Carpenters tool chest

[Bod]

My travelling tools. It's just about light enough to put in the car, when needed.
Quality of tools is low enough to allow others to use, but good enough to work with, covers most jobs, spanners big enough for plumbing (adjustable) small torch, and box of proper matches, good screwdrivers, and a small amount of cash.
"Daaad" a voice on the phone, "can you..." led me to make and fill 3 tool boxes for the children, but I still have to take mine. One, I know is scattered to the 4 winds, one is safely locked away, from tiny fingers, the other well who knows!

Bod
Who didn't make the pictured one, but did fit it out.

 

[Jonathan S]

Well here's mine, the little CITB book I just found in one of its draws tells me I made in in 1985/86, the old guy that trained me had one and I copied it.
I use it daily and wouldn't be without it.....I think I'm on about the 5th handle.....anybody know where to buy good comfortable handles these days?

Jonathan

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

 

[novocaine]

I've got a 2 draw chest that's been repaired so many times it's nearly a new box now. I keep meaning to chuck it, but every time I go to do it I can't. the worst bit is I didn't build it, mine is long gone, replaced by big metal draw units, this is one I inherited.

If anyone wants it you can have it, just come and get it.

 

[Jacob]

Well here's mine, the little CITB book I just found in one of its draws tells me I made in in 1985/86, the old guy that trained me had one and I copied it.
I use it daily and wouldn't be without it.....I think I'm on about the 5th handle.....anybody know where to buy good comfortable handles these days?

Jonathan

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

Mine only had one drawer.
A clever trick in making it was to cut only the curve part of the lid in each side, with a coping saw, before joining anything up. Then join it all up as a six sided closed box, then cut off the lid with tenon saw straight cuts, to meet the previously cut curve. i.e. you couldn't get the far end of a coping saw inside the box before the lid was cut off. Could be done with a keyhole saw but much cruder.
The second clever trick was to have a double width DT at the point where the lid was cut, to leave a good sized half DT on both lid and box, at the join.
PS come to think - the battens holding the hinges and the join in the ply front must have been pre-formed before the lid was cut off, but I can't remember. I'll have a closer look! However it was - the lid and box weren't made separately but were separated after birth!

 

[Jonathan S]

Well here's mine, the little CITB book I just found in one of its draws tells me I made in in 1985/86, the old guy that trained me had one and I copied it.
I use it daily and wouldn't be without it.....I think I'm on about the 5th handle.....anybody know where to buy good comfortable handles these days?

Jonathan

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

Mine only had one drawer.
A clever trick in making it was to cut only the curve part of the lid in each side, with a coping saw, before joining anything up. Then join it all up as a six sided closed box, then cut off the lid with tenon saw straight cuts, to meet the previously cut curve. i.e. you couldn't get the far end of a coping saw inside the box before the lid was cut off. Could be done with a keyhole saw but much cruder.
The second clever trick was to have a double width DT at the point where the lid was cut, to leave a good sized half DT on both lid and box, at the join.
PS come to think - the battens holding the hinges and the join in the ply front must have been pre-formed before the lid was cut off, but I can't remember. I'll have a closer look! However it was - the lid and box weren't made separately but were separated after birth!

Jacob....you remembered well! mine also has the extra width dovetail.....only I marked the lid out on the wrong side....I remember as a 17 year old I was really annoyed and would never ever make a mistake again in my life.....that also didn't pan out!

Jonathan

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

 

[AndyT]

I've got news for all you trained joiners - the Americans are catching up. It's too late for the hands on course, but there are some simplified instructions here on how to make this sort of box:

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/proj ... tool-case/

Spoiler alert: they skip the nice curved opening cut and bung the whole thing on an unguarded table saw instead! Honestly, what are they like?

 

[woodbloke66]

I had one of those at Shoreditch College in the 70's which was painted bright red and had the nice curved lid. They had to be a specific size to fit in racks under the Emir benches. I could probably lay hands on the size if needed - Rob

 

[Bod]

This is the article that I used for the 3 I made.
https://www.getwoodworking.com/news/art ... -boxed/865
Works well, and a good introduction to Dovetails.
The only tip I would give, is to use the biggest tool intended to go in as the guide to size.

Bod

 

[Jacob]

Recessed ply fronts and bottom - posh! Ours were just glued and nailed on, but the bottom solid and DTd to the sides same as the top.
One thing he's missed is the over-sized DT tail at the box/lid join where it gets cut in half.
Dimensions; lid to accommodate biggest two saws clipped inside, gives height and length, width to fit plane and oil-stone box. side by side

 

[Bod]

Scroll down to Figure 2, the drawing dimensions do give a 1mm allowance in the dovetails for the lid join.

Bod

 

[Max Power]

I kept notes

It'd be interesting to see more of your notes Jacob, back when was that?

1982.
We had a 15 minute shop talk everyday and took notes from the blackboard, filed along with a massive pile of printed course notes. Kept it all - stacks of stuff!
Anything particular you might be interested in?
n.b. no notes on sharpening - in the old days you learned it all in the first few hours - modern sharpening hadn't kicked in so it was still easy!

I know Jacob is no longer on here but he must have been around thirty five when he started his apprenticeship

 

[AndyT]

There's no puzzle or need to cast aspersions - he explained several times that he was trained in the days of the Manpower Services Commission, which tallies with the 1982 date.

Edited to add:

It's there at the start of this thread!

TOPS = Training Opportunities Scheme, run by the MSC in the 70s and 80s.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manpowe ... Commission

 

[AndyT]

I know Jacob is no longer on here but he must have been around thirty five when he started his apprenticeship

Max, I can see that you have edited your post but what point are you trying to make?

You are the one calling it an apprenticeship but Jacob said it was a TOPS course. They were courses for unemployed adults to retrain into work where they might be able to get employment, not for school leavers.

 

[Max Power]

I wasn't casting anything, good for him for starting at that age

 

[Max Power]

You are the one calling it an apprenticeship but Jacob said it was a TOPS course. They were courses for unemployed adults to retrain into work where they might be able to get employment, not for school leavers.

Yes I can see that now, I wasn't aware of them

 

[Mike Jordan]

My original suitcase toolbox was an apprentice piece, I think one of the attractions was the portability of the design. Before cars were universal it was possible to stand one on the pedal of a push bike with a couple of bits of fluffy sting up to the cross bar and walk to the next place of work.

 

[merlin]

This is mine that I made years ago, it lives in the van with my better set in.
Merlin

 

[Jacob]

Max, I can see that you have edited your post but what point are you trying to make?

You are the one calling it an apprenticeship but Jacob said it was a TOPS course. They were courses for unemployed adults to retrain into work where they might be able to get employment, not for school leavers.

I had previously been doing various craft things, particularly making wooden toys - selling to posh shops, Heals, Galt, London, Edinburgh, etc and export, quite successful. It all stopped in 1979 with the first Thatcher recession. Did various building jobs, renovated my own house etc then went for retraining in 1982, worked from coal shed and eventually got a proper workshop and my first combi machine about 1986. Hope that helps!

 

[Max Power]

Welcome back Jacob, nice to see you posting again