Base Cabinet for Tool Chest (Dutch)?

[Erich Weidner]

My (Dutch) tool chest is on the floor. This is not very good for getting things out of the bottom storage compartment. As that bottom compartment is full of metal planes... almost too heavy to lift for me to get it up on the sawbenches for a more comfortable reach. Also, then I find I need the sawbenches for... sawing. :)
The top compartment is fine to access from the floor.
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I see Mr. Schwarz built a thematically similar base cabinet for his. However, my needs are different, and I want to have a bank of drawers or compartments. (Maybe I would still do the fall front?)
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/dutch-tool-chest-lower-storage-unit/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=KUSrxjuVPyk&feature=emb_logo (1:10 sec into the video)

I dug out a set of rolling tool cabinet plans from Veritas I bought ages ago. Other than being made of wood, it was essentially redundant to my Craftsman metal rolling tool cabinet, so the plans laid dormant. Now I fished them out for another look. (I now have too many hand tools, and I want them all to be with the Dutch tool chest). I've decided I want to have many 1-3/4" high drawers, as the deeper drawers on my Craftsman (2-1/2" and bigger) are wasteful of space. To get more tools in, I have to stack them which I don't really like doing. Modifying the Vertias plan to have more shallower drawers is no big deal...
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/plans/101090-rolling-cabinet-plan?item=05L1701

...but the Veritas plan makes very heavy use of plywood sheets. I don't want to use plywood, so kind of back to the drawing board if I'm going to do something with solid wood only. The Schwarz bottom cabinet is built like the dutch tool chest with side/top panel grain parallel, but back is opposite (but nailed in place tongue and groove smaller boards as the back to keep things from splitting. But the Schwarz one doesn't have a carcase for drawers... the rails would have to have grain running vertically, as are the case sides so... wondering if that should be fine from a wood movement perspective, right? (Seems obvious it should be OK, but I'm in new design territory here. In the past, I'd have just used plywood).

I'd like the drawers to be pretty gapless so as to minimize dust & moisture entry. The fall front 'a la Schwarz could accomplish this however.
A drawer bank behind a fall front could look like one here (about halfway down, by Lance Shields): https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/dutch-tool-chests-readers/

Any suggestions/tips? Anyone have links to plans for solid wood tool cabinets you've bookmarked for something like this application? I'm not married to the look & feel of the Dutch chest, but I kind of like things to match... so maybe. Regardless I'll paint it blue!

[David Eisenhauer]

Erich, I would think that you could use the LV plans and exchange frame and panel units where plywood is used. Maybe M&T together some style and rail frames for the two cabinet ends, add in a 1/4" groove around the inside of the frames and fill them in with panels that can expand and contract within the grooves. Use the inside surfaces of the end frame styles for interior dados/sliding dovetails/etc. to install your horizontal drawer dividers (blades). If your cabinet design appears to be too deep for just single points of blade support at the front and rear of the style only, add in a center style on your end frames and use two separate panels. Perhaps create the two ends in that fashion and then use a post (the outer styles of the end frame and style panel) and panel approach for the back and bottom of the cabinet. Close fitting drawers to follow to minimize dust intrusion.

[Ben Ellenberger]

Here’s what I made out of poplar. Frame and panel sides, the back is tongue and groove boards screwed on. The bottom is another frame and panel set into shallow dadoes in the stiles of the side panels. I also put stub tenons on the bottom cross-pieces to give them a little more material in the stiles of the side panels. The top rails are dovetailed into the top of the stiles. The side panels are solid poplar, but if you aren’t opposed to a little plywood, it probably would be quicker and easier to use plywood for the panels and still consider it really well made.

you could make something like this with a bunch of banks of drawers. I like having a couple rows of drawers and the space at the bottom for odds and ends.

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edit: I just realized this is a base for a Dutch tool chest, so you’ll want it to be pretty low, right? I imagine the top of your tool chest would get awkward to access if it is too high.

[Ben Ellenberger]

Now I’m just throwing out ideas. Why not make the carcass like Chris Schwartz’s design? Just a dovetailed box. Make a frame and panel, for the back, then set drawers into it instead of having one big opening. If it is just a piece of shop furniture, I don’t think you’d need a fall front or anything fancy to keep dust out.

[glenn bradley]

Fine Woodworking's Mike Pekovich made a wheeled stand for his. A wheeled base sounds like a good idea for that type of tool box.

[Erich Weidner]

Here’s what I made out of poplar. Frame and panel sides, the back is tongue and groove boards screwed on. The bottom is another frame and panel set into shallow dadoes in the stiles of the side panels...

Very cool. Thanks for the info and reference photo. (And I like the color). :)



edit: I just realized this is a base for a Dutch tool chest, so you’ll want it to be pretty low, right? I imagine the top of your tool chest would get awkward to access if it is too high.
That is a good point. The one C. Schwarz built is only 12" high or so. That seems way too low to me. I'll have to play with how high I can get it. But with the sloped top compartment, I suspect I can get it reasonably high and still be good to go. I'll have to put it up on different height mock ups to see what will work.
It is possible that I won't be able to get it as high as I was first envisioning (like 2'-6" or so).



if you aren’t opposed to a little plywood, it probably would be quicker and easier to use plywood for the panels and still consider it really well made.
Actually, I'm trying to live my life as plywood free as possible. I just don't like working with it anymore. Aside from shop jigs I'd pretty much like to banish it from my work.

[Erich Weidner]

Fine Woodworking's Mike Pekovich made a wheeled stand for his. A wheeled base sounds like a good idea for that type of tool box.


I'll be googling for that shortly.

[David Eisenhauer]

It seems like whenever I get a splinter in a hand somewhere, it comes from handling plywood.

[Mike Brady]

When the Dutch tool chest was revived a number of years ago, I built a chest and a base for it out of poplar. The base has a tongue and groove back. Rather than attach wheels to the base, I use a furniture dolly. I agree that the chest without a base is not desireable. I use the base to store tools I use less often, such as tongue and groove planes What the base does is get the actual tool chest up to a desireable medium height that its top access requires. The whole assembly stores an impressive amount of stuff.

The only down side of using solid wood is that the removeable front panel of the base experiences seasonal wood movement. Its loose in the winter and so tight in the summer that I have to pry it open. Also, the battens that hold the base front panel in place are a bit of a nuisance.

I should also add that wood tool chests are quite heavy when loaded. Mine have been moved once: when I moved to a different home.

[Bill Yacey]

I'm not opposed to plywood, as long as it's good stuff. Lately, any cabinetry I make is with Baltic Birch plywood. Pound for pound, it's stronger and will outlast ordinary wood construction.

[Jim Matthews]

Not for nothin' - does it bear mentioning that you should move the tool chest when it's empty?

[Thomas Crawford]

I built mine slightly tall to accomodate some drawers inside. Its on casters and a little tippy. I wish it was a little deeper.

I will say the sloped top is the most genius part, otherwise I'd pile crap on top of it.

[Erich Weidner]

I will say the sloped top is the most genius part, otherwise I'd pile crap on top of it.

No doubt. I still drape my shooting plane "sock" on it. But I don't think that much counts. Literally everything else horizontal has stuff (that shouldn't be there) on it. Like.... the table saw.

[Erich Weidner]

My tool chest is ~25" tall. ~27" wide, and ~13" deep.
The C. Schwarz plan for a base cabinet at only 12" tall seems far to low to me. I've experimented by putting the chest on the bench (too high 34"), on sawhorses (a bit low at 20"). Then at about 25" off the floor with stack of wood on the sawhorses.

About 25" from floor to bottom of chest feels like it would be a good compromise between easy access to the top compartment and not having to stoop too low for the bottom compartment.

Big Question:
The C. Schwarz base cabinet is exactly the length/depth of the dutch tool chest. I'm wondering if I make the base cabinet (LxWxH) 27" x 13" x 25", will it be too unstable and "tippy" front to back?
The last thing I want is for it all to tip over and come crashing down.

Any rules of thumb for how wide (deep) to make the cabinet? It would be nice if they matched, but if I need to go wider for stability I will.

[Erich Weidner]

I built mine slightly tall to accommodate some drawers inside. Its on casters and a little tippy. I wish it was a little deeper.


Here I am returning to this project. :)
What dimensions did you make your base cabinet. Tippiness is something I'd like to avoid.

[Thomas Crawford]

36" tall in the back
12.5" deep
32" wide

It's not tippy in common use, which is just me grabbing it by a handle and moving it on smooth concrete. But if you push on it from the top to move it back and the casters happened to catch on something it might go over. I had it do that one when it was thankfully empty. Its better or worse depending on the weight distribution at any given time.

I never got around to building the drawers but the spots are there. I would say the way I use it in my shop only the fall front is more of a pain then a feature, I'd rather have 2 doors. I also don't think the slope on the lid needs to be quite so steep, but as I mentioned I need it there or I'll stack stuff on it.

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[Scott Winners]

I think this thread has previously inspired a thing I haven't actually built yet. I am going to - wood is here and seasoning.

I am going to make basically a book case, dovetailed box, about 36" wide and finished height about 40", 12 inches deep. When "parked at home" it will fit on the wall under my saw till. 5" casters on the bottom.

I am thinking three shelves, so counting the floor board four flat surfaces to store stuff on. Cut nails and other heavy supplies on the bottom, my growing collection of milk paint powder on the next shelf, and finally my joinery planes on the upper shelf.

For the bottom two shelves I am thinking small boxes to hold reasonable quantities of the various things, I picked up close to 50# of cut nails from craigslist some time ago at a price I could not pass up. So a box maybe two inches wide, four inches tall and close to twleve inches deep. "tight" seasonal clearance to the shelf above, but when I am using whatever sized nail I can just pull that box off the lower shelf to the bench top in use. Getting my fingers down into 2" wide drawers to grab the last nail isn't going to work, so maybe 4" wide with a central divider to hold two sizes of nails.

In my wildest fantasy I will put "drawer fronts" on all the boxes so when everything is put away in order it looks like continous grain across the front. I don't plan to roll it around a lot, but I do want it up off the floor.

I wonder what Eric ended up doing.

[Erich Weidner]

Thanks. I see now, you have a single large chest. I was thinking you made a separate base "chest" for the Dutch chest to rest on. That is where I'm headed as I already built the smaller size Dutch chest.

I've started gluing up the panels. In the end I decided to make it 18" deep. This is the depth of my Craftsman metal base cabinet, which has a Craftsman tool chest on top (which is 12" deep, same as my Dutch tool chest). It doesn't get tippy. So I figured what the heck, I'll just do that depth.

I'm still not sure what to do about the front. I am definitely making drawers, and the fall front would help with dust entry and keep everything looking the same. However, I can see where it would be a pain to have to take off and store someplace while working out of the chest. Doors I don't think will work for me as I'd forever be tripping on them. With the fall front, I also get some extra rigidity with the 1-1/2" rails across the top and bottom front of the case.

[Scott Winners]

I wonder if a case like Thomas' could have a shelf sticking out the back at the base to hold the front panel up off the floor and out of the way when the case is open. Maybe a bungee cord or a hook and eye like for a screen door?

[Thomas Crawford]

18" is going to be good I think. If I ever rebuild it I'd probably do it in 2 parts. Fortunately I have more specialty tools in the bottom so I don't tend to work out of it as regularly.

[Erich Weidner]

I wonder if a case like Thomas' could have a shelf sticking out the back at the base to hold the front panel up off the floor and out of the way when the case is open. Maybe a bungee cord or a hook and eye like for a screen door?


I thought about embedding rare earth magnets in the back of the chest and fall front for this purpose. Not very 18th century... but I still might do it.

[Tom Bender]

Here's my solution. It maximizes storage in a modest footprint. It does use plywood for drawer bottoms and side and back panels. The fronts are steam bent Ash.

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