# Hand Tool Chest Build Thread



## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

I've had this build under way for a while now, but because of limited time and my slow pace, I held off posting a build thread until now. I am building a tool chest for my hand tools, as the thread title suggests. I am using walnut and sycamore. The approximate dimensions are 34x18x8" for the box itself (external dimensions, not including lid, since it doesn't exist yet). 

The corner joint are double-dovetails, cut at 7 degrees. Cutting dovetails on a 3' long board with a router table can be a little challenging, but with a little careful planning it worked out just fine.

I joined the maple on my router table using the split fence attachments for my Incra Wonderfence. I then ripped all of the boards to a common width on the table saw. 









To cut the boards to length, I built a sacrificial fence that spans two miter gauges set to 90 degrees. This offered better support and pretty good accuracy for the longer, more cumbersome boards. 

















Yup, the big stuff seems to fit okay. Looks like I will need to buy some more saws and planes to fill this thing up!









Time for some double dovetails! First, I loaded up a 1/2" 7 degree Freud dovetail bit.










I loaded up the appropriate template and followed the procedure for setting the bit height and centering the bit. 

























2 33" boards clamped to the Incra Jumbo Right Angle Fixture and ready to roll.









I clamped a shop vac attachment to the edge of the table for some moderate dust/chip collection. It wasn't very effective, but better than nothing.









Ready!

















Cut!


























....


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

...

I grooved a block of sycamore that was cut to the same width as the rest of the boards. I then cross-cut these to about 1/16" over the thickness of the boards. The fit was very, very tight. I had to ease the joints together with clamps to get them into place. 









Once these were dry, I cross cut the excess sycamore at 3/16" beyond the walnut tails. I then scored the inside surface of the tail boards to account for the rounded half-blind pin boards. I attached the upper fence support to help keep the boards square to the table.

























I then cut the tails again through the sycamore just like before, except with a narrower spacing. Once I cut the pin boards, I did a test fit.








The fit is good!

I used my CMT 1/2" plywood undersized bit for a dado along the lower part of each side. This was a stopped dado that was also cut on the router table in 3 passes. Here is a test fit with the 1/2" Baltic birch floor in place.










Once I got the corners all glued up, I began to work on the handles for the ends. I thought about several designs, but ended up settling on one that goes along with the dovetail look. I cut two blocks of sycamore at a 7 degree angle. 

















I drilled two holes in each of these blocks. I counter bored the holes on the wide end and fastened spikeless T-nuts with #4 brass screws. I then glued thin slices of walnut to the top, bottom, and wide end of the handles. After sanding, I temporarily mounted these to the short ends of the box.








I'll remove these for finishing, but I just wanted to verify their fit and see them in place. They are held in place by stainless steel 1/4-20 allen head machine screws that are counter-sunk to be flush inside the box. 


Well, that is mostly where it is now. I am working on the lid, but more on that later. After that, I will need to finalize my hinge plans and work on interior dividers to keep planes and saws in place, as well as a sliding tray for smaller hand tools to live in. Thanks for checking it out!


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Looks good so far. Great pictures. Is this your own design?









 







.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

cabinetman said:


> Looks good so far. Great pictures. Is this your own design?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yup, the design is my own doing. I started by laying out my hand tools and looking what kind of space I might need for them to fit into. The lid is going to really be the focal point. Stay tuned!

I should also point out that this is all walnut and sycamore that I got from Mike1950. Thanks Mike!


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## mike1950 (Aug 29, 2010)

Phaedrus said:


> Yup, the design is my own doing. I started by laying out my hand tools and looking what kind of space I might need for them to fit into. The lid is going to really be the focal point. Stay tuned!
> 
> I should also point out that this is all walnut and sycamore that I got from Mike1950. Thanks Mike!


Ben, I thought I recognized the wood. Nice Idea, box and build!!!:thumbsup:


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

mike1950 said:


> Ben, I thought I recognized the wood. Nice Idea, box and build!!!:thumbsup:


Mike, just wait until you see what I have cooking with that sycamore for the lid. There is some really light spalting and some killer grain. :thumbsup:


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Very nice. Looking forward to seeing this one finished.


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## jerbone (Jan 29, 2013)

Those double dovetails look amazing. I just started building a tool chest as well but now I feel it is woefully inadequate. This is great motivation, can't wait to see the top piece.


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## afx (Feb 5, 2010)

Holy S**T those dovetails look nice!


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Slick work on the dovetails. This box is going to be awesome.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

those double dovetails are REALLY cool! :thumbsup:

but ... since it is for HAND TOOLS, it feels like you should also MAKE it using hand tools ... ?

not hating ... just sayin' ... :smile:


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Looking really good so far. I am enjoying the pics and progress, and I can't wait to see how it all finishes up.


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## Tommie Hockett (Aug 26, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> those double dovetails are REALLY cool! :thumbsup:
> 
> but ... since it is for HAND TOOLS, it feels like you should also MAKE it using hand tools ... ?
> 
> not hating ... just sayin' ... :smile:


lol I thought that it would be a chest built using only hand tools when I opened the post. And just a by the way your joinery skills are freaking awesome


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> those double dovetails are REALLY cool! :thumbsup:
> 
> but ... since it is for HAND TOOLS, it feels like you should also MAKE it using hand tools ... ?
> 
> not hating ... just sayin' ... :smile:


Ha, yeah I hear ya! I am not discriminating between hand and power tools on this one. I have another build that I will post on eventually that I am doing primarily by hand...less a couple of cuts on the table saw. 

I am thinking a lot about the tradition of old masters with their elaborate tool chests and boxes that were as much a place to store (and honor) their tools as a testimate to their craftsmanship and abilities. The more I think about that, I become very aware of how I adequate my humble tool box will be! That said, this is my most ambitious project to date.

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## mike1950 (Aug 29, 2010)

Ben- Boxes are fun- and there are so many kinds. You get to use fantastic wood without breaking the bank.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Alrighty then. Consider me subscribed to this thread and I'm looking forward to an awesome build. This is gonna be cool.
Bring it on!!!!


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## Paul W Gillespie (Jul 7, 2011)

Looking good. Some day I will attempt a dove tail of some sort. No time soon though. I look forward to seeing your progress.


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## MasterSplinter (Jan 12, 2013)

Woe beautiful work. Im going to be building a storage chest also. Wont have those besutiful dovetails though.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Alright, you guys are due for an update so here we go. The lid is underway. The body of the lid is two pieces of 6/4 sycamore glued up together with a thin 1/8"-ish strip of this walnut between.

Here is those board cut down and glued up with three Dutchman joints mocked up.















Herr are the Dutchman joints carved out, glued, and knocked down to flush. I have a big knot that I have been scratching my head about, trying to figure out the most graceful way to handle. The wood around the knot is gorgeous and there is even a very small amount of spalting, but the center most portion is very weak. I decided to make a plug for it on the top that is roughly the same shape from sycamore.














Here is that thick inlay inserted. The back side is less severe. I have started filling the crack itself with epoxy when I glued the plug yesterday. I will do more epoxy work and a small Dutchman on both sides to stabilize things.















As you can see, the lid is shorter in width than the box is. I am figuring out the details of some breadboard ends still, to be made from walnut

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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Nice work! I like how it's coming together.


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## tc65 (Jan 9, 2012)

That's turning into a beautiful tool chest, almost too good to put tools in!


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## srestrepo (Sep 28, 2012)

wow this is real nice... how thick were the sides of the box again? maybe i missed the post?


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

srestrepo said:


> wow this is real nice... how thick were the sides of the box again? maybe i missed the post?


Thanks guys for the kind words. The sides are 4/4 walnut, planed to about 7/8".

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## Tommie Hockett (Aug 26, 2012)

lovin it bud can't wait to see more. btw hows the mallet holding up since you fixed it?


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Tommie Hockett said:


> lovin it bud can't wait to see more. btw hows the mallet holding up since you fixed it?


Glad to hear it! Your mallet is going strong. It has been my go-to mallet for all of the chiseling that I have been doing as of late. The Osage face is holding up really well. There is hardly a dent in the face anywhere!

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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Hello again, time for another update. I slotted a 3/8" groove down the edge of the lid and put in a strip of maple. This is a little bit decorative and a little structural. The wood in the area of this knot is softer and I just wanted a little extra sturdy material there.







Once the strip was glued in, I planed off the excess.







Okay, that done, on to the breadboard ends. I glued up two sets of 4/4 board at 4" wide by around 19" long.







I then set up a 1/2" bit in my router table and mounted my super fence and high fence support to my Incra fence. I chose to cut the groove into the board itself instead of the ends to keep the visible portion of the ends smaller. I seem to have a lack of photos for this portion, so bare with me. In passes of 3/8" at a time, I worked my way toward a maximum depth of 1 3/8"--which is all that I could get out of my 1/2" bit with 1" cutting surface. With this done, I got to work on the walnut ends. I planed the edges smooth and square. I then loaded a 3/4" bit in my router and got to work removing material for the tongue. I had to remove 3/8" from one side and darn near 7/8" on the other. I used several passes, but was dead on accurate on both sides with the LS Positioner. Okay, photo time. Here is the main board, grooved ends cut, and checking the ends for thickness. I did some light planing and parking with chisels to make everything fit. 














Here is where it gets fun. My router depth was 1 3/8", but my tongue in my ends are 2". I cut fingers into the tongue on the ends to make the joint stronger. The middle 6" of the tongue extend the full 2" as do about 3/4" on the edges of the tongues. This meant that I had to chisel away the excess material in these areas by hand, 




























Well, that is where we are now. I need to figure out my plans for pinning the ends. I will probably use dowels, but have been considering square pegs as well. I also need to build a shooting board to clean up the edges of the main part of the lid so that it is totally square and straight. I will, of course, have to pull these joints apart eventually. When I do, I will post better photos of the insides of the joints. I spent some time chamfering the edges so that they would fit completely with no binding or stray chips of wood reeking havoc.

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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

*Wait just a cotton pick'n dad gum minute here...*

That's looking great!... but the title is totally misleading :laughing:

I thought I was gonna see some hand tooling! :hammer: :laughing:


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

firemedic said:


> That's looking great!... but the title is totally misleading :laughing:
> 
> I thought I was gonna see some hand tooling! :hammer: :laughing:


It is a little misleading, but "Chest for hand tools made fro. mixed hand and power tools" is just too long!

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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Well, I got a little more time in today in the box. I built a rudimentary shooting board to square up the ends. It is half inch Baltic birch plywood with a 1 13/16" channel routed at 1/4" depth for the edge of the plane to ride in. Happily, my narrow bodied "Champion" brand no 5 is quite square...at least on one side. The fence that the board being squared rests against is a scrap hunk of walnut that is attached with glue and screw that are counter sunk from the bottom every 2".















Since I had the ends removed, here are photos of what they look like in their basically finished state.

















I still have to work out the pins for the ends, but that will wait for another day. I have some hinges purchased, but I am about sure that they are quite right. I also need to consider some kind of stay for the lid as well. *Sigh* lots more thought work ahead.

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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Well, an update here is long overdue! I finished trimming the breadboard ends to size and drilled holes for 3/8" dowels to pin them in place. There are four holes on each end; one is drilled straight through and has the dowel glued in place. The others have oblong holes and are only secured with glue to the main panel. The dowels were then trimmed flush with my Japanese flush cut saw.































Following this, I set about arranging how I wanted all of the odd shaped tools to fit. Many boxes like this will have large rip and crosscut saws mounted on the underside of the lid. I didn't want to obscure the grain pattern in the underside of the lid, but also wanted to still make use of that space. I decided to hang my jewelers saws and coping saw in this location. I started with some hook shaped hangers for the saw frames to hang from. I then fashioned some small blocks with holes for the handles to seat into. I then embedded several 3/8" neodium magnets in the lid to keep the saws in place when the box is closed.

























...More to come...

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## mike1950 (Aug 29, 2010)

VERY nice box Ben. I like the combo of woods and use of them. :thumbsup:


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

mike1950 said:


> VERY nice box Ben. I like the combo of woods and use of them. :thumbsup:


Oh, just you wait Mike! I have more photos to post of the inside. I am in the process of applying the finish still as well...as long as I don't drop the ball, I think there will be a big finish! ( no pun intended)

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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Looking great! Hope you left a spot open for a 30" frame rip saw...


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

I thought about that, but the box was already underway. It is over 30 inches in length though... I am sure that I will figure out something special for it.

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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

As promised, here are some more photos and details about the inside of the box. With my coping and jewelry saws hung, the next big objects that I wanted dedicated storage for were my planes and other saws. 

I tackled planes first as I had somewhat of a plan. Many people attach thin strips of wood to act as "curbs" that keep planes from sliding around. I am not convinced that I have my "forever planes" just yet, so I wanted to keep my situation flexible as some may be replaced or upgraded down the line. Instead, I layed out thin strips of walnut 1/4"-3/8"-ish diagonally at 60° and spaced so that the blades wouldn't need to be retracted before storing. I embedded neodium magnets in these to keep the planes from moving around. 























The saws were a little trickier, but I decided on making a slotted block with magnets holding each saw in place. My 26" Disston crosscut saw sits in the back and has more magnets to keep it held in place and flat. Also in the saw holder are a no name (or at least unknown make) tenon saw, Disston dovetail saw, Deer Brand dovetail saw, and Japanese flush cut saw. 






















Perhaps the biggest challenge was finding places for my hand brace and a large mallet that I had made. Both were just slightly too large to fit upright in the areas I had wanted. I have no progress pics of the support that I made for these items, but here it is. The brace sits at an angle and the mallet head rests in the opening of the support and on the top of the saw holder.
















That is all for interior organization. The other "stuff" is mostly loose and fits in the open areas. I have a leather tool roll for the chisels and some other sharps that works quite well. The next pictures will hopefully be the finished project! I keep plugging away on the finish, applying a coat here and there when I can.

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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Grrrr-- double post


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## mike1950 (Aug 29, 2010)

Looking good ben- nice use of the magnets.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Done! ...errr, mostly. I am still looking for the right lid stay(s), but everything else is where I want it. Below is the all-important proof. First photos of the box empty, followed by some pictures once I moved in. :thumbsup:


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

...and here it is with some tools in it: :yes:


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## Duckhunter2007 (Jun 12, 2013)

This is awesome!


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Not really sure how I missed this Ben, but wow!!!!
Your attention to detail is smooth and crisp. 
Sure is a show piece indeed.


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## MasterSplinter (Jan 12, 2013)

Outstanding job and detail. How heavy is it?


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

MasterSplinter said:


> Outstanding job and detail. How heavy is it?


Best I can tell it is around 90 lbs loaded. Not terribly convenient to lift, that is for sure!

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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

You've for some great details in there. Very nice! Have you considered some sort of lost out tray to prevent piling tools on top of each other?

Beautiful chest, man. It's quite a looker.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Chaincarver Steve said:


> You've for some great details in there. Very nice! Have you considered some sort of lost out tray to prevent piling tools on top of each other?
> 
> Beautiful chest, man. It's quite a looker.


Thanks! I had been considering a tray or caddy or something that would lift out and hold more of the miscellaneous stuff, but I haven't settled on anything yet. I worry some about locking myself in to very specific items by making it too "fitted". I think down the road a few years I will make a chest for it to "nest" on with drawers.

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## MapleMoose (Sep 25, 2012)

That is a really fine looking tool chest! Rare earth magnets sure do make flexible organization easier!


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

I must say I'm appalled by this abomination. You should be utterly and thoroughly ashamed of yourself. I have no choice but to advise you to petition a moderator to delete this thread so as to begin the process of destroying all evidence of that box's existence. Next, check your PMs. I'll presently send you an address where you can send that awful, awful thing and I'll dispose of it for you. Its for your own good, Ben. This message will self destruct.


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## bobasaurus (Aug 22, 2013)

This was amazing to follow. Thanks for posting all the build photos. I like the filled knothole, dutchmen, and all the hand tool work. I'm always a sucker for double dovetails, even when not hand made. I plan on building a wall cabinet for my hand tools soon, so this is inspiring.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Beautiful job Ben. That chest is an heirloom piece. 

Your work is inspiring.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Truly a labor of love there. They used to say that you could tell the skill of the woodworker by the quality of his tool box. That piece is top notch quality. I agree with Steve though on the removable tray for exactly the same reason.


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