Lost Art Press

Where It’s At

Posted on by fitz
The back of this single-bay Dutch tool chest is “car siding” (sold at some big box stores as tongue-and-groove boards). It’s a simple and economical way to build the back of a chest.

I’ve been home all week scraping stair corners and running a floor edger, so I haven’t gotten a lot done on my Dutch tool chest book (I would much rather be working on the Dutch tool chest book…). But that doesn’t mean I’ve not made progress! I’m on track to turn it in to my editor (that would be Christopher Schwarz) by the end of March 2021, and will work on the book’s design while he’s reading. With luck – and no floor renovation disasters – it will be out this summer.

One single-bay chest (aka the small version) is done and currently serving as window decoration (it still needs a good paint job); I’m mulling over options for a couple different mobile bases for it. A double-bay chest (aka the large version) is partially done and sitting atop my Anarchist’s tool chest, awaiting my return to the shop. I’ll build at least one more chest – size to be determined – so I can show three different options for the back and lids. And possibly a fourth.

I’ve a folder full of research notes on vintage slant-lid tool chests (and other slant-lid storage), and I’m collecting images from readers for the gallery (If you have high-resolution images you’d like to share, please send me an email!). I think that will be an important inspirational section – I can only outfit so many interiors, after all. And I’m working with Orion Henderson at Horton Brasses to offer a forged hardware kit (I’ll be recommending some low-budget-friendly options as well).

So what am I’m going to do with all these chests and bases? After I finish up the “beauty shots” (for chapter openers and possibly for the cover), they’ll be for sale. If anyone wants to put in a preemptive order, send me an email. Prices start at $850, and vary depending on size and hardware. And you can choose your paint color…as long as it’s not too crazy. Or be crazy. I can always paint crazy atop not-crazy.

A Dutch tool chest is an excellent beginner project – so there will be detailed instruction and options for just about every operation, as well as commentary about why. Above is part of the explanation of laying out dovetails with dividers – my favorite method.

— Fitz

P.S. To bring it back to my lead: Has anyone reading this used PoloPlaz Primero 275 VOC Finish on their floors? If so, thoughts?

22 thoughts on “Where It’s At”

  2. I love my DTC. It was indeed a easy build and constructed in the same manner as a old farmer or craftsman, I used what wood I had on hand. It’s a smorgasbord of pine and poplar and what ever hardware I had or easily obtain. Did I say I love this chest. I made the breadboard top and it’s cool to watch it shrink and expand with the seasons and not blow up 🙂

    I recently added a tray in the top of the bottom compartment. This is a great place to put my smaller tools and keep the organized.

    Sorry Megan, I have no experience with that particular floor finish, but I would be interested in what you find out.

    Cheers,
    Aaron

  3. I also have no experience with poloPlaz Primero 275 VOC Finish, but I do have a good experience with Bona Naturale, with a 210 VOC rating. It’s a 2-part water born floor finish that I used on Ash stairs. It is holding up great, not like single component waterborne finishes. I’ve also used it on a White Oak threshold.

      1. I used Osmo (the pro full solid) on my floors recently. It’s a barely-there finish, so you’re not going to get a tremendous amount of protection. However, it looks beautiful–and looks better the more beat up it gets.

    2. Bona has a nice amber product to use directly under their finish. Amberseal. I did some birdseye maple floors a year or two ago and used it under two coats of Bona Mega. It gave it a very nice amber tone. You can tint it to make it darker if you like, but I didn’t find it necessary.

      I forget what is in the Amberseal, but it’s a thinned finish, I think, rather than just stain. So it adds a little protection and sealing in addition to color. It’s water based, just like the Bona topcoats.

      These friends were on a budget, or I’d have used Traffic rather than Mega, but I really couldn’t see a difference in the result.

  5. I have not tried the one you ask about. I have had very good luck with Varathane (sp) for floors, a water base finish and holds up well. put it on Fir flooring in a rental. That was 15 years ago and still looks great.

  6. I used big box car siding on my D.T.C. It was simple, quick, and I think the Dutch(?) would have approved.

    1. Same here, cheap tongue and groove board for the back, and I used nasty store bought glued up panels for the rest. I don’t skimp on the nails, though. Rivierre 40mm. Since yesterday (yester night) it’s a chest, meaning the lid is attached. I learned a lot, but it was manageable. I messed up the breadboard ends twice (once f’d up, second time it ended up a bit out of square – actually a bit more), so I used battens under the lid.
      In the bottom I have two drawers on the left for drills, saw files, card scrapers etc. Not sure if it was a good idea. But then the second one will be ever so easy to build. I’ll head down to the basement later and work on the interior, not quite happy how it is laid out.

  9. I made a flat furniture style dolly so that the rot strips fit inside of the raised boards on the dolly. I then made sure that the rot strips on my lower cabinet matched so I can stack the dtc on the cabinet and the lower cabinet on the dolly or put the dtc straight onto the dolly.

  10. Looking forward to the book, though I went ahead and bought the Lie-Nielsen video from 2015 by Chris and hope to have a chest done before the book comes out. I’m slowly going through the tool list in ATC and ADB as I need them, and they’re currently spread in small piles around my home office… It takes me a half hour just to gather the tools I need to start working, and this chest format fits the space we have better than the ATC.

    Regarding the back on the chest pictured in the post, how thick are those car siding panels? I have some similar stuff left over from a previous project, but was wondering if it would be too thin (it’s “just short of 5/8 Inch” according to google).

    Regards from Norway

    1. So, that’s 16mm or thereabouts. Should be good enough. If you are concerned about rack resistance and deformation of the topmost corners use a thicker slat (20mm thick, 100mm wide, 3/4″ and 4″ respectively) topmost. The back of my chest has a similar thickness and it feels good enough. I fixed the back boards with two oval nails on each side to prevent racking, but that is overkill except for the topmost board. Material is spruce or fir (abies alba or picea abies, gran or furu I believe)
      Make sure the nice side is on the inside, you will see that side much more often than the outside…

      Lykke til!

    3. Hei Ricardo,

      sorry for replying off-topic, but I am also a hand tool woodworker in Norway. There seem to be a few of us, but there does not seem to be a community as far as I am aware. I would love to exchange experiences and ideas on all aspects of our hobby – in particular buying used tools and quality lumber – but also just to talk shop 🙂

      Ta gjerne kontakt dersom du er interessert. Lykke til med prosjektet ditt!

      Julius

  11. I used poloPlaz on a particle board floor I made 15 years ago. It has held up great.
    It is the easiest to apply and most durable floor finish I have ever used, or seen.
    Doesn’t yellow. Applied with a lambs wool bar applicator or squeegee.
    You will not be disappointed.
    Better than any big box store finish for sure.

  12. Ending the post title with a preposition is something up with which I will not put! As Churchill is said to have said. Haha!

    I was able to see you in the process of making that one or the one before it back in October! Looking forward to reading the book! Good luck on it!

  13. I didn’t need mobility for my Dutch chest so I built a stand for it to sit on. It has one drawer and pegs on the ends of the top to hang saws on. It’s very nice arrangement I think.

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