New tool cabinet

[James Phillips]

Just finished the first of three tool cabinets. I still plan to build two smaller ones to flank this one to hold chisels and saws.

Notice I saved room for a #2 or #3

[Shawn Pixley]

Very nice!

[Frederick Skelly]

Nice cabinet. Love the dovetails!

Are you planning to add doors? Also, what made you decide to reinforce the shelf's dado joint with screws?

Fred

[ken hatch]

James,

Nice looking shop furniture, much nicer than my cheap Chinese plywood and Kreg pocket hole ones. If I can make a suggestion, if you have not already done it, add some rare earth magnets to hold the planes in place. My plane till has about or maybe slightly greater slope and I came home to find my #4 on the shop floor. That's the bad news, the good is it fell into a scrap pile and wasn't damaged. I've added magnets and haven't had a problem since.

Here is a photo:

[James Phillips]

Ken, I do have magnets behind the planes. I did use ceramic magnets instead of rare earth, but put 2 or three behind the big planes.....

James,

Nice looking shop furniture, much nicer than my cheap Chinese plywood and Kreg pocket hole ones. If I can make a suggestion, if you have not already done it, add some rare earth magnets to hold the planes in place. My plane till has about or maybe slightly greater slope and I came home to find my #4 on the shop floor. That's the bad news, the good is it fell into a scrap pile and wasn't damaged. I've added magnets and haven't had a problem since.

[James Phillips]

Fred
I plan to leave the cabinet open. I like seeing the planes... I think they are decorative them selves.... I screwed the shelf, just as a matter of convenience. If it were for anything other than the shop, I would have used a couple of through mortises.

Nice cabinet. Love the dovetails!

Are you planning to add doors? Also, what made you decide to reinforce the shelf's dado joint with screws?

Fred

[Jim Belair]

Notice I saved room for a #2 or #3

Nice job. If you moved the spokeshave down a bit I'll bet you could make that a #2 AND a #3.

[Mike Cherry]

Nice job James. What's in the wooden box on the bottom shelf?

[James Phillips]

Drill bits...

Nice job James. What's in the wooden box on the bottom shelf?

[Jay Radke]

what angle did you use for the till?

[James Phillips]

I think is is about 25 degrees. Built the cabinet and then built the till to fit

what angle did you use for the till?

[Stanley Covington]

I plan to leave the cabinet open. I like seeing the planes... I think they are decorative themselves.

Unless the place where the cabinet is installed is dry, dust-free, and has minimal temperature swings, your tools, not to mention your long-term enjoyment of them, will be well served by adding some doors. If you want to be able to see your tools with the doors closed, consider making the doors with glass panels. There are lots of beautiful door styles that combine glass and mullion patterns, and will protect your valuable tools. I don't recommend a big single pane of glass per each door because an accidental bump with a plane body might break them.Wet Climate: Humidity causes rust, and humid climates by definition have lots of water floating around. Swings in temperature causes condensation, which causes rust. Doors slow temperature swings down and reduce condensation, thereby reducing rust.Dry Climate: Even if you live in a dry climate, at certain times of the day, your house can suddenly become very humid, for example, after the girls take a long bath or the shower has been running for while. And making a big batch of spaghetti or pasta in the kitchen puts a tremendous amount of moisture in the air very suddenly. If this warm moisture finds it way to your tools, and they are relatively cooler, the humidity will condense on the steel, and rust will gradually accumulate. Doors on your tool cabinet will slow the sudden moisture migration considerably. Not entirely, but enough to make a big difference over the years.Minimal Temperature Swings: Related to the other points above. Doors slow down temperature swings, and protect your tools from condensation when your tools are cooler than the surrounding air.Dust-free: Dust carries grit. Most of this grit is harder than the steel in plane's soles and even blades, and will cause scratches and dulling. It also carries chemicals and salts that can greatly accelerate rust, especially if you live near the sea, or salt is spread on the roads in your area to melt snow. And don't forget that this dust, and the nasty things it contains, loves to stick to the oil you use to lubricate and protect your steel tools. This is especially important if your tools are stored in a garage with a big door (dust gets around the seals at sides and floor, and there are often no seals at the top). Double the dust and salt factor if your tools share the garage with a car. Doors will absolutely keep your tools cleaner and freer of dust than they would be if exposed.With just a little thought and planning, you can install doors in the future.And besides, doors are a convenient place to hang or mount more tools!Stan

[James Phillips]

Stan thanks for the advice. I live in Colorado do moisture is not a problem. I will have to think about the grit issue.

James

[Pat Barry]

James,
... My plane till has about or maybe slightly greater slope and I came home to find my #4 on the shop floor. That's the bad news, the good is it fell into a scrap pile and wasn't damaged. I've added magnets and haven't had a problem since.

How did that happen Ken - Earthquake, sonic boom, ???

[Steve Bates]

We do have salt put on the roads at this time of year and lots of coarse sand. Also, wood soaks up all the moisture it can so keeping the saw dust off tools helps.

Nice cabinet, James.