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+-- Thread: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? (/showthread.php?tid=6623908)
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - Kansas City Fireslayer - 01-07-2014
I think a lot of "shop" woodworkers build tool chests because it's a cool little project. It's also a very practical one to break out all the hand tools on. I would like to build one someday and although it could get used in traditional transport, I very rarely take my tools outside of my shop--let alone all my bread and butter hand tools.
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - Bibliophile 13 - 01-07-2014
It's a fair question.
The English tool chest was very attractive to me for one simple reason: compact storage space. My working space is very small, and I have limited wall space because of some big windows. (And I am NOT complaining about all the natural light!) So wall cabinets were out. Plus, I have small children in my workspace all the time, so I needed to be able to store my sharp tools away from little fingers. My tool chest rolls right under the right end of my workbench, so when it is put away, it essentially adds no extra footprint to my shop space. A tool chest was a no-brainer for me.
That doesn't answer the whole question, though. Why is it attractive to people with more traditional shop set-ups? Aside from the fact that it's just a fun project, here are some suggestions.
- Flexible storage space. Sure, the sliding tills get messy, and you have to dig around for stuff. But whenever I look at the Studley tool chest, I always wonder, "What if he needed to buy a new tool?" Obviously, the answer is that he didn't. He had all the tools he needed for the work he was doing, and he enshrined them in his chest. Most of us, however, are not in that position. We acquire and get rid of tools at a rate that shocks our spouses. If we had everything French-fit into trays and cabinets, we would be updating our storage constantly. (That's the proffered advantage of pegboard, right?) Schwarz is dead-on when he says that several shallow trays are better than one deep one. The shallow trays allow you to spread your tools out so they don't get buried. Deep trays cause exactly the problems Derek points out--piles of tools.
- Ease of access. After working out of my own chest for a year, I think Schwarz is essentially right about how easy it is to access all the tools in a traditional tool chest--if it's built well. Equally important is ease of clean-up. I find it much easier to put tools away than I did before. That doesn't mean I always DO, mind you.
But when it's time to clean up the shop, it's a very simple affair to put each tool in its place without having to remember precisely which gauge goes in which holder and which saw goes on which peg. Each category of tool has a designated space, and the tools fit there in a number of different configurations. - Floor space. Most of us have shops that we consider too small. The tool chest can be tucked into unused corners, or under one end of the workbench, where it takes up virtually no extra space. Wall cabinets require not only a wall but wide clearance in front of them to let the doors open up and drawers pull out. It all depends on your shop set-up, of course, but the tool chest was ideal for me.
- Popular approval. I have yet to see somebody on this forum (or anywhere else) who has built a traditional tool chest complain about using it. (For the record, most people who build wall cabinets also seem very happy with them.) Maybe those with tool-chest-remorse just keep quiet about it, but I think that most of us with English tool chests enjoy working out of them. They don't fit all workshops or all woodworkers, but for many of us, they've been an excellent solution to the perennial tool storage problem.
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - wood2woodknot - 01-07-2014
The only reason I would have a tool chest would be the experience of building it. I can do the same thing with other projects. Personally, I hate enclosed storage - out of sight is out of mind (and metaphysically out of existence). The only things that would go in a tool chest would be the things that seldom get used and I want them out of the way. I need to "see" things around me and in reach - therefore, (to some) the "messy" look - visible on the bench, on open shelving, or hanging on the wall. I do have a rolling cabinet with shelves and sliding doors - no drawers. On top of it is a small 5-bin tote I made for small odds and ends - pencils, scribe, ruler, note pad, rubber bands & clips. It gets moved out of the way to use the cabinet top for a work space. I'm in the process of building a set of shelves, but everything will be open, visible, and reachable. I have some small cases for alike tools (bench chisels in one; small planes in another; carving knives in a third; Kreg pocket screws and hole covers in a see-thru compartmentalized case; and small bottles of acrylics, dyes, and artist brushes in a small box). Each small case is labeled so I can pick it off the shelf quickly. There's an organization there - comfortable but not obsessively/compulsively rigid. Similarly, there's an acceptance of a small amount of dust and litter, but nothing major. Some things can wait until the project is over.
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - Chuck Nickerson - 01-07-2014
Rummaging for tools: how often are you folks changing the tool you use? I can pull five tools out of my box and they'll keep me busy for an hour of shop time, easy.
Security. I work with my garage door open and my only tool wall would be facing the street. People are less likely to try and steal or complain about what they can't see.
Also, when the fire evacuation notices come in (twice in six years) my two tool boxes roll into my truck and off I go.
Tools banging around: that's one glass of the Kool-Aid I did not drink. Each till as 1/8" luan ply fitted with dividers attached. If I ever decide they're in the way, out they come.
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - cputnam - 01-07-2014
IIRC, Chris set out to pare down his tool collection to only those basics that could all reside within the chest. Note that he also has a decent collection of well used power tools which mitigates the strain that might otherwise be placed on the chest's capacity. Still, I think he has proven his point that it is possible to build fine furniture with only those tolls that fit in the chest.
I have no desire to restrict tool acquisition
Therefore I have no interest in tool chests of ATC type. I do need tool storage though.Having racked what's left of my brain, I can come up with nothing more than wall storage and a mechanics style roll-away. I will shortly commence building a rolling chest the bottom of which will contain drawers for my planes and chisels. The top surface will be set up so my stones can stay out, ready for use and unencumbered by sawdust. Above that will hang something that is akin to the traditional wall cabinet. Building this thing should consume the mountains of plywood that are consuming my shop space. I really want to make this an elegant hand tool project but I can't until I get rid of the plywood, so ply it will be.
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - PeteW - 01-07-2014
Here's a good celebration of toolboxes:
http://toolemera.com/Tool%20Chests/tool_chest.html
From the intro: "The ingenuity of the tool maker in creating ever more inventive, often complex, often deceptively simple yet proportionaly precise and (often) very attractive containers for tools has held our attention.
This gallery of the Toolemera Museum is dedicated to that ingenuity that drives us to explore the varieties and designs of tool chests, cabinets, boxes, totes and those odd bench/cabinet combinations."
Works for me
.
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - captjack - 01-07-2014
+1
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - captjack - 01-07-2014
Blacky's Boy said:
But partially to discourage LOML from ever again using my dovetail saw to trim a hedge.
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - captjack - 01-07-2014
One must also remember that Chris writes books for a living, and must always be looking for new topics. I would expect to see a book on building tool chests shortly. I can see his need for a tool box, with his traveling all over to teach classes. If I had to do that I would need a box also, but alas, I dont, therefore, I would rather have my tools on shelves or withing reach at the bench rather than having to rummage around in a box on the floor.
Re: Why loose tools in a tool box? Why even a tool box? - AHill - 01-07-2014
Derek, you've managed to express in words my lack of motivation to build a toolbox. The floor space in my garage workshop is limited as it is. Were I to build a toolbox, it would take up yet more precious floor space. I don't travel with my tools, so I don't need the portability of a tool chest. I also prefer wall hung cabinets or the existing cabinets I already have to store tools. Most of my planes and back saws are stored in a cabinet under my workbench. My sharpening equipment and carving tools are in a shop made cabinet nestled on steel shelves. My marking and measuring and boring tools are stored in a rolling tool cabinet I made several years ago. My chisels find their home on a free standing rack on top of my workbench. While I find tool chests fascinating, I'm not inclined to be making one any time soon.