We just posted two bonus videos about the Swedish tool chest. These short videos, hosted by me, discuss where this chest comes from historically and also offers a tour of the finished chest with tools in it.
If you have purchased the “Make a Swedish Tool Chest” video, you should have received an email notifying you of how to watch and download them. We decided to also post them here for free so everyone can get a look.
— Christopher Schwarz
I first met Whitney Miller when she was a reporter at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, right as the pandemic was cranking up. Whitney worked with my wife, Lucy, and Whitney was really into making anything and everything.
She’d made her own dining table with the help of some friends. And she’s made almost everything else in her life – her clothes, curtains, sweatshirts for her friends, masks for people she knew, stickers for everyone. The woman just makes and makes.
She wanted to get better at woodworking, so she took a Dutch Tool Chest class with Megan. Whitney hadn’t done much hand joinery, but she has what we call “good hands.” Put a tool in her hands, and she will make it work. And work well.
During the class, Megan came to me and said: “Whitney’s form isn’t classical, but you can’t argue with the results.”
Her dovetails were fantastic. Her entire chest was crisp. Whitney might be a natural, or she might also be someone who works with her hands all the time and can make them do her bidding. (I vote for the latter.)
When we built a workbench for the Henry Boyd exhibit at the Cincinnati History Museum, Whitney led the way on its construction. She is simply an outstanding craftswoman – no matter what the tools she is using.
And her energy and enthusiasm for making things eclipses most of the goober YouTubers.
So when we thought about making a video on building a Swedish tool chest, we decided to make it for beginners and have it hosted by someone who wasn’t your typical over-trained and textbook-perfect woodworker. Someone who could get it done and make it look awesome (look at the dang photos) and wasn’t an intimidating host.
Whitney was my first choice.
We’ve been posting clips from her video on Instagram this month, and the response has been both great and depressing. Some people get it. Look at this bada$$ person putting this chest together, even without the classical education and the requisite stick up their butt. Awesome.
And others who make it about gender or race or denigrating Whitney’s work.
What does Whitney think of all this? She generally kills people with kindness, but I think you should look at her work. She might not hold a dovetail saw like you. Or plane boards like you. Or drive a chisel with the confidence of someone who does it for a living. But she knows what she is doing. And she knows how to get it done.
And if there’s not room in your world for people like that, please find another world.
— Christopher Schwarz
We’ve had a couple people ask what tools they need to make the cherry tool chest built by Whitney Miller in “Make a Swedish Tool Chest” (available at introductory pricing of $35 until Aug. 26) So, below is a list of every tool Whitney picks up on camera. To those you could add a jointer, planer and table saw if you’re going to prep your own material with the aid of power tools – though you could also carefully choose 3/4″- or 7/8″-thick S4S stock at the lumberyard, and glue up panels from that, resulting in minimal prep.
I think I got them all – if I missed any, my apologies (and I’m sure someone will let me know).
– Fitz
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.
