Started on a Dutch tool chest with poplar, so far its going good. My first time hand cutting dovetails. I wound up with 1 pin that I'm not satisfied with, I will have to cut a sliver and plane it flush to hide the gap. So far it's been a fun project using clout nails and hide glue to hold it all together. The Lie Nielsen no 48 is probably the neatest tool I own, hoping they get the 49s in this spring so I can do 1/2" T&G on furniture backs. Stuck until I can get some appropriate screws in for the battens on the fall front and some strap hinges for this lid. It will have to sit until next weekend.
02-04-2024, 07:09 PM (This post was last modified: 02-04-2024, 07:13 PM by Bryan F..)
Some progress this weekend. Waiting on USPS so I have the appropriate screws for the chest lifts. Next up is to build a till for my back saws and bench planes, then a tool rack to go across the back. I'm undecided on the bottom, so I think it will just stay open for now. Put a few details on it. Used 6d rivierre nails on the sides to strengthen the bottom of the top section even though it sits in a dado. I drove a 4d though each of the tails into the bottom. The rest of the nails are square cut clouts. I ran a 3/16 bead on the front framing the fall front panel. Wanted to thumbnail the lid but went with a 1/4" chamfer. Only thing I had to cut the rabbet to make the thumbnail is a skew block and couldn't get it to suit me in test pieces. I saw that lee valley has their skew rabbet plane back in stock though. I cut a rabbet with a 10 degree bevel on the fall front, but I cheated and used the table saw then cleaned it up with a block plane. Overall, I'm pretty pleased so far. It's about 1/8 out of square. When I cut the bottom for the top section I think I got a hair short. Thanks for looking.
Cool Bandit!
After reading his original article years ago, I realized I had the material and even the
hardware to make one too. Been using it ever since.
One thing that perhaps does not get mentioned enough, is the sloped lid absolutely
prevents setting anything on it. Thus, you can always get to the tools without having
to move other things. (Crazy how often that happens otherwise !)
Mark Singleton
Bene vivendo est optimum vindictae
The Laws of Physics do not care about your Politics - Me
Great job, Brian. Your photos bring back memories from about 10+ years ago... Even the color you chose. This chest has been invaluable. I put a furniture dolly beneath it for ease of movement around the shop. The milk paint has held up very well.
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