under the bench tool cabinet build.

[John A. Callaway]

I have been working on this when I have time for the past month or so.... I just haven't gotten around to putting pics up. So, I will post them all up now.

with the exception of cutting dadoes and a few cross cuts, and drilling some holes, This will be a neander build, especially when I get to building all of those drawers....

The walnut cabinet is 16 inches high, 16 inches deep and about 35.5 inches long. The drawers are 2.5 , 3, 3.5, and 4 inches high. The height and width of the the top two rows of drawers are laid out using the golden ratio....thanks sketchup!

So here we go.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/cabinetpic.jpg

this is the workbench it will fit into, and the lumber planed to thickness stacked up next to it. The padauk and purpleheart are for the drawer faces. I still have to track down some maple or birch or something to do the drawer sides and backs with.... and a piece of walnut ply for the back of the cabinet.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2253.jpg

here the top and bottom have been glued up, and had some pocket hole screws added for a little extra support, and I am gluing up on of the side panels. The other boards stacked up are for the other side.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2276.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2275.jpg

after all the panels were glued up, I planed them smooth with # 3 ... It did a okay job, still learning how to fettle a plane and get it planing good and with out tracks.... I will delay finishing the cabinet until I can get it planed to a point I am happy with....

and yes, I use a shop vac about every twenty minutes...

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2278.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2281.jpg

more pics to come in a minute.....

[John A. Callaway]

here are the two side panels planed smooth, and ready for tails....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2283.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2284.jpg

starting the dovetails...

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2322.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2328-1.jpg

two sets of tails cut, the lower set still needed to be chiseled out.... I left the corners on so it would be easier to cut the dadoes on the table saw....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2314.jpg

both side panels done... dadoes cut, pocket hole plugs installed, time to cut pins in the top and bottom.....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/IMAG0044.jpg

[John A. Callaway]

I didnt do too many pics of the pins... The night I cut the first set of pins on the top panel, I hit a small snag. I cut the pins and chiseled them out on the left side, and then moved to the other end.... cut them out , took the fret saw to them, and started with the chisel. The pins have pretty good amount of space between them, a little over an inch.... so I was using a one inch chisel to give a clean edge along the marking gauge line.... I was a few sections into the joint, and I some how managed to catch one corner of the chisel with the inside of my left hand. I was holding it at an angle to get the edge clean close to the narrow side of the pin, and with pressure from my right hand, I guided the chisel with my left hand.... and I pushed the upper corner of the blade into my palm... between my index and middle finger.....right where the callus line is along the bottom of the fingers where they join the hand... so, we went to the hospital.... 5 stitches and a clean wound ..... and no woodworking for about a week. The doc said if it cut any deeper it would opened the top of my hand.....and she thanked me for using a sharp tool.... which I had sharpened that very afternoon. No nerve damage, no tendon damage, just a clean puncture and cut.

so those pins......

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/IMAG0047.jpg
( I took the block plane to those saw blade marks before I cut that top board )

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/IMAG0046.jpg

after all the pins were done and my stitches out..... It was time to put the case together.....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2366.jpg


http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2376.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2379.jpg

here you can see where I cut a rabbet for the plywood back to drop into. I still need to go back with a chisel and finish the corner where I stopped with the dado blade....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2391.jpg

[John A. Callaway]

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2385.jpg

you might notice only one dado is cut along the bottom panel, I decided to go with two drawers along the bottom instead of three, because at some point I will acquire a number 8 plane, and it needs to fit on a drawer..... the missing drawer along the bottom throws off the symmetry a little bit, but the argument of function over form has to come into play sometimes....

test fitting the case into the bench...

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2396.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2394.jpg

next up it was time to start the drawer frames. I wanted to do solid panels for each horizontal divider, just to add more weight under the bench, but the purchasing department didnt buy enough lumber for that, so I went with frames.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2400.jpg

here everything is cut and mocked up for a test fit...

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2399.jpg

cut the necessary daoes, and secured the cross pieces to the front frames with glue and pocket hole screws.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2403.jpg

some how I cut a few unnecessary dadoes, but they wont be seen, so it's just a goof up.... and the back of the frames are still unattached at this point....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2405.jpg

[John A. Callaway]

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2408.jpg

After all of the horizontal pieces were cut to correct size, it was time to do the verticals. I sorta went at them all at once and didnt take any pictures during the process.... so what you see here is everything installed and glued up .... so except for some planing and sanding to the dovetails and the face frames, along with just some general clean up work to the whole case, and of course a walnut plywood back ... the case is done. I have absolutely no idea what sort of finish I am gonna use yet.... and I am not in much of a hurry to decide just yet....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2423.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2419.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2417.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2416.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2414.jpg

oddly enough, the color variation you see in these pics is from the flash on, and off. all of it done with the same camera. it seems like it shows a dramatic difference in the color of the wood.

any way. up next ... Lots of drawer building.

[Sean Hughto]

Wow, it's nicer than most dressers I've built! Great work. Thanks for posting the pics.

As for the chisel injury, I think that's a right of passage. I had mine several years back. It instilled what I already should have known: - don't use your left hand as a workholding device; don't push through bites that are too large; and always try to imagine where the tool would go if the wood disappeared! Glad it wasn't serious. My ER nurse complimented the scalpel like precision of my cut too. ;-)

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Very nice looking build. Good job on the dovetails as well.

Looks like a useful (and good looking) addition:cool:.

One Q:

Did you leave enough room between the top of your case and the bottom of your bench to use holdfasts?

[John A. Callaway]

I only left room for the dog holes that are already there. It was a toss up on what to do. there is maybe four or five inches overhanging bench top in front of the edge of the cabinet. If I woulda shortened the cabinet any lower it wouldnt have been sizable enough to hold any substantial amount of tools.... the bench top is only 21 inches wide including the tool tray.... so I can hold work along the edges with clamps....

[Andrew Gibson]

looks great!
I can't wait to see the finished product, it looks like it will help solid up the bench as well as add some good weight.

[Jim Koepke]

Looks great.

I have thought of doing this a few times, but then it just remains a thought.

Good to see someone actually making progress.

jim

[Michael Peet]

Those dovetails look great, John. I remember your posts when you were first learning them. Excellent job!

Mike

[John A. Callaway]

thanks. there are a few errors..... but most are only visible inside. But I am very pleased with how they look myself.

[jerry nazard]

John,

Looking good - an organized workplace makes woodworking so much more fun! As to the chisel, I ran a 1/8" through my left hand about 30 years ago. I'll never forget the pain.....

-Jerry

[Rick Erickson]

John, great project and excellent execution! I have the larger version of the same bench. I built a similar tool chest underneath and it has prevented me from using holdfasts or other bench clamps in my bench. However, if you drop your front and back stretchers you get the room you need. I just haven't done mine yet because the tool chest is full of tools and I'm too lazy to empty it. I'm building a wall tool chest and when done most of the tools will transfer to that. I will then drop the stretchers.

I can't wait to see the drawers. Thanks for the tour and all the great pictures. Nothing like a dining room table playing the roll of an assembly table. I think I would find all my tools thrown in the front yard if I tried that one. Thanks again and keep the post alive.

[John A. Callaway]

Rick... I remember us talking about that in another thread. so far, in working on this cabinet, I have been able to secure any piece anywhere with F clamps and a few scrap wood cauls. If I were to have a bench of any greater width, middle of the bench holdfasts would most certainly be a necessity. But for now, this is seeming to work really good. Eventually, when a full on shop presents itself in a bigger home, I will build a full size bench, and the bottom will remain open and empty, with this bench up against a wall somewhere, as a back up bench / sharpening station...

[John A. Callaway]

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2424.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2431.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2429.jpg

this will probably be it for pics until I get the plywood backer installed, gonna order it monday. The place I found is closed today.

also gonna pick up some wood to start doing drawer sides with.

[John Schreiber]

A really nice project and one I plan to do myself soon. Your mix of old school joinery and pocket screws is intriguing. I think your choices make a lot of sense in maximizing strength where it matters like the corners of the case, but not where it doesn't like in the dust frames.

[John A. Callaway]

well I was gonna pocket hole the veticals too.... I did on the bottom one, but not the others.... I figure the glue alone with clamp pressure would be enough to hold them. I bought enough walnut plugs to fill all the holes if I were to have done them, but it just wasnt necessary to do all that extra work. I would have cut the dadoes by hand, but I really lack the tools to do it all properly, unless I wanted to go at them with a chisel.... and that was just me being lazy. A dado set is just too useful, neander or not.

[John A. Callaway]

so, I am back at it... Going to start cutting drawers this week. I was going to purchase a quarter sheet of walnut plywood for the back... but ordering it and shipping costs.... dont see the need to go that route right now. So I got a piece of red oak ply from HD for about 8 bucks... It wont be seen... and it is just nailed in. If th back is ever visible, I buy some walnut so it will match.

The drawer sides and backs have been rough cut to size for all drawers, I used soft maple ....found a place in savannah that sells it ( along with lots of other hardwoods ) it needs to be planed down to thickness, but I will do that as I cut each drawer. The two bottom rows will have purpleheart faces, the two top rows will have padauk faces... except the three middle drawers ( two on the top row, middle of the second row ) will have zebra wood faces.

So, here is where we are now...

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2532.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2533.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2535.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2536.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2540.jpg

[John A. Callaway]

Drawer parts cut. Gotta run everything through the drum sander a buddy has. I tried to resaw some scraps on the table saw.... but the maple got a good bit of burn marks in it... So, after jointing them flat with the number 8 , I will have to catch it when he and I are both home ( he is a railroad guy too ) so I can thin this stuff out. The drawer faces will lose about 1/16" or so.... gonna leave them sorta thick.... the rest of the sides and back I will try to get them down to about 7/16" or so.... What thickness plywood should I use for the bottoms ? 1/8" or 1/4" ? I don't know ? I am thinking for the bigger drawers I should certainly use 1/4" ....

But what do you guys think?

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2541.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2543.jpg

Left this piece a little long until I get it thinned out. did the same for the back of these two drawers with the maple...
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2547.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2553.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2559.jpg

I love the way this purple heart looks. The grain and density is really eye catching....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2557.jpg

[John A. Callaway]

small update... Got a little curious... and impatient...my buddy with the drum sander works for the railroad like me... Our schedules are a little hard to match up... I jointed everything flat with the number 8 plane first , then I put a rip blade on the table saw and ripped all the maple down to 7/16" ..... took a little sanding with the palm sander afterwards... but the pieces look good. All of the drawer faces I just shaved down to about 5/8" ( they were 3/4" pieces from woodcraft ) .... Everything is flat and sized for joinery now. So the next time I get home I will start cutting dovetails... So it isn't a big step, but the last day or so was a necessary process in the build....

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2567.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2575.jpg

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http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2582.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2585.jpg

[John A. Callaway]

small update.

first drawers started. One finished, except for a drawer bottom groove.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2597.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2593.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2591.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2588.jpg

[brian c miller]

Wow looks great...

Any rhyme or reason to the drawer sizes? Looks like a change from the sketch

[glenn bradley]

What fun with those differing drawer fronts. This is great.

[John A. Callaway]

Brian, I changed the bottom row only. Doing three drawers would have been a little more symmetrical .... But the middle one wouldn't hold a number 8 jointer plane, even diagonally... so, I left off the far right hand drawer.... Other than that, it is all the same.

And yeah, I know there are alot of colors what not to throw you off.... but I like it. and I didnt want it all to just " blend in "

We work with wood. So, I figured I would show off some of the more unusual woods that you dont normally see in something like this. I got the idea from one of the workbench books.... Not Schwarz's book....the other one..... some guy did a cabinet and used four different woods for four different drawer faces.... and it got my attention. but I couldnt bring my self to use eleven different woods for eleven different drawers !!!!:D

[John A. Callaway]

two bottom drawers done...except for a little edge planing to make them slide a little easier... Oak ply bottoms.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2602.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2604.jpg

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http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2607.jpg

[David Christopher]

John, this is coming along nicely, and I really like the different colors

[John A. Callaway]

thanks. even with taking my time I till make an error or two here and there... and I am okay with that. I have never taken on a project of this size or type before... and some of my mistakes are just careless goof, and others are genuine accidents....

I am definitely going to have to get a scraper of some sort to clean up some of this dried glue in places...

the bigger drawer is a little tight in its pocket, so I am gonna have to plane the top edge of it a bit towards the back to get it to slide all the way in with no resistance.

I have drawer pulls already but I haven't put them in yet. They are just little square aluminum pulls from HD. I wanted something small and simple and most importantly, short.

Look for the next row to be done sometime in the next week.

I bought some BLO and some premixed shellac.... I did some sample application on some scrap on each species... I can't decide if I like the BLO or not on the exotic woods.... It darkens them up more than I wanted it to... but on the Walnut it is fine. and the maple doesnt even change color. So I still don't know about using it or not... I may try the danish oil and see how it looks.... and then danish oil with a shellac top coat.... I dunno yet ...

[John A. Callaway]

still chuggin along bit by bit. The finish is a coat of danish oil first, then some boiled linseed oil after that. I tried several variations on scraps... and I liked this result. When all the drawers are finished I will shellac the drawer fronts. the top three drawers are done, just no finish applied yet. I will Probably do that next go round.

Hind sight lesson learned... hardware : I wish I would have waited to mount the pulls until I finished all the drawers.... the third row will also have two pulls per drawer.... and I could have centered them up better .... as the bottom row is now... it will look a little off.... but I am not gonna try to fill holes and try to hide it.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2618.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2619.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2623.jpg

[John A. Callaway]

Still have to install the pulls on these drawers .... and the two little drawers up top are not finished yet. One is made, but not complete... The other is still uncut and waiting.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2629.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2632.jpg

I rounded over the bottom rear edge of each drawer. Seems to make them slide a little easier.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2633.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2634.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2635.jpg

Soon. It will be finished.

[John A. Callaway]

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2638.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2645.jpg

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[John A. Callaway]

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2662.jpg

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http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/trainman0978/DSCN2667.jpg

so thats it. Some of it looks a littel oily cause I had just rubbed out a second coat of BLO on the faces. I am gonna let it sit a day or two then shellac the drawer fronts and wax the drawer sides.... But it is FINISHED!!!!!

YAY .

[Andrew Gibson]

Looks great... in fact I think that it will look better and better as the wood on the drawer fronts ages and mellows.

[John A. Callaway]

bump to top.