Some readers are sure I was a little drunk when I designed the lower sliding till of my tool chest. Why didn’t I allow the lowest till to slide all the way forward? Heck, all I had to do was lower the wall of the sawtill an inch.
When researching tool chests for “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” there were several features I saw on old chests that I considered adding to mine.
1. Putting a hinged lid on the top sliding tray. Why didn’t I do this? I had a lid like this on my first chest and disliked it. Horizontal surfaces get covered with stuff – particularly in a shop with several woodworkers. I was always cleaning off the lid to get to the tools below. So I nixed this lid.
2. Putting a sawtill on the underside of the lid of the chest. Why didn’t I do this? I have a sawtill on my old chest and am ambivalent about it. That particular sawtill – based on Benjamin Seaton’s example – likes to eat the horns of nice saws for breakfast. Plus I really wanted that space for my sliding trays.
3. Adding a sliding panel or door above the well of bench planes. This feature appears in many old chests and is touted as a way to protect your bench planes and to have a shelf in the chest to hold items overnight, such as your shop apron.
That sounds reasonable. So I built it.
And that is why the lowest tray of my chest doesn’t slide all the way forward. I built a nice raised-panel door and hinged it to the wall of the sawtill. The door came to rest on the lowest runners and acted as a stop for the lowest tray.
It looked clever on paper but it was immediately obvious that the door was a dumb thing. It impeded the travel of the trays above and added more hand motions for me to get to the bounty at the bottom of the chest.
So I removed the door.
Why didn’t I remake the guts of the chest to allow the lower tray to slide all the way forward? I’ve always meant to do that. It would be a quick fix – all of the chest’s interior parts are fit with friction and nails. But I haven’t felt the need. I simply keep the lowest tray at the back and the other trays at the front – it works fine.
There’s a lesson here, really. In dealing with the woodworking public since 1996 I can report that we like to complicate things. We add features or decorative details more readily than we will take them away.
Resist the urge to add cupholders to your tool chest. Instead, first try taking things away from a design.
And if you have to be drunk to do something that crazy, then so be it. I won’t judge.
— Christopher Schwarz
You really did go around the shop stamping everything in sight when you got that shop mark stamp didn’t you? Just noticed the stamp on the head for the twin screw vise.
Can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same. Does it work on skin, I mean, leather?
When I was reading “Anarchist Tool Chest” and reviewing the plans for the chest that bottom tray was bugging me. Then I remembered watching your video “how to use the Anarchist Tool Chest”. The lack of full forward movement of the bottom tray no longer bugs me and will probably follow suit. Thanks for addressing this however, now I know.
Ben,
It does a great job in leather! The only thing I haven’t stamped are my kids.
So how well did it work on the mrs.?
This post is awesome. In my own internal plans for a chest, I’ve already moved that partition and the saw till down enough to continue the rails the full depth of the chest. I had always wondered why you didn’t do so yourself. Glad to see I wasn’t crazy for being confused by this feature. Thanks for the update!
ooh cup holders! Why didn’t I think of that? And an ipod dock…ooh ooh and a LASER!
Not sure we’re talking about a tool chest anymore 😉 lol.
The Disgruntled Sea Bass’s Tool Chest?
Hi Chris, I wonder why you did not make the shirt, rib and lid frame from hardwood as suggested by Hayward in his “How to Make Woodwork Tools.” and other sources? I am thinking of using sapele for these as I have a quantity and it will not corrode steel as oak might. I also notice that you have used black coloured hinges and wonder if they are blued steel? I need another plank of Eastern white pine before I can start my build and that is difficult to find here in England. I also cannot find the castors you used and wonder about a UK source for these. Thanks for the tip about coping saw blades they work much better than the usual rubbish.
Regards, Bernard Naish
Bernard,
I’d investigate Scot’s Pine in the U.K. It’s an excellent wood for tool chests.
I didn’t use hardwood for the skirt and seals because it’s an uncommon feature on chests that I saw. And many, many chests have survived that were made entirely of soft woods.
You certainly can do it. The only downside is the nominal added weight.
Further to Chris’ response, Scot’s pine is also known as European or Scandinavian ‘redwood’, here in the UK (not to be confused with sequoia!!). It’s also classed a joinery-grade timber. You can buy it from almost any timber yard or even a builder’s merchant. Many doors, window frames, etc. are made from this species today. There are a few different grades available (most commonly, ‘fifths’ of ‘unsorted’ – a mix of grades one to four, with one having the minimal number of defects) but, for a tool chest, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You may find the pith on one face (which could be placed facing inwards) and a few dead knows (which can be sealed) but, it’s still very good for a softwood.
Next up from that (in the UK) would probably be southern yellow pine. But then, that’s usually about double the price of joinery-grade redwood. There’s also ‘whitewood’ but, that’s very lightweight, fast-grown stuff that’s only marginally better than spruce.
I used Scot’s Pine. It worked great. Only, I put the knots and defects on the outside, since it will soon be painted. The inside, left raw, has the pretty sides of the boards. This is a situation where the show face goes to the inside.
Chris – it’s really nice to see into steps that don’t make it all the way — sharing some ideas that didn’t work out. Thank you for the insights, keep ’em coming. Things that don’t work are just as important as those that do.
And that, friends, is transparency. Thanks so much for sharing that with us, Chris. I got a chuckle out of it..
Sometimes we learn from our mistakes, and occasionally we let others teach us from their mistakes. If they can man-up and openly admit them. Thanks Chris.
After using my chest for the short amount of time that I have, I’ve noticed that the limited travel of the third tray doesn’t bug me. Mostly this has to do with how I organized my tools in that third tray. It’s mostly either tools that I don’t use very often, or tools that have their own container, like the box for my bits or my chisel rolls, that I would take out at the beginning of the day and keep under the bench. I like that I have lots more room in my saw till for things to be mounted on the sides, and indeed, I’ve put the toggle for my dovetail saw directly in the path of where that third drawer might go. The bottom line is that I don’t find myself accessing that third drawer that often, yet I do want access to both my saw till and my plane storage, both of which I go in and out of constantly. So that third drawer stays at the back of the chest most of the day. Also, I sort of like the staggered placement of them. It looks cool and complex.
However, my next project is endeavoring to make a set of molding planes…we’ll see how I feel about keeping them covered when that project is done!
Jim B.
Chris,
Your final comments in this entry reminded me of Saint Exupery. As a Francophile who seems to have an eye for epigrammatic wisdom, you may also find this to be true:
“Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n’y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n’y a plus rien à retrancher.”
(It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away.)
Kiss, kiss, chisel, chisel?
A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
– Antoine de Saint Exupéry
That’s what I get for commenting before I read everyone else’s comments! Sorry Old Baleine!
The thing that confuses me about the whole topic is . . . why would anyone who hates horizontal surfaces so much put their tools into a chest? A cabinet seems to be so much better a solution, unless one is routinely traveling with their entire kit. . . OK, maybe I’m not confused. That last bit clearly describes you. But why do so many of your followers (the Schwartzites, I’ve taken to calling them) do the same thing, when clearly, most of them do NOT travel all around with their full tool collection.
Plus, I’m not that old, but even I get backaches just thinking about all of the constant bending over to get tools out of a box on the floor. It must be an anarchy thing.
-jay
I purchased an antique tool chest that had only two sliding trays, and a saw till that sat on the rails for the lower tray; hence it was at the top front of the chest, not on the floor of the chest. I was wondering how to make the necessary changes to drop it down but Chris suggested using it “as-is” for a while. I left the saw till and added a smaller one on the floor for back saws that is only half the length of the chest. Then I made another till that holds my two bit braces and the box of Irwin bits. The large saw till can be easily lifted out of the chest giving access to the stuff at the bottom of the chest and allows the two trays to be moved full width of the chest. I think it turned out to be a good suggestion. Thanks, Chris.
Chris, as I was re-reading this post a question occurred. One of the chests I have admired is the one built by Tony Konovaloff, featured in Jim Tolpin’s Toolbox book (I think that’s the one). In his design he voiced the dislike of end to end tills (sliding from back to front) which he claimed were prone to binding so he designed his tills to run from side to side of the chest and they are on both sides. He filled the middle with a removable box of drilling tools and sharpening tools if memory serves.
Any comment on the side to side sliding tills versus the back to front sliding tills? I found a link to the book here at http://books.google.com/books?id=F5RsoAON7ZgC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=konovaloff+tool+chest&source=bl&ots=A2kfWLB0-4&sig=eBwRlNuJmjqGnI78F9dBaX8weEQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-njxTtAPoZ7YBfmh6ZMC&sqi=2&ved=0CGsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=konovaloff%20tool%20chest&f=false
I spent some time designing around Tonys concept of sliding tills. I made models of these in MDF and tried it. I found that I could store more tools in open trays so tills containing trays are not for me. Sliding side to side severely restricts access to my planes and also reduces useable space in the trays. The rule seems to be the greater the volume of the container(s) the less useable is the tool space. One exception is saw storage where I have found that a removeable case with an internal leaf allows me to house 14 saws in a space occupied by a traditional till containing 5 or 6 saws. Plus the whole lot can be easily lifted out at the start of the day and laid conveniently to hand or transported. This gives even easier access to trays as they can slide fully forward and planes can be so easily seen and lifted out I only take out planes as I need them. The saw box is quite narrow so I have space for other lift out boxes just as Tony has.
Thanks for the feedback guys! I haven’t built a chest yet, but have ‘The Anarchist’s Toolchest’ on my Christmas list so we’ll see in a few days if Santa thinks I’m off the naughty list! 🙂 I’m looking forward to reading it. I’m seriously thinking about building a full-size box, but I’ll have to put it on a stand for sure.
I think I may have an obsession with toolbox and workbench books! I’ve got both of Chris’s books not to mention Scott Landis’s and several others. Is that OCD or just being well rounded?
I do believe I’m going to build the split-top Roubo bench with the Benchcrafted kit and plans. Just gotta order the kit and go get the wood.
Front-to-back sliding trays require a tighter fit to the case to avoid binding. But it’s not a difficult thing to do with a handplane. Left-to-right trays do limit your access to the bottom and make it tricky or impossible to remove long saws or the jointer plane – so you have to take that into account with your design if you go that route.