“New, new, new, just for the sake of newness, for the sake of the sales’ curve, in order to make people throw away the old things before they have served their time. Not so long ago we looked for a better form, now we only have to find a new one.”
— Poul Henningsen (1894-1967), Danish author, architect and critic
This photo is kind of difficult to interpret. The big chest is 1:4 scale (about 9” long). The small one is 1:10. It is Marco Terenzi’s work, of course.
Both will be at Handworks this weekend, along with so much other cool stuff that I won’t be able to see it all.
By the way, Marco makes micro tools for sale, so follow him on Instagram. You never know when you might be zapped by a shrink ray and need a 1:4 scale hammer to fight rabid chipmunks.
— Christopher Schwarz
Some of you have noted that I am canceling classes this year. The reason is that I need to stay home to help take care of some important family members, and this trend could continue for a few years.
I have tried to hold on to a few classes this year, which has required some extraordinary measures and help from friends. One of the classes I am happy to report I can teach is a special Anarchist’s Tool Chest class at The Furniture Institute of Massachusetts June 22-28, 2015.
This tool chest class is particularly special for two reasons: It will be at Phil Lowe’s school. Phil is one of the people I admire most in the craft for his skills, teaching ability and wonderful demeanor. I have always wanted the opportunity to work with Phil.
The second reason the class is special is it will run for seven days instead of five. These extra days will allow us to get a crack at working on the inside bits of the chest.
So if you want to build the best tool-storage system I’ve encountered, this class is ideal. And I don’t have any more floor chest classes on my schedule.
You can read more about the school here. The class will be small – nine students max. And Phil said yesterday there are still three spots left.
In the coming weeks I’ll announce the few other classes I’ll be able to teach this year. So stay tuned. For those students who enrolled in classes I had to cancel, I apologize and look forward to resuming a regular teaching schedule in the years ahead.
— Christopher Schwarz
A common bit of advice on building tool chests goes like this: “You should build the chest to fit your tools.”
I’d like to amend that melba-toast statement to this: “You should build the chest to fit our tools.”
Woodworking tools come in standard sizes, and the standard tool kit hasn’t changed much since Joseph Moxon laid it out in “Mechanick Exercises” in 1678. So if you are in the craft to build furniture, your tool kit probably looks a lot like mine. If you are in it for type studies and patented tools, ignore the rest of this blog entry.
When I started studying tool chests (several years before writing “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest”), I noticed that they were built in some fairly standard sizes. Most of the outliers were actually for other trades or specialists. In truth, there are more than three basic sizes of chests, but I’d like to discuss three sizes I have found most compelling.
The Floor Chest
This is the massive tool chest I built for “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” and have subsequently built more than 20 times for classes and customers. It is the Denali of tool chests. It’s bigger than it has to be, but it’s still not big enough.
It is roughly 24” x 24” x 40”. And if you can’t fit a tool in this chest, then you don’t need it. This chest will swallow full-size handsaws, over-sized jointer planes, 18th-century tenon saws, straightedges, a full set of hollows and rounds and all the other tools you need to build furniture.
The standard model usually has three sliding trays, though I have seen them with as many as eight.
During the five years since I built this chest I have modified small sections of it, but it is still basically the same design as when I drew it out in 2010.
What’s the downside to this chest? It is a floor hog, taking up as much square footage as a table saw. If you have a small shop, this chest might be too much for you. But after working out of a chest this size since 1997, I decline to downsize.
The Traveling Tool Chest
If you need to move your chest frequently, the full-size chest is a heavy burden. Moving that monster by yourself is difficult but doable – if you first remove the trays and heavy tools. If you need to be mobile for work or to attend classes, a scaled-down chest might be the answer.
I just finished building one of these chests for the August issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. I built the carcase and Jameel Abraham built the marquetry panel for the lid. This chest’s design is based on the length of a panel saw, one of the longer tools in a furniture-maker’s tool kit.
While full-size handsaws are more than 30” long from toe to tote, a panel saw takes up less space – 26” give or take. That’s not much longer than a standard jointer plane. This chest can be 20” x 20” x 30”. That might not seem much smaller than the full-size chest above, but I can tell you that the slightly smaller dimensions allow you to move the chest easily by yourself.
The downside? You can still pack a standard toolkit in the chest if you omit the moulding planes. (OK, that’s not entirely true; you can build a removable tray that holds moulders thereby squeezing every cubic inch of storage out of the chest. It’s just not convenient to work out of.)
These chests typically had two sliding trays for the small tools. And the tool well below held all the bench planes, saws and joinery planes.
The other advantage to this chest is it will fit in the back seat of most passenger cars. The full-size chest will not (unless you first remove the door).
The Tallboy
The other curious chest I’ve been toying with is a mix of the full-size chest and the traveling chest. While I’m sure this chest was made all over the Western world, I’ve encountered most examples of it in North America.
It is generally a nailed-together carcase that is designed to hold full-size handsaws, a full set of bench planes, joinery planes and lots and lots of smaller tools. Like the traveling chest, moulding planes are rarely provided dedicated storage space in this variant. But they still can hold a handful of moulders if need be.
So the defining characteristics of these chests are they are long, shallow and tall. The one I’m building now for a series of classes in 2015 is 15” x 17” x 34”. This chest will easily fit into the back seat of a car. It will accommodate the (less expensive) full-size handsaws and is super simple to build. It’s all rabbets and nails.
All three forms have their charms. But their dimensions depend more on how you live than on what sort of stuff you build.
Disobey Me
If you want to design your own chest from scratch and ignore the historical patterns, here’s how to do it:
My guess is you will end up with one of the three sizes above.
— Christopher Schwarz
Here’s your chance to buy a completely finished and fitted Anarchist’s Tool Chest that is chock full of premium hand tools (more than $8,300 worth) – and help a great woodworking school in the process.
Here’s the story: Last summer I taught my first class in England for the New English Workshop, which was held at the shops at Warwickshire College. As a way to give back to the next generation of woodworkers, Paul Mayon and Derek Jones of New English Workshop completed and finished the tool chest I built (very nicely, I might add). Then a bunch of generous toolmakers donated a load of premium hand tools to put in the chest.
On March 28, 2015, the chest and its contents will be auctioned off by David Stanley Auctions and all proceeds will be donated to Warwickshire College, which offers an excellent furniture program. You do not need to be in England to bid on the chest – David Stanley accepts internet bids and can ship the chest if need be. Check the David Stanley auction site for details.
The chest is finished exactly like the one in the book “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest,” including the sliding trays and black-over-red paint job. The chest is signed by me and all the students who participated in the class.
The list of tools is nothing short of amazing. Here’s a list of the tools, who donated then and the value in English dollars. Check it:
Ashley Isles MKII bevel edge cabinetmakers chisels x 6, donated by Workshop Heaven, £133
Aurio Rasps x 3, donated by Classic Hand Tools, £252
Bad Axe Sash Saw 14” 12ppi Hybrid, donated by Bad Axe Tool Works, £186
Blum Tool Company #5 ½ Mesquite Jack Plane, donated by Blum Tool Company, £210
David Barron 9-1/2” lignum vitae smoothing plane, donated by David Barron, £175
Classic Bow saw 400mm Turbo Cut, donated by anonymous, £56
Chris Pye carving chisels set of 11, donated by Classic Hand Tools, £290
Clifton #4-1/2 Heavy Smoothing Plane, Donated by Clico, £310
Czeck Edge Kerf Kadet II Marking Knife, donated by Czeck Edge, £35
Karl Holtey #10 Mitre Plane, donated by Karl Holtey, £2,000
Jeff Hamilton 5” Lignum Vitae marking gauge, donated by Jeff Hamilton, £65
Veritas 10” Sliding Bevel, donated by Lee Valley Tools, £39
Lee Valley 12” Dividers, donated by Lee Valley, £18
Veritas Medium Shoulder Plane, donated by Lee Valley, £200
Lee Valley set 5 parallel tip screwdrivers, donated by Lee Valley, £30
Veritas Small Plough Plane, donated by Lee Valley, £200
Veritas Router Plane, donated by Lee Valley, £170
Veritas Low Angle jack Plane, donated by Lee Valley, £295
Pax 1776 10” Dovetail Saw 20tpi with pear handle, donated by Peter Sefton, £120
Philly Planes Coffin Smoother, English Box, Donated by Philly Planes, £215
Sterling Tool Works Saddle Tail, donated by Sterling Tool Works LLC, £70
Rob Stoakley Japanese panel gauge, donated by Rob Stoakley, £150
Texas Heritage Waxed Canvas Chisel Roll, donated by Texas Heritage Woodworks, £69
Workshop Heaven Ultimate Hand Brace, donated by Workshop Heaven, £64
Workshop Heaven Maple & Apple mallet, donated by Workshop Heaven, £45
So sell a hock a couple kidneys and perhaps a spleen. It’s all to support the next generation of aspiring young woodworkers.
— Christopher Schwarz