Wood for Anarchist Tool Chest

[Tony Wilkins]

My next project (now that I'm finally retired and have a good place to work) is going to be a tool chest (C.S. Anarchist Style). I have one problem and one question...

Problem: White pine is scared out here on the South Plains and can only get dimensioned construction stock of low quality. Is there another wood that might work? I can get FAS Poplar in 4/4 or 5/4.

Question: How many board feet can I get?

[Jim Foster]

I think Poplar would be a great wood for a tool chest. I was considering using it myself for a tool chest. Not sure what you were asking? How many board feet to buy? I found via the "Creek" I think, a PDF of an old "Practical_Woodworker" article that provided a number of tool chest designs. One was very similar to the one you mention. Someone here may know where a link is or you may be able to google "Practical_Woodworker"

[Chris Griggs]

I would use 4/4 poplar.

[Graham Haydon]

Tony, the chest is a fun build and I enjoy using mine. I built it using the swathes of free info on line. If you search LAP blog there is a cutting list burried in there somewhere.

Poplar would be fine. I did actually use EWP for mine just so I could try I wood I was not familiar with. It's very easy working but needs very sharp edges when paring (like any pine I guess). Peter Folansbee also made a vesion of the chest, not sure what his was made from.

One thing for sure is you'll get plenty of practice on the DT's, 100+ of them!

[Steve Voigt]

I would use 4/4 poplar.

I think poplar would be great, but I'm pretty sure you want 5/4.

Chris, since I have just disagreed with you, we are going to have to have a throwdown resulting in bile, vitriol, and the inevitable locking of this thread. You better get ready--I am storing up yo momma jokes, to be deployed like scud missiles.

[Tony Wilkins]

I think poplar would be great, but I'm pretty sure you want 5/4.

Chris, since I have just disagreed with you, we are going to have to have a throwdown resulting in bile, vitriol, and the inevitable locking of this thread. You better get ready--I am storing up yo momma jokes, to be deployed like scud missiles.

If they are in fact your yo'mama jokes. Everyone knows that the style of yo'mama jokes most comfortable to use were developed in the 20th century.

<<Now that I've derailed my own thread, poplar it is>>

[Daniel Rode]

On a semi serious note, 4/4 in my area often comes rough at 1 1/8" But even at 1", I can usually get 7/8" finished from 4/4 as long it's not heavily warped. 5/4 is nice if you want 7/8 - 1" thick finished stock but it costs more. Since everything today seems to be made from 3/4" or 1/2" stock, I've been using 7/8", 5/8" and 3/8", so 4/4 is often cheaper with less waste for me.

How thick is the stock for the tool chest?

I like working with poplar and I think it would be a good choice. What I don't love is the green with purple. If you're going to paint the chest or deal with staining it, I think it's nice to work that pine. EWP is soooooo fragile. It tears rather than cuts if you're tools are not very sharp.


I think poplar would be great, but I'm pretty sure you want 5/4.

Chris, since I have just disagreed with you, we are going to have to have a throwdown resulting in bile, vitriol, and the inevitable locking of this thread. You better get ready--I am storing up yo momma jokes, to be deployed like scud missiles.

[Sean Hughto]

FWIW, the green and purple quickly turn to rich carmel and chocolate browns. The door of that wall cabinet on the left is poplar, and was green and puple when fresh (though I would have been happy for it to stay those colors too!):
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4097/4873677133_faa92d26a7_z.jpg

[Don Dorn]

I know that it's sacreligious, but after watching his video on the 2 day chest, I've become sold that it's a tool, not a piece of furniture, and if I make one, it will probably be plywood for the carcas and popular for the skirts.

[Megan Fitzpatrick]

I can tell you from experience that the poplar version is a great deal heavier – in the end, though, it works the same. (I've helped Chris in a couple of ATC classes where poplar was used; I built mine out of pine...because my shop is on the second floor – not that could get either version up the stairs without help!)

[Chris Griggs]

I think poplar would be great, but I'm pretty sure you want 5/4.

Chris, since I have just disagreed with you, we are going to have to have a throwdown resulting in bile, vitriol, and the inevitable locking of this thread. You better get ready--I am storing up yo momma jokes, to be deployed like scud missiles.

You listen here you yella bellied, mini smoother makin, cow pie. 5/4 is completely inappropriate. You will throw your back out carrying 5/4 around...4/4 is the correct choice. 4/4 balsa to be exact...that'll be nice and light weight.

End of story!:p

[steven c newman]

I happened to have four planks of a brown coloured wood, almost 1" thick in the rough sawn state. Had some old pine scraps as well. 284382284383284384one tray is a tote, to carry a few tools to the bench, beneath the trays284385a plane and a saw til. Raised the panels with just a few planes. Even rebated the backs with a 78 plane.

[Tony Wilkins]

Great input all. Meghan, great to see your response and interesting point on the weight difference. I don't think I'll be toting this sucker anywhere but working with the carcass might make a difference to me. I seem to have a choice of 1x6/1x8 white pine with minimal knots (whatever that means) or the poplar. I'm leaning towards the Poplar but I've still got just a bit before I order the wood to find a reason to go the other direction.

C.S. did answer my email and suggested cypress. Which the local supplier doesn't have either unfortunately.

[Steve Voigt]

You listen here you yella bellied, mini smoother makin, cow pie. 5/4 is completely inappropriate. You will throw your back out carrying 5/4 around...4/4 is the correct choice. 4/4 balsa to be exact...that'll be nice and light weight.

End of story!:p

Oh yeah? Well listen up pal, I may be coming to the PATINA show. And if I see you there, we are going to settle this like men…



…by exchanging vegetarian recipes. :D


PS Tony, sorry for continuing to derail your thread. I'll stop now. :cool:

[Tony Wilkins]

Stopping Vegetarian recipes is the right thing to do Steve, I totally agree.

[Chris Griggs]

Oh yeah? Well listen up pal, I may be coming to the PATINA show. And if I see you there, we are going to settle this like men…



…by exchanging vegetarian recipes. :D


PS Tony, sorry for continuing to derail your thread. I'll stop now. :cool:

Sweet! I'll kick your butt at that too. I'm a level 5 vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.:D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFBeeBSIH5Q


So should be get back on topic now, or should we derail into an argument about Chris Schwarz and the merits of tool chests? I'm good either way.

[Steve Voigt]

Stopping Vegetarian recipes is the right thing to do Steve, I totally agree.


Sweet! I'll kick your butt at that too. I'm a level 5 vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.:D

So should be get back on topic now, or should we derail into an argument about Chris Schwarz and the merits of tool chests? I'm good either way.

Well, I'm not a vegetarian; I just cook a lot of vegan Indian food. But my wife's out of town for a couple days, so I'm currently on an all-bacon diet. :D

An argument about CS and the ATC should be good for about 80 posts and at least a couple lifetime bans from the creek, don't you think?

[Chris Griggs]

Well, I'm not a vegetarian; I just cook a lot of vegan Indian food. But my wife's out of town for a couple days, so I'm currently on an all-bacon diet. :D

An argument about CS and the ATC should be good for about 80 posts and at least a couple lifetime bans from the creek, don't you think?

Yum...I don't care what you are or aren't, "a lot of vegan indian food" sound great to me.

Hmmm, yeah 80 posts sounds about right...lets see if we can get Tony banned...he's always starting controversial threads.

Okay...sorry Tony..sort of...but I'll stop hijacking now...continue...

[Judson Green]

How about butternut? Its been called the poor mans walnut. Not sure if its lighter than poplar. In WI its more expensive than poplar.

Maybe basswood? Its less expensive, probably about the same weight. Has been traditionally used to make crates and boxes.

284397

[Chris Griggs]

Basswoods an interesting idea Judson. Its pretty light isn't it? I'd be curious to here others thoughts on that.

[Judson Green]

Its light, has kinda weird smell if IIRC, not sure its been a long time since I used it. The dry cubic weight is about the same as poplar. The photo (info) was from this book. Cool book has a brief scientific like description of the tree and then a short story or description of what the wood or tree was used for.

284398

[Tony Wilkins]

I could use Spanish Cedar and make it a combination Humidor and tool chest. No argument on the Indian food; I'm in.

So the aim is to get me banned is it; well let's at it then: The only correct chest is a Schwarz Anarchist Chest and should be filled with LN tools... or is that LV tools. And since Megan spoke up, the only good woodworking mag is Popular Woodworking.

[Judson Green]

I could use Spanish Cedar and make it a combination Humidor and tool chest.

Yeah but at 70% RH your tools might be rusty.

[Jim Matthews]

Fully loaded, you'll need it to be on wheels to move around.

Make it out of whatever smells nice when you're handling it.
You'll be at this, awhile - it should be enjoyable.

I, for one, don't care for working with South American exotic stuff.

Mesquite is nice, and hand plane/hand saw friendly.
Can you get access to that?

You'll likely need to make lots of small pieces into larger panels,
can you manage a flat glue-up in your shop?

I don't have the consistency to cut so many dovetails, as in the original design.
I would recommend using four "legs" and fitting floating panels if you also hesitate to saw so much.

Go with what's locally available, first.
If nothing suitable is ready at hand, Poplar and Cherry are good choices.

They're not too expensive, heavy or hard on tools.

[Tony Wilkins]

Can get mesquite but at $15/bd.ft. it's a little steep. I'd think that Cherry would be considerably heavier than Poplar and definitely Pine.

[Tony Wilkins]

How about Alder? I can get it for a good price locally and the specs look good on it. Not as familiar with it as a lot of other woods though.

BTW: this would have been a good place to use my book on wood by Becksvoort but it's still in a box somewhere in the house from the move.

[Mel Fulks]

The alder we get here is "abrasive planed" ,so I wouldn't want to hand plane all that grit. If you can get it rough I guess it would be ok.

[Jim Matthews]

The weight of Poplar and Cherry (based on their specific gravity) is similar.

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/poplar/

Personally, I like wood that has been quarter-sawn for large panels and would give preference
to materials that are (in descending order); readily available, sufficiently durable for the case, workable with the tools I now own, and inexpensive.

At $15/bf - that's expensive. I wouldn't want a toolbox that's worth more than my tools.

FYI - I would give serious consideration to at least incorporating a plywood inner shell, if you're using softer woods (like Butternut for example).
Any lumber that has grown quickly, and has broad growth rings may be prone to splitting along growth lines.

I wonder what Acacia hardwoods has, rattling around the back of their yard?
http://www.woodfinder.com/search.php

http://www.acaciahardwoods.net/

If it was me, I would haunt Craigslist for something you can't really get anywhere else...
http://lubbock.craigslist.org/mat/4293238606.html

Pay a little extra and get the supplier to mill the boards close to your desired thickness.
The fun part is fitting the parts together.

[Pat Barry]

The weight of the box itself is relatively insignificant to the weight of the box once you have it loaded. You are going to need a strong box unless this thing is just going to sit somewhere. I echo the idea of putting some wheels under it and, if it were me, I'd build it from white oak. With white oak you can go thinner material to save weight and still have the strength you need. It will look nice - reference the many tool boxes constructed from white oak. It won't look out of place like wasting some exotic species on something so utilitarian as a tool box.

[Judson Green]

Thats true the weight of the tools will most likely make the weight of the box insignificant.

[Tony Wilkins]

Thanks for the info Jim. Acacia is where I've been looking primarily. Hadn't thought about CL for wood around here so new resource for me.

As to weight, there is a certain extent where it is insignificant but I've still got to deal with the carcass. Wheels are a definite. I did look up Cherry and was surprised it was lighter than I thought.

[Andrae Covington]

I used what the orange and blue box stores call "whitewood", although I bought mine from a smaller local lumberyard chain (better selection and price). What that actually turns out to be varies by region and sometimes by store. Here it is usually a yellow pine such as ponderosa, which is heavier and more stout than white. It's only 3/4" thick, which I'm sure upsets the purists, but a dovetailed yellow pine box at 3/4" is more than sufficient for a tool chest in my experience.

[Derek Cohen]

My next project (now that I'm finally retired and have a good place to work) is going to be a tool chest (C.S. Anarchist Style). I have one problem and one question...

Problem: White pine is scared out here on the South Plains and can only get dimensioned construction stock of low quality. Is there another wood that might work? I can get FAS Poplar in 4/4 or 5/4.

Question: How many board feet can I get?

Tony, are you going to lug this chest around, or fill it with tools and run it around the shop on wheels?

If it was my build, I'd use whatever was available - nice wood if you want to show it off, cheap and bland if you plan to paint it. No rights or wrongs.

Just enjoy the build.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Pedro Reyes]

My comments, I am planning to build a chest, not the anarchist chest, just a box to store my tools.

Recently someone (I think Derek) asked, why do we need a chest at all, and the point was valid, made me consider not building one. But at the time my shop is very limited, we recently moved and most of my tools are in my garage while I work outside on nice days.

For me the chest won't be to carry tools to the jobsite, but rather to have a place indoors (in my house) to store my tools long term (between projects), additionally my other reason for a chest is to be able to LOCK my tools, I have a 2+ year old curious girl plus a 4 month old little guy, if he is anything like me he will in due time figure a way to climb to the plane till or chisel shelf and at a minimum wreck the tools, at the worst hurt himself, so for me that is the main purpose, and the only way I can get away with storing tools in an HVAC space is by making a nice looking lockable chest.

phew. All that said. I was thinking either white oak or even maple (heavy I know). A simple box with casters, and a separate base which would hide the casters when the box is on it, for when I have it indoors. Casters are there only for when I want to move the thing to another spot, two-person lift, 3 rd person removes the base and you are on wheels.

Pedro

[Judson Green]

Tony, are you going to lug this chest around, or fill it with tools and run it around the shop on wheels?

If it was my build, I'd use whatever was available - nice wood if you want to show it off, cheap and bland if you plan to paint it. No rights or wrongs.

Just enjoy the build.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I like that "run it around the shop on wheels?"

Chest races anyone?

[steven c newman]

Will we need a "weigh in" before the race?

[Tony Wilkins]

I can't see much reason why I'd take it out of the shop so I guess it would be of the racing variety. Pablo you mention not having a chest; my wife thought it would be better for me to hang my tools up on the wall. Ergonomically that would be better for me and I do live in a very low humidity area here on the high plains. Only reason I was thinking about the chest was to protect from dust.

So I guess I also need to answer the question - do I need a chest at all?

[Judson Green]

I haven't got one and no plans to make one either.

I do have a sears craftsman's rolling mechanics tool thingy. Not real fond of it. Every drawer is a junk drawer. And I don't like the feeling I get when looking at it. But I got it. It works.

I'd like to build something like a panty or China cabinet for tools and storage. Hopefully I can just find something that's close and repurpose it.

I kinda dig what Paul Sellers has for his tools. Looks like a China cabinet, the glass having been replaced with wood.

[Daniel Hartmann]

I used 4/4 poplar. The boards finished out at 13/16 or so. My only complaint is it heavy but then again this isn't exactly a portable toolchest.

[Tony Wilkins]

Very nice Daniel. Did the poplar seem spongy at all?

I wonder just how much heavier the chest is with poplar than with white pine? According to CS it takes about 75 bd. Ft.

[Steve Voigt]

I used 4/4 poplar. The boards finished out at 13/16 or so. My only complaint is it heavy but then again this isn't exactly a portable toolchest.

Very nice Daniel! Got any more pics? What's the finish on the outside?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I don't meant to derail this thread, just curious if you guys build these for primary storage, or for something else?

[Tony Wilkins]

Mostly for storage for my part. Also practice for me as an inexperienced woodworker.

[David Weaver]

So I guess I also need to answer the question - do I need a chest at all?

No, but your stones will need protection from dust, especially if they are of the hard variety (if they're waterstones, not so much). Same thing if you use a strop - strops with foreign particles in them are bad news.

[Tony Wilkins]

I have water stones and I always keep them in their original box. In the new house, there's a sink just inside the garage door that I'll probably make my sharpening station anyway.

Followed the big thread that Derek started over at WC and didn't come to any conclusions. As I mentioned, Lubbock is a very dry area but also a fairly dusty area (New Mexico drops in occasionally with a big wind).

I reckon I could hang stuff on the wall and if I decide to later I can build a Dutch or English style chest.

[Brian Holcombe]

I'm liking gaboon ebony for this project.

[Tony Wilkins]

I'm liking gaboon ebony for this project.

Great, let's see some pictures where you're done. Ought to be awful pretty when it's done.

[Brian Holcombe]

hehehe.

Sarcasm aside, I think a nice wood like white ash would be prefect for this, it's easy to work. This thing is going to be HEAVY when packed with tools, so weight wouldn't affect my choice much.

[Judson Green]

I concur. its pretty light for the strength it offers and should be pretty inexpensive. At least it is in my area. pleasant smell too.

You could probably go thinner than ¾".

[Christian Thompson]

I built mine with eastern white pine. The chest is light, but it's not quite done and only have it half full of tools so far. I agree that if you go with a denser wood you probably don't need to go the full 5/4 or even 4/4.

As far as whether you need a chest in the first place... I would say no you don't need it. I'm not sure how much I buy the whole dust argument over the short term. If you use your tools a decent amount, I doubt it makes much of a difference. If you leave them untouched for a few years it probably does. On the other hand, it was a fun build and good practice. But if you have another project you'd rather work on, I'd save working on tool storage for another time.

[Tony Wilkins]

I reckon I could start out with the small cabinetmakers tool chest from Tom Fidgen's first book. I've already pretty much got the materials for it. It's a lot smaller scale and could be used for a lot of things -- such as even if I don't use it my Son could for his growing interest in woodworking.

[David Turner]

284817Mine is made form re-cycled yellow pine.284816

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[Andy McKenzie]

I have water stones and I always keep them in their original box. In the new house, there's a sink just inside the garage door that I'll probably make my sharpening station anyway.

Followed the big thread that Derek started over at WC and didn't come to any conclusions. As I mentioned, Lubbock is a very dry area but also a fairly dusty area (New Mexico drops in occasionally with a big wind).

I reckon I could hang stuff on the wall and if I decide to later I can build a Dutch or English style chest.

I moved about a year ago. In my last house, almost everything hung on the walls: I had about 12'x4' of pegboard, and a ton of shelves. It wasn't bad, but everything got dusty and, if I wasn't in the shop for a week or so, covered in cobwebs. We had kind of a spider problem there...

My new shop has concrete walls, so hanging things is a lot harder. I finally built a Dutch-style chest, and I don't know how I ever worked without a chest. I need to work on organizing the bottom cavity more, but even with that mess the thing is far, FAR more pleasant to use than wall-hanging tools. Almost everything has a defined space that's easy to reach, so things actually get put away when I'm done with them. That, in turn, has encouraged me to keep my whole shop space cleaner, since I don't have tools scattered across every surface.

If I had the space I probably would have gone with something like the two-day anarchist's chest, but my space is pretty limited. Fortunately (in some ways) my tool collection is, too, so the smaller Dutch chest works well for me. I'm planning on a cabinet to set it on once I find some more decent 1x12, but for now it's just standing on a couple stacks of milk crates.

[Casey Gooding]

"White pine is scared out here on the South Plains"
Sorry to hear that. There's nothing worse than frightened lumber.

[Tony Wilkins]

"White pine is scared out here on the South Plains"
Sorry to hear that. There's nothing worse than frightened lumber.

Yeah, it looks around and sees no trees and just shakes and whimpers - it's really sad. LOL

[steven c newman]

The chest I built is a might small. Panel saws are about the longest tool I can place in it. Find by me, have four of them to put away. One long jointer plane sits in the bottom. and there is still room for six or more normal sized planes. One sliding tray, and a carry-around tote. Back was pine, instead of plywood. Rest is just some Walnut I had on hand. Trays and such are also pine. Hold most of my hand tools right now. 284846Might be able to cobble a box to store all my chisels, ther might be some room on the saw til....

[steven c newman]

One other thing to consider, instaed of the large, single panel that will move a LOT as the seasons change, make the tool chest as a Frame & panel style. One could even raise the panels using just a #4 plane. I used a #5, because the panels were a bit on the long side. I used a #78, to make shallow rebate on the non-beveled sides ( the sides of the panel that are on the inside) makes a neater joint. I now have a nice plough plane to make the grooves, too...284847Not as much gluing and waiting around....

[Daniel Hartmann]

Poplar is weird. Sometimes you get poplar that works like a dream and other times it seems to fight back. I built my chest completely neader. It was quite a process and my first real woodworking project. I don't remeber how many board feet it took but I do know I paid around $200 for all the lumber. The bottom of mine is QSWO I had on hand. IMO if you build a chest with a hard wood, even softer hardwoods such as poplar, 3/4" is plenty. I wouldn't worry about weight. As others have said loaded up the weight of the chest is insignificant compared to the weight of the tools. It'll take two to move it no matter what wood you choose. So choose what's cheap and available. And in my case I was able to get really wide poplar to avoid excess glue up. I just moved mine from Chattanooga to Franklin Tn and it'll be moving soon to Minneapolis.

[Daniel Hartmann]

The finish on the outside is a navy blue milk paint oiled then waxed with black wax. I have some more pics but it's a disaster in there right now and for some reason sawmill creek won't let me upload right now! I'm in the middle of building another hanging till which will take the place of the tool rack along the front of the chest.

[Bob Snyder - Austin]

Sorry for the necro-post, but did anyone come up with a bf estimate? Trying to figure out how much I need. (Right now I'm thinking about Cypress.)

[Stew Denton]

Hi Tony,

Christopher Schwarz recommends keeping the chest as light as is reasonably possible, but also at reasonably strong as possible. He points out that the specific gravity of white pine is about 0.42, whereas for white oak it is 0.77. This means that if you use 3/4" stock that the oak chest will weigh a little less than double what a white pine chest would weigh, but of course the oak would be a lot stronger. In our country out here, where you and I live, the oak is going to be pretty pricy compared to standard fir or pine. In his "Anarchist's Tool Chest" book, he says that his solution is to build it out of pine, but make the walls thicker.

He also points out that he has examined a bunch of tool chests over the years, some up to 200 years old. The ones built out of pine that are from 7/8" to 1" thick have stood up just fine over very long periods of time. He writes that he has no fears about loading his tool chest in his truck and traveling around with it. He also points out that in his shop his tool chests tend to have a bit of a rough life, he often sets on his, and it gets bumped, etc. He highly recommends 7/8" to 1" pine. He also says to put it together with dovetails to help increase the strength, and make it a long lasting tool chest.

(By the way, the book is excellent, and is quite a work on hand tool selection and use, in fact more of the book is about that than the actual tool chest. I highly recommend reading it......I didn't buy the one that is within arms reach though, it belongs to my son in law, but he has my copy of Schwarz book on hand planes, and we loan each other books fairly frequently.)

That said, the book is almost 500 pages long, so I don't remember every detail. However in either that book or in"the tool box book" (I may have the title wrong), the author recommends using reasonably priced lumber. The historic tool boxes that he has examined typically used such....not high dollar lumber. That said I would recommend using a final wall thickness of 7/8" to 1" and using pine since Schwarz has done the homework studying chests that have stood up well over 100 years and has figured out what has stood up to the test of time. He also moves his tool chest around, and the pine of that wall thickness is a good compromise, and it is not the 1st tool chest he has built. (He is pretty critical of the first tool chest he built, which did not stand up well, and describes why.)

When I say reasonably priced lumber, I am not talking about pine with lots of knots, Schwarz specifically warns about using such, what I mean is good quality pine instead of good quality finish grade hardwood. I will comment on a relatively inexpensive way to get the pine that is needed a ways below.

His tool chest is 40" long, 26 1/4" high, and 23 7/8" wide, outside dimensions, counting the skirts, etc. This amounts to 23.3 board feet for the sides and ends, 13.3 board feet for the top and bottom, and about 10 board feet for the skirts of the top, bottom, and top edge of the chest, for a grand total about 47 board feet all told. This includes absolutely no waste figured in, meaning that every square inch of lumber you bought ends up as chest, which we all know doesn't happen.

I built some free standing shelves a few years ago, and built them out of standard hem/fir dimension lumber. I used mostly 1X6s, and cut it to 4" width, and cut out most of the knots. I threw away probably 40% of it, as scrap, but even so, the cost was drastically less than clear lumber, and to look at my shelves you would think that they were mostly built out of clear lumber.

To get the needed pine in a true 1" thickness, if you want to go with standard and better grade dimension lumber, you will have to start with 2X stock, and mill it down, and you should plan on maybe 30 to 50% waste, as I did. I think this approach will get you the needed stock to build the chest at a lot less money, and based on Schwarz experience, I think you will end up with a good tool chest. If you are going to paint it, like Schwarz did, the high dollar nice looking finish grade hardwood lumber will not show up anyway.

It should be noted that this only covers the basic box, and does not include anything for the trays.

Regards,

Stew

[Bob Snyder - Austin]

If my math is right, 50ish bf for this. Does that sound right?

[Tony Wilkins]

I'm trying to recall the email I got back from CS on this topic. If I'm thinking right, and it's entirely possible I'm thinking of a workbench or something, he quoted 80-100 b.f. With trays and a hefty waste percentage with the quality of most white pine. Tomorrow I'll try and find the email to be sure.

[Stew Denton]

Tony,

You mentioned earlier in this thread that CS has mentioned around 75 BF, and above 80 to 100 BF with trays and waste. I my post above, I guessed 30 to50% waste because of my choice of stock, but didn't include trays, etc., which runs from about 70 to 100 BF. Bob above figured about 50 BF, but I don't think he figured in trays, etc., either. If you figure in the same amount of waste as I did on Bob's figure, you again come up with 70 to 100 BF, roughly.

What I am saying is that the two sets of figures you listed are very much in the same ball park, and consistent with what I think. I would not be a bit surprised if you end up using that much lumber.

Stew

[Bob Snyder - Austin]

You're right in that I didn't consider the trays. Thanks for pointing that out. I was at 48.5 for the case plus 13 for the bottom which I was going to do in oak. So maybe I should look at about 80bf of some cheap wood for this; cypress or poplar. There is a guy in Georgetown that has some Cypress and maybe some loblolly pine.

[Bob Snyder - Austin]

Unless someone has a reason not, looks like I will going with 80bf of 4/4 poplar that has been skip planed to 15/16". That will get me do a final of less than 7/8" but I think it will still be ok. Thoughts?

[Jim Koepke]

Thoughts?

Lots of photographs and a running dialog of your work/progress in a thread all its own...

jtk

[Harold Burrell]

Lots of photographs and a running dialog of your work/progress in a thread all its own...

jtk

Yep.......

[Daniel Hartmann]

I think poplar would be great, but I'm pretty sure you want 5/4.

Chris, since I have just disagreed with you, we are going to have to have a throwdown resulting in bile, vitriol, and the inevitable locking of this thread. You better get ready--I am storing up yo momma jokes, to be deployed like scud missiles.

5/4 poplar is way over kill. I built mine from 3/4" surfaced poplar I had to plane again and it ended up 11/16" and it's still plenty stout. Even at 11/16" poplar the thing take two to lift empty.