# Ridgid toolboxes... and fixing the sadness



## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Where it starts*

After a few years of neglect, I recently started bringing my woodshop back to life. So much junk everywhere. I took old power tools, a tackle box full of stuff, and two beat up toolboxes (with some tools) down to the road. These toolboxes had been dropped from my father in-law's truck 10 times. None of this stuff meant anything to me. That is, a dried up can of plumber's putty and rusty cast iron fittings hold no sentimental value.

Anything at the end of the road is fair game and someone took it immediately. Heh, you get what you pay for. I hope they find a use for it, or sell it for some beer money.

So, while I was cleaning, I realized I didn't have a single toolbox that actually closed. All my FIL's were battered. I decided I was too damned old to not have a toolbox that closed, and went straight out to the Big Box Hardware store.

I was amazed at the variety. Long story not as long, I came back with a Ridgid medium and small toolboxes.

The purpose of these toolboxes is to contain the things I use around the barn, so I don't have to remember where I put stuff. So they are not really 'fine woodworking' tool boxes. At least, not for me.

The toolboxes are made from some manner of resin. They are very tough and all the hardware seems really good and sturdy. The toolboxes stack and lock securely onto one another. You can put them on a hand truck with confidence.

Ok, since we like pictures, I post.

Here are both boxes, stacked. For scale, they are about 22" wide.










This is the small toolbox. It is intended to haul the expendables one uses the most. There are 6 plastic bins and a central section for storage of other expendables, screwdrivers, bits, whatevs.










A meh picture of the medium box with tools in it. By the way, this is where the saga begins… more to come on that.










And a picture of my dog. He doesn't bark. Funny looking but I love him for what he is.










Ok, and now it begins, the medium box is good, but the tool tray is tiny. I can't even get a speed square in there. And I hate it when my rules and squares are bashed against hammers. I seriously can't figure out how the designers thought this was a good idea.

So my project is to build a better tray. Easy. How deep should the tray be? How big are my tools? How heavy do I want the toolbox to be? This toolbox is about 20"x10"x10" internally. If I filled that with steel, it would weigh about 550 lbs. Therefore, it is not helpful to fill the entire area with steel. :-D In fact, this tells me not to worry too much about filling the box up; if only 10% of the inside is steel, it's still over 50#. That's plenty.

And this means there's no point to having a tray greater than about 3" thick. In fact my largest tool is a 3 lb sledge hammer and its head is only about 2.5" thick. And I am not pulling a sledge hammer in there anyway.

As I looked at the tools I wanted in the box, it became clear that one tray was not enough, and a thick tray would be too heavy. It's wasn't long before my shallow tray became a box deep enough to hold a few trays, and leave about 3" of purgatory at the bottom of the toolbox. Here's the box, in 1/2" plywood, in the Ridgid, and hanging from the same hooks the plastic tray hung from.










The sides look really thick but they aren't - there's a 1/2" square plywood batten running around the top, forming a lip. That box has a 5.5" well, and there's 3 more inches below it.

Next up are the trays. I know I can fit 3 (counting the bottom of the plywood box) but would like to sneak in 4, space permitting. My goal is to have tools that stay put and don't rattle and smash into each other. Now, do I care of my lineman's pliers contact other pliers? No. But I want to know where to find them and see quickly if any are missing.

The trays came out to be 17.75" x 9". The intent is to contain each tool to an area by hot-gluing to the tray custom-fit dividers. Delicate tools like squares and chisels will not contact other tools. I will use hot glue so I can easily remove dividers if I decide I need different tools.

Tray #1 - marking tools. I intend to put my tape measure, square, combo square, speed square, rule, paper, and pencils in this tray. Basically I want to be able to open the box and design something, or grab the tape measure and go out to a chicken coop and do what comes natural. This tray can be as little as 1.25" thick, including the 1/4" plywood bottom.

Tray #2 - Two screwdrivers, 4 chisels, 6 pliers of various types. Looking like 1.75" thick, including the bottom.

The bottom of the well - 2 1/2" thick. There isn't much I have that is this thick. I might try to sneak in an extra tray that contains a piece of glass and some sandpaper for sharpening the chisels. Or maybe I'll get some stones.

It's amazing how many tools will fit.

I will share an epiphany. In the beginning, I bought a toolbox and the tray was grossly insufficient. So I made a box to hold some trays. The wife walks in the shop and says, "It will annoy you to find some flat space to put those trays when you need a tool in the bottom." And I thought too bad I can't have the trays slide out of the front of the box. And in an instant, I realized I had taken the same journey that craftsmen took centuries ago:

1. In 1600, craftsmen made a box and put tools in it. Airline baggage handlers destroyed their stuff.
2. By 1700, they had stacks of trays in boxes. Wives pointed and laughed.
3. By 1800, they had smaller trays and a well to the bottom.
4. By 1805, they got tired of bending over to get stuff out of a chest and put it on legs.
5. By 1806, they realized they could not reach inside the chest and added drawers.
6. By 1970, all these lessons were forgotten and Big Box home centers sold what were effectively the same box that they had in #1, above. Hilarity ensues.

So welcome to my exciting adventure on how to make this otherwise great toolbox greater again.

The next entry will probably have to do with handles or the first tray. I tell yah, getting these trays out of the box is not easy. There's nothing to grab! Must fix that!


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## Donovanwoodworking (Feb 24, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *Where it starts*
> 
> After a few years of neglect, I recently started bringing my woodshop back to life. So much junk everywhere. I took old power tools, a tackle box full of stuff, and two beat up toolboxes (with some tools) down to the road. These toolboxes had been dropped from my father in-law's truck 10 times. None of this stuff meant anything to me. That is, a dried up can of plumber's putty and rusty cast iron fittings hold no sentimental value.
> 
> ...


Great story and adventure Tony!

Tim


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## gargey (Apr 11, 2016)

tonyennis said:


> *Where it starts*
> 
> After a few years of neglect, I recently started bringing my woodshop back to life. So much junk everywhere. I took old power tools, a tackle box full of stuff, and two beat up toolboxes (with some tools) down to the road. These toolboxes had been dropped from my father in-law's truck 10 times. None of this stuff meant anything to me. That is, a dried up can of plumber's putty and rusty cast iron fittings hold no sentimental value.
> 
> ...


I love your dog, I have several but they are smaller.


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## nkawtg (Dec 22, 2014)

tonyennis said:


> *Where it starts*
> 
> After a few years of neglect, I recently started bringing my woodshop back to life. So much junk everywhere. I took old power tools, a tackle box full of stuff, and two beat up toolboxes (with some tools) down to the road. These toolboxes had been dropped from my father in-law's truck 10 times. None of this stuff meant anything to me. That is, a dried up can of plumber's putty and rusty cast iron fittings hold no sentimental value.
> 
> ...


Nice dog, does he bite?

Love the history lesson..


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

tonyennis said:


> *Where it starts*
> 
> After a few years of neglect, I recently started bringing my woodshop back to life. So much junk everywhere. I took old power tools, a tackle box full of stuff, and two beat up toolboxes (with some tools) down to the road. These toolboxes had been dropped from my father in-law's truck 10 times. None of this stuff meant anything to me. That is, a dried up can of plumber's putty and rusty cast iron fittings hold no sentimental value.
> 
> ...





> Nice dog, does he bite?
> 
> - nkawtg


I think this tells you what you need to know:


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## JohnTM (Aug 21, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *Where it starts*
> 
> After a few years of neglect, I recently started bringing my woodshop back to life. So much junk everywhere. I took old power tools, a tackle box full of stuff, and two beat up toolboxes (with some tools) down to the road. These toolboxes had been dropped from my father in-law's truck 10 times. None of this stuff meant anything to me. That is, a dried up can of plumber's putty and rusty cast iron fittings hold no sentimental value.
> 
> ...


Late to the dance, but I'm new. Great story and style.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Tetris*

Not much to report this time. I'm trying to figure out a layout for the top 2 trays. The tray including pliers and chisels is pretty easy. This is because all pliers are about the same size, and so are the chisels I'll be including in the box.










So you can see that a few vertical dividers and we're completely serviceable. This tray would be about 2" tall though if I spread the pliers out, or removed a pair, it could be 1.5".

So indeed it has become a game of fitting the most amount of tools in the least amount of space without making gaining access to the tools a complete PITA.

It's Tetris for adults.

Now the problem is the "layout" tray. This is the with the tape measures, squares, rules, paper, trammel points, etc

And the problems come from the size of the tape measures - they are relatively huge. These make the tray too tall (over 3") or I lie them on their sides, and they consume a lot of area.










So not a lot going on here, except we find the little square consumes almost all the left-to-right space. Then the speed square consumes a bunch. With that diagonal, it might as well be a 6" x 6". Now the speed square only has to consume .75" of vertical space. And the tape measures require 1.75" of vertical space. Will I perhaps be able to add a platform on top of the speed square and have enough remaining space for a pad of paper and some pencils? I would like to find some space for a compass and so forth.

Ok, I know I can work though that. And if I make a terrible mistake, I can just make another tray. It takes no real time. So I decided to consider the real problem.

As I alluded to earlier, I have nothing to grab. The plywood box sits flush with the Ridgid's top. The trays should fill the plywood box up completely. I have to solve the handle problem.

There's nowhere to simply screw on handles. Finger grips on the inside of the small edge of the tray will consume space I suddenly don't have. A handle on top of the tray sides will prevent the trays from stacking.

So I'm going over in my head handles that disappear into the tray sides. Think inverted "U", but square, and the legs disappear into holes drilled into the top of the sides. The handle would pull up when it was needed, and drop back into the side piece when not.

That sure is a lot of work if I want to do it right. I have a metal lathe so I know I can fabricate the parts…


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## JohnTM (Aug 21, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *Tetris*
> 
> Not much to report this time. I'm trying to figure out a layout for the top 2 trays. The tray including pliers and chisels is pretty easy. This is because all pliers are about the same size, and so are the chisels I'll be including in the box.
> 
> ...


"Tetris for adults" - love it!


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Fabbing the handles*

I am sure someone already makes the sorts of handles I want, and they do it better. What of it?

So here's the dealio. I want my trays to stack. I don't want to lose space to fingerholes or fixed handles. I decided to make handles that pull up out of the tray edges when in use, and drop down into the tray edges when not.

My handles are made of 3/16" dia mild steel rod from the home center. I arbitrarily decided that a 3" wide handle was enough, and that the 'legs' of the handle would be 2" max. Making these was as simple as cutting off 7" sections of rod, marking 2" from one end, placing the rod in the vise with the mark level with the top of the jaws, and convincing it sideways with a hammer. Then I measured 3" from the center of the bent rod, marked, and made another 90 degree bend. I did it this way in an attempt to make the handles' 'grips' the same size, and force any extra rod to the end of a leg where it could be trimmed off.

Here's a pic.










I'm anticipating 2 trays plus I need to remove the entire box, so 6 handles are needed.

Now, the keepers. Because of the realities of the situation, I'm using 3/4" thick tray sides. So I bought 3./4" x 1/8" steel bar from the home center. I cut six 5" pieces and drilled 1/4" holes 3" between centers, centered of course. This allows a little slop/slack in the handle dimensions.










There's an example. The camera was very exciting by this. That keeper is only 3/4" x 5".

And one small thing that made me happy was that I tried something new. I liked the first keeper I made. Instead of measuring and marking the next five, I used the first as a template for the length and hole location. For example, I lined up the template and the bar stock and with a file made a nick at the end of the template. I didn't mark a line, I didn't measure. The nick was plenty to start the hacksaw. I just trusted my ability to cut a reasonably straight line.

For the holes, I clamped a scrap bar in the vise, butted the template and a blank against it, made the ends even, and used a transfer punch to mark the first hole. I did this on all the blanks, then drilled the single hole in each.

I repeated the same process for the 2nd hole, except instead of trying to make the ends even, I dropped a transfer punch through the template and the hole I just drilled to register the piece, and then used the punch to mark the 2nd hole.

They all fit perfectly.










I still need to drill mounting holes in the keepers.

So here's how it works. The keepers will be screwed to the top edge of the sides. The legs will drop into oversized holes (perhaps 1/2" dia) drilled into the sides. I'll press steel "donuts" onto the ends of the legs. These will be about 3/8" diameter. They will be small enough to fit in the holes in the sides, but too large to pass through the 1/4" hole in the keeper. If I really knew how, I'd solder them on. Or perhaps use epoxy or Loc-tite. More to come on that… I am not sure I can press onto the end of the legs without bending them. I was originally going to simply upset the ends of the legs to the point they would not fit through the holes in the keeper. Not happening - the rods will bend before they pein.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*The tray ends*

Here are the sides, solid pine (delicately sawn from a 2×4), and recesses cut for the handles. You can see a keeper sitting in position. 1/4" plywood sides will be glued to the ends of each matching pair, and then this assembly glued to a plywood bottom. That will complete the tray's outside and it will technically be functional.

What's next is to for each end piece, drill pilot holes for the mounting screws (keeper plate outer holes) and 7/16" holes for the legs (inner holes). I still have not decided how to "expand" the legs so they cannot pull through the keeper plate. I am considering just heating the ends to red heat and smacking them with a hammer. I only have to expand them by 1/16", then the 3/16" rod will not pull through the 1/4" hole in the keeper plate. The nice thing about that is that there won't be a piece to fall off. Another option would be to silver solder a washer onto the end. That would be good too.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*I did not fail; I learned a way that did not work*

Ok, actually, I did not fail. But there won't be any beauty pageant winners here. I decided to use some heat and pein the ends of the legs to form the retainers. Even with red heat I was unable to pein the ends. Instead they were driven into the jaws of the vise.

So plan B was to flatten the ends. That was a learning experience I can tell you. Sounds easy but I got a lot of unsightly results, and a lot of variation. In the spirit of self-humiliation, here's a picture. LJ pictures are constrained to be pretty small, but trust me, the ends are ugly. The good news is that 3 of 4 will work fine, especially after a few minutes of file work. None of this will be visible. The leftmost handle is the first one I did. Not great. The next one over is ruined; I cracked the steel leg by trying to move some material when the steel was too cold. I can make a new leg in maybe 5 minutes so it is ok.










So I will need a new leg and secure the ends, and there are 2 more hande assemblies to go - the ones that allow the entire box to be removed from the tool box. I will probably epoxy keepers (a nut or a washer) onto the ends of these legs and forego the torch abuse. Or perhaps I wll silver solder them. I would not mind trying it.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*omg handles*

Per the previous post, I didn't care for the job I did when I peined the handles. But I decided to continue on to see what I could make of it. With some creative use of a hammer and a punch, I was able to make some fine adjustments to the handles and make them usable. That is, I worked the ends to ensure they cannot pull through the keeper.

After I was satisfied with the handles, I drilled 3/8" holes in the tray sides to allow the handles to pass, and I drilled pilot holes for the mounting screws. Except for some fine tuning, I think I have sides!



















The handle is easy to grip.

Tomorrow I'll glue up a tray and start planning tool locations. This is the short tray for chisels, pliers, and the like.


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## Donovanwoodworking (Feb 24, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *omg handles*
> 
> Per the previous post, I didn't care for the job I did when I peined the handles. But I decided to continue on to see what I could make of it. With some creative use of a hammer and a punch, I was able to make some fine adjustments to the handles and make them usable. That is, I worked the ends to ensure they cannot pull through the keeper.
> 
> ...


That's some awesome engineering on the fly Tony!!


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

tonyennis said:


> *omg handles*
> 
> Per the previous post, I didn't care for the job I did when I peined the handles. But I decided to continue on to see what I could make of it. With some creative use of a hammer and a punch, I was able to make some fine adjustments to the handles and make them usable. That is, I worked the ends to ensure they cannot pull through the keeper.
> 
> ...


Thanks @donovanwoodworking.

I'm trying to do precision work, and that's probably a mistake in a shop not set up for that kind of precision work. The holes in the sides are an 'oversize' 3/8". So if I use washers, they have to be a little smaller than that. And the hole in the center must be pretty much 3/16" - the dia of the rod.

I doubt I can find washers laying around that are this size. So it will be another fabbing adventure. If I can find some steel thin enough to snip, it won't be hard. Maybe since I need 4 max, just clamping a piece into the vise and filing it to fit is the answer. Sounds easy now that I work through it. Experiment time!

I was thinking about making a punch for steel so I could make a lot of washers. Uhhh I need 4. Hacksawing and filing is a better idea, lol.


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## JohnTM (Aug 21, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *omg handles*
> 
> Per the previous post, I didn't care for the job I did when I peined the handles. But I decided to continue on to see what I could make of it. With some creative use of a hammer and a punch, I was able to make some fine adjustments to the handles and make them usable. That is, I worked the ends to ensure they cannot pull through the keeper.
> 
> ...


And we have liftoff! 
Way to go - persistence and ingenuity usually pays off.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*A tray, and finding a new way to secure the handles*

Now I have two more handle assemblies to finish.

The handle material was pretty much beat up. I scrapped both. I pillaged a handle from the next part of the project and made a new one. It would have taken forever to salvage the old ones.

I was pretty unhappy with my low-rent blacksmithing. So instead of flattening the ends, my new idea was to get a piece of 16 gauge steel and make retainer washers. These would be super glued to the ends of the handles. Like the flattened ends, they would not pull through the keeper's 1/4" hole.

Making 4 little parts from a sheet of scrap was certainly doable, and I got to the point that I could almost fit one into the hole in the tray side. But it was so hard to hold the retainer and hard to see. It was no fun at all.

With this in mind, I reassembled my metal lathe. It's been apart for a while. I had to make a stepped woodruff key for the headstock. So I spent a few hours fitting the new key with a file and reassembling the lathe.

Using the lathe, making the retainers was not hard at all. I turned a rod down to .3", then drilled a 3/16" hole down the length. Finally, I hacksawed the washers off. I was pleased they were all within .012" thickness of each other.










Then I super-glued these to the ends of the handles. Somewhat more professional looking, I think…



















Note the left leg in that picture. That black stuff is Sharpie from my layout efforts. It won't affect the super glue, right? Wrong. I was able to pull the retainer off with my fingers. I cleaned the washer and handle with acetone and tried again.

I need to do some fitting on these new-style handles. It's more important that the bends in the handles be square since the retainers fill up a lot more of the hole in the tray ends. Once the fitting is done, I should be able to glue up the thick tray.

In other news, here's the thin tray I glued up yesterday.










This tray is intended for chisels, pliers, and the like. It is ready for dividers and paint.


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## JohnTM (Aug 21, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *A tray, and finding a new way to secure the handles*
> 
> Now I have two more handle assemblies to finish.
> 
> ...


Simple. Elegant. Effective.
What more can you ask for?


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Basic construction is almost complete*

In a few moments over the last few days I have completed the 2nd tray. I had a problem when I glued it up - I did not realize some of my 1/4" plywood was really 5mm or something. I used a piece of that as a spacer to position the tray end, and as a result, the tray end is not quite centered on the tray. Fortunately, it is still 'toolbox centered' aka perfect for the task at hand. The only real effect was that I had to add a shim to tray ends in order to make up for the thinner plywood.

The glue-ups to connect the sides to the tray bottom wasn't well done. I underestimated the difficulty of getting the thin plywood sides lined up perfectly. And being 1/4" plywood that I found around the shop, it wasn't exactly straight, either.

But it was close enough that a little trimming with a block plane and some sanding carried the day.










Here's the empty box. The plywood pieces at the bottom support the top and leave a 1.75" bin. I'll permanently attach these strips when I am sure it's what I want.










Here's the wooden box in the toolbox, and the two trays stacked up on top of the plywood supports. This is how it will live its life.










So here's a serving suggestion. It's like the tiny piece of broccoli on the front of the box of mac and cheese. Later on, I'll decide which tools will live here and add dividers as appropriate. I don't want my chisels banging around in there. (And yeah, this is the land of the misfit chisels.)










Top tray is out. This is the thicker "layout" tray. Again, it is a serving suggestion.










And with the layout tray removed, the bottom of the box. So I can sneak an old skew rabbet in there, a tenon saw, and a few clamps, easy. Of course, those things won't be allowed to touch where it matters.










And the purgatory of the bottom of the toolbox beneath the wooden box. The picture is out of focus because of… purgatory. Frightening. What's really frightening is that every tool I have would be in that purgatory area, being eroded, chipped, and basically messed up without the wooden box.










The wooden box removed and loaded.










...and this is why I need a proper toolbox.










So what's next? The big thing is to get the handles on the wooden box so it can be removed. It is hard to get out of the toolbox! I need to mount handles similar to those on the trays. It's a little tricky because I have to avoid the structure of the toolbox. This ought to be entertaining.

After that, I'll start giving tools a home in their trays.


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## JCamp (Nov 22, 2016)

tonyennis said:


> *Basic construction is almost complete*
> 
> In a few moments over the last few days I have completed the 2nd tray. I had a problem when I glued it up - I did not realize some of my 1/4" plywood was really 5mm or something. I used a piece of that as a spacer to position the tray end, and as a result, the tray end is not quite centered on the tray. Fortunately, it is still 'toolbox centered' aka perfect for the task at hand. The only real effect was that I had to add a shim to tray ends in order to make up for the thinner plywood.
> 
> ...


Looks good and functional but after all this work are you any better off then just building your own?


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

tonyennis said:


> *Basic construction is almost complete*
> 
> In a few moments over the last few days I have completed the 2nd tray. I had a problem when I glued it up - I did not realize some of my 1/4" plywood was really 5mm or something. I used a piece of that as a spacer to position the tray end, and as a result, the tray end is not quite centered on the tray. Fortunately, it is still 'toolbox centered' aka perfect for the task at hand. The only real effect was that I had to add a shim to tray ends in order to make up for the thinner plywood.
> 
> ...





> Looks good and functional but after all this work are you any better off then just building your own?
> - JCamp


That's a great question. I didn't really know where the adventure was leading when I started. But the shell is very sturdy with great hardware. It stacks with the other toolboxes in the set making transport easier. It is waterproof-ish. So as a container, the Ridgid seems pretty decent. But yeah, if I wanted another toolbox I could also just build the outer shell too.


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## JohnTM (Aug 21, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *Basic construction is almost complete*
> 
> In a few moments over the last few days I have completed the 2nd tray. I had a problem when I glued it up - I did not realize some of my 1/4" plywood was really 5mm or something. I used a piece of that as a spacer to position the tray end, and as a result, the tray end is not quite centered on the tray. Fortunately, it is still 'toolbox centered' aka perfect for the task at hand. The only real effect was that I had to add a shim to tray ends in order to make up for the thinner plywood.
> 
> ...





> Looks good and functional but after all this work are you any better off then just building your own?
> - JCamp


Isn't the journey worth the time, effort and satisfaction as opposed to just going to a Big Box store and pullng out the M/c or visa?

I appreciate the mental gaming process you employed and am certain that you'll get at least a miniscule sense of pride each time you use the toolbox trays. Nothing major but enough that it might be noticeable if not much else is going on.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*The wooden box is done*

I have completed the wooden box except for finishing. I didn't have a plan and it caught up to me when I tried to mount the handled on the wooden box.

First, the wooden box has a 1/2" x 1/2" lip around it, and this allows it to sit on the original tray's supports. But that's not enough meat when I need to drill 3/8" holes for the handle legs. Further, the legs cannot be exposed when the wood box is out of the toolbox. For as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, they'll get bent.

So I glued additional plywood to the box. This will house and protect the legs.










What you see there are two pieces of plywood that will house the handle legs. The split down the middle allows the support protruding from the side of the toolbox to reach the lip. Because I had to do this with both sides, and because… clamps, I decided to screw and glue them. So I rummaged around the shop until I found 3/4" wood screws. They are probably 30 years or more old. I measured and drilled pilot holes and even drilled countersinks. Glue and screw and a job well done!

And as I tightened down the last screw, I realized I had not taken into account that the screws could interfere with the handle legs. But only if I happened to put a screw in the wrong place. And of course I did.

I wasn't undoing it. So now the glue is dried and I'll eventually have to deal with this screw. First, I don't need it. These plywood pieces only protect the legs; they carry no load. Second, they are glued on. They aren't coming off. Third, it's only a toolbox so a empty countersunk hold is ok, right? Of course it isn't. I'll probably cut the screw off and if necessary, CA glue it in place. Let the box's next owner curse me. /shrug

If I got to do to over again, the three side pieces (lip and two leg protectors) would be cut from a single piece of plywood, and it would be at least 2" deep (like the add-on pieces in the pic) to provide as much glue area as possible for the lip. It would be much much stronger and much simpler.

After all that I got the handles attached. Here we see the box and its trays in place, again with a 'serving suggestion' of tools.










And and a close up of the new handles. Note the rounded corner on the wooden box; the corner was catching on a protrusion in the corner of the Ridgid!










Now the wooden box is ready to have its edged broken and to be sanded for painting.

So what's next is for me to finalize the tools that will be in the box, locate them on their trays, and then glue on dividers to keep tools in their places. So the chisels won't be touching anything, pliers can be stacked, screwdrivers will nestle.

I have broken the home center mafia's requirement that I use plywood or 3/4" lumber by resawing a 2×4 to make some 1/4" pieces. These will be sawn into dividers, and and glued down.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Analysis paralysis*

Since the box and trays are done except for final sanding and finishing, it's time to focus on adding dividers to the trays.

I spent a lot of time trying to arrange tools to fit efficiently in the trays. After much knee-bent running about, I decided to use solid wood for the dividers. I resawed them from 2×4s then planed them, um, "toolbox-smooth". I didn't want the various dividers to just get glued to the tray bottom and other butt up against its neighbors, so I cut matching notches so the pieces would be self-supporting.

The dividers. Note the fancy-pants scalloped dividers. This is because they are butting up against the side where the handles are and were interfering.










Assembled.










And sitting in the box,... the same serving suggestion, but a little more real. Now you can see why I scalloped the dividers. I'll probably glue the dividers in tomorrow. Note the heavy blocks in the upper left. Those are 2×4 pieces cut full height (1.5") so the business ends of the chisels are never exposed. I still need to shape the blocks and otherwise remove those corners.










I could probably finish the box in a few hours if I could do it all at once. Unfortunately I am a busy boy and can only get in bits of time here and there.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Tray #1 is complete...*

...except for finishing. I'll break the corners then probably paint it.

This tray is for chisels, pliers, screwdrivers, and so forth. I posted pictures of mock-ups previously. I resawed some 1/4" pine from a 2×4 and made these divider strips. I cut notches so the strips would fit together and lend some strength. Did I need to? I dunno, I was having fun.










Yes, this is not the best wood. I decided this was a toolbox and these pieces would be perfectly functional. This is not the Studley Tool Chest!










And in place, again with tools.










Note the chisel section. It started like this:










The reason is that it was the best way I could figure out to keep the business end of the chisels away from my fingers. I used a chisel to turn the blocks into something with no sharp edges. In the process of doing this, I stuck a chisel into my thumb. The irony was not lost on me. I'm ok but I lost the rest of the evening.

And I learned the hard way that everything needs to be measured and checked for square. When I glued the dividers into the tray, somehow the short divider running up and down in the image out of plumb - it is leaning slightly. But it was enough that a gap was left between the divider and the chisel blocks. So I had to spend time to cut the appropriate angle on those blocks. What a waste of time! It seems that I spend a lot of time fixing mistakes I never should have made.


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## FoundSheep (Feb 24, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *Tray #1 is complete...*
> 
> ...except for finishing. I'll break the corners then probably paint it.
> 
> ...


Awesome tray, I can't tell the error.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

tonyennis said:


> *Tray #1 is complete...*
> 
> ...except for finishing. I'll break the corners then probably paint it.
> 
> ...


That's good to know. That divider is out 1/16" over 1.5" The only reason I noticed is that the gap opened up when I placed the chisel blocks. It surprised me because during a dozen test fits there were no gaps.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Taking a bite out of the next tray*

The 2nd tray is for my layout and measuring tools. This one is not as straightforward as the items in it are awkward. For example, a square is mostly air surrounded on 2 sides by steel.

Since it was more complicated, I decided to just start placing tools. As each was located, I would hot glue the various spacers and dividers in. Since the dividers aren't load-bearing, the hot glue should last a long time. And of course, it is easily reversible.

The three tools I care about today are a square, a speed square, and a combination square. My primary design goal was to make the speed square easy to get as I use it all the time.

Without further ado, here's the tray as it stands now. The strips you see have been carefully measured, planed, and located so that no tool touches another. It was harder than it looks.










As I was experimenting, I found I could not get the square (typical metal square) off the bottom of the tray; there was nothing to grab. I elevated the square by about 1/8" using the strip at the bottom and the similar strip running perpendicular to it on the right side. The vertical piece is the width of the square's small leg. The other leg is wider, however, so it overhangs the wooden strip. This allows me to get my fingers under it.










There it is. You'll note the 1/4" gap to the right of the square. The speed square's lip will drop into that gap. The diagonal strip is about 3/8" thick, and is give support to the other side of the speed square. The small block in the upper right corner prevents the speed square from moving too much and also prevents the carpenter's square from rotating.










Now the combination square. I got unlucky as the combination square touched the carpenter's square in the upper right hand corner. I don't want any of the tools to touch. So I elevated the combination square by about 1/16". That's why I had to add the piece of veneer. The blocks the rule rests upon are also about a 16th thicker too, to compensate.










So far so good. Those tools require additional dividers and blocks to prevent them from moving. Here's a picture with the tape measure and its divider. That divider isn't glued down. It's just there for visualization purposes.










We see that things get pretty cozy pretty quickly. I don't like it on this tray for aesthetic reasons, but along with the speed square, it's almost always the first tool I reach for. It must be accessible.

What I like about this layout is that there's an area in the center that's about 5.5" x 7". It will be ideal for a compass, trammel point, and spare pencils, etc Also, while it isn't easy to tell, nothing is higher than the speed square's lip. That's 3/4". But this tray is more than twice that height. I'll be able to add another layer of tools. I don't expect to include much more than a clipboard and pencils, however. We'll see. The ability to add another layer s why I left the triangular sections in the upper and lower right clear - I'll be gluing 7/8" tall pylons there, and other dividers on the first layer will also be 7/8" tall. This will support another layer nicely.

Sorry about the quality of these pictures, my phone is well past its end-of-life.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*More on the Layout Tray*

Continuing with the layout tray, I cut, planed, and glued down the dividers intended to contain the tape measures.










You may not be able to tell, but the two sections are not quite the same size. I made a little more room in the upper section (where the tape measure is) because during mockups I found it to be too tight. That is, I could not get my fingers in there to lift out the tape measure. An extra 1/4" was plenty. This means I can't get a similar tape measure in the bottom area, but that's ok.

Something else that's not real obvious are the triangular pylons I added on the right side. These help contain the combination square and framing square. Their height was chosen to clear the highest part of the highest square (the speed square's lip) by 1/8" This means by adding support of the same height to the other end, a shallow tray can be supported. I had intended this 'tray' to be a standard clipboard cut to fit. But with the spring clip, they are all too tall. Here you can see the pylon peeking over the edge of the combination square, and there is one in the lower right too. My phone being what it is, it is hard to tell they are the same height.










I'm still working through this. The fact is, the tray is nearly done. I don't have any more tools I wish to include on the tray except for a compass and spare pencils.

The dividers and stops and pieces parts in the right side of this tray are all hot-glued down. I can change things around as I learn more.

As an aside, all these little pieces and partitions… they were all resawed on the bandsaw, but otherwise I went "Paul Sellers" on them. I marked their true sizes with a marking gauge, planed them with a #4, shaped, split, and broke edges them with chisels, etc. And by golly, they all fit just right too, except where I got impatient.


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## JohnTM (Aug 21, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *More on the Layout Tray*
> 
> Continuing with the layout tray, I cut, planed, and glued down the dividers intended to contain the tape measures.
> 
> ...





> And by golly, they all fit just right too, except where I got impatient. - Tony Ennis


Yes!!


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Finishing the Layout tray, and starting the bottom*

Except for final sanding and painting, the layout tray is complete.




























I really suffered for those little sticks that surround the pencils. I was, um, challenged by measuring and cutting those 45 degree half-laps. Obviously in the future something else will likely live in that space too.

Now on to the bottom of the wooden box. I know I want my 16 oz hammer in there, and a selection of files and rasps. So let's start with the files.










What we have here is just a piece of 1/2" plywood with 1/4" dowels glued into it. It was a comedy of errors but it'll work out ok.

Here's the chisel holder in the box. You can see that the hammer dominates. It's possible the hammer will have to be moved to the bottom of the Ridgid.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*The Wooden Box is completed*

I finished creating the dividers and gluing them into the bottom of the box. Then I broke the edges with a chisel and sanded the facets away.










...and with tools. The pieces parts on the top right edge are the iron and wedge for that skew rabbet.










I like the clamps, plane, and files being here. The other compartments' contents are really up in the air.










No changes, except for the vise grips being added when the clamps moved down.










No changes here at all.










The squares and such only used about half the depth of the tray. So I added what will eventually be a clipboard. It also functions as a cover for the layout tools. I just have to cut the spine off that notebook and then drive a few screws from the bottom through the paper, and into the molding. I'll use clamps to draw it all tight and the screws to hold it together, versus trying to simply draw it tight with the screws; I don't want to strip them.










Purgatory, the place where tools become round.










The loaded box in place, sitting about 3" above Purgatory.

Ok, and except for the clipboard, construction is complete. Next is some combination of final sanding, sealing, and paint.

I have pretty much squeezed all the fun out of the construction process. I am ready to move on to the next phase.


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## BigAl98 (Jan 29, 2010)

tonyennis said:


> *The Wooden Box is completed*
> 
> I finished creating the dividers and gluing them into the bottom of the box. Then I broke the edges with a chisel and sanded the facets away.
> 
> ...


Looks good. I like to see how it works in the "field".


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

tonyennis said:


> *The Wooden Box is completed*
> 
> I finished creating the dividers and gluing them into the bottom of the box. Then I broke the edges with a chisel and sanded the facets away.
> 
> ...





> Looks good. I like to see how it works in the "field".
> 
> - BigAl98


Ha, you and me both, brother!

The toolbox is intended to be used in and around the barn. The jury is still out on its durability, specifically with the glue-joints between the wooden box and and the lip that lets it sit in the Ridgid. Between the staples and the glue joint however, I think there's no real danger of failure.

I like to work out of my toolbox. That is, I pull a tool, use the tool, and put the tool back immediately. I expect to have the trays out of the box and directly accessible. I won't be moving trays in and out of the box while working.

In any event, my gut tells me the tools are better in the trays than piled into the well.


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## JohnTM (Aug 21, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *The Wooden Box is completed*
> 
> I finished creating the dividers and gluing them into the bottom of the box. Then I broke the edges with a chisel and sanded the facets away.
> 
> ...


Believe it or not, this project is "inspiring" to me.

Back in the days of dinosaurs, I took a 1 semester shop class and managed to really "mung up" the assignment of making an extremely simple toolbox. You've taken the idea, broken t down into manageable parts, explained the process and the problems you ran into in such simple terms and photos that even I can understand and follow, and thus "inspired me" to try something similar in my first real project after I make a crosscut sled and a drill press table (I'm just starting out).

Thanks for the documentation!


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*I Suck at Painting*

I've had a little uninteresting time in the shop. I made a 50/50 mixture of glue and water, and sealed the inside and outside of all trays and the box. Then I sanded exhaustively.

That is, I sanded until I was exhausted.










And here's where we take a detour. 45-ish years ago, I became fascinated with these little wooden boxes my dad made to hold nails, screws, bolts, washers, etc. He made 8 or 10 maybe. They are nothing special - just some pine nailed together, with a Masonite bottom, also nailed on. He made them for a purpose and they lasted the rest of his life. He painted them green, probably because that's what he had.










You can see that various metal bits were in these trays for so long they've decorated the bottoms.

While I am sure these boxes weren't this particular green 45 years ago, it's what I've got now. Dad's been on my mind lately so I took that box to the home center and had it color matched.

I'll paint my toolboxes and trays like his. Except I'll use a semi-gloss oil paint to hopefully provide some durability. Because heavens this has been a lot of work and let's not screw it up now!

I'm not a painter. I don't know how to paint the right way. But complete ignorance hasn't ever stopped me before. I painted as much of the trays as I could. I had to hold on to something, lol.




























Tomorrow I'll get back to it, weather permitting.


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## changeoffocus (Dec 21, 2013)

tonyennis said:


> *I Suck at Painting*
> 
> I've had a little uninteresting time in the shop. I made a 50/50 mixture of glue and water, and sealed the inside and outside of all trays and the box. Then I sanded exhaustively.
> 
> ...


They look pretty darn good to me and you provided a good reason for the parts not yet finished. 
Keep up the good work, you're doing fine.


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*I Still Suck at Painting*

Turns out my daughter in law knows a thing or two about oil-based paint. So we discussed and decided that my paint was too thick. Today I poured a little paint into a container and added a few metric glugs of thinner. I mixed it all up, seemed legit.

I decided that I would work on the outside of the boxes and finish the insides later. The thinned paint went on pretty smoothly. I am sure that it was being applied to a painted surface and not raw wood helped too.










And here's the old box on the new box. The colors are more closely matched than it seems from these images. The new paint is a semi-gloss which makes a direct comparison tricky.










Tomorrow I'll probably finish the outsides. There could be some light sanding and touch-up here and there. This toolbox is for the barn and will be stocked from the Land of the Misfit Tools. It doesn't have to be perfect.

It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be perfect. omgomgomgomg


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

*Ready for decades of service*

Not a lot to mention, just bringing some closure to the project. Over the course of a few weeks, I painted the box. I thinned the paint down and got a much nicer result on the remaining coats. After that I reattached the hardware completing the project.

I did not enjoy painting with oil based paint. It was a mess and dried slowly. But I can wholeheartedly give a shout-out to nitrile gloves. Kept me from being green.

Anyway, pics.



















The bottom of the box has a skew rabbet plane, files, rasps, and 4 clamps.




































Here's the 'clipboard' which isn't quite ready. Can't find my t-nuts. The composition book will probably have its spine sawed off. I'll attach the pad to that plywood.










The handle disappearing into the sides. You can also see how the wooden box fits into the toolbox.



















Here's the purgatory that will exist beneath the wooden box.










Finally, here's the new wooden box in its home.










Ready for decades of service.










And the livestock dog.


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## Dwain (Nov 1, 2007)

tonyennis said:


> *Ready for decades of service*
> 
> Not a lot to mention, just bringing some closure to the project. Over the course of a few weeks, I painted the box. I thinned the paint down and got a much nicer result on the remaining coats. After that I reattached the hardware completing the project.
> 
> ...


So how heavy is that thing? It looks great, and is will planned out. Still, can you lug that thing around?


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## tonyennis (Oct 24, 2009)

tonyennis said:


> *Ready for decades of service*
> 
> Not a lot to mention, just bringing some closure to the project. Over the course of a few weeks, I painted the box. I thinned the paint down and got a much nicer result on the remaining coats. After that I reattached the hardware completing the project.
> 
> ...





> So how heavy is that thing? It looks great, and is will planned out. Still, can you lug that thing around?
> 
> - Dwain


The plywood box adds about 8 lbs. Once it has the tools I am likely to use for typical barn/livestock repairs, it's heavy, approaching 50 lbs. If necessary I'll get a light-duty hand truck which would be generally useful to have around anyway. If I did it again, I could lighten it up by replacing the bottom of the box's 1/2 ply with 1/4" and the steel handle keepers with aluminum. That would probably save 1.5 lbs, maybe.


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## FoundSheep (Feb 24, 2017)

tonyennis said:


> *Ready for decades of service*
> 
> Not a lot to mention, just bringing some closure to the project. Over the course of a few weeks, I painted the box. I thinned the paint down and got a much nicer result on the remaining coats. After that I reattached the hardware completing the project.
> 
> ...


Very nice project, glad to see it all finished, I remember the start of this series.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

tonyennis said:


> *Ready for decades of service*
> 
> Not a lot to mention, just bringing some closure to the project. Over the course of a few weeks, I painted the box. I thinned the paint down and got a much nicer result on the remaining coats. After that I reattached the hardware completing the project.
> 
> ...


Very nice indeed! Congrats on the new toolbox, Tony.


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