Gathering materials for the upcoming project

The saw till project is entering the final phases, time to switch gears toward the next one...
I will be building a bottom tool case for my antique small joiner chest.

The poor thing deserve something better than a Rubbermaid container :-)

Yesterday we went into the city so, I made the "obligatory stop" at  Lee Valley  and Busy Bee ;-)
Picked up my swivel casters and a few "other things" for upcoming projects. Yes, I am always running a few projects ahead, that's how I'm trained and used to do it.

I think I have pretty well all the hardware I need for this bottom chest. The only thing I may changed are the hinges and perhaps replace the sliding bolts with cupboard catch? Lots of time before I commit...

From top L-R

Sliding bolt, casters, 

Bottom L-R

Locking hasp, side handles, hinges

Sample of the kind of cupboard catches I have in mind.

I think I may have some in stock, will have to check.

Here's my first drawing of how I envisioned this bottom chest, in Napkin CAD V1.0.

Typical of my projects, I start from a quick sketch and some basic dimensions, 

and worked it out from there. I rarely, if ever rely on construction plans.

The basic structure would be dovetailed, the back panel, will either be plywood or ship lap boards, depending on what I have on hands. I will then add a face frame for the hasp, hinges, cupboard catches.

The whole cabinet will be resting on 4 swivel casters, this will make it a lot more maneuverable than using only two swivel and two fixed casters. The top will have two cleats to center my small joiner chest, since the bottom cabinet would be wider. This way, I could incorporate longer tools, like jointers plane (bigger than a No 6), and full size hand saws (26-30 in perhaps?)

And maybe I will add a back cleat to stop the chest from sliding back, since that bottom chest will probably be wider also.

Now to figured out my dimensions. here is the existing joiners tool chest dimensions

Length of chest 28 inch

Height of chest 11 inch with top raised panel

Width of chest 13-1/4 inch

Height of Rubbermaid container 17-1/2 inch

This bring the top of the open chest at a working height of 27-1/2 inch. The question is, is it too low, to be comfortable? I also must keep in mind the added height of my casters which will raise my bottom chest height by 2-1/2 inch.

Currently, the small jointer chest on top of the Rubbermaid container fit under my large plane till with the top open, so I thought that I want to keep this height, since I like the compactness of this arrangement.

 However on closer examination, I realized that it only fit there while the top is swung back. It does not open/close under the till.

Well so much for this bright idea. I guess now, I can give thought to raising it to a more comfortable height after all :-) Just as long as I can still roll it under the till with the top closed. Yes, it may interfere with reaching the bottom moulding planes till area, but it is on wheels after all, so no big deal.

My small joinery bench is 32-1/2 in high, and the plane till bottom is 41 in off the ground

One last consideration, I do not want the opened height of my tool chest to be higher than my bench, strictly for clearances, it is a small bench, I need all the room around it I can get unobstructed ... 

I now have all the information I need to firmed up my final dimensions.

Time to go back to the saw till project and revisit my punch list, I have a few more things to stroked off the list :-)

Bob, and his convoluted design process exposed

A proper base for my tool chest

Another in a continuing series of long overdue projects...

My tool chest is currently resting on a large Rubbermaid container. Although it is doing the job, it is ill fitting and ugly, it deserved better.

I am not quite sure of the final height yet, the current one on this plastic container is OK, but I need to experiment to find my optimum height. It should not interfere with material resting on the bench, so it cannot be taller, yet it should be high enough for me to have easy access to the tools within without too much contortions or bending, that is a back killer for me.

One of my requirement is that the whole contraption fit under the plane till. I will also put the base cabinet on wheel for ease of storage. So those wheels height need to be factored in. I should get my wheels first.

The Schwarz published a timely article on a similar bottom chest for his Dutch tool chest.
This will be my starting point for my design. I hate to waste the space under, so I may incorporate accessible storage within. Removable front panel, drawers? Not sure yet.
My designs evolves as I get nearer construction and try various experiments.

Image from Chris article referenced.

The bottom chest depicted is my starting point.

As I mentioned earlier, I need some sort of compact tool chest for travelling. So either that small joiner chest or build a Dutch tool chest. One big limitation of my current small joiner chest is its small length, preventing storage of longer handsaws and jointer planes.  Panel saws and Stanley No 6 fit within, so it is not really a deal breaker. Yet there are times when  I wish I could bring my saw bench and handsaws on the road.

So I may built that bottom unit with a future Dutch tool chest in mind?? Who knows?

Slow day today, not much shop time and just applying poly to a bunch of pieces...
Slowly working on my projects punch lists.

Bob, now juggling 4 projects, time to finished some :-)

My new Apple watch with the big fonts for the old man.

Thankfully I got the Air model, so it is a bit less weight :-)