It never ends

[George Sanders]

This past weekend I built a couple of shop cabinets for hand planes and saws. Next weekend I will put doors on them with hasps so I can lock them up. Nothing fancy here just scrap pine common lumber and cdx plywood for the back. The pine had a lot of dents, scratches etc., but I used it anyway because it was going to be painted. Had some tearout when I routed the dados for the shelves. Oh well. There are two more shelves to glue up and install. I find that when I'm using cheap materials I don't pay close attention to detail as I would if I were using good wood. Just git er done. Anyway my saws and hand planes have a new home and I now need to build a chisel cabinet and a place for spokeshaves and drawknives. The only problem I have now is that I am running out of wall space. I built these to sit above a carpenters chest I bought and it is rapidly filling up. One step closer to getting organized.

[Don Dorn]

I've been looking at various designs and can see that I've been over-thinking it. Yours is an easy soultion that I can get done quickly and I'll proabably do the same. Then, as I see over time what I "wish" I'd done with alloted space based on tool use, I'll build a more finished product. I'll make notes and keep that tacked to the cabinet so I'll be ready to go "someday" with that air dried walnut that's been hanging around taunting me. Thanks for the idea.

[Jamie Bacon]

Nicely done. Looks like you may have just enough saws to get your next few projects done. :-)

Jamie Bacon

[Jonathan McCullough]

You're way ahead by my book George. It's one thing to come across all these neander tools, another to fix them, and then you've got to figure out how best to put them in place. All while using them of course. My thoughts are that the tools' employment suggests their arrangement. At least that's what I'm telling myself as I procrastinate. But you know, measuring and marking in one area; eggbeaters, braces, bits, in another; a saw till for rip and crosscut saws. A cabinet for carving stuff; bench chisels, screwdrivers, pliers and stuff near to hand. A sharpening station that's easily taken out, used for ten minutes, and put away, with perhaps a saw vise, files and a saw set somehow incorporated. The one specialized organization I'd like to put together is dovetailing--chisels, markers, saw, all in one place.

[George Sanders]

Thanks for the feedback. I have been wanting to build a classic tool cabinet; namely the one in Franklin Gottshall's book Furniture of Pine, Poplar and Maple. Instead of softwood I want to build it out of white oak.
I really need to sort out my saws and thin out the herd. I have been buying them by the handful lately.
I do have a sharpening station. I am in the process of organizing a twelve drawer cabinet I built last year. I have room to put a saw vise, joiner, and saw sets in one place. I think I'll try making some drawer inserts so brace bits can lay flat and not roll around. I have so many of them I need to thin them out too. I'll keep two sets. I set of single helix and one double helix set.

[Jim Koepke]

Instead of softwood I want to build it out of white oak.

Maybe someone who knows more can chime in here, but I have always had reservations about having oak in contact with iron or steel. My understanding is that the two can have a reaction that is detrimental to both.

jim

[Harvey Pascoe]

Maybe someone who knows more can chime in here, but I have always had reservations about having oak in contact with iron or steel. My understanding is that the two can have a reaction that is detrimental to both.

jim

I don't think so, I have a router bit holder and a tool rack with white oak for 30 years with no problem, the tools are still shiny.

[Mike Davis NC]

Iron oxide will turn raw white oak to a nice black color. But, as long as you varnish the oak and keep the steel dry it's all good.

[George Sanders]

I know from experience that blood will turn oak black. Chisel...finger...OUCH! Get a band aid and another piece of wood. I have had tools on an old oak table without any discoloration.

[Dusty Fuller]

What I've seen is that dry oak = good, "wet" oak = bad. The "victims" were one of my beater planes and a Stanley #60 spokeshave. Both have "recovered", but I don't leave my spokeshaves sitting on green wood anymore. And I only left it there once.