Wednesday, May 25, 2011
All the drawers are fit
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
First drawer fit

Next came the dubious task of leveling the protruding tips of the pins and tails. The slow set epoxy reaches full strength in 24 hours, so it was essential that the protrusions be leveled before the epoxy reached full hardness. Otherwise your blade dulls in three passes and you may as well use an angle grinder to level the joints. I've made the mistake of waiting too long before and never want to be there again. (One of my lucky friends may remember sharpening my 4 hand planes one after the other as I dulled each out and grabbed the next so that the leveling could continue until the wee hours of the morning for a series of scrabble inspired benches).

Monday, May 23, 2011
Case Assembly

I try to use Titebond I wood glue in all my projects, but this case had over 45 joints coming together at the same time and Titebond I's four minutes of working time was not going to cut it. I mixed a batch of slow-set epoxy, added some microfiber to prevent it from dripping everywhere and began assembly.
There were a few scary moments during assembly where I questioned my measurements (and right to live if I had been stupid enough to make a math error with over 50 hours invested in the project) but my guardian angel walked in at the critical moment and gave a much needed hand in synchronizing the clamps (and flipping the case over for a sledge hammer beating when the clamps proved inadequate).
I had been tempted to assemble the case without clamps because that is how I assemble my dovetailed drawers. Clamps can rack a drawer, so I just hammer the drawers joints together and let them sit overnight on a flat surface. I have seen larger dovetail projects spring back and open up the joints if left unclamped, and I wanted the case to be very tight because of the racking it will experience when I use it as a work station. Where this is all going is to say that if future joints are as tight as these, there is simply too much friction to allow for any spring back, and the sledge hammer will be the only clamp I'll use on future dovetail assemblies.
Thanks again Donald for the bailout.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Inlaying the handles


Custom brass handles



Friday, May 20, 2011
Dovetails cut for the case

Below is a view of the interior which have been dadoed out for the drawer runners. The rear mortises only go a 1/2" deep because all of my maple was only 24" long and I didn't want to buy more.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Sides of Workstation
I decided to use some really amazing 5/4 QS white oak that I'd rat-holed away years ago. Because the tool box will also serve as a work station I wanted to use a more robust timber, such as white oak, rather than a lighter weight timber, such as pine or cedar, for the carcass. Unfortunately, my back may give out before the carcass racks, so this may have been a poor decision. Perhaps I'll be adding casters to this work station in the near future.
All of the sides and drawer dividers are now sized, and tomorrow I am looking forward to dadoing the sides of the carcass for the drawer dividers and maybe even starting to cut the dovetails for the carcass.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Three more drawers

I'm very happy with the grain match on the 4 drawer fronts. Both of these walnut pieces had been saved for years and I'm glad to get to use them on a piece I'll see a lot of.

Saturday, May 14, 2011
One drawer down, three to go


The next task at hand after completing the plane drawer was to decide on what tools were getting their own shelves. This was intimidating, but easier than I thought. I just cut all the drawer bottoms first and then oriented my most used tools for the best fit. Layout, chisels and saws each got their own drawer. I was tempted to make a 4th drawer for tools not yet purchased, but then I remembered that I will barely be able to lift this workstation as it is, so future acquisitions will have to wait for their own tool box.

Friday, May 13, 2011
Dividers Begin

High points included seeing the space for the #62.5 in its leather pouch to nestle behind the #7. This is a much better place for accessing both of my most used planes. The plywood shelves in the photo below were originally intended to hold the 62.5 and perhaps its even smaller brass counterpart (if I can justify the luxury).
I'm building all of the dividers with about 1/32" of slop. It's great when everything fits tight, but I've erred on the side of tight too often with tool kits, and the during the humid months this extra precision comes back to haunt me.

I'm looking forward to finishing the dividers tomorrow when it pours rain (and I'll have no distractions). Now that the largest drawer is complete, the greatest common denominator for the work station has been set, and I can start to lay out the remaining drawers with more efficiency.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Mobile Toolbox/Work station: Day 2
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Mobile Toolbox/Work station

The lumber for the drawer front and sides have been sized and marked and tomorrow begins the exciting process of cutting the dovetails. My goals are that the tool chest can store all of my "essential" tools and provide a shooting board and vertical clamping surface for smaller components (and it needs to be safely liftable).
Typically the case is made and then the drawers are fit to the openings. I am violating this rule as the design on the go process demands that I make crate-style drawers before I will know what dimensions to make the carcass to. If I run out of time, at least I'll have tool crates to bring out to SF.
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