Most of the historical sources I have in my library say that joiners should dovetail the corners of their tool chests. In my heart, I agree. But in reality, the archaeological record paints a different picture.
There are lots of dovetailed tool chests out there – I see them all the time. But I also see lots of chests that violate all the joinery rules of traditional tool chests, and yet they are still together after decades of abuse.
Many tool chests are simply nailed together – I own a few of these myself. They don’t look as tidy as a dovetailed chest, but they can last a long time – especially if the joints are tight and the skirts around the chest are made well and tightly nailed.
If you are unsure about your dovetailing skills, my first reaction is to tell you to get over it and give dovetails a try – the joint’s difficulty is usually all in your head. But if you aren’t willing to cut dovetails, then consider joining your chest using rabbets and cut nails. Or dowels, screws, Dominoes or biscuits.
What about the materials for your tool chest? I recommend lightweight pine. But what if you don’t have access to clear pine? Or you don’t have the tools (or skills) to glue up the panels required for your tool chest? You know what else is lightweight and strong? Plywood. Don’t like plywood? Buy ready-made pine panels from the home center. These are as ugly as snot because of all the little bits of finger-jointed boards, but a couple coats of paint will make the panels look world-class. They usually come in 24” widths, so you will have a head start on the construction process.
Can’t make a bottom of shiplapped boards? Consider a nailed-on plywood bottom.
Don’t want to dovetail the skirts and dust seal around the carcase? Use simple miters instead – just make sure to spline or nail them to give them extra strength.
How about the chest’s top? What if you don’t have the tools or skills to make a frame-and-panel top? Again, plywood can be your friend – or use one of the ready-made pine panels and apply a smaller panel on the top to make it look like a frame-and-panel top. This applied “raised panel” is not just decoration – it adds thickness and strength.
How about those sliding trays inside? Nail them together if you cannot use dovetails. Just be smart about it – angle the nails like the slope of dovetail joints and nail through the ends of the trays and into the fronts to add strength.
There are lots of other shortcuts you can take. Use strap hinges or a piano hinge, which are easier to install. Use an external hasp instead of a half-mortise lock. Reinforce the corners of your chest with iron or steel plates – I see those all the time on old chests. These can look very cool.
In other words, disobey me.
In “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” I made a case for using the best joinery, materials and hardware available to build your chest. For some woodworkers, that might not be dovetails, clear Eastern white pine and Horton brasses. It might be nails, plywood and Hillman fasteners. So be it. Do the best job that you can with the skills that you have, and you’ll do fine.
You might want to upgrade your tool chest in 10 years once you have the skills to dovetail Jell-O. Or perhaps your chest will be sturdy and meet all your needs. Either way, you win.
— Christopher Schwarz
P.S. The photos in this post are of a chest made by Mike Russo, who had to put one together in a weekend for an upcoming move. Thanks Mike for the inspiring work.
Brilliant, Chris. And admirable. Give us the ultimate destination and we’ll find the route to achieve it within our means. We won’t need any more Smythe disclaimers… we’re all in this together.
Great piece Chris.
It puts wants vs needs & abilities vs dreams in the perfect perspective.
“Do the best job that you can with the skills that you have, and you’ll do fine.”
(That one sentence alone sets you apart from others who would only accept it one way.)
ya ain’t bad for a bony southern boy.
(You hear that Mr Gary?)
That is why I keep re-reading this book, great stuff.
Mike, that chest looks awesome. I believe it will definitely inspire some to not be intimidated and make a chest that works for them, thanks for sending it in. (I’m still working out of an old wine crate, and now wondering why I haven’t just started building one…)
Mike’s chest is really sharp looking. I am a very crude novice woodworker and enjoy your blog for its honesty, encouragement, and challenge. I echo your comments about trying dovetails. I used them for the first time on a project recently. Not nearly as bad as I thought. Many of them are ugly, but one or two are nice. I know I can use them and next time they will be better.
I’m learning that quality is not necessarily a function of joinery or materials. It is more accurately a function of the the time and energy I have available, how urgently I need whatever it is, how much money I’m willing to spend on it, and how willing I’ll be to live with the consequences of compromise in the months and years to come.
For something like a toolbox, a priority is to get the bloody thing done. If that means plywood, that’s fine. Having an organized, protective space for your investment is more important than aesthetic considerations. If that means nails instead of dovetails, that’s cool too. I’d rather have a *finished* box that is nailed together than the ultimate monument to dovetails that remains unfinished for six months.
I’m going to build a toolbox exactly like this one and then upgrade to the Anarchist’s Tool Chest version after my skill improves. I already have the white pine sitting in my shop but I don’t want to screw up such nice wood.
As far as dovetails go, I’m going to go with the dovetail-a-day method using 3/4×4 poplar. When I’m satisfied with the results, I’ll go work on the pine. The Benchcrafted Moxon vise and small rip Dozuki saw from Lee Valley make it really convenient to learn how to dovetail. I may even try Chris’s skew plane trick for registration although that’s a bit more work.
Nice article, Christopher. Anyone can be inspired and informed by your words. No one should be dissuaded from trying anything because they can’t meet some “ultimate” standard, since it is in the attempt that we learn.
Mike, the chest looks great. The fact that you built it in a weekend makes it even more impressive.
This is a great article. Seems there is book coming called “The pragmatic woodworker”
🙂
From an 18th-century perspective, this was Aldren Watson’s “Country Furniture.” Great history, interesting discussion of period tools and techniques, and wonderful illustrations.
HEYYY! I got dibs on that title!
(click through to understand)
Check out Jam-box-tool-box. It rocks and i compair it to my grandfathers tool box. Also see my version of the Anarchist’s tool chest
When did a raised panel lid become one of ‘the joinery rules of traditional tool chests’ ? The overwhelming majority of tool chests seem to have had flat lids.
As to dovetails, look back to the Mastermyr chest, which, at 1000 years, must be one of the oldest surviving, and the sides are joined to the ends by some sort of halved joint using treenails (wooden pegs).
We might also add that the chain support seems to have very few precedents. (The Mastermyr had a chain but it was a humongous one wrapped around the box, probably to say ‘hands off’)
I’d dispense with the idea of rules being violated – as with most things ‘traditional’, it depends how far back you go!
I desperately want to see a jello dovetail!
Actually, I wrote you an email on this very thing a few months ago and you gave me the above advise. I had suggested using nails in the method you describe and you urged me to do the dovetails but told me it wouldn’t be a comprimise to use the nails.
What I didn’t make clear was that I’m not afraid of the dovetails and in fact have done them long enough that I’m actually a little tired of them. For this box, it would be more of a chore than I want to do and for me, it wouldn’t be unique as I have a hundred other examples of dovetails with other boxes, drawers, etc.
I will nail mine using cut nails and the dovetail method. Front and back will be rabbeted. No glue and I’m convinced that the only way to get it apart after nailing it well is to burn it. Thanks for letting me know I wasn’t copping out.
Don
Get out of my head!
I have just started cutting plywood for my tool chest and now you post about it! I have already made one dovetailed tool chest, but the proportions weren’t eally right. I did that one before the ATC came out. I scaled up plans for a smaller still toolchest but it was never quite right. Having now read the ATC I know why!
I decided to use plywood this time round to see how I like it when built to a more ATC plan. If I like it I will make another nice dovetailed box and put my second tier tools in the plywood one. After all the kids will want to use tools and I would like to keep my really nice one seperate.
I couldn’t agree more and am happy to hear your blessing. I slapped together a traveling chest version out of pine panels (warning: these are RARELY flat) for your workbench class at Marc Adams. I didn’t get the skirting or lid done and had to Bogart my daughters wagon for the week because I didn’t make it to the caster stage. It was a great trial run, excellent practice at dovetailing, and provided proof at how convenient it is working from a chest. The experience reenforced my desire to invest resource and time into the full scale model while allowing me to work out some kinks and my own skill limitation in the design. A great prototype! Once my bench is done , finishing the chest is priority number one.
I also went for the tool chest in hand versus the tool chest in my mind. However I took a little different approach. I found one in an antique store, that hadn’t planned on visiting on a day when I hadn’t planned on being in that little town, I wasn’t looking for a tool chest and really didn’t have any money to spend. I was admiring the tool chest and cringing at the price when the lady working the store that day said it was her tool chest and dropped the price 25% on the spot, my wife then commented that she had that much set aside for my christmas gift this year and the chest happened to fit into the back of our little hatchback. It is a nice old chest with a flat top lid that has breadboard edges, the boards for the top are actually morticed all the way though the bread board. All dovetailed. It is a bit smaller that I may some year build and hold most of the tools I would like it to with the most noteable exception being no place for saws. But in one day my shop was cleaner, less cluttered and my tools much more organized. There is a brief youtube taken from my phone in the store here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdGWEd-fq_Y
You were meant to find each other.
What did you name her?
Cool post and cool video John! I’ve got a 8/4 red alder board I saw in the lumber store that I couldn’t pass up… it’s 10′ long, at least 14″ wide, possibly 16″. It’s mostly clear with only one large knot. I had to buy it though I didn’t know what to do with it yet. Perhaps an ATC? Now for my next problem… my bandsaw is 18″ with 13″ resaw… any tips on how to resaw such a big board? I’m thinking I’m going to have to rip it down, but I sure hate to do that and have to glue up the wide boards again!
Finished the Anarchist’s Tool Chest a week ago and feel far more relaxed and happy in my basement work shop. I’ve been mulling it over and came to the LA website to drop you a line, wanting to thank you not just for all the lifesaving tips but for the sense of perspective you’ve brought to my mind. This latest blog post above really encapsulates what I love most about your attitude and writing.