A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had links to examples of the
old-timey traveling tool chests 'cause I wanted to make one to use in
my volunteer work. Got a lot of good ideas. Tried to put some into
action with the results at:

http://web2.airmail.net/xleanone/ind.../Tool%20Chest/

The chest was made from stuff I had laying around including a big hunk
of old red oak (10/4, 8"X16', weighed a ton) that one of my fellow
volunteers gave me. Resawed some of that to ~1/2" thickness, added
some BB ply and a piece of ash for the runners and exterior frame
supports and had the basic box. The rest was mostly scrap, so the
inards look a bit odd. The bottom arrangement is a working prototype -
everything except the plane rack is screwed down so I can replace
pieces as the mood strikes me. The exterior handles are WAY overkill
for size, but I had red oak aplenty and they ain't gonna break!

Loaded weight is ~50# so even a 125# weakling like me can pick it up
and put it in the truck. Gotta put some lash points on it tho'.

Thanks to all for the ideas.

Regards.

Tom

"Tom B" wrote in message
...
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had links to examples of the
old-timey traveling tool chests 'cause I wanted to make one to use in
my volunteer work. Got a lot of good ideas. Tried to put some into
action with the results at:

http://web2.airmail.net/xleanone/ind.../Tool%20Chest/

The chest was made from stuff I had laying around including a big hunk
of old red oak (10/4, 8"X16', weighed a ton) that one of my fellow
volunteers gave me. Resawed some of that to ~1/2" thickness, added
some BB ply and a piece of ash for the runners and exterior frame
supports and had the basic box. The rest was mostly scrap, so the
inards look a bit odd. The bottom arrangement is a working prototype -
everything except the plane rack is screwed down so I can replace
pieces as the mood strikes me. The exterior handles are WAY overkill
for size, but I had red oak aplenty and they ain't gonna break!

Loaded weight is ~50# so even a 125# weakling like me can pick it up
and put it in the truck. Gotta put some lash points on it tho'.

There ya go. You did good. That is your basic, brief case tool box.

One change I would make though. I would put on a bigger handle and bolt it
through the bod of the chest. Maybe take some of that red oak of yours and
run a bridge between the two peices that current have the latches installed
on them. I would leave the present handle to use to open the chest.

Just a suggestion. This implys that you would carry it by the handle. If
not, never mind.

On Apr 13, 6:00 pm, Tom B wrote:
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had links to examples of the
old-timey traveling tool chests 'cause I wanted to make one to use in
my volunteer work. Got a lot of good ideas. Tried to put some into
action with the results at:

http://web2.airmail.net/xleanone/ind.../Tool%20Chest/

The chest was made from stuff I had laying around

That's what I like to see. Built to do the job, and looking good
enough not to be an embarrassment without having devoted your life to
making the world's prettiest toolbox.

Sometimes you need to reach just a wee bit higher, and that would make
for a nice platform to stand on. Once the initial baby the new
toolbox phase is over, of course.

-Kevin

Really quite impressive, functional and quite a work of art. Bravo and
well done.

On Apr 13, 3:00*pm, Tom B wrote:
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had links to examples of the
old-timey traveling tool chests 'cause I wanted to make one to use in
my volunteer work. Got a lot of good ideas. Tried to put some into
action with the results at:

http://web2.airmail.net/xleanone/ind.../Tool%20Chest/

The chest was made from stuff I had laying around including a big hunk
of old red oak (10/4, 8"X16', weighed a ton) that one of my fellow
volunteers gave me. Resawed some of that to ~1/2" thickness, added
some BB ply and a piece of ash for the runners and exterior frame
supports and had the basic box. The rest was mostly scrap, so the
inards look a bit odd. The bottom arrangement is a working prototype -
everything except the plane rack is screwed down so I can replace
pieces as the mood strikes me. The exterior handles are WAY overkill
for size, but I had red oak aplenty and they ain't gonna break!

Loaded weight is ~50# so even a 125# weakling like me can pick it up
and put it in the truck. Gotta put some lash points on it tho'.

Thanks to all for the ideas.

Regards.

Tom

"Lee Michaels" writes:

Just a suggestion. This implys that you would carry it by the handle. If
not, never mind.

You need a strap.

Tom B wrote:
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had links to examples of the
old-timey traveling tool chests 'cause I wanted to make one to use in
my volunteer work. Got a lot of good ideas. Tried to put some into
action with the results at:

http://web2.airmail.net/xleanone/ind.../Tool%20Chest/


Good job, but geeze!

THREE hand planes?
THREE squares?
A FOLDING ruler?
Is that a hammer with a LEATHER face?

Well, if you were trying to build an "old-timey" tool chest, you did a
remarkable job.

Tom B wrote:
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had links to examples of the
old-timey traveling tool chests 'cause I wanted to make one to use in
my volunteer work. Got a lot of good ideas. Tried to put some into
action with the results at:

http://web2.airmail.net/xleanone/ind.../Tool%20Chest/

Attractive and useful...what more could one want? Maybe a strap as someone
suggested.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On Apr 13, 6:00*pm, Tom B wrote:
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had links to examples of the
old-timey traveling tool chests 'cause I wanted to make one to use in
my volunteer work. Got a lot of good ideas. Tried to put some into
action with the results at:

http://web2.airmail.net/xleanone/ind.../Tool%20Chest/

The chest was made from stuff I had laying around including a big hunk
of old red oak (10/4, 8"X16', weighed a ton) that one of my fellow
volunteers gave me. Resawed some of that to ~1/2" thickness, added
some BB ply and a piece of ash for the runners and exterior frame
supports and had the basic box. The rest was mostly scrap, so the
inards look a bit odd. The bottom arrangement is a working prototype -
everything except the plane rack is screwed down so I can replace
pieces as the mood strikes me. The exterior handles are WAY overkill
for size, but I had red oak aplenty and they ain't gonna break!

Loaded weight is ~50# so even a 125# weakling like me can pick it up
and put it in the truck. Gotta put some lash points on it tho'.

Thanks to all for the ideas.

Regards.

Tom

Very, very nice.

On 2009-04-13, Tom B wrote:
A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had links to examples of the
old-timey traveling tool chests 'cause I wanted to make one to use in
my volunteer work. Got a lot of good ideas. Tried to put some into
action with the results at:

http://web2.airmail.net/xleanone/ind.../Tool%20Chest/

Very Nice.

Reminds me of a birthday present I got when I was 5 yrs old, an official
Stanley tool box, very similar to yours. If memory serves, it was made of
dove-tailed hardwood and had a handfull of basic tools. A hammer, folding
rule, torpedo level, brace/bit, hand drill, plane, hand saw, etc. I
don't think I could lift it on my own. Everything was hunky-dory until I
tried the brace/bit on the other present I'd received the year before, a
child sized natural oak roll-top desk. That bit worked perfectly cutting
two holes through the natural grain writing surface. Likwise, my dad's belt
worked perfectly in warming my bottom to a natural rosey pink!

nb

Lee Michaels wrote:
One change I would make though. I would put on a bigger handle and bolt it
through the bod of the chest. Maybe take some of that red oak of yours and
run a bridge between the two peices that current have the latches installed
on them. I would leave the present handle to use to open the chest.

Just a suggestion. This implys that you would carry it by the handle. If
not, never mind.


It may totally ruin the look of it, but I would put wheels on one end
and a collapsible (telescoping) handle on the other.

I built a drum hardware case that way, out of wood. The thing was too
heavy *empty.* One I put stands in it, game over.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

Actually 4 planes (there's a Veritas bullnose under the LN pocket
plane) and 4 squares (the Veritas saddle square kinda hides in the
corner). The folding rule doesn't get "lost" as quick as a tape - I
think I may need to paint my next tape pink so it doesn't disapear -
and it does inside measurements much more accurately. The hammer does
not have a leather face, it's wood, and is used for pounding on
chisels and "minor" adjustments to wood pieces when something doesn't
quite fit.

Some of the old time tools do their jobs better than some new stuff,
IMHO.

Thanks for the compliment tho'.

Regards.

Tom

On Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:48:58 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote:
Good job, but geeze!

THREE hand planes?
THREE squares?
A FOLDING ruler?
Is that a hammer with a LEATHER face?

Well, if you were trying to build an "old-timey" tool chest, you did a
remarkable job.

Thanks to all for the comments.

A handle like a suitcase or a strap that would allow for shouldering
were actually part of the design vision. I even had a piece of doubled
and stiched horse hide ready for the strap and handle. Both
disappeared when the loaded weight became clear. I'm a skinny old
codger and, while I knock out 40 pushups every morning, ~50# on one
shoulder or hanging from one hand makes me walk NNE when I'm pointed
North. Never liked to fly in a yaw, so why walk (OK, trudge) that way.
I decided to stick with the old Army style bunk box, a 2 hander where
the weight is centered and the CG is low, below the handles. Easier
for me to wag around.

Regards.

Tom