Has anyone actually built "The Anarchists Tool Chest"?

[Moses Yoder]

My wife and I occasionally have discussions and one time we were talking about tools and she suggested I enjoy using the ones I have instead of spending time searching for more. This actually makes sense to me. I am hoping that "The Anarchists Tool Chest" will pave the way for that. I can box just the tools I need and sell or display the rest then start actually building stuff. I received my copy of the book today and it really looks hopeful to me in spite of all the errors in it. Has anyone actually followed the direction in the book and built the chest? I did a search and did not come up with much. There is a lot of discussion of the book but no actual application.

[Evan Ryan]

Listen to your wife.
once you've got the tools get working wood.
rust hunting is fun but tricky and time consuming. a minute to examine and purchase and a week to get working.
It can be surprisingly easy to amass a collection of questionable antiques That are not fit users or collectibles unless you have a lot of buying experience.
I'm in the midst of building the chest. i have a few years experience and it's a big job. Neanderthal wood working takes time.
theres enough info on this forum and lost art and the book to answer your questions and get the chest done.
also follow Chris's instructions and buy the best hand tools you can afford. I'd add: as you need them.

[Matthew Serra]

I have the book, and I'm building a smaller version of it. It's based in the dimensions of the "carved marquetry" chest mentioned in his blog, and to be covered soon in PWW.

As a matter of fact, I just wrapped up gluing up the lid. It's under clamps for the night.

It is slow going, but I'm pretty new, and I work on it in little time slices.

I've also cheated a bit: I've used a table saw for rips, and a lunchbox planer. That's fine by me, and by Chris as far as I can tell!

[steven c newman]

Made two tool chests, up to others whether it is an 'ATC" sort of thing.
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This one has a few trays
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And a saw til in the bottom. Made from what wood I had. Till was too short for full sized saws, though
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So tool chest #2 was made a bit bigger, saw till moved to the lid. Trays were resized a bit
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and a tote.
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with chisel rack. Tool chest #1 was Walnut & Pine, raised panels in frames. Tool chest #2 was Oak frames, with pine raised panels. I also built a plane till, to make room in the two chests for other things,,
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As for rust hunting, it is a habit I like to have. Between the rust hunts, antique stores, and FeeBay.....have rarely had to buy anything new . Neanderthal woodworking only takes time, IF you allow it to. IF you work at the same speed as the old wood workers did, doesn't take nearly as long as some make it out to be. Just a matter of getting the work done as fast as it can be done. One does not have the time to sit back and admire how thin a shaving is being made, one has to get that board smooth flat and square as fast as can be. 0.00001 shavings won't get the job done. It would take all day to do one board. And the master would fire that person.

rant over. Anyway, no matter what size chest one builds, it will soon be over-flowing in short order. The ATC was an attempt to keep tool levels down to just the bare basics one needs to have. I may try to build Tool Chest #3 later this year. Mine aren't designed to "travel".

[Jude Kenny]

Moses,

I would suggest before you go too far into making a tool chest that you make first a mockup and see how you like the chest for size. I suggest this as I too read the book and was all set to get going on one, albeit out of plywood (the horror!), but I checked the volume of a metal gangbox I have and figured the chest would take up too much space.

This I think would be a common complaint. I don't want to deter you, but that chest would be a big hunk.

Anyways, when I was on my toolchest journey I did more guesswork and chanced upon a smaller toolchest. I raised the height on this with some 1x6 and made a sliding till to match the one it came with. This gave me something that approximates Schwarz' Traveling Anarchist Chest. I worked out of this for a while until I got fed up with the sliding tills and just built something that looks more like a mechanic's chest of drawers.

I don't want to put you off, just suggesting that you make one on the cheap first or mock one up. Putting your smaller tools on the bench and assign which would go in which tool tray and see if the chest would accommodate all that you have/need. You might find that the chest doesn't have a handy spot for a bit and brace etc.

Having said all this, I am a big fan of the book: its ideals, suggestions and methods.

[Andrae Covington]

I started building before the book was published. For that and other reasons, mine is not an exact copy, but it's similar and certainly based on what Schwarz built, which in turn is based on historical examples.

Prior to building the chest, my tools were scattered around the basement. Inefficient to say the least. I thought a lot about the tools I would put in the chest as I was making it, and even more so when the chest was complete. I considered every tool I had and asked myself "am I using this tool, or do I expect to in the near future?" If so, it went in the chest.

I made a second pile for tools of two types: I had never used the tool but thought I would some day on an appropriate project, or it had some collectible value (very little of that). Eventually I made a six-board chest to house those tools. It's a humble piece of furniture in the house, useful as a small sitting bench.

The third pile: junk. Buried in a cardboard box out of sight out of mind.

Over time I have rearranged a few things in the chest, acquired new tools and demoted old ones. These photos are from just filling up the chest for the first time, so not entirely current, but gives you the basic idea.

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As Jude said, it's pretty large. You need some real estate near your bench where the tool chest lives. Like Schwarz I put casters on mine so it could be rolled around, but it has to go somewhere. You do have to bend down to get things out of the chest, so if just the thought of that makes your back hurt, it's probably not the storage option for you. If you like every tool you own to be immediately visible, you probably won't like the sliding tills and the bottom back area of the chest below the tills (traditionally for moulding planes). If you cringe at the thought of tools rolling provocatively against each other with reckless abandon you definitely won't like the tills, unless you get into french fitting, but that's something the ATC is strongly opposed to.

Schwarz has said a number of times that he never really expected anyone to build the chest. The real purpose of the book was to describe the basic toolkit necessary to build most furniture, and encourage people to own fewer but better tools. After reading the book, building and working out of the chest, I began to think more carefully about adding additional tools. Do I really need that, or can I do the task satisfactory with what I already have?

[Peter Pedisich]

Moses,

Before I purchased the ATC I built my own version from scraps of plywood: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?170872-Tool-Chest-part-3-sliding-trays&highlight=

After using it for several years my feeling is that it is a great solution for tool storage, with anti-corrosion emitters from Lee-Valley mounted inside I can leave it in my unheated garage all winter with my wife's car dripping snow & salt on the floor running underneath it (and I live on an island about 1/2 mile from a salt water bay and 300ft from a freshwater brook) then go and open the lid in March to find all my tools rust free.

If you want easy access, and visual reminders that you actually own certain tools:eek:, then a tool rack or wall of tool holders or inclined surface like Lie-Nielsen uses at shows is much more convenient.

If you want a mobile solution you'd be better off with the Traveling Anarchists Toolchest, a Japanese tool box, or the Dutch Tool Chest.

Pete

[Peter Pedisich]

Andrae, this has always been one of my favorites, love the tills and the selection of tools, well done! -Pete


I started building before the book was published. For that and other reasons, mine is not an exact copy, but it's similar and certainly based on what Schwarz built, which in turn is based on historical examples.

Prior to building the chest, my tools were scattered around the basement. Inefficient to say the least. I thought a lot about the tools I would put in the chest as I was making it, and even more so when the chest was complete. I considered every tool I had and asked myself "am I using this tool, or do I expect to in the near future?" If so, it went in the chest.

I made a second pile for tools of two types: I had never used the tool but thought I would some day on an appropriate project, or it had some collectible value (very little of that). Eventually I made a six-board chest to house those tools. It's a humble piece of furniture in the house, useful as a small sitting bench.

The third pile: junk. Buried in a cardboard box out of sight out of mind.

Over time I have rearranged a few things in the chest, acquired new tools and demoted old ones. These photos are from just filling up the chest for the first time, so not entirely current, but gives you the basic idea.

314396314395314397

As Jude said, it's pretty large. You need some real estate near your bench where the tool chest lives. Like Schwarz I put casters on mine so it could be rolled around, but it has to go somewhere. You do have to bend down to get things out of the chest, so if just the thought of that makes your back hurt, it's probably not the storage option for you. If you like every tool you own to be immediately visible, you probably won't like the sliding tills and the bottom back area of the chest below the tills (traditionally for moulding planes). If you cringe at the thought of tools rolling provocatively against each other with reckless abandon you definitely won't like the tills, unless you get into french fitting, but that's something the ATC is strongly opposed to.

Schwarz has said a number of times that he never really expected anyone to build the chest. The real purpose of the book was to describe the basic toolkit necessary to build most furniture, and encourage people to own fewer but better tools. After reading the book, building and working out of the chest, I began to think more carefully about adding additional tools. Do I really need that, or can I do the task satisfactory with what I already have?

[Jim Koepke]

My wife and I occasionally have discussions and one time we were talking about tools and she suggested I enjoy using the ones I have instead of spending time searching for more. This actually makes sense to me. I am hoping that "The Anarchists Tool Chest" will pave the way for that.

This makes me think you haven't made enough things around the house for your wife to feel the presence of your woodworking. That is one of the secrets of finding yourself helping your wife in with the groceries and her then handing you a box with some tools in it she thought you might be able to use.

My plan for a tool storage system is still in its formative process. The Anarchists Tool Chest doesn't work for me bending over all day long.

Making a tool chest may help organize and in turn limit the number of tools you are able to seek. It reminds me of a line in a movie, "if a man washes a dish and a woman doesn't see it, did it really happen?" That is a bit of a rephrasing but the same idea. Your wife will see, but not 'feel' your tool chest. Build her a sewing chest and she will 'feel' it.

Find a woodworking need she has and fill it. I made my wife a tea cabinet because she had boxes of tea all over the kitchen cupboards. She hasn't stopped talking about it to friends and people at the farmers market. I have another in progress to sell. One of her friends wants one... So where is this going? If it is somehow mentioned to her that a particular tool might help improve the tea cabinet project, she will be more enthused about me looking for said tool.

Another aid in getting the wife to go along with buying old tools is occasionally I buy and sell tools to make a profit. I do keep an eye on what is being bought and how much it can bring when sold. That is where you need to be up on current prices and what function a tool serves.

jtk

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Find a woodworking need she has and fill it. I made my wife a tea cabinet because she had boxes of tea all over the kitchen cupboards. She hasn't stopped talking about it to friends and people at the farmers market.

This is some of the best advice I have seen on this site. It is a lot more fun if you are in it together. I have a simple little table I made for my wife. It has not served its original purpose in years, but keeps getting moved around the house and being given new jobs. We have both gotten way more pleasure out of it then the $9 I think I paid for the material.

I never really thought of it in these terms, but making something for her opens the door to explaining how it was made, what tools were involved, and some of the very nice memories I have are of her sitting on my saw bench in the workshop lending an occasional hand or advice (she has a pretty good instinct for what will look good) and the two of us talking while I work on something.

[Zach Dillinger]

I built one new chest and modified a vintage chest when I first got started with hand tool woodworking. I still use them. I have Chris's book and did enjoy it, although I must admit my frustration that every traditional style tool chest is now referred to as an "anarchist" chest... but one has to learn to pick his battles.

Here is a pic of my main box (the vintage blue one which used to be red) and my shop-built green chest (where I keep my sash tools and other infrequently used molding planes). You will also see a wall hung box where I keep my various sharpening and sandpaper supplies and a Jennings machinist's chest where I keep my carving tools, miscellaneous other small tools, and the hardware for whatever projects I have in the works.

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[Pat Barry]

I don't see the attraction to the Anarchists tool chest personally because 1) I hate to give up the floor space in my small shop, 2) I don't like the idea of digging under sliding trays to get at the tools underneath, 3) I really don't like the bending over it takes to get into those style of tool cabinets. If you do build one though, put some nice big casters under it so you can actually move it to where you need it.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I don't see the attraction to the Anarchists tool chest personally because 1) I hate to give up the floor space in my small shop, 2) I don't like the idea of digging under sliding trays to get at the tools underneath, 3) I really don't like the bending over it takes to get into those style of tool cabinets. If you do build one though, put some nice big casters under it so you can actually move it to where you need it.

I agree. I tried an old chest out for a couple years or so, it is very similar to the ATC. The tool I needed was always in a compartment that required digging to get to. With better placement of my tools, maybe it could have worked. They become very heavy very quick. I used a pallet jack to move mine around for a while, until my stepfather broke the lid, and it just became another project to fix someday. It's a neat old chest, and would work well for someone into such things but doesn't want to build one from scratch. Come to think of it, I ought to list it here.

[Christian Thompson]

I built a chest based on Schwarz's book a few years ago. I moved last year and it spent the summer in the garage and got pretty beat up. It's still waiting for another coat of paint. I had also decided to use rope handles like the Seaton chest but haven't gotten around to splicing the rope grommets (I just tied on temporary handles when we moved it). It did work out well for moving and storing my tools over the summer, though.

This was one of my first projects and it taught me a lot about selecting good wood. I bought some home store pine that was warpy and knotty which gave me a lot of frustration. I almost abandoned the whole project after gluing up the panels and having a bunch of twist in one. Instead I decided to shorten the chest and cut off the bad board. So it ended up being smaller than the plans called for. As a result I can only fit two sliding trays and things are a bit tight.

Edit - Looking at the pictures, the top views look oddly circular (front and back bowed out). That's from the camera.

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[Brian Holcombe]

Just start building, you'll find out where your current tools lack as soon as you get into a few projects and have some experience.

Most of what needs to be done can be accomplished with a small set of planes, a set of saws, a setup for drilling and a set of chisels.

Don't have a dado plane? Use a saw. No dovetail plane? Make a batten. Don't have a router plane? Use a chisel.

Also, if you build something for your mom....make sure you also build something for your wife...

[Simon MacGowen]

I don't see the attraction to the Anarchists tool chest personally because 1) I hate to give up the floor space in my small shop, 2) I don't like the idea of digging under sliding trays to get at the tools underneath, 3) I really don't like the bending over it takes to get into those style of tool cabinets. If you do build one though, put some nice big casters under it so you can actually move it to where you need it.

Well said. For the same reasons, I'll never build such type of chest, even if I have the floor space. It is an inefficient storage system for my taste. If I built one, it would be a coffee table.

Simon

[Andrae Covington]

Andrae, this has always been one of my favorites, love the tills and the selection of tools, well done! -Pete

Thank you Peter (and Harold, who PM'd me).

[Graham Haydon]

Hello Moses

I built one. I found my interest in woodworking for fun rekindled by stumbling upon the PBS video of Underhill/Schwarz discussing it. I was drawn in by their enthusiasm and the aesthetic of the chest. I bought the book after making the chest and on reflection I'm glad I did. I like the book but it is very personal and although it might sound strange I liked building one for my own reasons.

In use it works well and I'm happy with it. I made it during my lunch times at work and a few evenings as and when time allowed. Being a joiner nearly anything I do is mortice and tenon so making something with lot's of dovetails was a welcome change and good practice. After having a local sign writer was a step I was unsure of, after finding a nice chest in the wild with a name on I felt happier about it.

As time has moved on I wonder if there are more "home shop" space efficient ways of storing tools such as using the space beneath a bench.

I would recommend it as a project and it does what it says on the tin, holds a nice compliment of hand tools. Incidentally if anyone also already has the " The Practical Woodworker" it has a version of a tool chest that is very close in design.

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[Maurice Ungaro]

Moses, I've always been floor space challenged. Loved the ATC book, and still own it, but much prefer the Dutch Tool Chest. It was a fun and quick build, and I'll make a base cabinet for storing other tools and putting the DTC at an easy working height ( not that it's bad as is).

[Bruce Haugen]

Just start building, you'll find out where your current tools lack as soon as you get into a few projects and have some experience.

Most of what needs to be done can be accomplished with a small set of planes, a set of saws, a setup for drilling and a set of chisels.

Don't have a dado plane? Use a saw. No dovetail plane? Make a batten. Don't have a router plane? Use a chisel.

Also, if you build something for your mom....make sure you also build something for your wife...

I suspect that many here on SMC don't know Moses; he's been posting here only a short while. However, on WoodCentral, he's been an active contributor for many years and is knowledgeable on most aspects of woodworking.

I also suspect that he's contemplating that same old conundrum that many of us face: just how many more tools do we really need to do what we do? I ask myself this very question daily and it's the prime reason that I don't have a quality set of Japanese chisels. I'll just have to bumble along using my Hirsches and Bergs (and Stanleys, Jernbolaget, Swedish, Stiletto, and Solliden), and none of those are slouches. However, as a retirement gift and having saved for these for quite a while, I just treated myself to a new Boggs spokeshave and a LV medium router plane. OTOH, I actually have a use for both of them, even though I have other spokeshaves.

And, totally verboten hier, I was framing out my son's basement, having done so many, many times before using a 16 oz. Plumb hammer. This time I borrowed an air nailer from a friend, and I'm head over heals in lust. But, not getting one of those, either, nosiree Bob!

[ian maybury]

Hi Moses. Tool chests are very attractive (and given the enclosure likely a great way to protect tools from corrosion), but at my stage my feeling is that my methods and tool collection are evolving too fast for it to be practical for me to use one. :) It's hard not to think that no sooner would it be finished but that a new item just 1/2in too long for the available space would pop up needing to go in it.

Maybe i need one for the same reason as yourself - to enforce some sort of limit. Or maybe it's different if somebody has been doing similar work for many years, and has long since bottomed their methods and tools. Mr. Studley and the precision arrangement of his cabinet comes to mind as the likely epitome of this.

The same issue arose in laying out the ply wall mounted tool cabinet i'm just finishing off. Its reason for existence is to provide an easy access enclosed space within which it's possible to minimise the corrosion risk for expensive hand tools. Despite it being fairly utilitarian it's been a bit of a head wrecker to provide for both what i have (planes, chisels, spokeshaves, marking tools), and what i may have in a year or two. Another factor is that tight packing/very efficient use of space isn't always feasible - because of the need to e.g. lift a chisel high enough to get it out of a rack, and to ensure that it doesn't risk a nasty cut from the next one up. Or (even presuming removable/repositionable/replaceable racks screwed in place) to provide for the possibility that a longer one may arrive in six months. A chest given the multiple layers and trays adds significantly to the problem of figuring out a practical packaging solution - especially if it includes saws.

I'm also a power tool worker, and so have lots of stuff about in cabinets, and on wall mounted boards. (the more corrosion resistant stuff)

It's not a very trad solution, but a multi drawer mechanics toolchest is mobile. It's also the high rise multi storey version of a tool chest, and as a result can accommodate a lot more in a given floor space...

[ken hatch]

Just start building, you'll find out where your current tools lack as soon as you get into a few projects and have some experience.

Most of what needs to be done can be accomplished with a small set of planes, a set of saws, a setup for drilling and a set of chisels.

Don't have a dado plane? Use a saw. No dovetail plane? Make a batten. Don't have a router plane? Use a chisel.

Also, if you build something for your mom....make sure you also build something for your wife...

Brian,


That's the advice I give to anyone that asks and to a few who didn't. Really applies to building the first work bench...keep it simple and go to work building furniture.

Not only good advice, you are a smart man :).

ken

[Brian Holcombe]

I suspect that many here on SMC don't know Moses; he's been posting here only a short while. However, on WoodCentral, he's been an active contributor for many years and is knowledgeable on most aspects of woodworking.

I also suspect that he's contemplating that same old conundrum that many of us face: just how many more tools do we really need to do what we do? I ask myself this very question daily and it's the prime reason that I don't have a quality set of Japanese chisels. I'll just have to bumble along using my Hirsches and Bergs (and Stanleys, Jernbolaget, Swedish, Stiletto, and Solliden), and none of those are slouches. However, as a retirement gift and having saved for these for quite a while, I just treated myself to a new Boggs spokeshave and a LV medium router plane. OTOH, I actually have a use for both of them, even though I have other spokeshaves.

And, totally verboten hier, I was framing out my son's basement, having done so many, many times before using a 16 oz. Plumb hammer. This time I borrowed an air nailer from a friend, and I'm head over heals in lust. But, not getting one of those, either, nosiree Bob!

Bruce, not attempting to read into Moses' delema too much, but my comment was in reply to his '...then start building'.


Brian,


That's the advice I give to anyone that asks and to a few who didn't. Really applies to building the first work bench...keep it simple and go to work building furniture.

Not only good advice, you are a smart man :).

ken

I'm in good company! Cheers!

[Moses Yoder]

This makes me think you haven't made enough things around the house for your wife to feel the presence of your woodworking. That is one of the secrets of finding yourself helping your wife in with the groceries and her then handing you a box with some tools in it she thought you might be able to use.jtk

While that may actually be the case on the part of some people, it is in fact not even close to being my problem. My wife at one time occasionally bought tools for me. When the shop got to the point where there wasn't room for any more tools, she stopped. The other point is that up until about the year 2000 I made lots of furniture for the house. I have lots of stuff in the house that I built with very few tools and a very inexpensive table saw. ABout the year 2000 I got online and found out how many tools I needed and how to find them and what they were worth. I built a tool box and workbench since then, and occasional small stuff, but nothing compared to what I was doing when I was ignorant. This spring I think I probably have added 50 tools to my collection, some of them very nice stuff like that 45 I just posted. People at work literally bring me bags full of tools they find at garage sales for cheap. Most of the stuff people give me is not really very desirable, so what do you do with it? I smile and thank them for the tools, thinking that someday they might bring me a #1 bench plane. Some of the stuff people give me is very nice.




Another aid in getting the wife to go along with buying old tools is occasionally I buy and sell tools to make a profit. I do keep an eye on what is being bought and how much it can bring when sold. That is where you need to be up on current prices and what function a tool serves.

jtk

The only problem I have with "finding tools to sell" is that I always find ones I can't part with.


This is really a great thread so far. I am thinking of reading the book and sorting out the tools he recommends then designing my own chest to house them.

[John Vernier]

My tool chest isn't very anarchic. I modeled it on an original I was able to inspect, made around WWI, which seemed appropriate for most of the tools I keep in it and use regularly.
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I think it's a very efficient way to store tools, and I've never understood why people object to moving tills, the number of hand motions, etc. But then, when I was working in small commercial shops the tools tended to be scattered all over the place, on high shelves, piled in drawers, stuffed in deep cabinets, maybe in boxes up in the loft - the usual mess. That's anarchy, and I like this solution a lot better.

The chest takes up a little floor space, but the trade-off in having everything at hand makes it worth it. My shop is a narrow 1 car garage, and the chest is on the wall opposite the bench, just a step away. It's on casters but rarely needs to move, which is just as well as it weighs a ton, fully laden. On the other hand, even if I need a few friends to help when I move to a new shop, it will be able to get right back to work, without needing to be remounted on a wall or restocked with its tools.
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I put more tills in my chest than CS did in the ATC. It's pretty densely packed, with a tool rack on the front wall for long items, and a sliding saw till which keeps the floor clear for lots of planes. All the same I find I can get to all of the tools with no difficulty, mainly because by now I know where everything lives, more or less. I have a drop-in platform which slips down between the two till banks and acts as extra floor space when I'm putting things away for the night. My most-used planes and a few other items live there, and get lifted out and put under my work bench at the start of work, leaving room for the tills to slide. So far I haven't taken CS's advice to heart and pared my kit down much, although since the chest is pretty full I find I do question any potential new purchase with that in mind, which is just as well.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I read the book, but actually built a chest several years prior to reading it! I always liked the style of these chests and bid on a few at auctions, but never won one, so I built one! I sized mine a bit to small: if I had to do it over, I would have dimensioned it similar to the one in the book.

Now, would I do it over again? No! I don't find it particularly convenient at all. I built a full size "Dutch" tool chest, per the article in PWW and like it much better. I also built a bench to set it on (16" off the floor for height), with a lower shelf. With the space under the slant top and the shelf under the bench, virtually every tool I regularly use is easily at hand. I would not hesitate to suggest building a "Dutch" tool chest, or building another, should the need arise.

Have I limited my tools, ala "The Anarchist's Toolchest"? Nope, not at all! I've spent too much time accumulating them and enjoy them, even if some are not used.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Given that I do all of my wood working in my shop, I'm of the opinion that chests are for blankets and tack which is why my current project is a tool cabinet. But if someone in the household quilts or sews, then go for it.

[george wilson]

My tools are on the wall. I like to see what I've got,and just reach for it. Those large old chests were used by traveling craftsmen,and were even used as make shift work benches on sites. Their exteriors were made of cheap woods,painted,and got knocked about in shipping. The woodworker could,and sometimes did,show his skill by making the insides veneered in a more or less elaborate pattern. Why would you really need one if you work in a permanent location? I suppose if you had no wall space it would be necessary.

I cannot bend down easily to be getting tools out of a chest at my age. And,I have never been an itinerant woodworker,so have never had the need for such a chest.

I did build a pattern maker's type chest many years ago,which I still have. But,it sits on a high stand these days so I don't have to get down on the floor to take tools out.

Zach,I must say that your shop building really looks like an original 18th. C. type of shop,except for the one area of modern chip board material shown.

I recall seeing those old chests for sale in Pennsylvania flea markets for as little as $75.00. I never bought one.

I will say that if anarchy did reign,we'd all be spending our time trying to defend ourselves and our families,and finding food,rather than enjoying woodworking!!!:)

[steven c newman]

And now the other side of the coin. Not sure who all has seen my shop. I work in a celler. There is enough room to work at the benches, and that is about it. Forget hanging anything on a wall. Fieldstone walls with a plaster stuff troweled over it. Most of the walls I can't even reach. Have one little section, by the old coal bin door, trash can usually goes there. Have a rack to hold most of my screwdrivers in screwed to the jamb of that door. Both of the tool chests can slide under a bench if needed. Usually, I start by getting out what is needed for the day. Close the chests up. Sometimes, the walnut chest is a seat. I can sit down on it while sawing /filing items in the bench's vise. Might get a seat pad, sometime. The Oakenpine one is a stowage for tool in use but while others are being used. Keeps the benchtop clear that way. Saws get hung from the open ceiling joists. As well as most of the clamps. Just a hook or a nail will do. The saws hang from a wood screwclamp.

Not much room down there, but things do get made.

[Zach Dillinger]

Zach,I must say that your shop building really looks like an original 18th. C. type of shop,except for the one area of modern chip board material shown.



Thanks George. The chipboard is a temporary door I made that has proven to be somewhat less that temporary. The plan has always been a nice Dutch door there, just haven't made the time to do it.

[george wilson]

As I said,Steven,"I suppose if you had no wall space,it would be necessary".

[Dave Anderson NH]

I'm with George on this one. I'm a wall hanger type for several reasons. I can see and easily find and reach for each tool I need. Being easy to pick off the wall means it is also easy and more likely to get put right back where it belongs after use. There is no loss of floor space. In spite of these reasons I do have a tool chest because it was inherited. The chest is storage for my rarely used tools such as my second half set of hollows and rounds, planemakers floats, thread boxes and taps, extra framing square, and a host of other smaller stuff. Right now it is used mostly as a flat surface (read desk) for my laptop which I keep in the shop.

[Steve Voigt]

It is a little surprising at this late date that people are still saying things like "I'm not a jobsite carpenter, so I don't use this type of chest." Or something like that.
There has been a lot written on these chests over the last decade or so, and the idea that they were for itinerant carpenters has been debunked pretty thoroughly. They were for cabinetmakers, working in shops. They were only moved when you changed jobs, or the building burned down (which happened a lot back then). It's also pretty obviously untrue that you have to constantly rummage for your tools. Chris Schwarz has a short video that demonstrates this quite clearly.

By the way, some lovely toolchests in this thread by John, Graham, and others. Congratulations gentlemen!

[ian maybury]

I guess security in a shop with multiple persons working must have been a consideration in favour of chests back in the day too. Hanging on to your tools in any large workplace even today tends to require lots of care. It's a bit different in a personal/private workshop, but for sure a box must have far less impact/not mark walls in say a a garage. Especially if renting, or planning to move in a few years or whatever. Wall mounted stuff is OK where the space is dedicated to woodworking, and where it's secure, and where you are likely to be staying longer term...

My tendency in logistical/easy go to terms is towards wall panels and cabinets, but there's something attractive about the idea of having your own tool box too...

[Brian Holcombe]

I'm sure it's no different than taking a gangbox with you. Something that you can lock and keep your personal tools personal.

I also like wall-mounted tools, but my shop is my own and I do not share it with anyone.

[george wilson]

You may be right,Steve. I have not kept up with recent research on tool boxes,having no interest in having one myself since I find them inconvenient. I don't want to stoop over to get tools out of a box on the floor. Too much back trouble. What I understood came from a long way back.

[steven c newman]

For most of the last 8 years, I have had a roll-around type tool box at work. Because I wasn't always on the same production lines each time, both the tool box and I would move to the next line. When I wasn't AT work, the tool box stayed in a "parking area" set aside for such boxes. It stayed locked up until I came back the next day to work again. At least that way, all my tools would still be there. Maybe not the same as a wood shop tool box, but, it was what I needed at work.

After a project is finished, then I can pack most of the wood tools back up. Next project, I can take out what I'd need, and go to work. They can stay out, until the project is done. Since the tool chests are in the shop, and I don't share, I don't HAVE to put them away every day. If that makes any sense...

[Tom Vanzant]

My tools are in wall cabinets for two reasons. 1) Like George and others our age, my back stopped being friendly many years ago, so bending and lifting from below the waist is problematic. 2) My shop is in a 2-1/2 car garage in Houston TX, very humid 24/7, so my wall cabinets have tight-fitting doors with rust-inhibiting linings courtesy of LV. Drills, bits, and chisels are boxed, with the same linings. All tools are wiped down before going back into the cabinets. Even my Delta & Jet tailed apprentices are heavily waxed and are fitted with plywood/hardboard covers. Last week's monsoons tested me but there has been no rust.

[Eric Schubert]

I actually plan to make the ATC for a different reason than others have stated here. I currently reside in a small apartment with a tiny balcony. Our garage is packed to the gills with all of our stuff that moved with us. So, I currently don't have anywhere to really store my tools. When I build the ATC, it will perform double-duty as both a tool chest and a coffee table, which will replace the space our current coffee table occupies.

[John Powers]

I make kayaks and row boats in my half of the garage. why would I bury my spokeshave in a box when I can put it in a wall hung cabinet. why hunt for a mallot that hangs from the ceiling? i'll fight for your right to make that chest but I don't get it.

[Stew Denton]

Steven,

I remember when you had previously put a post on the earlier tool chest, and probably the 2nd, but I don't remember it for sure. At any rate, I should have commented back then, but didn't. At any rate I can now, nicely done!

I too have been doing some rust hunting for a while now, mostly on the auction site because I don't have many other sources of rust. That said, the need for more tool storage and rust hunting seem to go hand in hand. Also, I am starting to dig out tools that I haven't used in some time, and am starting to restore some of them. As a result I have a need for more accessible tool storage, and have been cogitating on storage for some time.....no final decisions in my case yet though.

Stew