Constructing an Engineers toolbox

[johnny]

This will be my first ever attempt at carpentry so please be patient with me.

edited to hopefully make the intended finish quality clearer
Design and sizewise it will resemble a typical mechanics metal toolbox with drawers and a lid but be made of wood . Something along the lines of the toolbox below but with drawers as well

The case will be constructed of 12mm ply (possibly 5-9mm back)? and the drawers of 9mm with 5mm base .
it needs to be robust as I intend to put 3x spanner sets and a small 3/8 socket set in it together with screwdrivers, pliers ,electrical tools , multimeter and various other stuff I use when maintainng my cars and bikes .
(I'll put together all the tools that I intend to put in this box and weigh them so I'll have some idea of the total weight.)

So my first question is : what sort of joints would you recommend for this box ?
Traditionally it would have been dovetails of course but I cannot justify the cost of a router and a dovetail jig and I don't want to make things too difficult for my first project.
I suppose I could use box dovetail joints but it would be very tedious and time consuming
I would expect butt joints and mitred joints would be far too weak for the intended weight but what about rebated joints ?
I'd appreciate any helpful advice about construction ...thanks

 

[John15]

Hi Johnny,

If this drawer cabinet is what you are intending for your first project then I think it may be a bit too advanced for your current skill level.

John

 

[lurker]

Hi Johnny,

If this drawer cabinet is what you are intending for your first project then I think it may be a bit too advanced for your current skill level.

John

Agree
I have "all the kit", the wood (so no costs) and probuably the ability, if I was careful.
But I'd not contemplate making that.
In fact, I had been looking at the e-bay site I think you took that picture from and am thinking of treating myself to one.

 

[novocaine]

you'd be better off cutting dovetails by hand on such thin (and narrow) pieces.

 

[Normancb]

+1 for that. Making one of those and getting a good fit for the drawers is pretty challenging if your only previous experience is studwork and especially if you don't have a decent circular saw to cut the parts accurately.

You can buy a Clarke metal one from Machine Mart for not much more than you'll spend on decent ply to make one. Machine Mart, Chromos and others also sell a wooden one. Neither is the height of refinement but both are adequate for the job.

The wooden ones are really designed for toolroom guys to keep small tools together, not for heavy loads of garage tools. The Clark metal ones have ball bearing slides and are much better suited to mechanics tools.

 

[novocaine]

I've got 3 of these, one made my by grandfather when he was an apprentice, one made by my dad during his city and guilds and one made by me. all done with hand tools. as said, they aren't for heavy gear really, I use one for instruments.

 

[Racers]

Have a look through this thread about building a small chest of draws chest-of-drawers-wip-slow-hand-tool-project-t87014.html
It was all done with hand tools but will give you an idea of the scale of your project.

Pete

 

[johnny]

Hi Johnny,

If this drawer cabinet is what you are intending for your first project then I think it may be a bit too advanced for your current skill level.

John

wow thanks John thats a really helpful answer ... #-o

 

[johnny]

Have a look through this thread about building a small chest of draws chest-of-drawers-wip-slow-hand-tool-project-t87014.html
It was all done with hand tools but will give you an idea of the scale of your project.

Pete

sorry pete but I don't see how that link is in any way helpful or relevant or am I missing something here ?? :?

All I intend to do is buy some sheets of Plywood from my local Wickes and cut them into strips with my circular saw and then glue and pin them together to form a simple box and some drawers .
if you think that that requires some kind of super skilled joinery then one of us must be missing something here.

Why is that people don't seem to be able to read a simple question and answer it these days ?

My question was
' what sort of joints would you recommend for this box ? :roll:

 

[lurker]

The picture has changed :shock:
That is an altogether more realistic prospect

Suggest you start by knocking up a few of those drawers and you will start to see what we mean
If you find them easy you are a better man than me :lol:

 

[JSW]

Half rebates, so decent amount of glue up area, pin the joints every however much you think, or screw if you feel like it.

If it's pure load bearing, the joints will have little impact, it's the construction and forces exerted on the construction that will be important, just don't expect to throw it around and have it stand up to abuse.

 

[lurker]

My question was
' what sort of joints would you recommend for this box ? :roll:

Exactly like those in the new photo
Except I doubt I have the skills to do such a tidy job with ply
Solid wood yes but not ply
Whoever made that box was either very skilled or had some serious kit and I doubt the ply came from Wickes

 

[chipmunk]

Why is that people don't seem to be able to read a simple question and answer it these days ?

My question was
' what sort of joints would you recommend for this box ? :roll:

I think that the trouble is that the quality of plywood you get from Wickes et al doesn't lend itself to traditional joints TBH.

If you're using plywood, and it needs to be as strong and utilitarian as you say, then I'd be looking to use basic butt joints reinforced with a square or rectangular section softwood batten down the inside of each corner with glue and pins in from the sides. Similar battens around the underneath of the drawer bottoms will also be needed. It'll not be pretty but will give a good surface area for the glue to hold onto side-grain to side-grain.

HTH
Jon

 

[AndyT]

As Lurker said, you could just copy the joints used in the box in the picture - which are simple rebates. You could cut these by hand, or with an electric router. If you work carefully and use decent ply, they are not very hard to do. You can glue with PVA and use fine panel pins to hold the corners together. A lot of extra strength will come from the bottoms of the box / trays, which can be cut slightly oversized, glued and pinned, then planed back to the exact size.

The rebates make consistent alignment easier but on a small scale are not essential for strength. See https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/post974412.html#p974412 for one I knocked up.

 

[John15]

Johnny,

I see you have changed the photo of a drawer cabinet to a to a tool box since I replied to your first post. It will certainly be much easier.

John

 

[johnny]

The picture has changed :shock:
That is an altogether more realistic prospect

Suggest you start by knocking up a few of those drawers and you will start to see what we mean
If you find them easy you are a better man than me :lol:

I think that the picture I posted was giving some the wrong impression. I used it merely to illustrate the TYPE of toolbox I wanted to construct. ie with drawers and a lid with a tray inside the top. Its quite unusual in wood.

The problem is that people don't seem to read posts properly before answering .
I do not intend to construct the US Pro cabinet ...that would be pointless . its selling at a very reasonable price and if that is what I wanted I would just go ahead and buy one as its going to save me a lot of money and days of work.


Regarding your suggestion of the drawers . I think they should prove to be the easiest part of the construction.
I intend to cut a strip of 9mm ply the height of the drawer sides then cut the strip into the front,sides and back of the drawers. As they are all equal sized it should be very straightforward.
I shall then use a router to rout a rebate to the front and back drawer pieces .
I'll then glue , pin and cramp the drawers together. When set I'll glue and pin 5mm ply to the bottoms .
they will no doubt need planing and tidying up but basically that is the drawers done.
if i decide to get fancy and rout a runner groove into the drawer sides I'll do that before putting the drawers together.

This isn't intended to be something I laquer and polish and put in the sitting room its going to get greasy covered in oil and muck so i'll probably just stain the finshed cabinet matt black

 

[adidat]

where abouts in south Somerset?

could maybe use my domino that would make a strong box

adidat

 

[johnny]

Half rebates, so decent amount of glue up area, pin the joints every however much you think, or screw if you feel like it.

If it's pure load bearing, the joints will have little impact, it's the construction and forces exerted on the construction that will be important, just don't expect to throw it around and have it stand up to abuse.

thank you JSW thats just the answer I was seeking.
i'd sort of concluded that rebated joints were likely to be the most practical solution but I wanted to sound it out first in case there was another option I was overlooking.

 

[johnny]

where abouts in south Somerset?

could maybe use my domino that would make a strong box

adidat

whats a domino adidat :? :lol: :lol: I looked it up on google ...thats a neat bit of kit .
i'm near Crewkerne

 

[johnny]

I've got 3 of these, one made my by grandfather when he was an apprentice, one made by my dad during his city and guilds and one made by me. all done with hand tools. as said, they aren't for heavy gear really, I use one for instruments.

one day I'd love to make a really nice instrument cabinet but I have so many projects demanding my attention that it ill have to wait awhile.

They really are beautiful pieces arn't they... theres something about boxes ....... :lol: