Note: This video is being offered at the special introductory offer of $35 until Aug. 25. After that, the video will be $69.
We’ve long been fascinated with the Swedish tool chest form. Roy Underhill had one at The Woodwright’s Shop, and Chris got a close look at one in Sweden that belongs to Johan Lyrfalk, and came down through his family. It’s similar to a Dutch chest with its slanting front lid, but the Swedish one is in some ways simpler. And it’s larger – at least our version is – it’s not a chest for travel.
The video – which stars and is edited by television professional and do-it-yourself maven Whitney Miller – shows you step by step how to build this Swedish chest – and her joy in making it comes through on screen. (Which is to say she a lot of fun to watch, beyond the woodworking instruction!)
The Swedish chest is assembled with through-dovetails at the corners. The top and bottom are screwed to the carcase. The interior of the chest is fairly open and offers plenty of room for planes and larger tools on the floor. There are three drawers, assembled with rabbets and nails, that will hold your smaller tools and shop sundries. The drawer frame and dividers are assembled with screws, then nailed in place through the outside of the chest, as in our inspiration piece.
The interior walls of the chest are lined with tool racks, and there are saw racks on the lid. The rack layout is easy to adjust to suit your own storage needs.
We built it in cherry, because we couldn’t resist the call of the wide cherry boards at the lumberyard that day. The inspiration chest was painted, and probably made from pine.
The build is an excellent primer on through-dovetails and simple drawer construction – and when you’re done, you’ll have a handsome chest in which to store your tools.
Dimensions are: 32-1/2” wide, 18-1/2” high and 19-3/4” deep. The top is 8-1/2” wide, the drop lid is 13-1/2 wide. Most of the stock for the carcase is 7/8” thick.
The entire video is just more than an hour – tightly edited to be compact but filled with good information that’s fun to watch. It’s an excellent video for beginning woodworkers, with just the information you need.
You also get downloadable PDFs with plans and a cutlist, as well as information on using “marriage marks” for layout, and applying our favorite non-toxic soft-wax finish.
Click HERE to order.
This is a form I wish I had built. My main tool chest is an oversized (40cm deep) Dutch tool chest that’s wide enough to fit a no7 and a no4 end to end. It’s good and can fit a lot, but for this size, the Swedish model would have made more sense.
I built another tool chest which my Dutch tool chest sits on top of. It’s built in the same style and materials as the DTC. It contains a drawer and a compartment divided by a shelf. It’s a great way to store the excess tools that can’t fit in the DTC. Also, it puts the DTC and its tools at a perfect height so I don’t have to bend down to grab tools.
No, don’t tempt me with another type of tool chest build. How am I supposed to explain to the wife why i need yet another tool chest in addition to my 6 foot tall rollaway Craftsman tool box. But this looks great and very useful
If I bought this video and wanted to add a book that describes half-blind dovetail which book would that be in?
“The Essential Woodworker,” which includes how to cut DTs of various types, along with other useful stuff. (Also Hayward Vol. 3, but it’s sold out at the moment)
Hmm. I’m thinking one of these, on a stand, with my rolling ATC, which is 72% standard size, that pulls out from underneath. Then I’ll have two chests that prevent me from piling crap on top.
It’s not too late to add it to your DTC book, is it?
Heh, heh.
What is the tool to the far left in the dimensioning photo?
Thank you….Andrew
Crucible dividers.
Thought so, but was not sure…thanks John
Nice.
I really enjoy seeing and learning about these different tool chests. I think about combining styles and features, adding details and options of my own. I think about the workers of wood from yesteryear who crafted the first versions of what we see and build today, how they considered their needs and implemented their simple and robust designs to satisfy those needs. If one thinks beyond just tool storage, it is not hard to imagine any of these wood boxes as _______ chests, with different sizes and features, suitable for just about any purpose. Thank you Whitney and LAP for presenting these to us.
Are the panels for the chest single boards or glued up?
Glued up. With care.
I have purchased and watched every LAP video, including this one, so I feel qualified to offer a candid opinion. I was looking forward to learning about the build of this Swedish tool chest in this new video. I would agree the video was entertaining to watch and the build was very well done. As an intermediate woodworker myself familiar with making dovetails and joinery, this video left me wanting more details on some parts of the build, and especially outfitting the inside of the chest. Perhaps an additional, short video could cover that. Thank you.
Cheers,
Michael
I concur. The details on the inside of the chest, and it’s construction are lacking, as well as any dimensions in the construction drawings.
Please tell me what you are missing as far as dimensions go. The cutting list gives all the sizes of the interior components. The only thing we don’t give is the location of the rack because that depends on your tools.
A scale on the dovetail template would be helpful
It’s 100 percent.
Thank you. I forgot to set the “print” size to full size.
I think the main thing is a rough idea of the dimensions of the holes and their spacing. The pencil ledge appears to be mortised in, but very difficult to tell from the drawings. Absolutely love the video and the design!
Why is the front panel at the top not even with the sides ?
That’s how it came out. Whitney talks about it in the video.