# Tool chest, seasonal movement can I screw small dividers To a solid base



## Darrenroberts88 (8 Aug 2021)

Hi guys just a quick question. I’ve made a small tool chest to house my essential tools and iam at the stage of lining/ dividing out the inside to hold my planes in place. The chest is a through dovetailed construction with a solid 25mm base (similar the the David Barron chest if anyone’s is familiar) 
I plan to use 10mm x 20mm strips to act as the dividers to segment off the base for the planes. can i simply shoot them to size and screw them to the solid base or would this be unwise due to the seasonal movment? The majority of the long strips would be running with the grain of the base but there would also be smaller sections running across the grain. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks


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## 6x4 (8 Aug 2021)

I don’t know that chest but if you’re putting strips in line with the grain you’re fine. If you’re then dividing the resulting pocket eg for 2 planes then the 3” strip isn’t really going to be a problem (especially as you’re screwing not gluing). If you need to fix strips across the grain I’d make the strip beefy enough to stand up for itself and put a couple of screws near the centre of the strip only. If you need an extra long strip cross grain, make it in two of these pieces. Others may differ but since it sounds like you’ve assembled the box, sliding dovetails are out. Rebates could help you (partially) if you can still work on the base and are committing to a specific layout. 

Cheers


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## Darrenroberts88 (8 Aug 2021)

Hi there thanks for the response. Yeh the case is all assembled, iam just playing with the lay out. I have two big strips the width of the case left and right that I’ll screw to the sides to support a top tray. At the moment I’ve just shot them to a snug fit but I can remove them. I was toying with the idea of jointing the much smaller dividers to them but seen as there so small (10mm Tx 20mm W) It would be much easier and less time consuming to screw them to the base I thought I could also use the planes with some shims to get a exacting fit. The cross grain dividers will only be the width of a plane long and acting as you said just to section off that row. so do you think I’ll get away with the screw method? 
thanks again


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## 6x4 (8 Aug 2021)

Trim those small cross grain pieces short in case the base shrinks, but other than that 2 screws on that length (reduced if you bring them in toward the centre) should work fine. Maybe wait for a second opinion on here though. And countersink/bore well if you’re putting planes down near them. Good luck.


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## Darrenroberts88 (9 Aug 2021)

6x4 said:


> Trim those small cross grain pieces short in case the base shrinks, but other than that 2 screws on that length (reduced if you bring them in toward the centre) should work fine. Maybe wait for a second opinion on here though. And countersink/bore well if you’re putting planes down near them. Good luck.


Thats great thanks


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## Jameshow (9 Aug 2021)

If screwing in pieces across the grain I would make sure the hole is slotted on 1/4" or so that it allows the base to move with the temperature/ humidity. 

Posting a pic would be helpful. 

Cheers James


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## Darrenroberts88 (9 Aug 2021)

Thanks James, here’s a picture of the basic idea with the dividers in loose at the moment and I’ve just rested a few bit of scrap to illustrate the cross grain ones. Hope that make it a bit clearer.


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## Argus (9 Aug 2021)

Possibly too late for this exercise, (and if you do it again), instead of screwing or rigidly fixing the short cross pieces, consider cutting cross-grooves - about 1/8 or so deep - in the longer sections where the short pieces are intended to go and sliding the short pieces in from above.

You could make more than one, or adapt it in future if you get different planes. Nothing is screwed down.


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## Darrenroberts88 (9 Aug 2021)

Argus said:


> Possibly too late for this exercise, (and if you do it again), instead of screwing or rigidly fixing the short cross pieces, consider cutting cross-grooves in the longer sections where the short pieces are intended to go and sliding the short pieces in from above.


all options are still in the table haha iam holding off until I’ve got more info. That definitely sounds like a neater solution and solves the movment issues. Do you think I should leave the long dividers slightly shot to allow for expansion?


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## Argus (9 Aug 2021)

The dividers are unlikely to expand along the grain length. It's the cross grain that may move very slightly.

I thought that it was already complete, but If you are starting from scratch, you may consider making the whole thing a loose slide-in fit so that with a bit of thought it is all held in place by the side walls of the box itself and the dividers can be slotted in or left out as you wish. It can then be adapted in future if tools change.

If you are concerned about small pieces that may be a little moist moving with humidity - which all wood naturally will, we just learn to work with it and give it room to do the inevitable - try over-cutting the sizes first, then leaving it all stacked in a warm place for a few days or a week, like an airing cupboard. It will over-dry, then bring it out and allow it to sit in your work shop where it will acclimatise and be as stable as you will need it to be for a loose fitting exercise like this. You may need to plane out any cupping and can then cut it all to size.

Think of a combination of loose, sliding pieces in a dado section or of a crossed bridle assembly for the shorter bits..... it can all slide into place and be held by the box itself.


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## Jameshow (9 Aug 2021)

Darrenroberts88 said:


> all options are still in the table haha iam holding off until I’ve got more info. That definitely sounds like a neater solution and solves the movment issues. Do you think I should leave the long dividers slightly shot to allow for expansion?


I don't think so as the grain is the same orientation they will move the same amount as the bottom. 

Cheers James


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## Darrenroberts88 (9 Aug 2021)

That’s great thanks for all the advice guys, you’ve put my mind at ease I’ll crack on now


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