When it comes to the issue of transporting a fully constructed Anarchist’s Tool Chest home, not every woodworker owns a truck. And even though the finished dimensions of the chest are easy to calculate, some people’s eyes are bigger than their Impalas.
I have had to do some wacky things to chests to get them into cars. On a few of the weirder ones, I am sworn to secrecy. Among the less weird:
• Shrink-wrapping it to the top of a Honda, “Beverly Hillbillies” style.
• Building it completely without glue so it can be flat-packed like Ikea stuff.
• Abandoning it at the school!
This week student David Eads pulled another common trick: Taking the car door off the hinges to get just enough space to sneak the chest into the back seat of a sedan. The whole process took 10 minutes. Tips: Have a box below the door and helpers so you can remove the door gently without destroying the wiring or dropping the door on the ground (this has happened.)
I head home on Sunday with this tool chest on my mind. We are getting the electronic files ready for our sixth printing of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.” Love it or hate it, this is the book that let me quit my job. So thank you for buying it.
— Christopher Schwarz
Thank you for publishing it. I think this book has struck a chord with many people. And as a native of the DC area I can tell you the ideas inside your books are alive and well. Keep publishing and I’ll keep buying.
Dunno Chris, looks like the chest made that car its bitch.
Car swallows chest. Car wins.
A great book. Keep up the good work.
Fun times and an excellent class this week, Chris. I heard nothing but high praise from the other attendees and I was happy to see David’s tool chest fit into his car given the possibility of rain.
I highly recommend this class to anyone, even if you don’t really need a tool chest. It’s a tool chest class with a lot of bonus mini-classes as part of the mix; sharpening, plane tuning, sawing techniques, dovetails (plenty of dovetails!), beer drinking (oops! did that happen?), all taught by someone who wants you to succeed. Chris doesn’t stop until the last student goes home each evening, a true professional and an outstanding instructor. We worked our butts off but I believe I got more than my money’s worth. And I’ll second what Chuck said, above.
Please come back to the DC area soon!
Thanks John. The real reason this class works is that there are students like yourself who are happy to jump in and help the process. I think you helped with more glue-ups than I did. And I thank you.
I can relate to the car predicament as my own first piece of serious furniture, built in the woodworking department at Palomar College, was designed to be exactly the deepest cabinet which would squeeze into the back seat of my ancient Volvo 240 sedan. The design worked out well enough, but my overambitious plans for golden-section-based proportions took a beating in the process. Real-world conditions usually win!
you are welcome !
thank YOU for quitting your job.
1 “Like” for the photo: No more reasons to buy sliding doors 🙂
The AT is a real eye opener for people like me, who learned to believe in power tools. And Campaign Furniture is simply beautiful (working for an international logistics company enabled me to get one to Germany :-))
Chris, thanks for writing ATC