Here’s you’ll get an overview of the Traveling “ATC” project, and an introduction to the tools used to build it (all of which will fit inside the new tool chest when you’re done).

Confession – I did not prep all the stock for this project by hand. But I did have to plane one side of the carcase panels flat, so I could run them through the 15″ planer for thickenessing (our jointer isn’t wide enough to handle the necessary width). So even if you don’t prep stock […]

In this lesson, you’ll learn how (and why) to use dividers to lay out dovetails, then, why a twin-screw vise is your friend for dovetailing – especially wide boards – and why I prefer a tails-first approach. We’ll then pick up our dovetail saws to cut the tails, and clear the majority of the waste […]

Now we’ll ready to mark our baselines and transfer the tail shape onto our pin boards – an all-important step in making nice, tight dovetails joints. And before we cut, we’ll warm up so we can make perfect 90° to the face of the board (the closer you can get to getting the join to […]

A glue-up buddy is always a boon – so if you can borrow a friend for this, do. But before you call them, if you’re using liquid hide glue (I think you should, and I’ll tell you why), plug in the glue pot so it’s ready and waiting. Arrange all your supplies (glue, a glue […]

Before dovetailing the skirts, we have to make sure all our pins and tails are flush. So here, we’ll nail on temporary blocks in the corners to help us properly locate the bottom skirt, then plane the surfaces flat to one another. Then it’s time for more dovetailing! First, we dovetail  opposite corners of the […]

The bottom of the chest gets nailed on – so we’ll learn about cut nails vs. square nails, and how to use each (you can’t just drive them in, and different pilot holes are required!). We’re using “carsiding” for the bottom boards – it’s inexpensive, good looking (of you choose wisely), and comes with the […]

You guessed it – more dovetails! The top skirt gets two tails at each corner, and just as on the bottom skirt, we join two opposing corners, then clamp the assemblies to the case to mark our baselines and final lengths. After cutting the boards to length, we’ll cut the last four joints on the […]

The lid for this tool chest features a “groove-and-groove joint” – that is, instead of a tongue meeting a groove, the mating pieces are both grooved, and they slide together. The extra meat under the joint makes for a stronger assembly. But the first task is to decides on your corner joinery (loose tenons, mortise-and-tenon […]

With the grooves cut, we have a guide for our chisel as we cut the mortises in the rails. I’ll show you how to do that, then how to lay out and cut the tenons by hand on the ends of the stiles, then clean them up with a router plane for a perfect fit.

Before we can glue up our M&T joints, we do a test-fit so that we can get the measurements for the lid panel (and to make sure our joints close). Then, cut the panel to size, and plane the grooves the panel, just as we did with the rails and stiles – the only difference […]

At this point, we’ve basically made a blanket chest. What makes it into an efficient tool chest is the interior storage. Here, I’ll show you how to figure out where to locate the chisel rack and saw rack, which help to determine where the two tills will go, and discuss other possible interior fittings. Once […]

The lid assembly has now had plenty of time to dry, so we’re ready to cut our last two dovetails in this project – at the two front corners of the dust seal. The finished dust seal is nailed to the lid assembly, and meets up perfectly with the top of the top skirt to […]

Before we can paint, it’s “make-pretty” time. We’ll check the joints again and clean up what needs it. Then it’s time to put on a first coat of paint (if you like – you could attached the hardware first, then take it off to paint). For this project, we’re using faux milk paint, and I’ll […]

The final bits of interior fitting are the tool rack and saw till. After layout with dividers, turn to the drill press (mea culpa) for the tool rack. (You can drill the holes by hand if you’re a purist). Use French curves to lay out a pleasing arc for the two saw till pieces, and […]

With the paint dry, it’s time to re-attach the hinges and adjust the lid for a perfect fit. Then we’ll put the forged handles in place, and attach the pulls to the fronts of the tills. With that done, you’re ready to load up your chest and put it to use!