Project of a lifetime; H.O. Studley Tool Chest

Hello everyone. Over the past few weeks, I've started building a replica of the famous H.O. Studley Tool Chest. I, like many, have been fascinated by this piece since it appeared on the back of Fine Woodworking in 1990. I was only 10 at the time, but the impact of that image stayed with me throughout the years. My decision to begin this project now is directly related to the passing of my father, one year ago. The man who taught he everything about woodworking left behind his knowledge and his tools; neither of which will be expanding in the future. Almost everything (toolwise) my father owned I have purchased for myself over the past 25 years which left me with a dilemma of what to do with his collection. Wiping everything down with camellia oil annually and storing them away didn't seem to appropriately honor such a wonderful man. Although he was not a pianomaker/tuner, his collection does overlap much of what is contained in the Studley Chest, with a few additions and absent items of course.

My intention is to replicate the cabinet to exacting detail, no shortcuts. Some areas of the cabinet will contain different tools than Studley's. What I hope to achieve however is a replication of Studley's ingenuity, precision, and journey toward perfection. When I think of how long this project will take, 3 years seems to instantly come to mind (more or less). Some machinery will be used, however, I expect upwards of 90% of the work to be completed with handtools.

Before I started on the casework, I built the oilstone box from a piece of macassar ebony we purchased 15+ years ago together. The aluminum insert in the top will be engraved along with 2 other plaques in the cabinet. The inlays are MOP.

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Few pics of the casework. Dimensioning the stock, cutting and chopping the DT's, and cutting the T&G's for the back. The back on the Studley chest is one piece of mahogany, 19" wide. However, both front and back panels split over the years so I decided to T&G 4 pieces and allow room for expansion.

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PS- If someone could let me know how to re-orient images, I would be eternally grateful. Thanks

Thats a fine job you did with the Ebony.
Sometimes I lose my kind and make a box out of Mac Ebony.
And it's not easy but very rewarding.

Aj

Thank you very much Andrew. It is a great wood to work as well.

Since my last post I finished the "door" and set it into the case. Moving fillister provided the rabbets on the side to accept the ebony and aluminum elements. I need to turn some very small adornments to set into the corners and then move onto turning some brass. Stay tuned.

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A fine tribute to your Dad. The oilstone box is lovely and the casework promises to be too.
Looking forward to seeing more of this as it develops.
Fred

Peter, excellent craftsmanship. Your skill is certainly a testament to your Dad. I look forward to the build. Thanks for sharing.

Regarding the photo orientation. Frankly, I could never figure out how to reorient a cell phone photo (assuming that is what you are using). Once I started using my tablet for pics, it worked perfectly.

Hello Peter,

Thanks for posting. An inspiring tribute to your Dad. Will be watching with interest.

Best,
Chris

Thank you for posting this. I will look forward to watching your progress

Wow what a great project! I would never have the patience to do something that finesse. I like that you are making it your own using your dad's tools. That will be a priceless treasure.

Thanks very much for your kind words and encouragement everyone. The chest is coming along quite well. No mistakes/errors thus far, even from my perspective. The exterior of the cabinet is coming to a close; the (very) delicate 1/4" ebony turnings that sit in the side rabbets of the case that are connected by aluminum rod to protect the edges are complete and the 2-piece moldings are mitered and fit to the two recesses in the front. For those familiar with the Studley chest, the front consists of a double raised ebony panel. I received a beautiful piece of ebony courtesy of bell forest this week and will re-saw it and fit it to the casework this weekend. I had planned on using a series of molding planes to create the moldings, but broke down and routed one of them instead. It was the first power tool to touch this piece thus far and may not be the last, but I am fine with breaking tradition for that element. I will get some better shots this weekend but the pics below show my progress thus far minus the corner elements. I'll also snap some pics of my shop for fun; 81sq feet (9x9) of handtool heaven! haha Thanks for following everyone.

Nice!

Curious as to how you're doing the plans / layout --- if electronically, you do know that Starrett publishes files for their tools.

If you're drawing things up by hand, there's a list of the tools here: http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/List_of_Tools --- I'd be very glad if you could share any tool drawings.

Hey William, I'm just drawing up the plans on vellum paper. Most elements are scaled from the pictures in "Virtuoso."
Thanks for your interest!
Peter

Most of this week was spent working on the unimat (which is a small metal lathe for those unfamiliar) turning the small brass buttons through which the ebony panels are secured with machine screws (pictures describe it easier than I can). So far I'm very pleased with this build but am itching to get to the inside and start on the really precise/inlay work.

FYI: If you double click a picture, it shows in the proper orientation.

Your love for your Dad shows..A fitting project and this will be "a labor of love"....Good for you.

Such a wonderful gift to your father's memory. He would be proud and honored. I hope my children will remember me as fondly as you remember your father.

Many Kind Regards . . . Allen

Thanks so much for the kind words Allen.

Peter

Attachment 370823Attachment 370824In the past year, I've moved into a bigger home and subsequentially a larger shop. Going from a 9x9, half car garage into a 25x25 two car garage has been nothing short of incredible. Up until 3 weeks ago, this piece has been bubble wrapped in my basement, however, its time to get back to work. In that time, I've turned the 1" substitute ivory stock down to 3/8 and sliced about 100, 3/32 inlays then set into the ebony banding that wraps the face of the cabinet. I'm pretty pleased with the progress. Next step is to begin the detailed inlay work on the ebony pieces separating the lower drawers.

Thanks for the update, looking forward to seeing your progress and final cabinet!

Gorgeous. Looking forward to following your progress.

Peter,


Your work is fantastic! I admire your courage in reproducing an icon like the Studley tool chest – IMHO pretty much the pinnacle of preindustrial woodworker's commitment to their craft.


The work you've done so far is tremendous. I particularly admire your combination of woodworking and metalworking skills. Creating the hardware elements from scratch is so far out of my frame of reference I really can only see it as sort of magical.


I eagerly look forward to following the rest of your build. Thanks much for sharing the pictures!


Best, Mike

Wooooow. How's the update? That oilstone box is smashing!

A most rewarding project. You clearly had all the tools to put in it before you started, that must have been very difficult to decide. How long did that take?

Peter, what an ambitious project but I see you're up to the challenge. Beautiful work! I'll be following this closely. :)

Thanks everyone. i apologize for the lack of updates but the piece is coming along quite well. The MOP and Ivory inlays have been keeping me super busy but I'm pleased with how they're coming out. Last night I was up til 3am finally hinging the halves together. I actually dont have any wall space in my shop to hang the cabinet, therefore, I'm going to build a freestanding stand to get the piece off my bench and have more room to begin the 6 drawers in the bottom. I'm also deciding whether to oil and wax the cabinet now as doing so when the piece is totally finished wont necessarily be realistic given the detailed elements. I will post pics asap.

William, I started this project having about 90% of the tools on hand. The remainder need to be either purchased or mostly made from scratch. As the carcass nears completion, I've been drawing and planning the inside in greater detail.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

Peter