Storage Chest 5 Plus a storage box for my carving tools

Last Look at the Chest

Well, I added the cross piece to the lid to make the Z pattern. I threw a couple desiccant bags I get from work in there with my hand planes and have been using it for a week or so. I set it up on the floor on a couple of pieces of wood to make it easier to get into. I love the way the lid and lock works. That was a fun project.

  

Storage Case for Carving Gouges

A while back, I got a set of Ashley Iles dove-tail chisels plus a couple optional chisels making the total set have 8 chisels. The little chisel roll that came with the set had six pockets. Last year I got a Two-Cherries 6-chisel set which came in a nice leather roll with, like, twelve pockets. I swapped chisels and rolls and now my chisels all have a home. I also keep a cheap 1/4 inch bench chisel with my dove-tail set because I use it for any heavy chopping I need to do if I leave too much waste after sawing out the waste with the jeweler's saw. Now I just needed somewhere to put my carving gouges.

I bought the gouges a while back and have just kept them in the postage box they came in, in there individual plastic sleeves. I saw the chisel case that David Barron uses to keep his dovetail chisels handy, and I thought I would make a similar deal for my carving gouges and other carving tools.

I used some scrap for everything, because I am not confident enough to tear into the nice wood I bought in St. Louis a few months ago. I get a piece of zebra wood, birds-eye maple, and wenge. I can't believe how expensive that was. The scraps I used were from my bed project, plus one old piece of Alder (I think), from an old bed repair I did years ago for a friend. Anyway, here is the finished case. I stained it with Gun-Stock Minwax stain, and then a couple coats of shellac.

 

I made it roughly 12 x 16 x 2 1/2 inches. The lid was from a piece of oak that was 3/4 inches thick, and 6 inches wide. I resawed it to make book matched, 5/16 inch pieces that I edge glued to make the panel. I used the alder for the sides.I used plywood for the bottom.

 

The lid slides along the slots cut into the back and sides. The supports are made from the leftover pine from the storage chest. I just drilled 1 1/4 inch holes for the handle supports, and 5/8 holes for the smaller supports that keep the pointy ends from touching. I made room for 9 gouges, but only had six, so I was able to put my carving knifes and small carving tools/pouch in there as well.

 

The Alder I used for the sides (or what ever that old wood was) didn't take the stain very well. It didn't really have a visible grain, so it looks kind of splotchy. This was the first time I used shellac. I like it.  The dovetails turned out pretty good. I am trying to perfect my technique so I can use some of that fancy wood I bought.

Here is a link to the SketchUp model at 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com:

Model of Sliding Lid Dovetail Box

Storage Chest for my Planes and Sharpening Stones 4

Wrapping It Up

I almost finished the chest last night. I made a tray for my planes to sit in, and added runners on the inside sides of the box for the tray to slide on. I glued and nailed the bottom on. I got my cut nails and they seemed to work great. I pre-drilled the holes and aligned the nails so the wide sides ran parrallel to the grain. I didn't get any splitting. When I made the lid, I attached the battens by hammering the nails  about a 1/4 inch through and turned the lid over and bent them over, then finished driving the nails from the pother side, turned it over again and hammered the bent bit down into the wood like a staple. I glued everything as well for good measure. I ended up using a piece of 1/2 inch Birch plywood for the lid panel, since I messed up and needed it thinner than I planned initially.

Here is the locking pin being slid out to allow the lid to slide forward.

 

With the pin removed, the lid slides to the right, freeing the left side.

This shows the gap left by sliding the lid to the right, allowing it to be lifted out on the left end. 

 

The tray slides left and right to allow access to the bottom of the chest.

Here is a link to the SketchUp model:
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=ud8b5d59e-53a5-43b9-bc71-803d37fd5902

I might have one more post on the chest after I add finish. I might add the cross batten piece to the lid to make the Z pattern but I don't think it is needed.

Welcome to Piston Fit (yeah, right)

Welcome

"Piston-fit" is a term used to describe perfectly fitting drawers, that when opened and closed, have a drag introduced by the air having to sneak its way around the edges creating a cushion of air feeling to the drawer movement. Yeah, I have never got anything like that so far.

Well, this is my first post. So welcome. I apologize up-front for the fact that I am the world's biggest hack. I have a college degree, in Mathematics, but most of what I know is just a jumbled collection of random skills collected over my life, dictated by my interest at the time. When my childhood-friend John and I were young, we decided we would be "Renaissance Men" when we grew up and know everything about everything. A lofty goal for 10-year-olds. After 40 years, the result is I know a little about a lot, and a lot about a little. I realized too late that I will never reach a certain level of excellence in one area, because it just doesn't hold my interest long enough, and I don't achieve "perfection". I end up with "pretty good" some times, but mostly "good enough for me". I do strive to improve all the time, and I think I get better, but I often settle for "good enough" on any particular project.

This blog is about one of my long-term interests: woodworking. I took wood-shop in jr. high and high school, and made some stuff at the craft shop in college, but hadn't done any more wood working for many years, when I got a big raise, and started buying power tools. I went through the usual sequence of buying tools slowly until I had most of the critical tools for making some basic furniture. I made some of jigs for cutting mortises with a router and a tenoning jig for the table saw, cross-cut sleds, work benches...

I only just recently started buying nice hand tools for planing, cutting, marking, chiseling, and carving. Man that stuff adds up fast.

Anyway, I plan on using this blog as a way to chronicle my past, current, and ongoing woodworking projects. Here we go.