Wall Hung Tool Cabinet

[Adan Madrid]

I have been away from SMC for a while due to a slight career change and demanding work hours. However, the demands of work are leveling off and I am back in the shop and back on SMC. Attached are some photos of a wall hung tool cabinet I've been working on. The case is assembled using hand cut through dovetails and the drawers are similar to what you would find on a German Gerstner tool box. There is something that just feels good about opening and closing a drawer that glides on wood slides and fits like a piston. I am looking forward to finishing this cabinet and having a nice place to store all of the hand tools I have acquired over the years and to know I have a home for future tools I may come across.

[Richard Jones]

Adan,

Good looking stuff!

Can you provide some details on the drawer slides. Last ones I made are OK, just seem overly large to me and I'm wondering how small/large a cleat is really required.......

Again, nice looking work, I know you'll enjoy using it.

Rich

[mike holden]

Nicely done!

Mike

[Gary Radice]

Is the wood maple?

[Jamie Buxton]

Interesting wall you have your wall-hung cabinet hanging on...;)

[Sam Layton]

Welcome back Adan,

That is a great looking tool cabinet.

Good job, Sam

[John Schreiber]

Very nice. I misread and thought you had hand cut dovetails on the dozens of tiny drawers. I was going to forward the next note to the funny farm.

[Adan Madrid]

Thanks for the feedback.

The drawer slides are 1/4" x 1/2" fitted into 1/4" stop rabbets so approx 1/4" of stock protrudes into the drawer sides; maybe less depending on the final fit and finish as each drawer and slide is hand planed for the proper fit.

The drawers have the same joinery and critical dimensions as you would find on a Gerstner tool box. I used a 3-wing slot cutter with a 1/4" kerf thickness mounted on a router table for the drawer fronts and made the adjoining cuts for the drawer sides on the table saw. The drawer bottoms are .025 zinc plated sheet metal that will eventually be lined with felt. To cut a slot into the inner sides of the drawer front and sides to receive a drawer bottom of such a small gauge you need to do this by hand using a tenon rip saw and a guide block. The slots for the drawer bottoms are only 1/8" up from the bottom of the drawer front and sides. I trust this should be sufficient for drawers of this size that are intended to hold hand tools that warrant careful handling to begin with and since Gerstner's been doing it this way for years. The old drawer and tool box with the patina you see in the photo is an old Gerstner tool box I have had for several years now and was previously owned by a retired machinist who made use of it for at least a good 20 years. Although the felt is a little tattered on some of the drawers the joinery remains in tact.

I used birch for the cabinet, cherry for the drawer fronts and maple for the drawer sides and backs. I will post additional pictures as I make progress on this piece.

Thanks again.

[Roger Myers]

Great looking wall cabinet! You put a lot of effort in this and it will serve you well!
Just one very minor point.... Gerstner is an American Company, not German and has been since it's founding. They now have a "second line" of tool chests made in Asia...but all of their first line products are made in Ohio. http://www.gerstnerusa.com/History.htm

[Adan Madrid]

Roger,

Thanks for the clarification on Gerstner and your feedback. :)