards all an even thickness I could go on to trimming the width of the parts. I started by jointing the best edge on each board.









Mark this as a reference face.

I then measured across each board and took note of what the maximum width was I could make all the boards. The thinnest piece measured at 23 1/4", so that is what I marked each board at. This would be the perfect time to have a panel gauge so I could quickly mark the width on all the parts. (The panel gauge, for those that do not know, is a very large marking gauge.) Instead I measured 23 1/4" up each side and connected the marks with a knife line. Since I only had a 1/4" at the most to remove from the edge, I used my scrub plane to remove most of the wood. (As a side note, you could get away with not even planing the boards to width now. As long as you have one straight edge for reference, and layout your dovetailing for a 23 1/4" wide board, you can plane the edge away after the shell is glued up.)









Here you can see the knife line peeling up as I get close to the finished width.

With the parts trimmed to width I laid out the final length of each part. The front and back are 38" long, and the sides are 22". Using a hand saw I cut along the lines, and using a block plane I trimmed the edge to ensure it was square and straight.


















Just like when thicknessing the boards, to keep the far edge from spelching I planed from both ends into the center.

Now I have all the case sides ready for joinery. Next will be cutting the 48 dovetails.










PS//After all that work, especially in resin filled pine, take your hand planes apart and give them a good cleaning.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


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Beautiful tutorial… Very educational!

Thank you very much!

So COOL!


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## AttainableApex (Aug 24, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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nice job


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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It's really nice to see a thorough project with hand tools.


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## doordude (Mar 26, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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nice job carter, are you going to use 3/4 for the bottom as well?
are you following the schwarze's plans for you chest?


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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I am following his plans closely. I am changing some dimensions based on the lumber I have. I was able to make the bottom boards a little thicker, closer to 7/8".


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


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Great progress Carter


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Man Carter! Do you EVER do anything half a$$ed? Wonderful as usual


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## sb194 (Feb 19, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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All I can say is wow. I am 35 and still don't have half the skill you do. Watching your blog just motivates me to learn more and be better at all aspects of woodworking.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Dovetailing the Shell*

Hello.

So at this point the shell parts are all dimensioned and ready for joinery. So I began by marking each board to orient them: front, back, left, right.

Then I set my marking gauge to the thickness of the shell parts, then scribed with that setting across each board's end (make sure to scribe the edges of the tail board, but not on the pin board).



















Next I set my dividers to lay out the tail spacing. After a few tries I got them set to produce 12 tails with just a hair over an 1/8" left for the pins.










If you are not familiar with using a divider to layout dovetails then now is the time to learn. Using dividers are quicker and more accurate then measuring out with a ruler. By trial and error, set the dividers until you can pace off the number of tails you want on the board, minus your pin spacing. As you can see in the picture above, I have just over an 1/8" left on the end. This will be the spacing between each tail. So once you get the dividers set, pace of from both the left and the right side of the board to mark each side of the tails.

After marking with the dividers I placed the two tail boards together and drew the divider marks square across the end of the boards. Then I drew the about 12 degree dovetail splay down the board (I do not know the angle, I copied it from the large dovetail on the shoulder vise of my bench. Might be a 1:6). By joining the two tail boards together I can cut both boards at the same time, effectively splitting the time it takes to cut the joint in half. Just make sure that the reference faces are against each other and the reference edges are on the same side.


















(You can see here how handy having a workbench with the legs flush to the bench top is.)

Then I just cut the tails along the layout lines. Then flip the board end for end and layout, mark, and cut the tails on the other side. Simple.










Then just chisel out the waste.

With the tails cut I began laying out for the pins. So I clamped the pin board to the bench side so the end of the board was flush to the bench top, then placed the tail board over top and used a sharp pencil to transfer the tails. Make sure the pin board is not bowed and the reference edges are perfectly aligned.










Then transfer the lines square down the board's side and cut out the waste. I used a coping saw to remove most of the waste and then followed up with the chisel.










After all the pin boards were done I test fit each joint. They all went together straight off the saw nice and tight. Probably too tight if it was hardwood, but because the pine is so soft the joints went together fine. After testing the joints I prepared for glueing up the shell. Because there are so many tails per corner, I got my sister to help with the glue up. She would spread glue on one half of the joint and I would do the other (make sure not to put too much glued on the face of the tails, otherwise the glue can keep the joint from fully seating). Having some help wasn't too crucial for the first two joints (attaching the short sides to the front) but when it came time to putting the back on you will probably need help as you are glueing up two joints at once.

So once the shell was glued up I made sure each tail was fully seated in place and used some clamps where some extra pressure was needed. Now, before the glue sets, is the time to check for square by measuring diagonally.



















The next day with the shell all glued up, I unclamped it and planed the joints flush. Because the outside of the chest is getting painted, and I didn't want to see any tool marks through the finish, I also sanded the outside of the shell with 80 and 120 grit sandpaper.









To work on the long faces of the chest I just laid the shell down on the floor, but to do the short sides I was able to clamp the shell in my shoulder vise.









Pretty, if I do say so myself.

Next on the agenda will be making the bottom, then the skirts and lid. It may be a little while though as I am waiting for some tools and nails to come in the mail. Now is a good time to also think about hardware if you have not (which I have not).


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


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Carter,

Thank you for your very clear and unique procedure of cutting the DT's for this project!

Exactly the way I would've done it, except I always did each end separately… DUH…
I should have stepped Back, looked at it, and seen how it could have been greatly simplified!

Thank you again… for that refinement…

You're doing a great job! Keep it up!


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## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Do you really think that is acceptable?


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## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Just kidding.

Beautiful job.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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Comin along nicely. Some nicely cut dovetails


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## nobuckle (Nov 3, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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Wow, those dovetails are alot of work. There is no way I would have time to do all of them in one sitting. I applaud your patience.


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## jjw5858 (Apr 11, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Looking really nice! Thanks for the post!


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## Uffe (Mar 9, 2012)

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Beautiful! Good job! =)


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

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awesome!


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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Outstanding! I really need to use the coping/fret saw technique. I've been chiseling the whole thing out.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


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This was the first time I coped out my pins. I haven't had coping saw blades for a while and finally got some. I figured with this many large dovetails, it would take much longer to chisel them all out.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

CartersWhittling said:


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nicely done


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


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> ...


Looking good Carter! Nice DTs


----------



## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Dovetailing the Shell*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I think I see a hairline gap at the top part of the tail. Seventh one down from the top. There! See it?!


----------



## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Dovetailing the Shell*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


That's just a hair on the camera lens Scot.


----------



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Frame and Panel Lid*

Hello.

Since my last entry I have made the tongue and groove joints for the bottom, but since I have yet to get the nails to attach the bottom, I will post about the bottom later. I have made the lid for the chest though. A friend had let me borrow his mortise chisels so I could make the mortises for the lid joinery. So once I planed the rails and stiles to size I began laying out for the joinery.

The lid for the chest is a special kind of frame and panel where the panel itself has a groove in it as well as the frame.









I made this little diagram when I was working on the lid so that I wouldn't mess up the dimensions. You can see the rails and stiles of the frame have a 5/16" groove with the "upper tongue" above the groove being a 1/4" thick. The panel has a groove a 1/4" wide to slide over the "upper tongue" of the frame, and therefore the "lower tongue" on the panel is 5/16" to fit in the frame groove.

To make sure I got the dimensions laid out properly I used plow plane irons to set my marking gauges. Since I don't have a mortise gauge to mark out the groove in the frame I set the marking gauge twice for either side of the groove. (Note that you do not need to lay out the groove, since the plow plane is guided by the fence. Although you do have to layout for the mortise and tenons of course. But it doesn't hurt to lay out for the groove, because if you happen to be planing against the grain then the knife lines will keep the groove from tearing out.)









First I set the gauge to a 1/4" for the first side of the mortise.









Make sure to register the fence of the marking gauge on the reference face of the parts and scribe for the groove on the reference edge. The reference face will become the top of the lid.









Then I set the gauge with both the 1/4" and 5/16" blades to mark the other side of the groove. Using plow plane blades or chisels to set the gauge is a lot more accurate than using a ruler.









If I had a mortise gauge I could have made both these lines with one setting.

I will mention now that while I had each gauge set I marked every part of the frame that required those settings. So before I marked the rails that will have the tenons I cut them to length (leaving about an 1/8" to trim later) so that I could mark on the end grain for the tenons. I had also marked the length of the rails and stiles with a marking knife and marked the width of the mortises on each edge receiving a mortise so that I could use the marking gauge to mark both ends of the mortise.









Here you can see the rails with the marking gauge lines down the end grain for the tenon.









Here is the rails with the shoulders of the tenons marked 4" from the ends.









On the stiles you can see the location of the mortise (hopefully). The pencil line is the length of the stiles, and 5/16" from the end is the one side of the mortise and and 3 5/8" for the end is the other side of the mortise.









This is the opposite edge of the stiles with the location of the mortise marked. These are through tenons, so you will need to mark for the mortise on both edges.

Hopefully that all made sense.

So after the frame parts were all laid out I began to chop out the mortises. I mount the piece on the bench so that I am looking down the length of the stile. This way I can judge whether or not the chisel is plumb. To chop through mortises I start on one side and chop at least half way through, then flip the piece over and finish the mortise from the other side.









The pencil line on the end of the stile is the final length of the stile. Whenever you cut mortise by hand (or with machines for that matter) it is wise to leave extra length on the part so that as you chop the mortise the piece doesn't split at the end. This extra length is usually referred to as the "horns".










After I chopped the mortises I cut the tenons on the rails.









Work diagonally from both corners so that you can see the layout lines on both the end and edge of the tenon.


















I also cut the tenon to width, making sure to leave a 3/8" haunch to fill in the groove which will be plowed through the stiles. If you are not familiar with what a haunch is I will explain it later.

Now the rails and stiles are ready to plow the groove, 5/16" wide and 3/8" deep.

When making frame and panels with hand tools you need to consider carefully the order of the process. If I had plowed the groove before chopping the mortises then I would remove the lay out lines and it might be more difficult to cut the mortise to it's proper size. Also with the rails, if I had made the groove first then it would become very difficult to properly cut out the tenon because the saw would want to track inside the groove. Though you cannot cut the shoulders of the tenons, thereby removing the cheeks entirely from piece. Without the cheeks of the tenons still on the rails, there would be no place for the fence of the plow plane to register against at both ends.


















Now that the groove is plowed in the rails I can cut the shoulders of the tenons and remove the cheeks.









There will probably be a little bit of wood that the plow plane missed so you will need to use a knife or chisel and clean it up.









To clean up the shoulder I use a chisel and pare down with the edge of the blade directly in my scribe line.

Then I plowed the groove in the stiles. With the mortises so wide in this frame you need to hold the plane carefully so that it doesn't dip into them.


















With all the joints cut I put the frame together and planed any surfaces that were perfectly flush to one another. I also numbered each joint while I was fitting them.

With the frame done I went to work on the panel. I had already flattened and thickness my panel so at this point all I had to do was cut it to length and width. I thought I would post a picture of how I cross cut the panel, only because I just realized a new way I can use my bench to do this.









With the gap in the middle of my bench I can easily cross cut a part and have both sides of the cut supported. The only downside is I have to get on top of my bench so that I can get over the cut. But it works great.

When it comes to plowing on all 4 edges of a board you always plow the end grain first so that when you plow the long grain you remove any spelching that will occur on the far corner. It is also a good idea to use a saw and define both sides of the groove on the far corner and chisel it out to prevent tear out.










Remember when plowing this groove to have the fence against the reference face, which will become the inside of the chest. For the groove I have a 1/4" blade and set the fence 5/16" from the blade.









It may help when plowing the groove to define each side with a marking gauge incase you are plowing against the grain. This will keep the edge of the groove nice and crisp. The same reason I marked the groove on the frame parts as well.

With the groove plowed you can check the fit in the frame…









...and realize you burnt an inch with the measuring tape when you cut the panel to length.

So at this point I went inside for the night and the next day I glued up a new panel and made it to the proper length.

While I was waiting for the glue to dry on the new panel I drilled for the draw boring in the mortise and tenons. In the book, The Anarchist Tool Chest, Chris Schwarz did not draw bore his joints, which I find kind of surprising because he has been a big user/supporter of draw boring. He never even mentioned it. But I like draw boring and didn't see any reason why not to.

I began by drilling through the mortise pieces with a 3/8" auger bit. I clamped a piece of scrap to the underside to prevent tear out. I didn't bother putting a false tenon in the mortise to prevent tear out in the mortise, the auger bit cuts pretty clean anyways.



















Then I put each tenon in its corresponding mortise and used the same auger bit to mark the center of the hole.










Next I marked about a 1/16" from the centre point towards the shoulder of the tenon. If you are not familiar with draw boring, this is what makes this joint superior to just simply doweling the joint. By drilling the hole through the tenon closer to the shoulder, when you hammer the peg through the joint it pulls the joint tighter than normal.



















Then I used my dowel plate and used some very dry/straight oak to make eight pegs.










Now I got everything complete to put the chest lid together.









I sanded the top of the panel because it will be painted, and I chamfered the top edge. The panel width is a 1/2" wider then the shoulder to shoulder distance of the frame, leaving a 1/8" of room to expand on either side. The panel is 5/8" longer, leaving 1/16" on either end.









I also sanded the top faces of the frame and used a black marker to draw along the edge of the frame. This is just incase the panel shrinks in the dry months and exposes wood that isn't painted. At least now you won't see bare wood but the black marker instead.

With lots of hammering and squeezing I got the frame and panel together nicely. With the piece dry I cut the pegs flush and cut the horns and protruding tenons off.













































Here you can see the haunch. What the haunch does is fill the gap created at the end of the stile due to the groove that was plowed.

With the lid complete I will start work on the skirts and put the bottom in place (once I get my nails).


----------



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Nice work!

Thank you.


----------



## bfergie (Jan 22, 2012)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Very informative. Thanks!


----------



## DrPain (Sep 2, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I don't have anything constructive to say, but I found this writeup very informative and interesting!


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I don't recognize your plow plane; what brand is it. I used a Record 405 with a 1/4" blade. I wish i had draw bored the tenons. The work looks first rate and the resulting chest will be in your family for generations. Look forward to seeing the rest
kevin


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## NateMeadows (May 11, 2012)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Awesome work! Thanks for sharing!

Nate


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## Oldtool (May 27, 2012)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I'm impressed. Very tight fit on mortise & tenon in the next to last picture. That's not easy to do, and yours looks like It was machine made. Great work. Thanks for showing.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Very awesome picture story. Beautiful work


----------



## nobuckle (Nov 3, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Nice work Carter. I appreciate the detalied blog and high resolution pictures.


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## followyourheart (Feb 3, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Great work and documentation.


----------



## sb194 (Feb 19, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Nice work. Looking forward to the finished product.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


The plow plane isn't mine actually, it is a friend's. I didn't see any number on the plane, but it is a Record.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Frame and Panel Lid*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I flipped though this before, but I did not catch the "Burn an Inch" part the first time. Having done this sort of thing myself I can sympathise. Great work on your chest. I apreciated the way you dealt with the spelching on the groovve for the lid, I will be doing the same thing.

Your bench makes me want to build a second bench every time i see it in use. Keep it up.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Skirts*

Hello.

With the shell and lid of the chest complete the next task on the agenda is building the skirts. The skirts are essentially moldings that protect the shell of the chest from damage and help seal the lid off from dust. Though unlike normal moldings and skirts on many other chests, the tool chest Chris describes has skirts which are dovetailed at the corners. This creates a skirt that will not open up due to seasonal humidity changes. The dovetails are also oriented so that the tails are on the short sides of the chest, not the long sides like the shell. So not only do the skirts protect the shell from damage, they help hold it together by creating a chest that cannot open in any direction (without complete joint/glue failure).

Before I show you the work on the skirts though I will show how the bottom of the chest was built.

When I had first got all the wood for my chest and rough cut all my parts, I selected the bottom boards last. The bottom boards will hardly be seen, and besides the length, the size of the parts can vary. I ended up with 4 boards to create my bottom. So after I had the bottom boards thicknessed, I made sure the edges were straight and parallel to each other. Then I laid the boards out and marked each edge for either a tongue or groove. I used a plow plane to make 1/4" grooves…










...and a rabbet plane to make the tongues.









I don't have a great rabbet plane, its too short to handle easily. So I made a longer wooden front for better reference. I used marking gauges first to mark along the boards the depth and width of the cuts.










I attached the bottom boards to the shell with the parts still longer then needed. After I nailed the boards to the shell I cut and planed them flush









I used dimes to space out the bottom boards.









I then also added three extra strips to the bottom, which are suppose to be the first defences against rot.

Before you begin on the skirts you want to make sure the lid sits flush on the top of the shell and all the lid's edges are sticking past the shell by a 1/64" or so. Do not make the lid edges perfectly flush with the shell, otherwise there is little chance the skirt around the lid will slip over the shell.

To begin the skirts I got my material and planed it on both faces and edges. Like the rest of the chest so far I want the parts to be as thick as I can keep them. At this point I squared one end of each part, but left them longer then needed.

The bottom skirt is 6" wide, the lid skirt is 1 1/2" and the middle skirt is 3 3/4" (Chris' chest had a middle skirt width of 2 3/4", but I think the extra width looks better). I began with the bottom skirt first.

Start by dovetailing one corner like you would any normal dovetail joint. Make sure to offset the dovetails from one edge so that there is space to create the chamfer that will be on top of the skirt. This joint has 3 tails.










With the joint made, place the L-shape assembly in place against the shell. Then with a marking knife, mark on the short piece where the end of the shell is on the skirt.










Then wrap those marks around the board with a try square to create the base line of that joint. You can also cut the board to length at this point. Now you can cut the dovetails to attach the other long side.









At this point I have a U-shape assembly made up of one short piece and the two long pieces.










Now I stood the chest on end to layout for the final piece of the bottom skirt. With the U-shape assembly in place I can mark the baseline of each of the long pieces. I can also lay the final short piece on the shell and mark it's length and the baselines.









(You can see here that I had actually fit the bottom skirt before I nailed the bottom to the chest.)

Then just cut the dovetails on the last two corners. The middle skirt is done the exact same way.

And before assembly, take time to roughly shape the chamfers. It it much easier to do it now while the skirts are not attached to the shell.










The lid for the skirt is built the same as the others, except that there is only one long side.

At this point I can glue the bottom skirt to the shell and the upper skirt to the lid.


















That sure didn't turn out pretty. But it is nothing some wood filler and paint won't conceal.

Now you can use a chisel and block plane to touch up the chamfer on the bottom skirt and the protruding joinery. At this point you want to plane the bottom edges of the lid skirt to make sure they are flush and true. Test the skirt's bottom edge against a flat surface to make sure it is perfectly flat. If you do this now then you may not need any fussing with fitting the lid later. You will also want to dry assembly the middle skirt off of the chest and check that it's top edges are flush and true as well.

With the skirt on the lid ready, place the lid into position on the chest and double check that it fits. When all is good, use a pencil to mark the bottom edge of the lid's skirt along the shell of the chest. Now we are ready to glue on the middle skirt.

This part of the job is crucial. A middle skirt glued into the wrong position will create a gap between it and the lid's skirt or demand a lot of extra time to trim it until it does fit. But because we drew the bottom edge of the lid's skirt onto the shell we just have to make sure the top edge of the middle skirt is along that line.










After the glue is dry all that is left is to trim the joints up and sand it (that is, if the lid sits flush against the middle skirt).



















Next up will be fitting the hinges and the lock.


----------



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Golly!

You're doing a wonderful job!

Keep it up…

Thank you!


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## sb194 (Feb 19, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Looks great. Keep up the nice work.


----------



## MShort (Jan 15, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Looks like you are making great progress.


----------



## SirFatty (May 5, 2012)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Really nice work!


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Coming along fantastically! Nice dovetails.


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## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I agree, it is coming along great and it look like you are almost there, thanks again for keeping us updated.


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## woodworker59 (May 16, 2012)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


As usual you are doing a bang up job, keep us all advised as to your progress.. always love to see what you have going on.. looking forward to the next installment. Roy would be proud of ya.. looks like one of his.. Papa


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


That chest is looking beautiful Carter.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Carter - this is outstanding stuff. I pulled a very old chest from the clutches of irrelevance last weekend and the issue with it is no lid. I'm looking at your entries above, specifically this one (with the pic showing just the lid, with skirt, on your benchtop):

The lid for the skirt is built the same as the others, except that there is only one long side.

Is the 'lid skirt' only glued in place? No dowels, or nails, or ?? Did you add a slight rabbet inside for the lid to register to?


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


The skirt on the lid is only glued in place. I didn't have any suitable nails to nail it in place as well, like Chris recommends. Once I get the proper nails I might nail the skirt as well.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Excellent, thanks for the info. Getting close to figuring out how best to proceed with my rehab project and this was a great help!


----------



## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


This is where I am on the same project, thanks fotr your walkthrough as it gave me a few ideas on how to handle my build. Based on the material I have on hand I was considering putting in a walnut "floor", which would resit rot quite well I think. Do you think it would add to much weight? What about slimming the floor down to 5/8"?

Any thoughs?


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


If all you were making from the walnut was the bottom I don't think weight would be much a concern, especially if you make the bottom 5/8" thick. I cannot image a 5/8" bottom (especially made from hardwood) being too weak for the chest. The only weight the bottom holds is your hand planes or whatever else you put on the bottom of the chest.

I think the only real question would be the visual appearance of the walnut. If the only part of your chest that has walnut is the bottom, it will stand out (but it's a tool chest, who really cares). If you do use walnut though the bottom of the chest will be much darker, and perhaps make it harder to find tools in the bottom of your chest. Although you could always put a few lights under the bottom of your bottom till  That would be neat.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Skirts*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I was considering using walnut for the tray bottoms too since I don't have any oak at the moment. Your point about the darker woods not contrasting well with the tools and making it harder on the eyes has me thinking that I might need to break down and grab some oak.

Thanks for giving me something to chew on.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Hinges, Lock and Paint*

Hello.

With the lid finished, bottom in place and skirts glued on I can begin installing the hinges and the lock. All the hardware (excluding casters and lid chain) were bought from http://www.horton-brasses.com/ which is where Chris Schwarz got his hardware as well.

So first off I began by installing the hinges. I placed the lid on the chest and got it into position and marked one side of each hinge on both the lid and top edge of the chest.










Then I used the hinge itself to mark the width of the hinge.










Then I set my marking gauge to the width of each leaf on the hinge…



















...and then set my marking gauge to the thickness of the leaf.










With all my lay out lines marked I just used a chisel to carefully pare away the recesses for the hinges. If you have a router plane you can use that to easily get all the recesses to an even depth.









Turned out nice with a small even gap along the back edge.

Now I can work on fitting the lock. I began by setting a marking gauge to the distance from the pin on the lock to it's top edge. Then scribe that line onto the front of the chest (make sure to reference the fence of the gauge off of the top edge of the chest, not the skirt).



















I then drilled a guide block with a hole the same diameter as the hole in the escutcheon. I centered this guide block on the cross hairs and drilled through the skirt and shell of the chest.










I then set my marking gauge to both dimensions of the lock and scribed those onto the top edge and inside face of the chest. I also used a pencil to mark where the chamber of the lock is.




























First I used a backsaw to make kerfs in the recess for the chamber of the lock to help with chiseling it out.



















Then I chiseled out the rest of the recess. The depth of these were all done by eye and test fits, but again if you have a router plane now would be the perfect place to use it.



















And lastly I used a coping saw and some files to shape the rest of the key hole which was traced directly from the escutcheon.










To install the upper half of the lock I put it onto the bottom portion of the lock and pressed the lid down onto it. You will notice in the picture that the top piece of the lock has two prongs which indent the wood marking the location of it.










I then used a marking knife to scribe along the outside of the upper piece and chiseled the recess out.










I also chiseled out a little recess in the lid's skirt to act as a handle to open the lid.

At this point I have a fully functional box. All that is left to make it a tool chest is the guts inside the box. But before I make the entrails of the chest I decided to finish it. I had not yet figured out exactly how I want to organize the chest so in the meantime I began painting.

To paint the chest I am using milk paint from Old Fashion Milk Paint http://www.milkpaint.com/. Unlike Chris Schwarz I decided to do a black over yellow finish. My reasoning was 1. I like the look of yellow under black and 2. I think it will help blend in any bare wood that will show over the years. When the chest gets dinged up and bare pine shows through the paint, it won't be so obvious with a yellow undercoat as it would with red. Plus I just want my chest to have a different look.

So after I removed the lid and hinges I sanded all the surfaces to be painted and began the first coat of yellow (Marigold Yellow technically). After the paint dried I used some wood filler and filled any major tear out and some of the large gaps that I had in the bottom skirt. Then I gave the chest a light sanding to remove the filler and raised grain. Take note that you want to remove all the filler that is not literally filling gaps, otherwise it may show through the paint.

Then with the chest sanded I did my last coats of yellow. I managed to get 2-3 coats on the chest. I had already used some of my yellow paint on a previous project so I was only able to get 3 coats on the skirts.


















You can see the small recess in the front of the lid to act as a handle.

I then gave the chest another very light sanding and painted the chest black. I managed to get up to 4, even 5 coats, of black on some parts of the chest. Just make sure that the colour is consistent. You do not want some parts being a lot weaker than others.

(These two pictures were after only one coat of black, that is why the colour is uneven. You can also see some filler blotches coming through the paint. After a couple more coats the filler was no longer noticeable, but it was a reminded as to how important it is to sand that filler away.)



















At this point you can leave the chest painted black, but the finish is very flat and chalky in appearance (if you have ever used milk paint you know what I mean). By rubbing the finish down with fine steel wool and oiling the finish you can give the paint a beautiful satin sheen that is soft to the touch. But before I do that I want to distress the finish a little bit. One of the reason I wanted the yellow under black was so I could rub through the black strategically and give the chest a worn look. So I used fine sand paper and maroon Scotch-Brite to rub through the black around the edges and corners. I also wore through around the key hole so that when I nail on the escutcheon it will stand out a little more. After I reached a balanced level of distress I used 0000 steel wool to buff the finish and followed that with a few coats of linseed oil.




































(Remember to time those screws.)

While I was finishing the chest I was contemplating the interior design of the chest and figured out exactly which tools will go where. I want a turning saw and carpenter's square to hang on the inside of the lid with my handsaws/back saws along the bottom front of the chest. I also want my auger bits, drill bits, and chisel on the inside front wall so they are organized and easy to access. The only downside I thought about putting tools into dedicated slots on the front of the chest was that there is no way to quickly reorganize them if I get more/new chisels and drill bits.

So I came up with an idea involving custom canvas tool rolls…


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## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Fabulous, I am jealous! Can I
I just pop over and pick up this chest? I really like the yellow, good choice.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Fantastic job!

Great!

Keep on a chuggin…

Thank you.


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Amazing!
Beautiful job you have done here on the chest.
I love the chest when it stands there in it's best with a open lid and the wood shines out from it.
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


What a great tool chest.


----------



## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


A very impressive build, my friend, love the finished distressed look! Thanks for taking the time to share all your knowledge…


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## nobuckle (Nov 3, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Excellent work Carter. The skills one can learn from a project like this are invaluable. Will you be posting the construction of the interior components as well?


----------



## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Nicely detailed picture how to. Nice chest.


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## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


How do you "time" screws? I've seen this done on fine guns, also, where it must be even harder.


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## sb194 (Feb 19, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Wonderful job. I would love to have a tool chest like that.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


@nobuckle, yes I will be posting the interior of the chest once I get working on it.

@JJohnston, I just turned the screws until they lined up. The pine is so soft that you can turn the screws further in than if it was harder wood. I know there are techniques to doing timing screws, but I haven't had experience trying them.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Wow, this looks increadible. I think the black on yellow was a good choice.

The way the screws lined up is a really nice detail I have to shoot for that next time I use screws that will show.


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


One question…
Are the screws really lined up here?
When I was a boy my father learned me they had to be same direction, on a line…
But when this is said I think it is beautiful as it is.
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## DrPain (Sep 2, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Lovely piece of work, nice write-up, nice pics. Like others, I love the black-on-yellow and your finishing of it to bring out the satin shine is great.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


One question…is there a trick to timing the screws?


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Hinges, Lock and Paint*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Not that I know of. I know Chris Schwarz wrote a blog about it, but I forget what he said.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Tills and Tool Storage*

Hello.

When I left off the chest was built and ready for the tool storage inside. After giving tool storage some thought I decided on having 3 sliding tills, rear moulding plane storage, front saw till, and tool rolls hanging on the front wall. Nothing really new, but I think my tool roll idea is.

When trying to come up with ways to store drill bits and/or chisels on the front wall of my chest I came up with an idea involving canvas tool rolls.










What I have is nails driving into the front wall of the chest every 3". Then I made tool rolls for auger bits and twist bits with holes every 3". Now I can hang my drills where I have easy access, but I can also take the rolls off the wall and roll them up for storage.




























Once I get a full set of bench chisels I will make a roll for them as well, so I can have quick access to them. Being able to quickly and conveniently move tools on and off the front wall makes the chest a lot more user friendly. If I am doing a project involving a lot of drilling (ex. windsor chairs) then I can have my augers accessible. If I am doing cabinet work I can have my bench chisels accessible.

I also made a tool roll for my carving gouges, but I did not make holes to hang it up (whenever I carve I prefer to have the tool roll on the bench in front of me anyways).










Of course this idea can be used to hold all sorts of other tools as well. I think you could also have tool rolls on the inside of the lid, as long as they were held on by nails at both ends of the roll to keep it from folding.

I think the only downside to this storage idea is that you have to know how to sew, or know someone that will do it for you.

With the front wall of the chest sorted out I began making the sliding tills. The top two tills are about 2 3/4" deep and the bottom is 4 1/4". They are all about 9" wide. The sides are 1/2" thick with 1/4" thick oak bottoms on the top two tills and 1/2" bottom on the lower till.

I would have posted pictures of the drawer construction, but my computer was refreshed and all the pictures are gone. But here is what the finished tills look like in the chest.



















The bottom of each till is made from two pieces of white oak with a ship lap joint in the middle to allow for wood movement. The bottoms are nailed on.

At the bottom rear of the chest I have a space for moulding/joinery planes.










And at the front I have a saw till for three hand saws.










For now at least, that is all there is to the tool storage inside my chest. Once I get a tenon and carcase saw I will make a space in the front right of the saw till to hold them. I also plan on storing a framing square, turning saw, and perhaps drawknives on the inside of the lid. That is why the top till is 1 3/4" lower than the top edge of the chest, to allow for tools hanging on the lid. When those changes are made to the chest I will write about them. But for now the chest is done and ready to be filled with tools.


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## doordude (Mar 26, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


what saw would you buy first? a sash saw or a tenon saw, and why one over the other?
this is what i've been pondering lately. keep up the good work.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Very nice!


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Curt, that's a nice chest. I have thought about a tool chest but think I am going with a set of tills and a wall mounted chest like the Studley chest only a bit less fancy. I have a hard time bending over , over and over again. So I will make my wall mounted chest to be able to be carried as a unit when full of tools. I estimate the chest will weigh over 200 pounds and that does not include the hand plane till that is separate. or the two Saw tills. Did you base this chest on the one Schwarz did in the Anarchist tool chest? As always your work is great. Keep it up your a beacon for a whole new generation of skilled craftsmen.


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## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Curt,
very nice work.
The hanging of tool rolls is an interesting idea. I am just afraid one could injure his hand on the protruding nail heads when reaching for a saw.
As an alternative, you could sew multiple layer of canvas like making a waistband and sew buttons on it. Then you could nail this "waistband" with the nails flush. The tool rolls would be hanged to the buttons.
There are also systems whose name I don't know with a kind of half ring that you turn with a quarter of a turn after passing it through the buttonhole in order to lock it .

afterthought
You could also use Velcro.
http://www.velcro.com/Products.aspx

edit
Or, after those byways, ... you might directly srcew nice rounded wooden buttons made on the lathe.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


i like the tool roll idea, but catching them on your arm was my first thought to. If its a problem, maybe move them to the back.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Looks like a good chest to me. Good idea with the storage rolls


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## DanKrager (Apr 13, 2012)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Once this beautiful thing is full of tools, you and whose army is going to move it? I think it might be more than two sturdy people could handle. ????
Dan


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## tsangell (Jan 10, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Looking good! I'm always excited to see what tools you're building. Have you considered building your sash or tenon saw?

doordude - I think a 14" sash saw is the saw I use most. The length, weight, and filing of the teeth make it a great all-around user.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


@thedude50 & @tsangell - I will be getting both saws at the same time because I will be making them. I plan on buying the spring steel and saw nuts and building the saws to my own sizes and specifications. If I had to get one or the other though I would get a tenon saw because it is larger than a sash saw and has rip teeth instead of cross cut.

@Dan Krager - The chest without tools is fairly heavy, I can't image it with all the tools. But the chest does have 4 casters on the bottom so it can be rolled around if it needs to.

I have been using my chest for a little over a month now and never even thought about catching my arms or the saws on the nails. When the tool rolls are on the nails then there is no concern anyways. The nails are about 1 1/2" down from the top edge of the chest and stick out only about 3/8", so your arms really don't come near them. Plus the heads on the cut nails are not sharp.

If the idea of nails sticking out really keeps you up at nights, you could always turn little wooden knobs instead so there is no worry. But honestly, until you folks mentioned it I never thought about injuring myself or my tools on the nails, and I have been using the chest for about a month.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


A VERY COOL Chest!

Cool auxiliary items as well…

How do you move it around?

Looks like it become quite heavy as it gets filled-up…

Do you have a strong back? ... and just pick it up & move it whenever & where ever you want? LOL

COOL project…

Nice going.


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## hhhopks (Nov 22, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Great looking chest.
Excellent work as usuual.

Be sure to post updates on what you put in it.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Wonderful tool chest well thought out and skillfully built. Coincidentally I happened onto your excellent wooden screw tutorials on Youtube this afternoon, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to thank you for your willingness to share your skills with others.


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## thedude50 (Aug 13, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


This about a sash saw is that is does both rip and crosscut. It is a trade off you don't rip as good a s a rip saw and you don't cross cut as good as a crosscut saw.However, the saw is adequate for both. I just had my saw re plated I don't have time to do everything myself so Joe did it. I know its good to go. On Britts saw blog he tells you a load about sash saws and I already have a tenon saw and a crosscut saw. I want to find more vintage tools to set up to my liking and I will do just that as I am able.

Curt my question was did you build the chest based on Schwarz Idea in the Anarchists tool chest book?

I love the box and wish I had made one 25 years ago. I am old now and my tools need to be up high. so i don't have to bend over all the time to pick them up. Again well done Curt .


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Yes the chest is based off the one in Chris Schwarz's book.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Great chest Carter!. I like how you always go traditional but you throw in your own inovative twist with the tool rolls.


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## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Carter,

I don't mind being proven wrong, especially if it means you don't hurt yourself
I am more than happy to learn that those nails are not threatening as they look.

Peace.


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## mafe (Dec 10, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Super cool idea.
Best thoughts,
Mads


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## DaddyZ (Jan 28, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Tills and Tool Storage*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Very Nice Chest !!

Love the rolls !!!


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

*Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*

Hello.

It has been a few months now since I began using my chest and I have made some small changes and upgrades. I will begin with one of the more recent upgrades which was to install two Blum Blumotion plungers to the front wall of my chest, so that when the lid (which is fairly heavy) is closed abruptly they absorb the impact. I happened to have these laying around from when I use to work for a professional kitchen cabinetry shop. It is actually a lot of fun just holding the lid about 6 inches from closed and letting it drop.



















The other significant change I made was to the saw till. I removed it and made a till for my drawknives in it's place. I am starting a process of making windsor chairs and I have accumulated a few drawknives that won't fit in any of the sliding tills. I didn't want to put the knives on the lid because I use them a lot and wanted them closer and easier to access. So since they replace the hand saws, I will probably make a till to hold the saws on the lid.



















The till can hold up to 6 knives, so I still have room for two more.

The rest of the changes I made were simply which tools go in which till. So here are a few pictures of my chest filled with tools.


















The top till holds my frequently used layout tools. block plane, drill and brace.


















The middle till holds my spokeshaves, dowel plate and chisels. I currently do not have a full set of bench chisels, but when I do I will make a tool roll for them.

I am thinking about getting the Ashley Iles MKII Bench Chisels

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/dept/TBBC/item/IL-100-40.XX/Mk2_Beveled_Edge_Bench_Chisels_by_Ashley_Iles

If anyone has any comments about those chisels, or recommendations for other good bench chisels please let me know.


















The bottom till holds my scorp, reamer, carving tools, and various other tools.









The bottom front of my chest has my drawknives, and hand planes. I also have my drill bits on the front wall.









The back of the chest is for moulding/joinery planes, but since I only have two currently I have bags of nails.









This is my carving tool roll I made that I keep in the bottom till.

That is how my chest is organized currently, though I still need to make the saw till on the lid and perhaps a few other things.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Very nice, thank you for the interior layout ideas!


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## FirehouseWoodworking (Jun 9, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I am envious! Very nicely done. Great looking chest with some wonderful looking tools! Use it in good health!

Cheers!


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


You're really packing it in there!

My problem would be (I'm sure it would happen to me LOL) whatever tool I would ever want would be at the very bottom.

Although it looks like the movable drawers don't seem to get stuffed with enough tools to make them really HEAVY to move…

A lot of good thought has been spent in planning your layout.

Thank you for sharing your results.

Keep it up!


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## ksSlim (Jun 27, 2010)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Iles make great steel. finish is better than most.


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


carter 
you can still make a sawtill like the old one just as a removeble drawer with lid
if you roll your drillbits so you wont have to have the saws in the chestlid if its a little to the havy side already

nice toolcollectin and layout 
and thanks for sharing the idea with the drawknifes

Dennis


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## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the update, it looks great with the tools in place. As far as the chisels go, I own 3 of the Ashley Isles, an 1 1/2" and two 1/4" that I ground skews on for dovetail clean up. They are great chisels. The handles are large which I like since I have big hands. I would think that a person with small hands, and certainly a woman woodworker, would find the handles too big. Good luck.


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## hhhopks (Nov 22, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Great tool box. Nice tools too.
Excellent work as always.


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## TimC (Sep 17, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


That is a great setup and great set of tools.


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## jjw5858 (Apr 11, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Looks great! Some fine tools in there and very well done!


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## KOVA (Nov 21, 2011)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


*ESPECTACULAR TOOL CHEST CARTER!!!!!!
ERES UN EBANISTA ASOMBROSO ;-D*


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


Beautiful project! I like the shock absorbers for the top and the tool organization. I have dropped the top of my roll away a number of times, no fingers were hurt, but the noise terrible!

I also have to agree with Joe, whatever tool I needed would be in bottom or on my workbench as I have a bad habit of not putting tools away!


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## bonobo (Oct 8, 2012)

CartersWhittling said:


> *Filling the Tool Chest and Drawknife Till*
> 
> Hello.
> 
> ...


I'm currently seesawing back and forth on the idea of building a chest and hope you might eventually post some kind of evaluation after you've been using it for a while. I notice that your sharpening station designs are based around a chest with tills, so I guess the experience is pretty positive so far.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to see a number of old chests at the Tools of the Trades show in Pickering. The main drawback of the chests I saw were that unless you have really good shop lighting, the bottom was very dim and hard to see into without lifting out the tills. Also, I found that all the tills I fooled around with were very sloppy and diffult to slide, so I couldn't really appraise the concept.

Anyhow, I really admire your approach towards things and would love to read a general overview, once you've had time to use it for a while longer.

Thanks.


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