Wood Worker's Tool Box Qx

[Tom B]

For the past year or so, since I retired, I've been volunteering with a group here in Plano Tx that goes out one day a week and helps with household maintenance items for some of our older or less fotunate residents - fixing toilets that run, faucets that drip, installing grab bars in bathtubs, etc. Over time my assignments have gravitated towards the carpentry/woodworking side, probably because I can use a plane that doesn't fly and can make lots of sawdust. As a result I find myself having to pack up some basic hand tools ever week and truck them out to someone's house, do a couple (or 6) hours work, then back home to unpack. Wrapping planes (the non-flying ones), rasps, scrapers, and handsaws in old towels to protect them is, I guess, OK but I'd rather have a solution that's a little neater.

Over the years I've seen a few pictures on the net of new and old toolchests just for hand wood tools. Anyone got a couple of good examples I could use to stimulate the creative juices?

Regards.

Tom

PS: Last 2 weeks I've been working on a home built in 1896 (old by Texas standards) that needed some exterior restoration to meet the city code inspector's requirements. What a joy! Some of the quarter round that I fixed was 5/8" on the flats and had 13 growth rings in that 5/8"! I had to pre-drill for finishing nails 'cause they'd bend off before penetrating. Next week is interior work that the owner (who was born in the house) asked me to come by and do for her. She's even paying me $5.00 an hour for it! Heck, I'd pay her! The money will go into our fund that lets us help folks who can't afford something as simple as a faucet washer.

TB

[Lew Hodgett]

Take a look at Fred Bingham's book, Practical Yacht Joinery.

Has a classic tool box.

Lew

[Mike]

Here is a link that might get you going. Click on the one(s) you like. For me that was all of them.

O.

[charlieb]

Yet another verification that the world has far more Angels tha A-Holes. Though not "visible" - your wings are showing sir.

One of the woodworking magazines (and I can't find the issue it's in) - has Frank Klausz with a tool box he made on the cover that might be helpful. The article about it includes the tools in the box as well as how the box is made - and methods for holding tools. I've gone through the piles of woodworking magazines scattered about and - alas - I haven't found the magazine. Perhaps some one with better organizational skills can fill in the details.

[Larry C]

This may not be what you are looking for but a few years ago I saw a guy who had taken one of the heavy duty canvas beach bags and created an inner liner that all of his tools fit in. Each tool had its own slot. It was kind of the inverse of the things that people put over the 5 gallon buckets. He had all sorts of tools in that bag. Sorry no pictures.

Larry C

[LRod]

You could start here:

that may be more than you need...

[Three Putt]

It is a magnificent looking tool chest, but I wonder what it weighs, fully loaded? Seems like it would take two men and boy to take it out for house jobs.

Chuck

[Len]

My Grandpa had a box that looked like a cross between the "Cabinet Makers" and "Gentleman's" tool chests shown at that link, but was a bit longer and taller than either.

It had one drawer near the bottom front instead of the two shown on the "Gentleman's" chest, three lift out trays under the lid, and the back flipped down to reveal shelves for planes.

The top tray held an assortment of sharpening stones, strop blocks, jeweler's ruge, and a small wooden mallet for adjusting the planes. There was also a slot for whichever of the smooth/scrub plane blades was not in the plane, and a couple of pocket knives.

The middle tray was chisels, trimming knives, scrapers, burnishers, a couple of marking knives, a draw knife, and small spoke shave.

The bottom tray had screw drivers, nail sets, a nail hammer, a brass hammer, and some other stuff I can't remember.

The drawer was for squares, dividers, and measuring tools.

The space under the flip down back had a jointer plane on the lowest shelf (actually the bottom of the chest extended out), the middle shelf held a jack plane, and the top shelf held a smooth/scrub plane (depended on blade installed), and a block plane.

He had a seperate box for his saw assortment.

Len

[lenhow]

FWIW Here are a few photos of the one I made recently based on Chris Marshall design in the May/June 2008 Woodworker's Journal.

[Peter Bogiatzidis]

Lew,

You may want to take a look at the following link.

think that this may be the one that CharlieB was trying to remember. It seems that it originally appeared in Popular Woodworking, although, coincidentally, I just happened to stumble upon it at in their "Project Plans" section under the "Odds & Ends" tab. Scroll down to "Your First Tool Kit". Lots of other plans there too.

Hope this helps.

Peter.

[Swingman]

"Peter Bogiatzidis" wrote

> I think that this may be the one that CharlieB was trying to remember. It

Thank you, thank you! :)

I had forgotten all about Frank Klaus' toolbox, and story.

Had to move my shop a few months back and just had to give the new place a trial run, so I built a "box". Just a simple, box jointed, damned old jummywood box. A "box" for no purpose whatsoever, other than to just christen the shop, spread some sawdust around, and make it look/smell/earn its name as a "wood shop.

This "box" has just been sitting there, in my way ever since, just waiting patiently for a purpose.

Now, I really don't need a toolbox, but this particular "box" is very badly in need of a purpose in life ... and thanks to you, and Frank, it may have just found one.

No telling what tales will be told about that box a hundred years from now ...

[Tom B]

Charlie:

Thanks for the kind words. Truth is, it's fun and rewarding in ways that can't be banked. When a little old widow whose front door wouldn't close enough to seal out the cold wind says "Thank you. My stars that's better" (her words), you walk back to the truck feeling pretty OK.

Regards.

Tom

BTW. Someone provided a link to the FK tool box and I'm looking at it.

TB

[Tom B]

Lenny:

Thanks. Very nice work! More than I envisioned doing 'cause I'm not big enough to carry it, but really pretty!

Regards.

Tom

[Tom B]

Many thanks to all of y'all that replied. I got some food for thought to crank me up. I'll try to post results as the work progresses.

Regards.

Tom

[mjd]

thanks for that link - that's a great article. Long time ago my dad had given me my grandfather's toolbox - he was a cabinetmaker for RCA. It's in my shop on the back of my storage bench; the outside I had freshened up but the inside is waiting for an excuse to clean it out and start migrating my hand tools into, so this story provides good motivation to work on that.