# Zebra wood, walnut, purple heart and curly maple machinist toolbox



## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Hi guys, ive started the construction of my machinist toolbox, im first building the top box, then the middle box and then the base which will have caster wheels for moving it around. The outside of the box and the dividers are walnut joined with through dovetails. The drawers are zebrawood fronts and purple heart sides also joined with through dovetails, the drawer backs are curly hard maple joined to the sides with sliding dovetails. i plan on using all brass hardware for the drawer pulls and side handles for the box. The drawers will have hardwood drawer sides.

Heres a cad assembly drawing of the box









Heres the zebrawood and purple heart for the drawers









I started by getting my boards flat on the jointer, planed them, joined the edges and cut them down to a manageable length to glue up my panels, then after glueing i scraped the boards and ran them through a 24" automatic drum sander making them perfect. I then cut the panels down to size with a festool track saw, i like the track saw because it cuts flawlessly . after cutting the panels down to size for the shell, i ran them on the D4R jig and put the through dovvetails on them.




























I have to say i am quite happy with the results from the D4R jig, keep in mind in the pictures they are just dry fit, i need to route the dado slots and sliding dovetail slots for the dividers and the hardwood drawer slides on the box panels.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Looks good so far, keep the pics coming!


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Does anybody have a good place to get some nice brass hardware? I need to get some brass handles, drawer pulls and also some fancy hinges for some purple heart boxes im making for my daughter and my nieces.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

frankp said:


> Looks good so far, keep the pics coming!


Thanks! I will keep the pictures coming! Hopefully this week i will have all of the dados and sliding dovetail joints done and the drawer dividers done and the box all glues up and ready to build the drawers


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Looks great man!


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## Midwest Millworks (Nov 20, 2012)

Looks great. I'm looking forward to watching this as you progress.

Mike Darr


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## nblasa (Nov 29, 2011)

jimmyjames said:


> Does anybody have a good place to get some nice brass hardware? I need to get some brass handles, drawer pulls and also some fancy hinges for some purple heart boxes im making for my daughter and my nieces.


leevalleytools.com has a very nice selection of hardware


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## JohnnyTooBad (Dec 9, 2012)

jimmyjames said:


> Does anybody have a good place to get some nice brass hardware? I need to get some brass handles, drawer pulls and also some fancy hinges for some purple heart boxes im making for my daughter and my nieces.


Try looking for marine hardware.


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## GoIrish (Jan 29, 2012)

Looks good so far. Keep the pictures coming.


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

Looks sharp!


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

well i cut all of the dados and sliding dovetail slots and have the box all glued up, no i need to cut the dividers to length and put the sliding dovetails on the ends and get those installed and glued. Maybe you will see some dovetail work on the drawer fronts by the weekend


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Heres a couple pictures, its not much and im definately a photgrapher...... you can see the dados for the hardwood drawer slides and the sliding dovetails for the dividers, i still have to cut down the vertical dividers and put the dados for the drawer slides and the dovetails on them as well



















in the 2nd picture your looking at the back of the box and the dividers are just slid in part way, all of the dados and sliding dovetails are blind on the front except where the horizontal dividers intersect the verticles


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

oh, and please ignore the sloppy glue job..... i still havent scraped or sanded it, im saving that till the very end


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Just don't let it get rock hard. Looking good man.


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## ctwiggs1 (Mar 30, 2011)

I'm following this for sure. This thing is going to look great!


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Very nice. Good use of the jig. In addition to Lee Valley, Mcmaster Carr has everything you could possibly need (except good pictures). There is another place that specializes in hardware for machinist toolboxes but it gets pricy.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

rayking49 said:


> Just don't let it get rock hard. Looking good man.


Theres only glue residue left, i always wipe my glue joints with a wet wash cloth after i get them clamped


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Well all of the dividers are done, just have to glue them up and clamp it and let it dry over night and then do the back panel and then the box portion is done then i will start fitting my drawe fronts and cutting the backs and sides accordingly.


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## Fishinbo (Jul 23, 2012)

Resplendent wood and design. Keep them coming.
This is to watch for. 



______________________________________________

www.sawblade.com


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Well ive made some progress, got all of the dividers installed, i cut the rabbit around the inside parameter of the back of the box, cut the back panel to size and glued it up and clamped it.























































Now its time to rip the hardwood drawer slides and cut them to length, put the rabbit on the end of them since they are stopped dados in the box and glue them in, im using purple heart for the drawer slides since its sooooo darn hard. Maybe tonight i will rip the drawer fronts and get them cut to length along with the drawer sides and back. Then its a ton of router work routing all of the through dovetails, dados for the drawer bottoms, dados for the drawer slides, through dovetails for the drawer backs..... let the sawdust fly!


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Well im really giving you the play by play today.... I ripped down and cut to length all of my hardwood drawer slides, just have to run them through the sander and then route a roundover on all of the exposed edges of them and also route a rabbit on them so they fit in the stopped dado's. I also ripped down and cut to length all of my drawer fronts from zebra wood and the drawer sides from purple heart, i ripped down the hard maple for the drawer backs but did not cut them to length, i want to wait to do that until i have the through dovetails done and then i can get a perfect measurement for the length for them. Tomorrow i will get the drawer slides done and installed and start working on the through dovetails on the drawers, just need to get the jig all setup perfectly


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Drawer fronts are just sitting in there right now, please disregard the burn marks from the planer, my rollers didnt like the oily zebrawood at all and i had to push the board through, nothing the sander wont take care of.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

You've made some great progress considering its only day 4. Looks really nice. Can't wait to see it finished.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

That will be an awesome chest. Can't wait to see it complete! I only wish I worked as fast!


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

rayking49 said:


> That will be an awesome chest. Can't wait to see it complete! I only wish I worked as fast!


Well i dont work that fast, i did start this about 2 weeks ago, alot of the time was spent planing and joining the boards. I did make some more progress today.

Drawer sides tails cut









Small drawer fronts pins cut and also installed the purple heart drawer slides









Bigger drawer fronts pins cut









To date ive made 2-55 gallon barrels of sawdust on this project, between planing, jointing, sawing, routing, sanding etc..... And ive got to say, i dont really enjoy working with purple heart, the wood is so hard its unreal, i didnt even bother running the ph through the planer, i just ran them through the sander after i cut the pieces to size, i think if i would have ran it through my planer it would have grenaded...router bits sure dont like it at all as well, when cutting the tails i had to setup 2 routers and use a 1/4" straight bit to take out most of the material and then the dovetail bit to finish it, i think if i would have just did it all with the dovetail bit it would have snapped off eventually. The zebra wood cuts pretty nice but tears out a little bit.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Tomorrow i will cut the hard maple drawer backs to length, then cut the sliding dovetails on the drawer sides that the drawer backs will slide into and then cut the matching sliding dovetails on the ends of the drawer backs, then i can cut all of the stopped dado's for the birch drawer bottoms, i have to stop them so they arent visible on the front and sides of the drawer, i will use the router table for this. After all of that i need to cut the drawer bottoms to size and then i can assemble the drawers and let them dry. Then i will use a flush router bit where the through dovetails are and then give all the drawers a quick sand to make sure they are flat and then i will cut the stopped dado's in the sides of the drawers for the drawer slides.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Dang i almost forgot, i need to sand down the back of the box.............


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Hey guys and gals, i have a question, im in the design stages for the matching bottom box for the top chest im working on, the bottom box will see tools and such that have some weight to them so instead of using hardwood drawer slides im thinking about cutting a dado in the sides of the drawers so i can use ball bearing drawer slides that way i can keep the same look of the drawers without there being a huge gap on the sides of the drawers, has anybody done something like this? Also i will be using solid hardwood drawer bottoms for the bottom chest


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

What about false fronts on the drawers?


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

sawdustfactory said:


> What about false fronts on the drawers?


I dont like false fronts, those are for kitchens and i want the bottom box to match the top, i think a stopped dado for the bearing slide to sit in would be just the ticket, thanks for the suggestion though


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## TooPicky (Apr 12, 2009)

That looks like it's going to be nice. But, why are you going through so much effort to build a tool box that will see tough conditions & service? A machine shop isn't a super clean place, and there are lots of things to bump & bang it.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

TooPicky said:


> That looks like it's going to be nice. But, why are you going through so much effort to build a tool box that will see tough conditions & service? A machine shop isn't a super clean place, and there are lots of things to bump & bang it.


Its a tool and die shop, much cleaner than you might expect, this is my "desk box" that sits next to my bench with all of my good tools in it thats in a climate controlled room, i also have a cheap craftsman mobile cabinet with wheels for my crappy tools when i go work on stuff in the plant like removing or replacing tooling and adjusting machines. The machines we work on are roll formers and 100-1000 ton mechanical stamping presses with progressive dies. Our shop builds the new tooling, dies and fixtures via wire edm, milling, turning, heat treating and precision grinding


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Well after about 4 hours of cutting dados and about 2 hours of cutting sliding dovetails for the drawer backs, all the drawer parts are ready for glue up, just have to cut the drawer bottoms in the morning and then glue up the drawers, then its time for a ton of sanding and then spraying a finish on the box, still havent decided on a finish for the drawers, i may just spray the drawers with non yellowing lacquer as well


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Hey it's looking good. So, would you dado deep enough for one half of the slide or both for each side? I'm not clear, but it sounds like it'll work.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

rayking49 said:


> Hey it's looking good. So, would you dado deep enough for one half of the slide or both for each side? I'm not clear, but it sounds like it'll work.


I would dado the full depth of the drawer slide minus how much of a gap i want on the side of the drawer, i think most drawer slides are 3/8" so somewhere around 1/4-5/16" deep dado. The top box im building now is using hardwood drawer slides, reason for that is drawer slides would cover almost the entire side of the drawer and these drawers wont have any significant weight in them, the botto
Box drawers will be much bigger going from 3 5/8" to 8" drawers


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Well i forgot to snap some pictures of the assembled drawer boxes but they are done except for the dado on the sides for the drawer slides, i
Going to run my draw boxes through the horizontal thicknezs drum sander to make the tops and bottoms nice and.perpindicular and the route off the protruding dovetails and then sand the box sides nice and flat, then i can cut the dados and get the drawers working perfect and then its a bunch of sanding and some finish, hopefully it will be in finish by this weekend


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

If you use standard drawer slides, ie, rollers on both halves of the track, and installed in a stopped dado, how do you intend to get the drawer roller into the mating track? I must be missing something....:confused1:


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Alchymist said:


> If you use standard drawer slides, ie, rollers on both halves of the track, and installed in a stopped dado, how do you intend to get the drawer roller into the mating track? I must be missing something....:confused1:


I will show you a picture tomorrow.of how its done


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Well i sanded all the drawers down and am ready to cut the dados in the sides of the drawers, cutting them is goi.g to be time consuming making sure they line up perfectly and also i have to run them through twice since my drawer slides are .750" i will have to oversize them and dont have a 13/16 router bit, my wife may be giving birth to our first child tomorrow so the.project may get put on hold, if not tomorrow it will be next wednesday and i will race to finish it up by the end of this weekend


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Well here you go, dados are done in the drawers for the drawers slides, just have to finish sand the whole thing and give it a finish!
























































Also my purple heart that turned brown has really colored up overnight, i had the drawers sitting on theyre side with one purple heart side up, that side exposed to the metal halide lighting really turned back to purple, the bottom side that wasnt did color up some but not like the exposed wood, i will leave them sit on theyre other side overnight to get the other side purpled up some, i hope it turns as purple as the board was before i started carving on it


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## nmacdonald (Jan 13, 2012)

That looks awesome. What did you do inside for the dado to slide on. Are you putting pull handles on the drawers?


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

nmacdonald said:


> That looks awesome. What did you do inside for the dado to slide on. Are you putting pull handles on the drawers?


Thanks! the slides for the drawers are 3/4"x3/4" pieces of purple heart set in the sides of the box in stopped dados. The pull handles will be made from purple heart, thats my next project for this, they will be 1 3/4" wide x 3/4"x3/4" purple heart with some router work done on them with a cove bit , i was going to use brass drawer pulls but i decided that brass just doesnt match the zebra wood at all and the purple heart will match the purple spots from the through dovetails perfectly i think. The box is really going to look different once it gets a finish on it, the color of the walnut will really darken up along with the purple heart


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## dat (Nov 11, 2010)

lookin' nice


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Well the finish on the box is going to have to wait a couple days, i recieved an early christmas present from my wife today.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Wow, congratulations!! A cutie!


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## JohnnyTooBad (Dec 9, 2012)

Cool Christmas present. I have a few of those myself. But be careful, they really cut into your woodworking time!

That box is pretty sharp too. Can't wait to see a finish on it.


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## vinnypatternmaker (Mar 27, 2011)

Shop Dad said:


> Wow, congratulations!! A cutie!


Bless you and yours :yes:!
Great work, BTW!
Marena and Vinny


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## GoIrish (Jan 29, 2012)

Best gift. Congrats.


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## mn pete (Dec 10, 2010)

Congrats Jimmy! That's the best early present I've ever seen!


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## Midwest Millworks (Nov 20, 2012)

Congrats. You are a very lucky man. My wife and I have two. It's the greatest gift you'll ever get.

Mike Darr


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## bradnailer (Nov 11, 2008)

My goodness, that's fantastic!


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## TMH (Nov 6, 2012)

Congrats to you they are a blast


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

Thanks everybody, shes my first and already my pride and joy


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Man, the box is looking amazing.

Congrats on the beautiful baby!


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Congrats on the birth of a daughter. Great Christmas gift!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I totally agree*



Chaincarver Steve said:


> Man, the box is looking amazing.
> 
> Congrats on the beautiful baby!


Nice work on the chest and the little girl is adorable! :yes:


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Congrats jimmy. That's the greatest gift from god. Merry x-mas.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

I got the drawer pulls done!


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## TMH (Nov 6, 2012)

Amazing work, how are you doing the drawer slides?


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## against_the_grain (Aug 15, 2010)

TMH said:


> Amazing work, how are you doing the drawer slides?


He went over all of that earlier in the thread.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

The slides are hardwood drawer slides with dados in the sides of the drawers. Hopefully i can get the finish sprayed on it tomorrow


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

the box is going to look alot better when i get a finish on it, it just looks so dull to me in the pictures looking all dry and gray.....


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## Sorrowful Jones (Nov 28, 2010)

Very very nice. Can't wait to see it with the finish on. CONGRATS on the daughter!!.


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