Plans or experience building a wood tool chest

[George Lohnes]

I am fairly inexperienced but have found that practicing on my own shop cabinets, etc.. is a good way to learn (usually what NOT to do.. but that is for another day).

I was looking at tool chests recently and am shocked by how much good chests cost. I was toying with the idea of making my own (wood) toolchest, but I have two questions:

1) will this end up costing me more money that if I just bought the darn thing

2) does anyone have any plans they could point me towards?

Thanks,
George

[Michael Lutz]

What do you want to store in the chest? This could help to determine what plans to point you towards. It will also determine how much money you will spend on it.

Mike

[George Lohnes]

I was thinking more along the line of smaller drawers, and not too much height (gee... kinda like a most tool chests :)

I am very restricted in space.. so being able to put away a lot of the measuring stuff, small tools, the $2000 worth of small tools and gadgets I don't know how to use but HAD to have, etc...

I think most of the heavy stuff (routers, jigs and the like) will just be going in a open cubby style shelving.

[Gary Keedwell]

If you are talking about a machinist's tool box, like a Gerstner, it would be cheaper to buy. Very labor intensive.:(
Gary K.

[Gary Curtis]

The Toolbox Book by Jim Tolpin (Taunton Press) has a series of plans in the back.

My dad was a machinist and I always admired his Machinist's chest. Thus, as a new woodworker, guess what my first project will be. While training in a cabinet shop as an unpaid apprentice, my friend the owner reminded me that most furniture is simple a box within a larger box. And so on.

Knowing what I wanted to make, I bought a machine called the WoodRat which makes joints such as finger joints and dovetails. You could do as well with the Leigh or Akeba jigs. As to cost of making one, if you add up the hardware prices in Lee Valley's hardware catalog, you'll easily equal the price of a Gerstner. Cutting and fitting the felt inside is what scares me.

Gary Curtis
northern california

[John Miletta]

Try Woodsmith`s newest issue # 183 It`s a beautiful 17" seven drawer , turn of the century mission style .Modeled after the Union toolchest works co. of Rochester NY.The guys that set the standard in chest building.

Here`s a link to the supplier selling the hardware kit.

WWW.MACHINISTCHEST.COM (http://www.MACHINISTCHEST.COM)

[David Keller NC]

"1) will this end up costing me more money that if I just bought the darn thing."

That depends. If you consider your time free, then you might come out on the positive side if you use a reasonably-priced cabinet hardwood for the drawer fronts and a low-cost secondary wood for the drawer sides, bottoms and other internals.

But this assumes that you build an all-wood tool chest. If you include metal drawer slides and other hardware, it's extremely doubtful that you'll spend less than going to Sears and buying a good Craftsman metal tool chest (or to Home Depot and buy a Kobalt chest, or whatever).

If, however, you consider your time to have some value, you may be better off purchasing a very nice, $1200 ball-bearing slide metal chest and build other things instead. It's what I did.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

There's a 50% off sale at FWW.
Jim Tolpin's "The Tool Box Book" is on sale at $12.47
http://store.taunton.com/onlinestore/item/the-toolbox-book-jim-tolpin-070394.html

[Myk Rian]

If you are talking about a machinist's tool box, like a Gerstner, it would be cheaper to buy. Very labor intensive.:(
Gary K.
Not really. Took me a month to build mine by doing one step at a time. Even took a week or so off for vacation during the build.

This one is from Shopnotes #49 vol 9.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/picture.php?albumid=81&pictureid=684 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/picture.php?albumid=81&pictureid=684)

[phil harold]

+1 for Jim Tolpin's "The Tool Box Book"

[John Miletta]

Woodsmith`s news stand price is only $4.95...MC

[Tom Slupek]

There's a 50% off sale at FWW.
Jim Tolpin's "The Tool Box Book" is on sale at $12.47
http://store.taunton.com/onlinestore/item/the-toolbox-book-jim-tolpin-070394.html


I only see a price of $24.95. Is there a coupon somewhere?

[Dave Lehnert]

I built this one from Rockler a number of years ago. Turned out very well.
The price is right too.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=464

http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/40519a-lg.jpg

[Frank Drew]

George,

Consider how you might be using the chest, and where it will go, and that will help guide your design. For instance, I made a simple chest of drawers (three up, two down) meant to sit out of the way under my workbench, riding on the two stretchers that connect the base; using it like that, a top that opened up like a blanket chest wouldn't have worked, so I didn't incorporate one.

As an unanticipated benefit, I found that the tools I kept in the drawers, usually my better tools, avoided the rust that occasionally plagued some of the stuff out in the open.

[Chip Lindley]

Hey George! Building a nice tool chest will be a project that give you great experience with measuring, cutting and fitting many precise parts, making small dovetails, and fine tuning so everything works!


If you are talking about a machinist's tool box, like a Gerstner, it would be cheaper to buy. Very labor intensive.:(
Gary K.

Money Can't BUY Everything!! There is great pleasure in spending time wisely to accomplish what can be bought for Hefty $ums! Sometimes Time is much more available than Ca$h!

Included are some pix of a Gerstner-style chest I built from Popular Mechanics plans wayyy back in the '80s. It is white oak, with purchased hardware. The brass strap-parts were hand-made from an old door kick plate!

Although deemed a machinist's chest, I built it for my daughter to store her oil-painting supplies! Many painters or make-up artists used these style chests to organize their stuff before the EMT/tackle box style came in vogue.

[John Miletta]

Hey Chip,

I like the way you put the pulls in the middle of the lower drawers sure makes for easy opening and functionality.Are those front mount knobs?

Great job!

[sean m. titmas]

1) will this end up costing me more money that if I just bought the darn thing

2) does anyone have any plans they could point me towards?
even if you spend less on a box that you make yourself you'll still end up with a box that is designed by someone else who has different tools and work methods than you.


im designing my shop tool chest next week and i'll start by laying out all my tools on the shop floor to see what im working with. its easy to design something when all the components are in front of you. i encourage you to do the same by at least modifying an existing design to accomadate your tools.

[David Keller NC]

I think George is long gone from this thread (the original post was in April), but for those reading it, there's an article/plans in the last Popular Woodworking by Roy Underhill for building a traditional joiner's toolchest. It's got some complications, but should be far simpler to build than a Gerstner-style box.

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=33c35873734e487738e43095496b061

[Chip Lindley]

Thanks for the compliment John! Knobs are *mail-order* cheapies that screwed in drawer front. All hardware was ordered from one of the '90s mail-order suppliers...Leichtung? Woodcraft? Rockler carries the same stuff now, basically!

[John Miletta]

Here`s a link to yet another set of plans from American Furniture and Design CO. for the John B. Hetzel machinist wooden tool chest . Plans are the lowest price you`ll find, with the purchase of the hardware kit.

http://machinistchest.com/site/product_details.php?category_id=56&item_id=39

MC

[Rob Young]

I am fairly inexperienced but have found that practicing on my own shop cabinets, etc.. is a good way to learn (usually what NOT to do.. but that is for another day).

I was looking at tool chests recently and am shocked by how much good chests cost. I was toying with the idea of making my own (wood) toolchest, but I have two questions:

1) will this end up costing me more money that if I just bought the darn thing

2) does anyone have any plans they could point me towards?

Thanks,
George

1) YES
2) Go to the store at www.grandslamtools.com and pre-order Tommy's video. Tommy and Eli (and go look at some of the podcasts too) have done a video on constructing a toolchest similar to ones made by students at NBSS.

If you can find a copy of Jim Toplin's book on tool chests, he has lots of good ideas there as well as some nice color photographs of NBSS student toolchests.

[Jeff Willard]

1) will this end up costing me more money that if I just bought the darn thing


Yes :eek:.


I spent $120 on just the hardware for mine, and that was eight years ago. I did buy some nice hardware for it though.

[John Townsend]

If one is looking at building a Machinist's style tool chest I think that this plan is by far the best, IMHO

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/toolchest.php

It's essentially patterned after an #52611 11-drawer Kennedy with a riser. I've been using an 11-drawer Kennedy and riser of these proportions since I began machining over eight years ago. And now that I have started into woodworking I think a chest similar to this (that I build myself in hardwood, of course) would suit me just fine except that I feel the depth needs to be increase to 12" vice 10 1/2". I have found that these type of tool chests would benefit greatly by allowing storage of longer tools and instruments. Many times on the job I have wished I had got the larger Kennedy: 26" W 12" D 18-7/8"H. On the other hand they cost $600! Which is why I didn't get one.

Incidentally...
It's turns out that most Gerstner Machinists chests are made in china (except the top-of-the-line Gerstners). Gerstner was well known for fine oak (as well as cherry and walnut) tool chests in the machining world for a long time. Nowadays they lack the quality of the early ones. But they're still charging almost top dollar for them. :rolleyes: I'd never buy one of these if I could make one !! ... just out of principle.

In short: if you can, and you don't worry about your time, build one rather than buy; because you can do as well or better than any chinese hardwood machinist's chest.
On the other hand if you don't mind chinese or you have no desire to own your self made tool box, or you don't care what sort of materials it's made out of...just buy one. Building one requires the same cabinetmaking skills you will use in furniture, kitchen cabinets etc. In my opinion, building one of these is about the journey and the destination. A thought: long ago, it used to be that apprentices were judged to some degree on a requisite tool chest they had to build themselves when passing from apprentice to journeyman.

[Steven DeMars]

If one is looking at building a Machinist's style tool chest I think that this plan is by far the best, IMHO

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/toolchest.php

It's essentially patterned after an #52611 11-drawer Kennedy with a riser. I've been using an 11-drawer Kennedy and riser of these proportions since I began machining over eight years ago. And now that I have started into woodworking I think a chest similar to this (that I build myself in hardwood, of course) would suit me just fine except that I feel the depth needs to be increase to 12" vice 10 1/2". I have found that these type of tool chests would benefit greatly by allowing storage of longer tools and instruments. Many times on the job I have wished I had got the larger Kennedy: 26" W 12" D 18-7/8"H. On the other hand they cost $600! Which is why I didn't get one.

Incidentally...
It's turns out that most Gerstner Machinists chests are made in china (except the top-of-the-line Gerstners). Gerstner was well known for fine oak (as well as cherry and walnut) tool chests in the machining world for a long time. Nowadays they lack the quality of the early ones. But they're still charging almost top dollar for them. :rolleyes: I'd never buy one of these if I could make one !! ... just out of principle.

In short: if you can, and you don't worry about your time, build one rather than buy; because you can do as well or better than any chinese hardwood machinist's chest.
On the other hand if you don't mind chinese or you have no desire to own your self made tool box, or you don't care what sort of materials it's made out of...just buy one. Building one requires the same cabinetmaking skills you will use in furniture, kitchen cabinets etc. In my opinion, building one of these is about the journey and the destination. A thought: long ago, it used to be that apprentices were judged to some degree on a requisite tool chest they had to build themselves when passing from apprentice to journeyman.

Only the chest labeled "INTERNATIONAL" are made in China. The rest are still made in Dayton, Ohio . . . The "INTERNATIONAL" chest are clones of the real things, but I agree they are junk. I have been following Gerstner since the 70's & have one of what I consider the better ones.

I spoke with the people at Gerstner about a year ago & they said the "INTERNATIONAL" line was necessary for the company to survive.

Sort of like a PLUMB hammer, they are now made in China. I called PLUMB one day to ask why the hell they did that . . . The gentleman's reply hit kind of hard . . . He asked, "Sir based on the current cost of manufacturing in the United States, liability, etc . . . who can I sell a $35.00 hammer to. Trades people use nail guns . . ."

P.S. The reason I have subscribed to this thread is because I also plan to build a "Gerstner Chest".

Steve:)

[Jack Coats]

A project in thewoodwhisperer.com/guild is a wall mounted tool chest. The only problem is you must be a member of the guild to get it.



http://www.amazon.com/Toolbox-Craftsmans-Guide-Jim-Tolpin/dp/1561582727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259469049&sr=8-1
has a used copy of "The Toolbox Book" for under $10 plus their S&H

[Mike Harrison]

I must admit I haven't read all the posts, but Woodsmith had a very nice tool chest in Vol.26 No.151 Pg 32.

Mike

[george wilson]

Some years ago I called Aircraft Spruce. This young idiot answered,and I told him I wanted to buy some spruce. He said "What's spruce?"

[John Townsend]

Only the chest labeled "INTERNATIONAL" are made in China. The rest are still made in Dayton, Ohio . . . The "INTERNATIONAL" chest are clones of the real things, but I agree they are junk. I have been following Gerstner since the 70's & have one of what I consider the better ones.

I spoke with the people at Gerstner about a year ago & they said the "INTERNATIONAL" line was necessary for the company to survive.

Sort of like a PLUMB hammer, they are now made in China. I called PLUMB one day to ask why the hell they did that . . . The gentleman's reply hit kind of hard . . . He asked, "Sir based on the current cost of manufacturing in the United States, liability, etc . . . who can I sell a $35.00 hammer to. Trades people use nail guns . . ."

P.S. The reason I have subscribed to this thread is because I also plan to build a "Gerstner Chest".

Steve:)

Hello Steve,
I would be happy to share with you my thoughts on a Gerstner style chest. I'd be interested to hear your take on construction. And how you're going to approach your project. I've started (to a small degree) on the design but I have my workbench that I feel I'd better do first. I've attached a jpeg of the bench which was designed in SolidWorks in case anyone is interested. Once I get the design work done for the tool chest, I'll throw a jpeg of it on here as well (*it's gonna be awhile, though!).

Incidentally I contacted L. S. Starrett a couple years ago about why they don't make very many mahogany cases for their tools anymore and the reply was that:
"Sir, the cost of manufacturing these cases adds considerably to the cost. . . Most machinists just don't want to pay for them anymore. . .They don't even want to pay for US made machinist tools!"
Kind of sad. All my machinist tools are Starrett and Mitutoyo, but both of these stalwarts are starting to outsource. Very sad...almost a crime. Most of the younger machinists I work with are perfectly happy with Harbor Freight (HF makes me vomit). Very sad, indeed. I've begun to wonder whether it may someday come to pass that the only things left that are truly made here in the US are those which are made by homeshop woodworkers and machinists! :confused:

[Stephen Edwards]

...... I've begun to wonder whether it may someday come to pass that the only things left that are truly made here in the US are those which are made by homeshop woodworkers and machinists! :confused:

Sadly, we're certainly headed in that direction, already. In a sense, it already has come to pass with many manufactured goods.

However, that can work to our advantage! There will always be a market for high quality manufactured goods. As outsourcing continues to increase, more niche markets are created for the guys and gals who do fine work in home shops and in small shops. I realize that times are really tough right now for such craftsmen. Eventually, the economy will get better and the people who wish and can afford to buy truly fine goods, and who know the difference between a mass produced faux wood dining table, for example, and one built by a caring, skilled craftsman in their town or city will have nowhere else to go to acquire such an item.

I'm certainly not suggesting that anyone quit their day job to go into business for themselves now. I am suggesting that we remain hopeful, continue doing what we love best to do and continue to improve our skills. In other words, get ready!

Even a guy like myself, with only moderate skills, picks up the occasional job that comes along when a buyer simply can't find what they want from any retail store. My work isn't nearly as "high end" as the work of many others on this forum. But, the pieces that I do build and sell are built with integrity, even if they are rather simple compared to the work of many others. Word gets around if you do good work.

To the OP, I suggest that you build your own tool chest. And, don't even think about the time that you'll have in it. As someone else already said, it's about the journey, too. In fact, this is an opportunity for your journey to better your joinery! Finally, if you know the appx. size chest that you want to build, this is a good opportunity for you to plan and draw your own working drawing, further increasing your design and planning skills.

Best Wishes,

[Steve Lansing]

I would love to see this thread start up again,
I've built two Gerstner style 31 copies and would like see others building wood tool boxes.

[Bill Dufour]

If you buy harbor freight red machinist tool cabinets are one of the best values. I know nothing about their wooden chests. The red ones are cheaper and better then sears brand. But Harbor freight will not let you use a discount coupon for tool cabinets or saw blades.
I suppose you could buy a metal chest and veneer it in wood.:)
Bill