GRANITE PLATE ON A MONDRIAAN DESIGN FRAME (COFFEE TABLE)

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Craftworker's Tool Chest

"New Yankee" toolchest

HersheyWoodworker, member

5 users recommend

Made from cherry ply with mahogany frame, and cherry trim, this design was inspired by a New Yankee workshop episode.

I use scrap for the tool holders: cherry, mahogany, cedar, whatever...  Grandpa's plane is featured in a block of cedar that has been routed just to fit. 

There's still plenty of room for me to expand my collection of tools.

Made from cherry ply with mahogany frame, and cherry trim, this design was inspired by a New Yankee workshop episode.

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I haven't seen this cabinet yet on FWW - and somebody had to put in a "shout out" to Norm!  This cabinet was inspired by the New Yankee Workshop episode that also featured the Studley chest.  I made the mistake of changing the design to use 3 drawers instead of 2 or 4, which forced me to get creative for the drawer handles because the chest closes directly in the middle of the center drawer.  Whoops!  So I mortised a spot for recessed ring pulls in the 5/8" curly maple drawers.  They work just fine.

It isn't much compared to other's beautiful efforts; however this was the first cabinet I built - so I was pretty happy with the result.

posted in: The Gallery, tool chest

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Comments (2)

GraemeSmith writes: "It isn't much compared to other's beautiful efforts; however this was the first cabinet I built - so I was pretty happy with the result."

And that is what matters! I see stuff on here that blows me away and that I would never tackle - usually because it doesn't fit in my world once made. I wonder about posting my own stuff.

But truly - WELL DONE. You made it, you enjoy it and you are rightly proud to post it. Posted: 2:15 pm on July 31st

Jurgen01 writes: I'm with you. This is a great project for the shop -- and I like the recessed drawer pulls. Kudos to The New Yankee Workshop!

I built four of these wall chests for my shop and I use them every time I work. Norm Abrams provided a very useful and flexible design which, like you, I adapted to my own uses: (1) squares, planes & chisels, (2) drills, bits & countersinks, (3) measuring & marking tools and screwrivers, and (4) carving and filing tools -- one cabinet for each set of tools. (I ran out of wall space for a saw cabinet.)

I use the cabinet fronts to tape up current plans and sketches and the sides for hanging often-used and relatively flat tools and objects -- router wrenches, Japanese chisel hammers, shop shears, etc. Everything is readily available above my benches and the cabinets are strong and straight.

Great work! I know you will enjoy the cabinet and probably will want to build more.

P.S. A dust plate made of 1/4" plywood covering the gap between the top of the doors and the cabinet when it is closed will help keep the interior more dust-free and it is a darn sight simpler than sealing the doors to the cabinet with weather-seal gaskets, etc. Keeping a desiccant pack or two in the cabinet is also a good idea.

P.P.S. A word of advice to those who would mount these cabinets on a concrete basement wall: Do NOT rely on 1/4" lead wall anchors to hold up these cabinets. I recommend 5/16" (or more) heavy-duty expansion-jacketed anchor bolts set at least 2" into the concrete wall. The extra time it takes to mount the cabinet will be saved when you do not have to pick up and resharpen half your chisels and spare plane blades when the light-duty wall anchors inevitably pull out of the wall. TIFOWK! Posted: 5:14 pm on July 14th

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