WIP - my version of Dr Al’s travel tool chest and workbench

[SteveMP]

I'll look forward to whatever you come up with. I made a posh pencil case in that style (but not trying to make it as rough and ready as they would traditionally be - I used Wenge "trenails" and some through tenons rather than metal nails). It was a fun little project:

Obviously being a pencil case it was far smaller than the sort of thing you'd stick tools in (250 mm long and 60 mm high).

Another option may be something like this tool tote that will hold my planes but go mobile if I need a lightweight minimal kit for something without lugging the big heavy box around

 

[SteveMP]

Anniversary weekend so not much shoptime. Only progress since last post is mounted one drawer and finished drawer 2. Slight progress on other drawer part:

 

[Dr.Al]

Happy anniversary Steve

 

[SteveMP]

Happy anniversary Steve

Thank you!

 

[SteveMP]

Slapped together a poor man’s sticking board real quick out of some scraps and decided to tune up a japanese plow plane i bought a while back and hadn’t used yet. Took me about an hour to sharpen it and tune it, shavings got jammed and I had to open the mouth a bit. But now that its tuned it works 10x better thany old Stanley 50. Only problem is its only 6mm, cant change blades or anything, thats it. Does have a moveable fence but its basically limited to drawer botttoms (technically its made for Japanese Shoji screen doors the middle solid wood section is typically a 6mm panel)

Almost done with all the drawer parts for the lower left section:

 

[AndyT]

Interesting that it has a pair of cutters to score the sides before the main cutter planes out the centre. That's a rare feature on UK designs.

For an amateur woodworker not too pressed for time, it would be possible to cut a wider groove in two or more passes, of course.

 

[SteveMP]

Interesting that it has a pair of cutters to score the sides before the main cutter planes out the centre. That's a rare feature on UK designs.

For an amateur woodworker not too pressed for time, it would be possible to cut a wider groove in two or more passes, of course.

And they are the typical laminated japanese steel so they are nice and sharp. My Stanley 50 has the little "knickers" but those tend to just scrape the wood, wheras these slice cleanly. The 50 I always had to use a marking gauge first to score a line on both sides or it came out scruffy. The downside is there is no depth stop. I have seen people glue/wedge in a block, but I just kept checking after every couple passes with a scrap of drawer bottom with a pencil mark.

 

[AndyT]

Nice. I forgot about dado planes, which it partly resembles, but they don't come fenced.

 

[SteveMP]

Nice. I forgot about dado planes, which it partly resembles, but they don't come fenced.

Yeah I do have an old British dado plane for making shelves. You are right, it does resemble it a lot. What is interesting is the British plane has a single front cutter kind of shaped like bat ears.

 

[SteveMP]

Small progress update on the build. 3 drawers are now complete and mounted. Question, do you guys leave wooden drawer side rails unfinished or finished? I think on my other travel chest i finished them and put paste wax over the finish, but not sure if that was best.

 

[AndyT]

I just finish each drawer front, including its ends and upper edge. That's what I have observed on the few nice old pieces we own.

(Where drawers hold clothes, there can be problems with smells from some finishes.)

 

[Dr.Al]

I put finish on everything when I did my tool chest, but I doubt it was really necessary.

For what it's worth, here's the post where I asked exactly the same question you just did (at the end of the post): https://thewoodhaven2.co.uk/threads/holiday-toolchest.7477/page-13#post-152209

and here's @AndyT's answer : https://thewoodhaven2.co.uk/threads/holiday-toolchest.7477/page-13#post-152213

 

[SteveMP]

I put finish on everything when I did my tool chest, but I doubt it was really necessary.

For what it's worth, here's the post where I asked exactly the same question you just did (at the end of the post): https://thewoodhaven2.co.uk/threads/holiday-toolchest.7477/page-13#post-152209

and here's @AndyT's answer : https://thewoodhaven2.co.uk/threads/holiday-toolchest.7477/page-13#post-152213

Thanks, makes sense, and the answer there makes sense on this one since the drawers will most likely be removed to use as "trays" out in the field.

I just finish each drawer front, including its ends and upper edge. That's what I have observed on the few nice old pieces we own.

(Where drawers hold clothes, there can be problems with smells from some finishes.)

Thanks, yeah that is what i have seen on antiques as well.

 

[Woodbloke]

Regarding finishes on drawers, I just do as AndyT has suggested, that's to polish the front, top, bottom and sides (joints only) having masked off the dovetails. If the drawer interiors are to be finished a couple of coats of Lemon Oil usually suffice but I never do the bottoms, especially if made from Cedar of Lebanon - Rob

 

[SteveMP]

Regarding finishes on drawers, I just do as AndyT has suggested, that's to polish the front, top, bottom and sides (joints only) having masked off the dovetails. If the drawer interiors are to be finished a couple of coats of Lemon Oil usually suffice but I never do the bottoms, especially if made from Cedar of Lebanon - Rob

Sorry, I guess I phrased my actual question wrong. What I was meaning to ask was about the "runners" I guess they may be called. As the drawers have a groove on the sides that some wooden runners screwed onto the case run along.

 

[AndyT]

You might need to rub a bit of an old candle along the runners. If you don't already have a candle in the workshop to put a scribble of wax onto the sole of a metal plane, get one and try it - it makes a big difference.