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The Carpenter's Tool Chest

Started by Brian_Weekley, March 09, 2014, 04:45:52 PM

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Brian_Weekley



This past summer, I got an old, traditional carpenter's tool chest at my neighbor's yard sale...



It was in pretty rough shape, but I thought it would be fun to fix it up to store my timber frame tools in.  It was missing the interior tool tray and looked like it only had a track for one tray, so I added new rails and made two new tool trays.  I even used full dovetails to make the trays—something I've always wanted to try.



It's still beat up, but some new stain on the exterior made a world of difference...



A little larger tool chest would be nice, but this does a pretty good job for my timber frame collection.

The bottom holds saw, planes, and the larger items...



The sliding trays hold my framing chisels, measuring tools, and smaller items...





In the future, I'd like to make a larger one from scratch, but this will do the job for now.


e aho laula

samandothers

Nice old picture.  Great job on fixing up and making usable the old tool chest.  Good for you!

Jim_Rogers

Tip protectors.
You need to put tip protectors on all those chisels and slick.
I put a piece of cardboard under my planes so that they don't sit on something that could be dirty, and get grit on the knife.

Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

jdtuttle

I got mine from my wife's Grandfather. He was a carpenter on the railroad & built wooden bridges. Looks very similar to yours. great find.
Have a great day

laffs

I have one also from my grandfather. The top has leather straps on the underside for small tools, and has 2 trays one under the other
timber harvester,tinberjack230,34hp kubota,job ace excavator carpenter tools up the yingyang,

Dave Shepard

That's a nice chest. Now, how are you going to lift it? :D Did you use white pine for the new trays? How was that to dovetail? Probably needed crazy sharp chisels to work EWP.

I bought a similar chest in '06 from a 90 year old man that had it in his basement. It belonged to his uncle, who was a carpenter of some sort. It was full of all sorts of goodies. It had one sliding tray. The real prize in there was a Sargeant Jointer plane, that I am still using today, and a Jack plane that I gave to Piston. There was also a nice saw vise and some other sharpening gear that I hope to learn how to use someday.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Brian_Weekley

Quote from: Jim_Rogers on March 09, 2014, 05:42:01 PM
You need to put tip protectors on all those chisels and slick.

Jim, I've had trouble in the past where my chisels would rust where they were in contact with the leather when in the protector during storage.  I don't know what it was--maybe the leather wasn't completely dry.  Therefore, I've only been using the leather protectors when I'm working or during transport.  However, I agree I should have something under them so they aren't sitting directly on the wood.
e aho laula

Dave Shepard

I bought some really nice leather sheaths from Luke Tekwerk (Hancock '10), and he suggested filling the inside with clean oil so that that (Tom) wouldn't happen. I never did, and haven't had any problems with rust from the leather. Fresh white oak on the other hand, has been murder on everything. I have some camellia oil that I coat my planes with, and that seems to help.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Brian_Weekley

Quote from: Dave Shepard on March 09, 2014, 07:45:41 PM
Now, how are you going to lift it? :D Did you use white pine for the new trays? How was that to dovetail? Probably needed crazy sharp chisels to work EWP.

:D :D  I'm not planning to lift that bad boy!  It's really meant for tool storage in my workshop—not for transportation.  Tool chests help keep humidity and sawdust off your tools.  Sawdust on your tools can absorb water and cause them to rust.

Last year, I built a toolbox that I use to ferry my tools around.  Dave, if I remember correctly, you had a monster toolbox that seemed as big as my tool chest--I don't think I'd be able to lift that one either!



Yes, I made the trays from some leftover EWP boards.  For the dovetails, I did cheat a little.  I used a table saw to cut the dovetails using the following technique.  I have to say it worked pretty well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChCPX7G3u_s

Quote from: Dave Shepard on March 09, 2014, 08:11:48 PM
I bought some really nice leather sheaths from Luke Tekwerk (Hancock '10), and he suggested filling the inside with clean oil so that that (Tom) wouldn't happen. I never did, and haven't had any problems with rust from the leather. Fresh white oak on the other hand, has been murder on everything. I have some camellia oil that I coat my planes with, and that seems to help.

Dave, I had bought some leather and made my own protectors.  I suspect the leather I got was not fully cured.  I tried coating the inside with oil, but still had some problems.  I recently picked up a scrap piece of some old leather and will try to make some more from this piece.

e aho laula

Dave Shepard

My carryall is pretty heavy when it's full. For years I left all my tools at work in an unlocked building, we even left the overhead door up most of the time in the summer. Then one day we had a visit from a questionable character and from that day forward I never left so much as a pencil at work. Toting all that stuff became a real pain.

My bigger carryall:

Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Tom King

Nice job!

I would really like to get a high quality copy of that old picture. 

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