NBSS Tool Chest Build

[Christopher Charles]

Hello all,

I'm currently in the middle of a shop renovation and have not had any real quality shop time in months. Let's just say that 'drywall' is a four letter word right now...

More than a year ago, I decided to build a tool chest to go under my bench, prior to moving shops. The carcass and drawer fronts are local air-dried walnut and the secondary wood is from a birch tree that was in my old front yard.

While I usually like to design on my own, I knew I would be moving shop and in the bit of a chaotic year(s) when I was starting the project and so decided to go with this plan for a North Bennett Street School tool chest by Tommy Mac written up in PWW by Megan Fitzpatrick:

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/tommy-mac-toolchest-2/

As it turns out, the plan is just the right size for under the bench, giving enough clearance for holdfasts above and a spot to 'park' the sliding deadman while accessing all the drawers. Here's some of the progress so far. I'm afraid this will be a two-year build by the time I'm done!

[Christopher Charles]

Stock prep in the old shop: the birch logs, selecting walnut boards, and resawn birch (done on the bandsaw)
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And all the stock cut, just prior to closing up for the move (along with stock for another project on the right).

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[ken hatch]

Chris,

Stock looks good, I understand"drywall".

ken

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Ken.

Stock prep ended in March 2018...After moving to the new shop and getting through a few other house-related projects, I got back to this project in November. I decided to prep the carcass with hand planes. Pretty standard stuff-get a reference face on each board, edge joint, glue up the panel, and then scrub and flatten the other side to bring to thickness. You can see the rest of the stock patiently waiting and adding ballast under the bench...

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[Derek Cohen]

...
While I usually like to design on my own, I knew I would be moving shop and in the bit of a chaotic year(s) when I was starting the project and so decided to go with this plan for a North Bennett Street School tool chest by Tommy Mac written up in PWW by Megan Fitzpatrick:

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/tommy-mac-toolchest-2/

...

I am not sure if it is possible, or even if you want to attempt this, but the rear of the dovetailed boards should ideally be mitred. This will enable the rear to be easily rebated - all the way across each side - to hold a back panel. If you do not mitre the back, only two edge can be rebated across and the other two will need stop rebates. You do not need to rebate the dovetails at the front.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Frederick Skelly]

That's going to be a beauty! Lokking forward to seeing it come together!
Fred

[Don Coffman]

I built that chest, although I wasn't as energetic with my planes ... really a useful chest, well designed. Here's a pic of mine prior adding pulls ...412663

[Christopher Charles]

Don,

Good looking chest and very glad to hear you find it to be well designed. What did you decide to use for pulls?

Best,
Chris

[Christopher Charles]

Skip from last November to last February when I cut the tails...

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And March when I cut the dados for the drawer dividers in the case sides:

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The dadoes included misadventures detailed in this thread. Unfortunately, with the shop refurb, I have not yet had time to retune the combo plane and get my technique dialed in.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?272500-Schooling-on-dados&highlight=school+dado+combination+plane

Derek, thanks for suggesting mitered corners on the back to make the rabbeting easier. I did decide to miter all the corners and did through rabbet the back (though don't have a good photo). Marking the pins required some extra clamping to bring the case panels back into flat after another couple months of inactivity on my part. The parts did have a weight on them and were not too badly out of flat. Next time I'm planning to try the plastic bag trick Bob Van Dyke mentioned on one of the FWW podcasts.

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[Jerry Olexa]

Good choice...Back when PW was better.....Also liked your Yogi quote :)

[Don Coffman]

Cristopher, I ended up with some inexpensive round wooden knobs, felt they complimented mine better than anything else I could come up with.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Dan. I haven't decided yet. I may make some pulls or go with something brass.

[Christopher Charles]

Cutting dovetails for the carcass was pretty standard, with the twist of a guide block for the mitered corners. Blue tape and Derek's tutorial were invaluable.

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I'm getting better, but this may pins and tails has meant some careful paring work. I still have about an hour or two of fiddling before the case will be ready to glue up.

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And here's where the project's been for the past couple months... now sitting in my bedroom cuz darn near every piece of wood is cleared out of the shop right now

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Thanks for watching. Will return after finishing the shop refurb. Here's what it looks like right now...

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Best,
Chris

[ken hatch]

Chris,

The case looks good. Good luck on the shop refurb. More photos to follow?

ken

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Ken. And, yes, I'll post on the new digs after cleaning the paint from under my fingernails :)

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

I have recently returned to the tool chest after sheet rocking and painting the shop. I've also added a heater, insulated the doors and added a whole bunch of lights and electrical outlets since moving in... Here are a couple quick before and after photos:

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Before, with the bench against the wall (and the tool chest pieces stacked under the bench)

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After: the new set up with the bench back out in the room, the tool wall moved into the corner, and rearranged machines. This set up is essentially one side of a slightly oversize two car garage and I could get a car in the other side if needed...

[David Eisenhauer]

Christopher, like yours, my main bench is also free standing and I like the ability to work both sides of the bench. What I don't have is a wall behind one side so that I can have tools hanging and/or drawers below to hold tools close by for use. Sounds like you are starting to get a handle on the shop reno work. Thanks for the photos.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks David, the shop renovation is a process :)

In January, I was able to finish the carcass dovetails and glue up the case, using cauls of scrap.

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[ken hatch]

Chris,

The sheetrock and lights look good. Nice to have a bright shop.

ken

[mike stenson]

Chris,

The sheetrock and lights look good. Nice to have a bright shop.

ken

Agreed. I don't want to hang rock, but these pics are convincing :)

[Don Coffman]

I've now built 2 of these chests out of white oak, one for myself and later was requested to build one for another, I finished a couple weeks ago. I will admit hand cutting those dovetails in the white oak case is humbling ... I stepped back and used box joints for the drawer construction ..

[David Eisenhauer]

Very nice toolboxes Don.

[Christopher Charles]

Mike, I really don't like sheetrock either. I do really like the brightness of the white walls...

Don,

Those boxes look great. How do you like them in use? Would you change the size of the drawers? I'm committed to the drawer depths, but have been wondering about the bottom drawers sticking/racking since they are wider than long and it would not be too add vertical dividers and more drawers.

[Don Coffman]

Mike, I really don't like sheetrock either. I do really like the brightness of the white walls...

Don,

Those boxes look great. How do you like them in use? Would you change the size of the drawers? I'm committed to the drawer depths, but have been wondering about the bottom drawers sticking/racking since they are wider than long and it would not be too add vertical dividers and more drawers.


The drawers are so close fitting I haven't noticed any racking, although I always use a liberal amount of paraffin on these type drawers. The upper drawers work well for small items as designed, if height wasn't a concern I would increase the uppers. Personally I prefer to build drawers with thicker sides and cut a dado with the guide on the case, but I didn't deviate from Tommy Mac's design.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Don. I also plan to stick to the traditional drawer design for these.

The drawer dividers have bridle joints which are hidden, a great chance to practice that won't be seen. I've cut lots of dovetails but not so many tenons by hand, so I decided to do some practice.

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Nice white wood--no blue tape needed, but I did trace the gaged lines with a 0.3 mm pencil.

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Start on a diagonal, working to saw right up to the line.

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The first one was not too hot...

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But did better on later corners. Discovered my new favorite chisel.

In the end, the practice piece will get turned into a photo frame...

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And the divider pieces squared, cut to length and ready to mark:

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[Christopher Charles]

Over the past couple weeks, I have made some progress on the drawer dividers. My sawing has been improving, though a bit of paring has been needed as I've tended towards being a bit conservative to avoid the need for scabbing on shims. However, the paring and fitting was only taking a couple minute for each corner by the end and was becoming second-nature for a couple reasons. Key has been using deep knife lines, which I trace with a 0.3 mm pencil (no blue tape here since the wood is nice and light). This made the fat spots easily visible.

I left one side of all the pieces rough off the bandsaw and this was helpful for keeping track of the reference face.

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And easily pared, going cross-grain with my new (to me) secret weapon.

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This was an ebay find, along with another paring chisel and is quickly becoming a favorite. Anyone know the manufacturer? (Boy, do I miss having Stan around!).

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And here are the three dividers ready to glue up. Hope they are patient because I'll not be back in the shop for more than a week...stay tuned.

Best,
Chris

[ken hatch]

Thanks Don. I also plan to stick to the traditional drawer design for these.

The drawer dividers have bridle joints which are hidden, a great chance to practice that won't be seen. I've cut lots of dovetails but not so many tenons by hand, so I decided to do some practice.


Nice white wood--no blue tape needed, but I did trace the gaged lines with a 0.3 mm pencil.


Start on a diagonal, working to saw right up to the line.

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The first one was not too hot...


But did better on later corners. Discovered my new favorite chisel.

In the end, the practice piece will get turned into a photo frame...



And the divider pieces squared, cut to length and ready to mark:



Chris, you the man. Thanks for the not so good photo.

The bridle joint while easier than a M/T to make because it is open, is much more difficult than a M/T to make well. Yours look good.

ken

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Ken, I agree since only the shoulders matter on a tenon, while these need a good shoulder and everything under the hood shows as well. These bridle joints are great for practice because they get buried in the case. If they were for doors, I'd have been hesitant to do by hand. But having done just a few for this project, I would probably just go for it.

Best,
Chris

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

Anybody remember this project? It languished through the summer (and the building of two sheds plus yet more shop renovation and rearrangements).

I have completed the carcass and am currently milling stock for the drawers. I was definitely rusty, with one mistake inviting another....

The last tasks for finishing the drawer dividers and carcass was to add walnut facing, dovetail the ends into the carcass and fit a vertical partition. I cut dovetails into the frames, cut the sockets after directly marking them, and then to my horror discovered that I failed to account for the fact that the base of the dovetails are inset into the carcass sides, leaving a ~1/8" square gap :(

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OK, so hiding mistakes is the sign of a good craftsperson, right? I ripped the frames down ~1/4" and added a new face and tried again. My marking was _still_ rusty, but not too bad by the third one. More opportunity to become a better craftsman with some 'make pretty' work at the end...

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The good news is the vertical partition went well.

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And of course there was glue-up drama. As I was pounding the frames into the dovetail sockets, I fortunately noticed that I didn't account for the fact that the new faces were thicker than the amount I had ripped off. The back of the frames were sticking proud into the space that had already been rabbeted for the back panel. I was able to knock the dividers so they were all flush in the back but proud in the front. And I was grateful for hand tool skills because flushing the front would have been a puzzling fix for powertools (unless I had access to 15" resaw on a bandsaw). 15 minutes with hand planes with the carcass on a box and held with a holdfast to the bench side (hidden in the carcass) and all is good.

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As this is my first attempt at a complex carcass, getting to this point was a big relief because I know how to do drawers :)

Best,
Chris

[Ben Ellenberger]

That’s looking good! Getting to the point where you start making drawers always feels like a milestone to me.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Ben.

Moved the bench under the window and rearranged the shop yet again. Has gone cold here with a couple inches of the white stuff on the ground, even though the leaves on the maple in back haven't come off. Shop is nice and bright and warm-the pain of the insulation and sheetrock and paint are wearing off :)

Have finished up the carcass, here from the back showing the innards:

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All the drawer stock is rough milled and I have the fronts fitted. I decided a practice drawer would be a good idea. The practice drawer was indeed a good idea as I was rusty in marking, sawing and chopping. A few covered tracks visible in the practice drawer on top if you squint.

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And starting to look like the real thing with the practice drawer in place:

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Starting to think about pulls. Would like small knobs, but don't have a lathe. So perhaps brass. Any specific suggestions?

Best,
Chris

[Jerry Olexa]

Nice project..Good progress

[Richard Hutchings]

Enjoying your progress, nice work. Why not make rectangular wood pulls with a simple groove in the bottom?

[Ben Ellenberger]

That’s coming along nicely! I’ve made wooden pulls that are dovetailed into the top of the drawer. Then you end up with a narrow rectangular pull. I’ll put a little hollow in the bottom with a gouge to give a better grip. You can shape them any way you like.

I also like Paul Seller’s design where he makes multi-part pulls with a stem that is dovetailed into the body of the pull. The stem goes through a small mortise in the face of the drawer. That design would let you place the pull in the center of the drawer. I’m pretty sure you can find the YouTube video where he shows how he makes them.

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[Derek Cohen]

This may give you some ideas: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/HTMakingDrawerPulls.html

Use a variation of the design. The link is how to make them ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/HTMakingDrawerPulls_html_988c051.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Don Coffman]

Beautiful chest Christopher!

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks all. Richard, Ben and Derek, thanks for the nudge toward some wooden pulls. Derek, I had missed that post on your website, so thank you for that. I'll likely mock up some wooden ones.

[Mike Allen1010]

Very nice Chris- thanks for sharing the build pics and descriptions. Congratulations on your new shop! Hope you have many happy hours there!

[steven c newman]

Hmmm..maybe some of these will do ya..
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I used these on a small tool chest...
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Similar to the one Paul Sellers was building ( I simply added a second drawer)
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[William Fretwell]

The pulls have a small glue area for the size of the drawer. If you angle the tenon top and mortice hole 30 degrees to match and insert a filler strip below the tenon (not visible) they will never come out. The tenon can be a little shorter than the pull.
Also wondering why the brass chest handle is not set into the wood flush, much stronger that way!
Regards from Ontario.

[Tom Bender]

You've put a lot of work into it. The pulls can make or break the look. Don't save money now.

[Jim Matthews]

https://brusso.com/pulls/

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

Anybody remember this one? It is part of my long-standing efforts to have the longest build threads ever. Derek went and built an entire version and has it mostly french fitted for his tools in the time I've managed to make 5 drawers! Thankfully, classes are over and getting some steam for this project again. Still deciding on pulls and whether to build or buy.

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[Mark Rainey]

Looking forward to your progress. Good things take time Chris!

[Jim Matthews]

Looking good!

[mike stenson]

It's looking great! I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

[Thomas Wilson]

Look at it this way, most people, including me, have not even started yet.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks gentlemen. Thomas, hope you've started yours ;)


Have completed dovetailing the drawers and have them fit to the carcass. Here's my set up using some scrap cut to length for the narrow drawers supplemented for the longer drawers:

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Right now they are too tight and need to go back and finish dialing them in. Can be a bit loose since we're in our dry season--any thoughts on how snug to keep them?

[Tom Bender]

I normally make the sides and back a little lower then tune the fronts for a good fit.

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

I think I'll call this chest the "journeyman's chest" because all the journeys inside and outside the shop that have transpired since I started it! The latest distractions in the shop have been upgraded dust collection and 13 windows worth of interior trim. Decided I better get this one done before the next round of house projects is assigned.

I fitted the drawers, making them snug but not piston fit. I used the 'be able to close it pushing with one finger on a corner' guide. Pretty sure I saw that from George Wilson here on SMC.

I also picked up some antiqued brass knobs from LV for a reasonable price. I bought three sizes and some extras because I wasn't sure what size(s) would look best. Here's a couple configurations:

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It's subtle, but there's a difference.

[Mark Rainey]

Drawers look good Chris. Drawers that fit perfect usually end up getting stuck in summer. Good decision not to go for "piston fit".

[Scott Winners]

Can be a bit loose since we're in our dry season--any thoughts on how snug to keep them?

I built a tool cabinet with sliding trays in it over this winter (dry season) and got them to slide easily just as the spring thaw was starting. Now that I am coming to the end of my wet season my sliding trays are tighter than they were in March. There is one I definitely need to take down a hair, a couple I am going to leave alone.

I used at least three coats of SCJohnson floor wax on all the load bearing bits, red oak. My shop is somewhat climate controlled, usually +55dF and 5-10% RH in winter, +70 to +80 dF in Summer with ambient RH, 70-80%. They really didn't move that much, but I was fairly selective in the grain patterns I chose for both the slips on the sliding trays and the guides attached to the cabinet walls.

Yes my sliding trays are a little tight in the wet season, but I don't want them too loose in the dry season either. Figure out where you will take the next shavings from and wait for it is my advice.

[Thomas Wilson]

Hi all,

I think I'll call this chest the "journeyman's chest" because all the journeys inside and outside the shop that have transpired since I started it! The latest distractions in the shop have been upgraded dust collection and 13 windows worth of interior trim. Decided I better get this one done before the next round of house projects.

You are still increasing your lead, Christopher. I am still working on dust collection. That design doesn’t look big, but it has a huge amount of storage. Good job.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Scott. The next couple weeks will tell as we start to get rain again in October. Expect the drawers may need another swipe or two, but they are close now.

Thomas, hope you've finished your dust collection and I agree the design holds a surprising amount, which was revealed when making the drawer bottoms.

[Christopher Charles]

Getting close to the finish line (pun intended).

I used traditional ~1/8" thick drawer stops, attached by lining up the drawer front and reaching in from behind through another drawer to glue down. Required two rounds for the four rows of drawers.

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And a couple evenings hiding my sins:

before and after cover some gappy dovetails with tapered wedges:

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And a bit more embarrassing was when, I don't remember how, I either mis-marked or mis-sawed one of the corners on the back mitered dovetail corner. Sigh-at least it wasn't on the front-LOL...

I cut and chiseled out a clean spot and glued in a fitted wedge. We'll see how noticeable it is in the final piece.
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Currently finish planning and will start finishing next week (family travel this weekend). Thanks for following along.

Chris

[Christopher Charles]

First coat of finish is always my favorite moment of every project (one coat of BLO and then shellac and wax).

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Can also see the drawer stops here. I will note I did have to re-level a couple drawers to the carcass face after the stops dried in place. I did make sure to set them even or a bit proud.

Was able to get about 5 coats of shellac on this weekend and the next installment will be the completion photos.

Best,
Chris

[Derek Cohen]

Chris, that beautiful figure is starting to pop. That is going to be - already is! - a wonderful chest.

Where do you plan to keep it, and what will go inside the drawers?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Christopher Charles]

Hi Derek,

Thanks for the kind words. I too am excited to see the figure starting to pop.

Originally, I planned to keep it under my bench with tools. However, I have since decided that it will live in the house as a 'gentlemen's chest', which is a fancy way of saying it will be a way for me to keep track of bits and baubles around the house :). Since the pandemic, i've been working from home quite a bit more but don't have a dedicated office. Should be a good size for a laptop, the few number of bills that still come in as paper, notebooks, pencils, etc. We haven't settled on the final spot, but are also in the middle of interior updates, so it will likely move around for a while.

Best,
Chris

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

I was able to complete the chest over the weekend. The final step was to take a few fine shavings off to loosen a couple of the drawers. Here are some gratuitous glamor shots :)

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This was the original conception as an under-the-bench chest.

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The insert to repair the mis-cut miter can be seen on the back corner here:
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The chest will reside, at least of the time being, on one side of the living room (aka, my home office...)

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Thanks for following along.

[Robert McNaull]

Beautiful work Christopher. Amazing how the simplest of finishes really amplifies the natural beauty of the wood.

[Michael Todrin]

Way to spoil yourself with a first class project. Beautiful work.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Robert, I really do like shellac over oil and actually find it one of the easiest combinations to make look good.

Michael, I appreciate it. Aside from making things for the shop, this is the first piece I've made for myself and can say it does feel decadent.

[Mike Allen1010]

Chris I'm really enjoying your build. And NBSS tool chest build is definitely a milestone project in my book – something you'll enjoy in the shop every day. The wallet looks beautiful and your execution looks top-notch – congratulations. Sliding dovetails for internal dividers I think are very difficult to execute well. Clearly zero room for error on the face/show side. Personally, I'm not bashful in the least about pairing down the male portion of the sliding dovetail for all but the last inch or so (on the show side) to ease glue up. Why is that my approach!? Because I've had more than one internal divider only half assembled before it was completely frozen stuck solid. No amount of clamping, pounding could slide it all the way home. I ended up almost destroying the carcass trying to get it unassembled. Not an experience I want to repeat again – ergo my current approach including liberal trimming of the male dovetail.

Can't wait to see the rest of the project. Thanks again for posting.

Cheers, Mike