Login | Create an Account Site Upgrade Notice
Subscribe to Fine Woodworking Magazine
Back to List

Spalted Maple and Walnut Tool Cabinet

June 9th, 2009 in The Gallery     
rollo1 rollo1, member
thumbs up 76 users recommend
Photo: A. Ziegler
Add CommentAdd Comment
PrintPrint

I built this tool cabinet for my hand tools, so it seemed appropriate to maximize my use of hand tools. The drawer and frame dovetails are all cut with saw and chisel, and all surfaces are finished with handplanes. The doors and drawer fronts are all bookmatched spalted maple, and the frame and drawer bodies are walnut. It hangs on the wall using a french cleat. The finish is hand rubbed polyurethane.


Design or Plan used: My Own Design - Ben Broili
posted in: The Gallery, tool, cabinet, dovetails, walnut, chest, tool chest, krenov, spalted maple
Add CommentAdd Comment PrintPrint

Comments (4)

3pinner writes: This is a really cool tool chest! The only thing that could make it more interesting would be to have your wood tool handles all gnarly looking too. Kind of impractical, but it would be fun eh? Posted: 8:57 pm on July 9th
rollo1 writes: Thanks for the comments! Glad you like it. Crazywood: flattening the door fronts was kind of a pain. That wood was a bit funky, and after resawing the doors I used a drum sander to flatten them. I was able to finish plane only the "solid" parts of the doors, and used a scraper on the funkier sections. The drawer fronts were much more solid and I was able to plane those using a smoother with a 55 deg bed angle taking very thin shavings, and scraping on sections that didn't cooperate. In order to add stability to the doors, the chisel racks are actually a strengthening device, with some additional "decorative" ribs for added structure. That spalted maple really sucks up the poly as well. Posted: 1:00 pm on June 9th
crazywood writes: I am into natural edge woodworking and this is a great example of using an unusual small slab to make a useful and beautiful project. Did you have any difficulty flattening the door fronts? From my experience spalted maple is notoriously hard to plane.

Thanks for sharing Gary Posted: 11:59 am on June 9th
PlaneandSimple writes: This is absolutely incredible! While the wood is spectacular all on its own, your use of it by leaving the door edges natural really sets it off. You've done a great job. Posted: 10:41 am on June 9th
You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.