Tool Cabinet

[Waka]

I thought I'd post some photographs of a tool cabinet I made last year.

I got the design from Jim Tolpin's Toolbox Book and it's loosely based on the tool cabinet by Andy Rae, although I have to say nowhere near as good, but this was my first attempt.

All the drawers in the lower part are push to close / open runners with the top ones ordinary drawer runners.

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Hope you enjoy.

 

[nickao]

Way to nice for a workshop! Great work!

Looks like cork in the drawers? Nice touch!

 

[mouppe]

Fantastic piece! It must give you a lot of pleasure every time you take a tool out.

Is that birds eye maple on the drawer fronts? May I ask if you used power tools or hand tools to smooth it? I am having difficulty smoothing some for a project I am working on.

Richard.

 

[Waka]

Fantastic piece! It must give you a lot of pleasure every time you take a tool out.

Is that birds eye maple on the drawer fronts? May I ask if you used power tools or hand tools to smooth it? I am having difficulty smoothing some for a project I am working on.

Richard.

Richard

The woods used were Indonesian Rosewood with panels of Birdseye Maple for the main frames, the drawer fronts are made from solid Birdseye Maple with the drawer carcases are made from Mapel.

All the wood had the final finish using hand tools, the planes I used are Sauer & Stainer, not really a problem with tear out but then they are exceptional planes. Not sure what angle you're using on your planes, you could try a back bevel on the blade to give a higher angle.
I guess failing that resort to a hand sanding with Abranet.

Hope this helps.

 

[peter halle]

What a gorgeous piece!  I almost typed around the filter when I saw this. I just looked at the cover of the book and did see some similarities, but yours is more beautiful in my opinion.  

Sure am glad you asked about how to post pictures!

Peter

 

[mc]

That tool chest is amazing.  Not to mention the collection of tools inside! 
One slight gripe.  Seeing your tool cabinet reminded me that I have been meaning to build something similar.  Your reference to Jim Tolpins book reminded me that I have wanted that book for awhile.  While I was purchasing the book for the lie-nielsen site I remembered that I could probably use a couple more items.  Long story, short.  Your post cost me $175.

 

[jmbfestool]

Very nice!    Nice collection of tools  very expensive!  I hope one day!

JMB

 

[nclemmons]

Excellent cabinet.  And what a tool collection to go in it!  Thanks for sharing.

Neil

 

[woodguy7]

Beautiful piece of furniture there.  How much did the wood cost for a cabinet like that ?

I see that cabinet on your avatar on UK Workshops & always wanted to see inside it.  Even better than i thought it would be.  I presume the drawers are hand cut dovetails  [smile]  Any pics of them & possibly more of the Sauer & Stainer plane ?  I have a bit of a soft spot for planes  [big grin]

Thanks for sharing, Woodguy.

 

[Jonathanerrrm]

Thats's a beautiful tool cabinet and I really like the layout and details. Thanks for sharing the photos.

 

[Alaska Ranger]

That looks to be exceptional work and speaking for myself, an inspiration.

A few questions:

What did you use for finish?

Have you cutouts for each plane's chisel or, as asked above, are the drawers and cubbyholes cork-lined?

Are you happy with the drawer pulls or would you suggest an alternative for someone trying to make something similar?  [smile]

 

[mouppe]

Fantastic piece! It must give you a lot of pleasure every time you take a tool out.

Is that birds eye maple on the drawer fronts? May I ask if you used power tools or hand tools to smooth it? I am having difficulty smoothing some for a project I am working on.

Richard.

Richard

The woods used were Indonesian Rosewood with panels of Birdseye Maple for the main frames, the drawer fronts are made from solid Birdseye Maple with the drawer carcases are made from Mapel.

All the wood had the final finish using hand tools, the planes I used are Sauer & Stainer, not really a problem with tear out but then they are exceptional planes. Not sure what angle you're using on your planes, you could try a back bevel on the blade to give a higher angle.
I guess failing that resort to a hand sanding with Abranet.

Hope this helps.

Uh-oh, I was afraid you would mention a back bevel. I do not want to put one on my current #4 plane blade, so I may have to order an extra blade and set it up with a back bevel. I'll be doing a lot with figured woods in the future.

Thanks for the quick reply
Richard.

 

[chrisrosenb]

Beautiful cabinet.

 

[Waka]

Beautiful piece of furniture there.  How much did the wood cost for a cabinet like that ?

I see that cabinet on your avatar on UK Workshops & always wanted to see inside it.  Even better than i thought it would be.  I presume the drawers are hand cut dovetails  [smile]  Any pics of them & possibly more of the Sauer & Stainer plane ?  I have a bit of a soft spot for planes  [big grin]

Thanks for sharing, Woodguy.

Woodguy

All the drawers back and front are handmade dovetails, I get a real sense of satisfaction with hand cut DT's.

I'll post a picture of the planes later.

 

[Waka]

That looks to be exceptional work and speaking for myself, an inspiration.

A few questions:

What did you use for finish?

Have you cutouts for each plane's chisel or, as asked above, are the drawers and cubbyholes cork-lined?

Are you happy with the drawer pulls or would you suggest an alternative for someone trying to make something similar?  [smile]

MC

Sorry about the expense my post has cost you, but now you can work through the book, I think its one of the best on the market for tool chests/boxes/cabinets etc.

Alaska Ranger

I used some off cuts of Indonesian Rosewood and just filed profiles to fit the planes and chisels etc. You are correct I did line the drawers with a layer of cork, I wanted to protect the tools and the wood and I have to say I think it sets them off.

The drawer pulls took a lot of thinking about, I really had two choices, do them as they are or have them flush with the drawer front. There was one other alternative and that was to use the push to open/close drawer runners in the top as well as the bottom parts of the cabinet, and in hindsight I wish I had gone this way. But I don't think the drawer pulls look to bad and somehow, I think it sets off the inside.

I guess if you were starting off on a project like this I'd recommend looking at as many cabinets as you can and choosing what takes your eye.

Thanks all for the nice comments, to me this project was a labour of love and something I wanted to do to enhance my skills. It's been mentioned before that it's too nice for the workshop and you could be right, but I get a lot of pleasure using it.

 

[waynelang2001]

That really is a beautiful piece of " furniture ". I would be to worried to even make any dust around it. And your collection of hands tools are just as beautiful.

 

[Alaska Ranger]

What did you use for finish?

Whoops.  Let's try again.

Translating the above from Alaskanese: What finish did you use on the (various) wood(s)?  Stain/varnish/shellac/Kilz primer [crying][eek]/polyurethane.....

 

[tburritt]

[cool] Beautiful Cabinet! Like it was said above its too nice for the shop but then again if your making a "Tool Cabinet"more like  a piece of furnature the rest of the shop will soon follow.  Great Work!  [thumbs up]  You should be proud .

 

[tigger]

All I can say in addition to all of the above is.....

"Thats one nice piece of woodwork you have there!"  [thumbs up]

Thanks for posting it

 

[honeydoman]

wake  that looks awesome what a beautiful job......

thanks for sharing