MY NEW TOOL CHEST FOR MY MACHINIST TOOLS

[DUKESALLEY]

I'd like to show my new tool chest I made for my machinist tools. It's all solid oak, all salvaged from an old pump organ that was being discarded . Exterior is quarter sawn oak (commonly called tiger oak or flaky oak). Drawers are 5/16" solid oak with finger jointed corners bottoms are 1/4" oak plywood dadoed in sides front and back. Drawer handles made from walnut. Doors are solid oak veneered with fiddle back maple with walnut inlay. Doors are hinged with piano hinges and bi-fold so as not to take up work bench space.

[bruce.desertrat]

Beautiful; I love the door panel veneer. my single criticism is that the darker drawers in the middle section kind of stand out jarringly, but I expect swapping them for th lighter ones immediately above them would fix that since they closely match the small drawers on the top, and it'd be something too pretty to put in the shop to get dirty!

Really nice.

[DUKESALLEY]

Thank you Bruce I appreciate your critique and I agree with it 100%. Sometimes you never know what a piece of wood is going to end up looking like until you put a finish on it. If I get really anal about it I could always veneer all the drawer fronts

[owen moore]

That is very nice!

[Toolmaker51]

I'm impressed. Too nice for where I work! However......
Case seems about 20" high by 28" more or less not important.
First glance told me it was large as a bedroom dresser. Has me pondering a similar idea just for inspection tools; Jo-blocks, 10" sine bar, pin gauge library, micrometer standards, accurate levels, test indicators, even height gauges... Ridiculously heavy tools like the 12" cylinder square not invited, just nearby. What a benefit centralizing those would be, adjacent to surface plate, independent of toolbox instruments.

[DUKESALLEY]

Thank you Owen

[DUKESALLEY]

Thank you for the kind words Toolmaker51. You have a great eye, the size is almost exactly what you guessed. It is primarily used for gauges and not the everyday run of the mill tools that actually are the ones that put food on the table.

[Toolmaker51]

Thank you for the kind words Toolmaker51. You have a great eye, the size is almost exactly what you guessed. It is primarily used for gauges and not the everyday run of the mill tools that actually are the ones that put food on the table.

Very true. Lots of folks want those all together, does make an intimidating collection. Not practical in my book. Efficiency says work tools should be calibrated to standard instruments. Real precision tools ought be held for determining finer tolerances.
I use the 4:1 ratio, where for example, a .001+/- tolerance needs instrument repeatability capable reading 4/1000 [.00025], ie a tenths indicator. This goes along with tool accuracy, ie a .001 [vernier or digital] caliper is dependable +/- of .002, where a .001 micrometer is more accurate, by virtue of it's design & construction.

Why I like idea of your cabinet. I'm using a tall steel one with doors, and not enough shelves. Best thing about drawers, items only get one or two layers deep. How did you buy, cut and apply the fabric [apparently green felt] lining? I'd rather construct a big oak or birch ply tower for 2-$300 than 8-$900 on a Vidmar, that winds up smaller to boot.

Great eye? Nah, I calculated width by the piano hinge, and height with spacing of the screws...maybe.

[DUKESALLEY]

Hi Toolmaker51, I purchased the felt from a local hobby supply store (Hobby Lobby). They carried several grades of felt, I decided to use the heaviest grade so it should wear well. Unfortunately the heavy grade came as "self stick" which would have been a horror to install in an assembled drawer so I applied the felt to the drawer bottoms before the final assembly, I naturally had to allow for the thickness of the felt when machining the drawers. It worked out well, no wrinkles and the felt is stuck on for the duration. That was the only item I had to purchase for this project. The oak came from an old discarded pump organ, the veneer was from a previous project, and the hinges originally came from some other piece of furniture that I cannibalized.

[Toolmaker51]

Can produce woodwork, but I'm no cabinet maker. Looking up sheet goods today, as I've no sufficient or proper material for the project. I figure good cabinet ply throughout and the case of that 11 layer stuff. Veneer isn't a detraction and storing heavy tools in large drawers of solid wood sounds iffy. Haven't worded a good search for plans yet. Been sketching mentally, high-boy sized, on a riser with slots for pallet jack, flat-topped like a piano keyboard lid. Not up to doors yet. Have plenty of room to use effectively. Seems it'll be similar to map/ blueprint cabinet, just not so deep.
Are there any woodworker sites you like?