The Japanese tool box - some examples

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Chris Hall
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The Japanese tool box - some examples

Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:26 am

I've got some photos of a few different Japanese tool boxes -not as fancy as what we will make, but you might find something in one of the pictures that inspires your design for storage solutions:
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This one holds ceremonial tools used for temple project completion ceremonies:
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Chris Hall
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Re: The Japanese tool box - some examples

Wed Feb 08, 2012 7:01 pm

Another one:
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Mathieu
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Re: The Japanese tool box - some examples

Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:40 am

These boxes are displayed at the Takenaka Carpentry Museum in Kobe. My apologies for the low quality, they are behind glass otherwise I could have taken better, more detailed pictures.
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Chris Hall
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Re: The Japanese tool box - some examples

Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:38 am

Hah! I remember those! The box is made pretty much identically to a light tea chest (a box for shipping tea leaves). Here's a ratty tea chest I keep in my kitchen:
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Thanks for posting and you just gave me an idea for a future project: a wheeled chest
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charlie
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Re: The Japanese tool box - some examples

Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:36 pm

Mathieu, thanks for posting those pics. I like the drawers in those boxes.
ya
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Re: The Japanese tool box - some examples

Mon Feb 13, 2012 10:02 pm

These boxes are displayed at the Takenaka Carpentry Museum in Kobe. My apologies for the low quality, they are behind glass otherwise I could have taken better, more detailed pictures.
Thanks for reminding me to add that place to my list to visit.
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Chris Hall
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Re: The Japanese tool box - some examples

Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:23 pm

Here are a few of the wooden toolboxes I already have, a couple are supplied by Makita, and one I made myself.
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This box holds my Makita 15.5" circular saw:
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Re: The Japanese tool box - other examples

Fri Dec 05, 2014 2:13 am

I think this is the place where I can submit my contribution to the Japanese toolbox phenomenon. Back in 2004 I found Toshio Odate’s article and I combined his guidelines with an ample supply of rough sawn 1” pine siding for timberframed farm buildings. It’s still remarkable to contrast these examples with the Odate original.
search Google books: American Woodworker magazine October 1995 Odate Toolbox
Odate’s article speaks of a substantial degree of nihilism and selfdenial as part of his apprenticeship: common nails and butt joints and nothing more are good enough for a Japanese shojimaker. The main design features though are key: the lack of need for any metal hardware, and the lid mechanism. Even in my first attempt, I was already making changes and upgrades. I needed something to tote my timberframing schlock from site to site, mostly outdoors in all weather conditions. I splurged on galvanized screws and blued nails to avoid rust stains. I also realized the advantage of undercutting the handles to allow for an easier handhold as Chris and others also have figured out. I determined the interior width from the tongue of a framing square. I placed a batten on the inside of one end just under and parallel to the lid installed and the blade dropped into a small bracket on the corresponding side board. One feature that I have added to those and every toolbox since is a transverse batten atop the lid. It’s not clear whether this adds to the stability of a solid lid. It was very beneficial when I was building lids with a simple lap joint of two narrower boards. The same transverse batten also got undercut, making lifting and inserting the lid much easier. In these early models, I also opted to attach grommets through brackets at both ends.
I ended up using the method of determining the batten placement that is simply scribing and cutting.

I gave a few of these away as gifts to those who do historical demonstrations. Their rustic appearance, portability, and stackability made them suitable for outdoor events.

I also took up this form first when I began woodworking again in China. I made a few trousseaus for former students from a very low quality glulam. They have held up well so far and the pine resins do seem to afford some benefits to the woolens. Since taking my most recent job, I’ve had slightly better access to materials and tools. I’ve taken to using mortise and tenon joints and rabbetting the sides. Following this method opened up another feature that does not seem to have been considered in this forum. I am limited to 2x10 stock at the widest for most projects in SPF. The handles allow for enough relish and the rabbet keeps the ends more square and provides a draught free fit!

Having made the rabbet joints, it dawned on me that I could extend them along the top of both sides, which would thereby allow the lid to rest on wood and not on air as it were. I am not going to suggest that this new lid arrangement affords any protection from the elements, but at the very least, it makes a slightly tighter protection against dust, an important consideration when this form is used for storing textiles. I like adding another board to the lower edge of the ends to add visual mass.
Since I didn’t want the width to be limited by the 2x10 stock, I oriented the bottom boards and accommodated them by raising the ends and running another rabbet on the insides of both sides. I nailed the bottom boards more securely at the ends and let the middle boards float in the lap joints by only nailing in the centers. Yes,nails and without glue! I prefer to keep the interiors flexible so I use screws to attach runners and other dividers. There is always the possibility of upgrading tools or losing them and it's possible to male alterations more easily.
Attachments
grommet handle copy.jpg
a modification from my earliest attempt
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beaded edge along the closures
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and clenched nails copy.jpg
interior details showing rabbet recess for lid
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nailed bottom copy.jpg
nailing pattern and lapped bottom boards
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specialty plane case copy.jpg
My latest built example
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Chris Hall
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Re: The Japanese tool box - some examples

Sat Dec 06, 2014 9:20 am

Appreciate you sharing that Mitchell. It's always interesting to see different approaches to this subject. Having the internal dividers readily removable or re-arrangeable is a good idea.
durbien
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Re: The Japanese tool box - some examples

Wed Dec 31, 2014 4:20 pm

Chris Hall wrote:This box holds my Makita 15.5" circular saw:
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Do you have a photo of the saw in the box with the lid open?

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