Craftsmanship in Wood

In between projects, the toolbox is progressing.

Looking good - things feeling more under control now with the wayward white oak?

I like the handle detail.

Some of the boards did cup and I cheated a little by splitting them and regluing along the rejointed cut. Otherwise many would have been unusable for this project. I was able to get a thickness on the sides and ends of just under 1/2". I saw the handle detail on a Japanese site. I love the Japanese sites but I just can't read them. The bing "translation" can be amusing sometimes and it was the first time I heard the term "hell joint" and thought it was a mistranslation. I am having a great time with this project and when finished I will put them along side of the other Japanese style toolboxes I've used for years that are simply nailed together.

I promise I won't post anymore pictures until I am done.

Assembly with wedges.

Chris et al,
I've tried searching for finished thickness for all of the various parts but I'm having a hard time (assuming we use your joinery as it's laid out in the images attached to the threads). Does anyone have a list of the final thickness for each?

Top panel finishes at .375
Bottom panel finishes at .375
End boards finish at .5
Side boards finish at .5
Dovetailed battens finish at .75
Handles finish at 1.25
Partitions finish at .375 or .5?

Thanks in advance!

Also, how tall did most choose to make their toolbox? Anyone else care to share their chosen length and height? I know much of it should be dictated based on the tools at hand but it's always reassuring to know that my dimensions aren't completely out of whack.

I suppose I'll move forward with those dimensions in mind. I have a pile of lumber that has been sitting in a barn for a few years so hopefully it's a bit stable.

Here's a link to the photoalbum with the pictures. Is it bad form to post a link to pics? Should I be embedding them? Do you know where the IMG info is found in FLICKR?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54895408@ ... 544751836/

I went to a local sawmill and picked up some various boards with defects a few years back and let them sit in a pole barn. As you can see, some of the sticks won't have much to offer but I'm hoping to make use of some of those cherry planks which still may have enough useable wood for handles/battens.

What I believe I have is: red oak, walnut, cherry, maple and possibly some QS sassafras

The ambrosia wood, which I believe is maple, is very soft. I can push hard with a fingernail and make a small indention.

Any suggestions on which to use? I believe I have enough sassafras or oak for the panels. The cherry is 8/4 so I'd like to use it for the thicker pieces used on this toolbox.

If I'm able and still carrying the enthusiasm after this project, I'd like to create a second one for my router accessories: guide, fence, bits, etc. But that is a while away

Chris,

sorry i didn't reply to your previous post. i meant to, and then got distracted with something else and then it slipped my mind.

The only confusion you seemed to have was with the partitions, which I made using 1/2" material. 3/8" could work as well. So either is fine.

Of the materials you listed, probably the cherry will be the most pleasant to work. Red oak isn't my choice for anything really, and I avoid spalted material so not the maple. Sassafras is easily worked I do believe as is Walnut.

~C

Chris Hall wrote:Chris,

sorry i didn't reply to your previous post. i meant to, and then got distracted with something else and then it slipped my mind.

The only confusion you seemed to have was with the partitions, which I made using 1/2" material. 3/8" could work as well. So either is fine.

Of the materials you listed, probably the cherry will be the most pleasant to work. Red oak isn't my choice for anything really, and I avoid spalted material so not the maple. Sassafras is easily worked I do believe as is Walnut.

~C

Thanks Chris, I'm ready to move forward next week. I'm going on vacation for 5 days and putting my jointer planer back together. After that, I should be ready to tackle this project. Looking forward to getting started.

One question I forgot to ask: why the dislike of red oak? Is white oak always preferred? I thought it'd be strong enough to handle abuse and be fairly easy to work?

I can always use it for sawing/joinery exercises so it's not a great loss but I'd be interested in knowing more.