Build a tool chest that’s worthy of your tools. Customize it to fit exactly the tools you want. Project #2115 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 4 days • Cost: $250 I have a confession. I like nice tools. There’s something about boutique tool makers that I love. I’m guessing it’s the combination of high-quality…

After detailing the design approach and layout in my last entry, I moved on to building the actual components for my garage post-shelf system. This phase involved crafting and installing brackets that would not only securely clamp onto the steel columns but also support a functional, sturdy shelving solution. To begin making the 2×4 brackets,…

Like many home woodshops in North America, mine is set up in a two-car garage. Similar to other suburban homes, our garage has two steel columns in the middle, supporting the bedrooms above. These load-bearing round steel posts, common in ranch-style and many other one-family houses, are often found in garages, basements, and unfinished spaces….

Is it the saw or where the saw lives that increases your accuracy? There are two types of miter saws. The first can be a mainstay in the woodshop, dependably making accurate crosscuts day in and day out. Or it can be a cantankerous helper, needing constant attention and delivering inconsistent results. The difference usually…

Practice your hand-tool skills and make a pair of strong, collapsible workshop companions. About a year and a half ago my wife took a job in eastern North Carolina. My work is still on the western end of the state, so most weeks I travel back and forth from one end of The Old North…

This traveler’s tool case project is a great way for the wayfaring woodworker to bring tools along for the ride.

My lathe tool rack is based on a fishing rod rack that I made some time ago. Made from 3/4-in.-thick walnut, it measures 3-1/8-in. by 10-in. by 30- in. I made the matching front and back tool supports by ripping a 3-1/8- in.-wide board in half after drilling centered 1-1/2-in.-dia. holes on 1-7/8- in. centers….

These simple shop storage solutions are quick to build, but will make a big impact in your shop. Project #2408 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 1 Day • Cost: $10-40 Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that can make your life better. That holds true in the shop as well. Often times, taking a bit…

Every shop can use more storage. This set of cabinets looks as good in the shop as they would in the home. Project #2411 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 4 Days • Cost: $1000 Get full details on the drawers and countertop in the online extras. Shopping for pre-made cabinets, you’ll likely find woefully…

Here’s a great space-saving tip. I first made “floor drawers” like these for under-the-bed storage. They worked so well I decided to use them in the shop. Floor drawers work great for storing scrap wood or infrequently used tools and supplies. Make the drawers long but shallow so the contents are easy to get at….

This saw till is a great way to keep your saws organized, protected, and close at hand. Project #2405 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 3 Days • Cost: $150 There is a debate among hand tool woodworkers about saw tills. Officially, there haven’t been any historical accounts of a saw till in an old-time…

While French cleat systems for woodshop walls are well-known, the concept of utilizing French cleats inside tool cabinets remains relatively unfamiliar to many. The limited popularity of this approach in woodworking circles can be attributed to a couple of factors. Firstly, adding a layer of cleats topped with liner-like panels within the cabinet tends to…

Like many other woodworkers, I work in a small garage shop where every square inch is precious. So, making good use of my wall space was essential. Sure, I could have attached different tool racks or shelves to the drywall using screws and anchors, but I decided to go with the more flexible technique of…

Optimize your shop space with this multi-function outfeed table that gives your CNC router a convenient home. My one-car-garage-turned-shop doesn’t have room for a 4’x4′ CNC router. I just couldn’t imagine finding the space and dedicating it to a machine that while useful, won’t see everyday use. So after racking my brain for a few…

This rolling stand is the perfect mobile workstation. Use it for a computer in your shop or to mount a power tool.  Project #2303 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 2 Days • Cost: $120 Over the last few years, I have become interested in CNC. In fact, I recently decided to add a medium sized…

I felt like I won the storage-space lottery when I came up with this bench design for my shop. I wanted a way to store lumber and my benchtop tools. The backbones of this bench are the 2 x 4 frames. For my 8-ft. bench, I made four frames. The rest of the materials were…

I purchased this classic tool chest at a yard sale in Maine, while on vacation. The case had only two drawers remaining, and no handle. The seller said he had every intention of restoring it, but never got around to it. I bought it for $15 and proudly showed it to my friend Roger, who…

Large plastic boxes, the kind that restaurants use for bussing dishes, are perfect for shop drawers. They’re strong, durable and lightweight, plus they have built-in handles. They’re perfect for storing and transporting workshop essentials, from screws to power tools. They come ready-made and they’re super-easy to install. I’ll never build another storage drawer! Bus boxes…

Get organized fast with easy slat construction and versatile hangers. Whether you have an exquisite collection of antique tools or the latest in high-tech gear, this versatile wall rack stores them all within easy reach. It’s easy to build and adapts to fit virtually any wall space. The 48 in. by 48 in. rack shown…

I’m a great fan of aerosol finishes, especially now that many of them have adjustable tips that make much less splatter. But my shop got so cluttered with half-used cans that I had trouble finding the color I wanted, so I built this simple storage rack for all the cans. Now I can instantly find…

Simplification and organization are the keys to success. I’ve worked in a small workshop for many years now. Many, if not most woodworkers, would classify my 7′ x 13′ space more as a closet than a workshop. In fact, I have seen some master-suite walk-ins that were indeed larger than my shop. The challenges of…

Put a ton of tools up on the wall in this tool “book.” Hang 1/2“ or 3/4“ thick plywood “pages” 4“ apart on horizontal 2x4s with 3“ door hinges. Screw and glue 3/4“ plywood blocks between the hinges and the 2x4s so the pages can pivot without binding. The pages shown here are 16“ wide…

This small rack rolls easily to anywhere you need it. There is an old saying in woodworking that you can’t have too many clamps. While this is true, it is entirely possible to have too many clamps in the wrong place at the wrong time. The last thing I want to do in the midst…

Tool: Bear Crawl “Papa Bear” Mobile Base T28923 Shop Now   Manufacturer: Grizzly MSRP: $93.95 Being able to move heavy machinery in my tiny garage shop has been a game-changer for me. Mobile bases are my go-to instruments for transferring equipment and making space as needed, and I want to share my experience with one…

Vacuum attachments are a challenge to store. They come in so many shapes! I made this device to keep them all together, within easy reach. It’s just a long chain with shorter lengths of chain branching out from it. Each branch has a 3″ to 4″ length of 1/2″ dowel fastened to its end. The…

  Bodger and blacksmith Don Weber shows how to effectively combine power and hand-tool techniques to build a simple and sturdy toolbox. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the April 2005 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. I’m a bodger and a blacksmith, making tables and chairs in iron and wood. When I’m not in…

Like most people, I keep lots of different screws, bolts, nails, washers, and other small parts in bins. Instead of paper labels, I hot glue a sample of the actual part on the outside of the bin. It’s much easier to locate what I need by eye than by name. If I ever run out of parts,…

Most of us have used, at some point, a pegboard to organize our tools. In fact, a few years ago, I reclaimed a hanging pegboard toolbox (a colleague of mine discarded it) and have been using it ever since. While pegboard hanging is not a rock-solid way to support heavy tools, it does provide a…

Separate, sort, and see your collection With just five different parts to make, this easy-to-build caddy accommodates bits with both 1/2″ and 1/4″ shafts. It can be customized to handle just about any collection. Long bits have plenty of room on the top shelf. The caddy stands solidly on its wide base, stores easily on…

It’s all made from one sheet of plywood. Space is at a premium in my small shop. Everything goes on wheels and is as compact as possible–including this miter saw stand. I made the stand quite strong and stiff, so it can withstand being pushed and pulled around my cracked and uneven concrete floor. I…

No matter what your style of woodworking, you need a basic set of hand tools. Here’s where to begin. When I came to America, I had a lovely wife, two suitcases and 50 bucks. Oh man, where do I start? Everybody needs a basic tool kit, especially if you want to do woodworking. I had…

I needed an easy-access storage unit that wouldn’t take up a lot of room but would hold a large number of tools. My solution was a wall-hung tool cabinet with slide-out vertical pegboard drawers. I used 2′ x 4′ sheets of pegboard and a sheet of 3⁄4” oriented strand board (OSB). The outside dimensions of…

This sandpaper storage system is about as simple as it gets. It’s just a stack of folded envelopes bound with a big rubber band. Each envelope is marked with a grit number. A thin piece of wood on the bottom of the pile keeps the envelopes flat. Standard letter-size envelopes work well. Fold and tape…

Tool: Leg-Up Shop Now   Manufacturer: Gorilla Gripper MSRP: $54.90 Most of us know all too well the hassles of working with large sheets of plywood. You get home from the lumberyard, drag your sheet into your shop and lean it against the wall. When it comes time to rip that sheet into usable pieces,…

Old glasses cases are great for protecting, containing and organizing small tools, scrapers and plane irons. I label the outside so I can see at a glance what’s inside each case. -John Rustan

In need of some quick lumber storage, I rummaged around my shop for a solution.  I discovered a length of PVC pipe left over from a plumbing job and cut it into three 12″ pieces. I also found some 1/2″ rope and cut it into three pieces, 5′ long.  I tied knots on the ends…

I have a humble number of bar and pipe clamps and no time or desire right now to build a dedicated clamp rack for them. Instead, I installed a standard closet bracket on my shop wall for the purpose. Now the clamps are centrally located and easily accessed. I hang the clamp head on the…

For turning spindles, there’s nothing like having a  really long tool rest. You never have to move it! I made my own with parts from the hardware store. This rest is just a length of square steel tubing with a steel rod fastened to its top. The rod’s rounded surface makes it easy to slide…

After building an I Can Do That: Tool Rack , I wanted to have my planes accessible on the rack as well. So here’s my solution. Cut two pieces of oak into 1⁄2” x 3⁄4” pieces, one 2″ long and the other 3 3⁄8” long. Form a “T” by cutting a sliding dovetail with the…

Tool: LINK Wall Storage Shop Now  Manufacturer: RYOBI MSRP: $5.98+ Today we’re trying out the new RYOBI LINK system and seeing if it’s a good fit for woodworkers, or better for the general DIY type instead.  

Easily organize, store and transport all your small woodworking accessories with this clever cabinet and inexpensive plastic tackle boxes – instead of drawers. One of my favorite things to do when I have free time is to tinker around my shop, organizing my small stuff. I actually enjoy sorting through nails, bits and staples; and…

When I bought my expensive 24″ machinist’s straightedge, I wasn’t sure where to store it. It didn’t include a hole for hanging, and I was reluctant to drill into the hard steel for fear of devaluing the tool or compromising its accuracy. I didn’t want to stash it in a drawer or on a shelf…

After ruining four $90 sheets of plywood by storing them on a damp floor, I came up with a simple fix: PVC feet. Cut several 12″ sections of 2″ dia. PVC pipe in half, lengthwise. Apply traction tape to the convex side, so the plywood doesn’t slide. Place the feet on your shop floor, and…

Crawling around under the basement stairs to find what may or may not be in this box or that was a pain. However, leaving the space empty was not an option. I built this cart to make use of every inch of priceless basement real estate. The cart is made from 2 x 4’s, with…

Simple joinery creates a compact cabinet with full-size storage.    When I spied an old machinist’s chest loaded with narrow drawers in my neighbor’s garage, I knew my small tools were finally going to have a permanent home. My version isn’t nearly as grand, but it’s just as useful, and it only took a couple…

Who says you can’t put a square peg in a round hole?  My scrap bin is made from round cardboard tubes made for concrete forms. These tubes are available at home centers; they’re durable, come in various diameters, and are easy to cut. I use their different diameters and lengths as a filing system for my…

“You can’t have too many clamps,” a wise cabinetmaker once said. That is certainly true, but in a small shop, you can easily run out of room to store them. On clamp is so different from another that no single rack can accommodate them all in a compact space. Most woodworkers benefit from a variety…

Combine power and hand tools to improve your joinery skills Building a toolbox much like this one was a real turning point in my woodworking career. It was 1999 and I had begun classes at Boston’s North Bennet Street School’s Cabinet and Furniture Making program. At the time, I was a pretty good carpenter and…

Storage and utility in just the right size. It’s often said that a shop layout is never truly complete. While that may be true, I have discovered a valuable asset in my shop that can move and adapt to changing layouts. I’ve been testing a mobile shop cart over the last several years to make…

Sponsored by Shaper Tools. Cutting dovetails with Shaper Origin and Workstation is a very precise and adaptable process you can use on all kinds of casework, drawers, boxes and more. See how we built an Adventure Chest in the video below. You can learn more about Shaper Origin and Workstation at shapertools.com. You can download…

This reproduction is a fun build and a great gift for a budding woodworker. Project #1922 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 3 days • Cost: $200 “Hand and heart lead to life.” was an early motto of the North Bennet Street Industrial School (NBIS), now called the North Bennet Street School (NBSS). Founded in…

Keeping project parts organized and in proper relation to one another while machining and assembling them can be a real challenge, especially if you’re organizing the pieces for attractive grain composition. So how do you mark the parts for quick return to their home position? Once again, we can turn to the old-timers for the…

While building this little station to organize my cordless-drill paraphernalia, I discovered that bicycle hooks make great drill holders. Mounting the station on the wall saves valuable benchtop space. Now I never have to hunt for my drills, chargers, and bits. –Hans Wendt        

Building this handmade saw cabinet employs vital hand tool techniques with an emphasis on dovetail, dado and mortise and tenon joinery.

When turning, I like to have all my supplies close at hand, ready for use.  I use an index card box to store and organize cut pieces of sandpaper. It has a lid and dividers,  so everything is neat and orderly. When you cut sandpaper into sections, some pieces won’t have the grit information on them,…

Tool: The Orginal Saddlebag Buy Now Manufacturer: Texas Heritage MSRP: $80 I’m a fan of having my tools out and at hand in the workshop. It’s easy enough to mount the saws to the wall, whip up a chisel rack and tuck the planes on a shelf, but the small items rarely have a good spot…

There’s never enough storage space in a shop, is there? When I recycled some old kitchen cabinets to use in my shop, I added one more drawer to each one—in the toe-kick space.

Learn how to make compound-angle dovetails building this handy stool and portable tool box. For my job as a trim carpenter and furnituremaker, I’ve always needed a sturdy stool to stand on. I’ve also wanted to make a nice box for carrying my tools and a small workbench for cutting molding. While perched on an…

To Get the most from my limited shop space, I built a two-sided “mobile tool wall” to park in front of my overhead garage door. The wall is just basic carpentry construction, with a 3/4″ plywood bottom and bracing, a stud wall with perf-board panels on both sides, and heavy-duty 4″ casters. When I need…

Plastic bins are excellent for storing hardware and other small items. After purchasing all the types and sizes of bins I needed, including some complete cabinets, I made this shelf unit to neatly house them in one place. –A.J. Hamler

Back in the early 1920’s, my grandfather, John Rudzki, built wooden truck bodies in Pittsburgh, PA. Customers would order the chassis for a refrigerated truck, a moving van or some other kind of specialty vehicle, and he would build the body behind the cab. The trucks are long gone, but I still have the home-made…

26 drawers for tools and supplies. My beat-up garage-sale seven-drawer metal tool cabinet was an eyesore. I wanted something bigger and better, but mostly I wanted something that looked like it belonged in a woodworking shop. Online I found a wooden version that fit the bill, but at $5,000 it was far too expensive. After…

Tool: 3pc Handyman Tool Belt Set [Buy Now]  and Padded Suspenders [Buy Now] Manufacturer: ToughBuilt MSRP: $39.99 (belt) 14.99 (suspenders) The first thing I noticed when taking the ToughBuilt Tool Belt out of the packaging was the quality of the materials and construction. The fabric was heavy-duty, the seams and stitching were even, and there was no…

You can hold anything on your workbench with just pegs, wedges & notches – no fancy vises required. It’s difficult for most woodworkers to imagine a workbench without screw-driven vises. But for most of human history, that’s how you worked. No matter what you were building – furniture, wagons, barrels or houses – the workbench…

Like all of our I Can Do That! projects, this router bit storage case is designed to be useful, easy to build and made from inexpensive materials.

A simple-to-build tote, perfect for tool and supplies transport. I designed this stacking tool caddy to hold small parts and a few tools. It’s comprised of three tool trays that stack and interlock together to form a single unit that can be carried wherever needed. Best of all, it stores my screws, nails and small tools…

It won’t solve a tool addiction, but it’ll make finding tools easier. You’ve no doubt seen photos of the H.O. Studley tool cabinet – the Sistine Chapel of tool cabinets. And as far as I’m concerned, Studley got it right. Yes, his tool chest is a work of art and all that, but more importantly,…

Don’t reinvent the wheel when storing your tools. A proper chest is still the best. When I tell people that I’ve worked out of a traditional tool chest for 15 years, they look at me as if I’m someone who has not yet discovered the joys of indoor plumbing. They say, “Haven’t you tried a…

An embellished lid is your woodworking calling card. Embellished tool chests are perhaps the quintessential calling card of the cabinetmaker. From Benjamin Seaton’s mahogany and tulipwood masterpiece to the unequalled work of Henry Studley, we woodworkers tend to pull out all the stops when we decorate our chests. Read how the rest of the chest…

Historic proportions and details are still the best. Since I started woodworking in about 1993, I’ve stored my tools in almost every way imaginable – from plastic buckets to wall cabinets, racks and a variety of tool chests. Read about how the lid was built here. After exploring each of these methods, I kept coming…

Great shop storage isn’t always built using plywood. As I look around my shop, or most woodworking shops, I see cabinets built with plywood and screws. But there are other options. I decided to change things up and make a shop cabinet using hardwoods, and to use the project to experiment with a couple of…

Store all the tools you need in easy reach If I were to make three lists – the tools I want, the tools I own and the tools I need – the last would be the shortest. When I decided to build a wall cabinet for my hand tools, I put my most-used tools close…

Whenever I work on a project, I end up with my handsaws scattered about the shop. I thought about storing them under my bench, but my bad back keeps me from being able to easily bend down, so it was sometimes difficult to tell which saw I was grabbing. Putting the saw back into my…

Cutting dovetails by hand is supposed to be an orderly, precise process. But when you’re in the thick of it, it’s all too easy to end up with a bench littered with stray tools and precious little free space left over for the actual work. I built this station to keep all my tools in…

Unique because of its appearance and easy to build because it’s constructed using basic woodworking techniques, this two-part cabinet provides copious storage and signals the work—and the shop—of a true craftsman. The two cabinets share the same features and joinery, so building them simultaneously offers economy when milling the parts. But either cabinet would make…

Whether you’re using it for woodworking tools or garden tools, a tote is a simple and quick project. It’s so simple, in fact, that I decided to add a wee degree of difficulty with a curved handle secured in place by wedged through-tenons. And, I wrapped the handle with suede for a more comfortable and…

When I think of a tool chest, I think of a carpenter’s box, usually open and inviting, a little rough perhaps but clearly made by the hand. Think of Roy Underhill merrily skipping over the stream … remember the toolbox he was carrying? What I’ve come up with is a toolbox, made entirely by hand,…

Close your eyes and picture it: your entire shop organized, a place for every tool, never struggling to find your cardscraper when you need it, and a stress-free day of woodworking. Sound like a dream? Not anymore! Finally get your shop organized just the way you want it. Swing-Out Plywood Storage I was looking for…

A simple box for basic household tools. Common in the 19th-century, a “Gentleman’s Tool Chest” typically contained a set of fancy household tools including the first “multi-tools” – a handsome handle into which a variety of tools including gimlets, drivers, chisels and the like could be fitted. The chest might also include a small brass-backed…

Machinists and mechanics keep their small tools in a chest with shallow drawers. I do, too—except mine is custom-built, sized to exactly fit what I want to keep close at hand. And it’s more than a merely functional metal box: Made from figured cherry, matched all around, my tool chest is a daily reminder that…

Swiped from a French engraving, this easy tool rack works in your shop or even in your kitchen. It’s good to keep your tools protected (think: tool chest). But it’s also good to keep them handy (think: at arm’s reach). My favorite way to accomplish both goals is a stout tool rack. I’ve made many…

This 3-cabinet unit is designed to organize and store finishing supplies ranging from flammable liquids to Q-tips in ways that makes them easy to access and (just as important!) easy to put back. To avoid clutter, it’s designed to limit whatever is being stored to one layer deep. Safely storing flammable liquids (a requirement in…

A word about Plywood I used 3/4″ thick Baltic Birch for this cabinet. It has a thicker, more durable veneer than typical plywood. Like all plywood, however, 3/4″ doesn’t mean 3/4″. For example, Baltic Birch is typically 11/16″ thick. Whatever plywood you use, check its thickness and adjust your dimensions accordingly. Also, Baltic Birch comes…

Designed to work closely with your bench, this toolbox keeps your tools organized and close at hand, but out of the way of your project. By making it the same height as your bench, it also works as an outrigger for breaking down plywood and supporting large work. The cabinet features full-extension drawers without the…

A storage tray is a useful addition to any stationary tool. After adding this one to my tablesaw, I don’t know how I ever did without it. I made the tray about 3″ deep, just deep enough to store the essentials lower than the surface of my saw, but shallow enough to keep items from…

Simple Storage by Bill Wells Storage space in a small shop is hard to come by. My tool collection keeps growing, but my shop stays the same size! I needed to organize, so I bought a couple milk crate-type boxes, and turned them into sliding storage bins underneath a shop table. The crates have a…

Store and use key benchtop tools on a single mobile unit. Innovative features such as a lever-operated mobile base and dual-height pullout tool platforms give this bench a five-star rating, especially if you have to share space with cars and other vehicles in a garage shop. The mobile base works just like a floor jack,…

While working on my pegboard cabinet and trying to integrate into it most of my frequently used tools I noticed that one of them, a Woodriver spokeshave, didn’t have a hanging hole. Hanging holes are quite a common feature on many tools, and are part and parcel of all the Stanley and Record cast iron…

An accurate combination square is the cornerstone of every layout work. It allows us to measure and mark joinery, and check for flatness and squareness of workpieces, setups and tools. I have a few squares and I treat them with respect, making sure that they would not get nicked by other tools or accidentally drop…

Read part 1 here and read part 2 here. As the design and construction of the rack was completed (see part one of the story) and after I  added the utility magnets and tried to hang the rack using the generic pegboard hooks (see part two) I came to the conclusion that my work was…

Read part 1 here and read part 3 here. As I was about to finish the rack, I began contemplating what would be the best way to hang it on the pegboard. One of the most abundant pegboard hooks in my arsenal  is a simple angled hook that fits into a pegboard hole and send…

Read part 2 here and read part 3 here. The pegboards hanging system was, and still is, one of the most common shop organizing platforms out there. It is a versatile system that is easy to organize and reorganize, and it comes with lots of hanging hook options that can accommodate almost every tool with…

Using digital tools, you can make this handy tool tote in less than an hour. Learn how to build and customize your own tote.

“I was looking for a tool tote to set beside my shave horse when doing demos with the SCA East Kingdom Foresters Guild. I attached the cover with hinges and added tool slots for use when working. Chisels store in till when traveling.” –Bill Childs

I’m excited to share that my traveling tool case is featured on the cover of the December issue of the magazine. If you are a subscriber, you should receive your copy in the coming days, I believe they’re out to the post office at this point. I first learned of this tool case design from Chris…

I bought my first set of nice joinery saws a decade ago. Since then, I’ve acquired a handful more. A saw till has been on the to-do list this entire time. Finally, when I discovered a design so simple that it could be finished in seven table saw cuts, the “King of Procrastination” got off…

Before I developed the tool tote project, I did some online research and discovered that there are two major trends in the design of simple wooden totes: (A) Those whose tall end-walls flank the side walls and (B) those whose side-walls flank the end-walls. This raised the question: Which of the two designs would better suit…

On top of the daytime woodworking classes, my school offers to our students the opportunity to stay later for an hour and half of “extended day” classes. My woodworking class is one of the after-hour programs. Together with other subjects such as languages, chess, cooking, felt art, knitting and fencing, our students have quite a variety…

Tool storage – is it the most controversial subject in the craft? People have debated it. Great books have been dedicated to it. Philosophies have developed and wars fought over it (well, at least flame wars). I’m quite sure many woodworkers spend their entire woodworking careers pursuing it. Here, I’m going to put the subject to…

My favorite project from 2014 is one I haven’t been able to talk much about, until now. Jameel Abraham of Benchcrafted and I collaborated on building a tool chest for a two-article series in Popular Woodworking Magazine. My article on building the chest will be in the August 2015 issue; Jameel’s article on the lid…

In some Victorian books on woodworking, the author suggests that if you don’t have a shop you could use a chest of drawers as a woodworking bench, tool chest and shaving collector. I’ve not seen an occurrence of this in the wild, but it is an interesting idea. Recently, Will of Texas sent me photos…

I’ve worked out of a traditional floor chest since 1997 when I built my first cover project for Popular Woodworking Magazine. It’s not that I’ve always been monogamous, however. I’ve tried all manner of wall chests, tool racks, rolling cabinets, soft-sided bags and suitcases as ways to contain, protect and limit my tools. But I…

You can now get both Dutch tool chest plans – both the big one and the little one – in the October 2013 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, which recently shipped to subscribers. If you don’t have this issue, check it out in the store here. I’ve been traveling with these chests all year and…

I’ve been teaching classes on building “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” for two years now, and with every class I find some way of goosing the students a bit further along. Last year at The Woodwright’s School we actually got two of the 12 students completely over the finish line. This week, I hope to shatter…

I’ve now built more than a dozen traditional tool chests entirely by hand. Hand-cut dovetails. Hand-cut mouldings. Hand-cut shiplaps and beads. Hand-cut blah blah blah. These chests take me about 40 to 50 hours of pedal-to-the-metal work to get ready for finish. Today, I built the entire shell and lid of a chest in less…

If a workbench or a tool chest is on your list of woodworking projects to build this year, you’ll definitely want to read on about two upcoming DVDs I’m working on with Popular Woodworking Magazine. In just a few weeks, we’re filming a DVD on building a traditional tool chest using a small set of…

OK, so let’s say you are too cheap to purchase a blacksmith-made lock for your next tool chest or blanket chest. Wait, that wasn’t very kind of me to call you “cheap.” Instead, let’s put it this way: Let’s say your spouse just ran off with the village blacksmith, so you are looking for an…

While I think a tool chest is the best place to store your tools, the chest can also become a rusty tomb if you aren’t careful. Woodworking shops can be nasty places. I’ve worked in unheated garages, damp basements, former warehouses and sheds with dirt floors. And when I inspect old tool chests, it’s common…

This weekend I finished work on a traveling version of my “Anarchist’s Tool Chest” that will fit in my hatchback and will carry (almost) a full set of tools. The last detail of the entire project was how to store the three backsaws that are essential to almost every kit: the tenon saw, carcase saw…

When you write for a woodworking magazine, there are several pat phrases that you use all the time. Such as: 1. Joint and plane all your stock flat and square. Cut all the pieces to the sizes shown in the cutting list. 2. Cut the tenons to match your mortises. (Or your mortises to match…

Ah, Thursday – day four of a woodworking class. This is the day that most students hit a wall. They take naps at their benches. They sneak off to their cars to lie down. They disappear in the middle of the day and don’t return until the next morning. All these things (and more –…

The first lesson of handwork is this: Most things that you think are important are not important. Most surfaces do not need to be true. Most edges do not need to be square. Most boards do not need to be four-squared (or even free of bark). Most dimensions – length, thickness, width – will only…

Years ago when touring Winterthur, I saw a lot of wacky Pennsylvanian dovetails on old chests. These joints had been wedged through their pins – a feature I had not seen in person before. While the museum personnel wouldn’t let me take photos, I did make a few sketches. Whenever I cut dovetails, my mind…

If you ever want to try out a lot of different workbench designs before you settle on building one for your shop, you might want to take a class at Kelly Mehler’s School of Woodworking. During the last five years, Kelly and his students have been building different style benches with all manner of vises…

I’ve hauled my tool chest all over the United States and Canada, and I remain impressed – deeply impressed – by how it has handled all the miles. I’ve even dropped it from a height of 36” – fully loaded – onto concrete. One corner of the chest’s dust seal splintered a bit, but the…

Though I like to work out of a full-size tool chest (38” x 24” x 24”), it’s obvious that a chest like that would be too big for a job-site carpenter or for someone who needs to do only household repairs. So during the 18th and 19th centuries, ironmongers offered a range of tool chests…

When I inspect an antique tool – especially one that hasn’t been messed with much – I always take a look at the cutting edge. How was it sharpened? What is the shape of the edge? Did they do any work on the unbeveled face of the blade. Usually, the edges of most vintage tools…

I’ve always liked artwork and woodworking pieces that were executed by someone with a good deal of talent but a lack of formal training. Some people call this “outsider” work, so I guess that makes a lot of us outsiders. Recently, tool seller Patrick Leach sent me some photos of an interesting tool chest he…

Dovetailed Tool Box Fill it, carry it, bang it around: These joints will last forever. By Seth Keller A lightweight, sturdy toolbox is perfect for odd jobs around the house. Carpenters used to make their own, just nailed together. I’ve built a more sophisticated design using two different dovetail joints. The corners of my toolbox…