Show off your skills and give your tools the home they deserve. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY NEAL BARRETT J If you're a mechanic, finding a toolbox is no problem—there are dozens on the market, from huge roll-around shop cases to small metal boxes. Framers, plumbers and electricians are well served, too, with everything from pickup-truck storage to toolbags and belts. However, if you're a shop-bound woodworker, the picture changes. There's simply little out there that suits the range and =~. variety of hand tools SHOP PROJECT most woodworkers like to have nearby. For those who refuse to make do with second best, there’s only one solution—build a wooden toolbox designed expressly for a woodworking shop. ‘Of course, building a case for your fine hand tools is more than a practical solution to a storage problem. It's an opportunity to fine-tune and show off your wood- ‘working skills. Our design is based on an early 20th cen- tury Arts & Crafts theme and features traditional frame- and-panel construction and hand-doverailed drawers. Joint and rip the leg blanks from 14-in. “i thick cherry stock, and crosscut each piece sev- ral inches longer than the finished dimension. ‘Then, cut the rail and mullion blanks in the same way. Cut ¥-in.-thick cherry stock to size for the toolbox panels. Lay out the mortises in the leg blanks so there's extra waste stock beyond them at the ends. To ensure uniform positioning, clamp the pieces together and use a square to mark across them, Then, lay out the ‘mullion mortises in the rail Set up a plunge router with ‘sin.-dia. spiral up-cutting and edge guide, and rout most of the waste from each mortise (Photo 1). Note that the extra length at the ends of each blank supports the router base for these cuts, Then, rout the mortises in the top and bottom rails. After routing, the mortises will have round ends, Square all mortise ends with a sharp chisel (Photo 2). Readjust the router bit depth and cut the panel grooves in the legs, rails and mullions (Photo 3). Then, lay out and rout the stopped rabbets for the plywood inner sides, and square the rabbet ends. Using a dado blade in the table saw, cut the tenons on the rail and mullion ends. First set the blade height to cut both sides of the centered mullion tenons and the outside faces of the off-center rail tenons. Reset the blade height to cut the inside of the rail tenons (Photo 4). Finally, adjust the blade height to cut the shoulders as shown in the drawing on page 83. Lay out the arched profile on each bottom rail and use a band saw or sabre saw to make the curved cuts. POPULAR MECHANICS © JANUARY 2001 # WWW. POPULARMECHANICS.COM.Keep the saw kerf on the waste side of the layout line. When the rails are cut to shape, smooth the rough-sawn surfaces with a spokeshave, scraper and sandpaper. Bore holes through the top rails for securing the toolbox top. Note that each hole is elongated to allow the top to expand and contract with the change in sea- sons. Bore two holes side by side for each screw. Then use a -in, chisel to connect the holes. Counterbore the holes in the front and back rails so the serewheads won't interfere with the operation of the top drawer. Sand the panels before assembling the sides and back. Apply glue to the mortise-and-tenon joints of, the back assembly, taking care not to get glue in the POPULAR MECHANICS # JANUARY 2001 # WAU. POPULARMECHANICS.COM Our Arts & Crafts-style toolbox will set the benchmark for everything you build. Solid cherry frame-and-panel construction, wooden drawer Slides and dovetailed drawers combine to make this piece a standout in any shop. panel grooves. Install the panels and mullions in the lower rail (Photo 5), and then position the top rail and use clamps to pull the joints tight. After assembling the sides in the same way, join the legs to the side-rail ends. When the glue has set, join the side assemblies to the front and back rails Cut the plywood inner sides to size, bore and coun- tersink screwholes, and screw the inner sides to the legs. Lay out the locations of the drawer guide strips, and cut the strips to size. The easiest way to make these strips is to first rout a bull-nose profile along the end of a wide board. Then, rip the strips from the board, cut them to length and screw them in place (Photo 6) arsea plunge router with an edge guide to cout the mortises. Extra length at each end Of the workpiece supports the router. ‘ior removing most ofthe waste withthe router, use a sharp chisel to square the ends of the mortises in both legs and rails. Rese truer ating det fo the ponl grooves in the legs and rails. Use the same ‘setup for the grooves along mullion edges. Cut the tenons on the rail ends using a dado blade in the table saw. Note that the rail tenons are not centered. Cut the ¥-in.-thick maple drawer sides and backs to finished size and use %-in. cherry for the faces. Note that blind dovetails join the sides to the face and through dovetails join the sides to the back. The tail patterns, though, are the same at the front and the back. Lay out the dovetails on the drawer sides with an adjustable ‘bevel and marking gauge. Use a sharp knife to scribe the lines. To cut the tails, first make the crossgrain cuts at the top and bot- ‘tom edges of the side. Keep the saw kerf about % in. on the waste side of the line. Then, hold the piece upright in your vise and saw the sides of each dovetail (Photo 7). ‘With the tails defined by saw cuts, remove the waste between them by alternating vertical and horizontal cuts with a chisel (Photo 8). Stay about 4 in. from the bot- tom dovetail line until the waste is removed. Finally, cut precisely along the layout lines, taking care to keep the cuts square to the face of the board. a2 oi ~) u Join mulions to the lower back rail. Spread ‘glue on mortise-and-tenon joints and install ‘panels. Then, add the top rail and clamp. To lay out the pins, first mark the mating pieces so they won’t get mixed up during assembly. ‘Use a marking gauge to scribe guide lines across the ends and inside faces of the drawer fronts (Photo 9) and along both inside and outside faces of the drawer backs. With a drawer front held vertically, position the mating side over it and use a sharp knife to scribe the outline of the tails (Pho- to 10). Follow the same technique for each join To cut the pins on the drawer backs, use the same cutting tech- niques used for the tails. For the drawer fronts, however, begin by making sharply angled cuts to de- fine the blind pins (Photo 11). Next, alternate vertical and hori- zontal chisel cuts to chop out the waste (Photo 12). Once again, keep about % in, from the lines. Finish by carefully paring while checking the fit of the joint as you go. Use a dado blade to cut the %-in. ‘groove in the drawer parts that houses each drawer bottom (Photo 13). Cut the bottom panels to size ‘After instaling the inner case sides, lay out the drawer guide locations and install the ‘guides with-in, No. 6 screws. and sand the inside surfaces of the drawer parts. Avoid sanding the dovetail joint surfaces. MATERIALS LIST—TOOLBOX ey No._ Size and description ase) vec tex 1846 chet ep) 1 16 cere op side rail) 182% 168" chery otiom side raid Tic scare cere top rena. 123274" chery botom rear a) 11:14 164" chery (mallon) 1d chery panel 3c 14sec 16 plywood ner side) ‘ibe 6" chery runner Sie 2'e aa! maple drawer side) 2 ts maple drawer he) Si 316s" maple drawer sie) Sie 25c25¢ maple drawer bac, oss SRaRE> ex i 256% cerry (drawer front) jon 3x 256 cherry (drawer front) 10 18ie%25%" plywood (drawer bottom) 15 244" Fl ne) ci 266" maple rack) grveenwunwunse 6 Death 12 drawer pal tac Sandpaper; gue; Waterlox Transparent paper: spare * Pll (No. 74RE2) available from Whitechapel ud, P.O. Box 136, Wilson, WY 83014; 600-468- 534, POPULAR MECHANICS ¢ JANUARY 2001 # WAWW.POPULARMECHANICS.COMrnepep ie ee TorveWw 1,61 |NOTE: NO GROOVES OR we ] 2 | i a ie ite aw.ocer fll erie pexaaen)The Case For Quality 4 a Use a fine backsaw to make the dovetail cuts in the ends of drawer sides. Stay about in, on the waste side of the line, Use a sharp chisel to chop out the waste between the tails. Cut halfway through, then turn the piece over to finish the job. a. i= a Pe Position the drawer side to trace the outline Of the dovetails on the ond of the drawer ‘front. Use a sharp knife to trace the profile. To start blind tront pins, angle the saw so that the cut extends diagonally across the Joint, Stay about % in. to waste side of line. Use a marking gauge to scribe guide tines ‘across drawer-front ends. Lines indicate the ends of the drawer-side dovetails. Alternate horizontal and vertical cuts to remove the waste in drawer-front pins. Test the fit often to achieve a tight joint. Use a dado blade in the table saw to cut é- ‘in, grooves on the inside of the drawer ‘parts forthe drawer-bottom panels. Use a small brush to spread glue on each dovetail joint for one drawer. Join the back and front to one side, then slide the bottom panel into its groove. Position the opposite side, clamp, and check that the drawer is square. When the glue has set on all drawers, plane or sand smooth the outer surfaces. Use a %-in.-dia. straight bit in the router table to ‘cut grooves in the drawer sides for the guide strips (Photo 14) Test each drawer in the case. If drawer is snug, sand the guides until it slides a me Use a straight bt in the router table to cut the guide-strip grooves in the drawer sides. A stopblock limits the cut. smoothly. If the drawer is too loose, shim the guide strips with paper or veneer to tighten the fit. Glue up stock to form the toolbox top panel, and cutit to size. Use a %- in.-rad. rounding. over bit for the pro- file along the bottom edge. To attach the top, first invert it on a padded surface. Then, temporarily remove the inner case sides and position the case on the top. Bore pilot holes into the top and install the screws. popularmechanies.com/home To make a chisel rack, bore a series of 1- in. holes in Y-in. maple. Then, rip the strip ‘in half and secure It to the drawer bottom. After sanding, we applied three coats of Waterlox Transparent Fin- ish. To promote easy sliding, apply paste wax to the drawer guide strips and the grooves in the drawer sides. ‘We also lined the drawers with heavy pool-table felt. Use a utility knife to cut the felt to size and sim- ply lay each piece in a drawer bot- tom. To make a chisel rack, bore a series of I-in. holes in a ¥-in-thick strip of maple. Rip the strip For More On Home Improvement | through the center of the CCheck the Home channel on the PMZone Web site at| holes {Photo 18) and cut it to fit inside a drawer. POPULAR MECHANICS © JANUARY 2001 ® WWW. POPULARMECHANICS. COM