Popular Mechanics (South Africa)
Master your craft:
BY MAKING SOMETHING THAT’S BUILT TO LAST
Create an heirloom toolbox that will last for decades.
CREATE AN HEIRLOOM TOOLBOX
We designed this toolbox to be as attractive as it is durable, and capable of holding and protecting some of our most prized tools. But more than that, we wanted to build something our children will cherish long after we’re gone. To do that, we created a design that prioritises precision and patience during construction. The joinery for the corners, handle and uprights have to fit together tightly to be structurally sound.
The box sides and ends are joined with dovetails – the strongest corner joint you can make without fasteners or hardware in a home workshop. The uprights are inset into the box ends. Done neatly, the wedging action of the joint is strong, especially when glue is added, and this holds the two pieces together firmly. Even more strength comes from the tenon that connects the handle to the uprights.
Lastly, note that the handle is made up of three pieces – a lamination. This crucial detail enables you to form an attractive compound curve without a weak boundary area created by the handle’s shape. At the point where the grain is weakest, another piece of wood with a different grain pattern reinforces it. The difference between the two grain patterns interrupts the forces that would normally crack the handle.
HOW TO CUT DOVETAILS
It’s possible to hand cut the dovetails, but it takes a lot of practise to make them fit well together. We used a dovetail jig to cut the box corners. The jig will let you do it on your first try, and templates are available online to make a variety of dovetail patterns (we used the Rockler brand’s Distinctive Template A for this box).
If this is your first dovetail joint, practise by making two or three test cuts on inexpensive, knot-free pine. Then cut and dovetail together two pieces of scrap hardwood, of the same type you’ll be using for the box. Once you’re satisfied with the results, dovetail the box ends and sides.
Cut the box sides and ends to length and stand them up as they will fit together once assembled. Label them so that they go into the jig with matching corners routed together.
Cut the tails first (the part of the joint orientated on the long sides of the box), then the pins (the pieces of wood that will fit into the spaces of the tails). Cut the tails about 1/16-inch (1.58 mm) longer than they need to be, allowing them to stick out of the joint. This ensures they won’t be too short. You can trim them flush once the box is assembled.
This is the project outline. To see the full instructions – with suggested wood types and measurements (you’ll need to convert to metric) – go to popularmechanics.com/toolbox.
MAKING THE HANDLE
The handle is made from three pieces of wood glued together to form a single lamination. Rip and cross-cut the pieces for the lamination slightly oversize, then glue and clamp them together. Drive screws into the lamination in areas that will be sawed off to pull the parts more firmly together. When the glue is dry, make one or more ripping passes on the table saw to ensure the long edges are parallel.
Mark the location of the handle tenons on the short edges of the lamination using a square, a marking gauge, and a sharp knife. Dry assemble the box sides, ends, and uprights. Rest the bottom edge of the lamination on the top edge of the box ends. Lean the lamination against the uprights with an equal amount of overhang at each end; using a sharp pencil simply draw a line on the lamination at the inside of each upright. Remove the lamination and scribe on the pencil line with a knife. That knife line will mark the inside corner where the handle tenon meets the upright. Mark the tenon’s width, thickness, and shoulders, on the short edge of the lamination and scribe with a knife.
Next, design the shape of the handle. Mark the centre of the long side of the lamination – this will be the middle of your handle. Create a curve you like, making sure it’s high enough to remove trays or bulky tools if you’ll be carrying those. Draw the curve on one side of the centre, then trace and copy on the other side (or download our online handle template) to be sure that it’s even.
To make the tenon, carefully remove the wood around the area you have scribed with a table saw, making it slightly oversize (by about 1/64-inch, or 0.4 mm). You’ll want the mortise and tenon to fit snugly together, and you should always fit the tenon to the mortise, not the other way around. (It’s very difficult to trim wood evenly from inside the mortise.)
Complete each tenon by working down to the scribe lines using a rabbet plane, block plane, and a chisel.
Once the tenons are complete, cut out the rough shape of the handle on a band saw. Mark the shape of the handle on the shoulder of each tenon – this will give you a target as you remove material. Remove equal amounts of wood off the corners, until the handle profile is roughly octagon-shaped. (We used a variety of planes and chisels to shape the handles.) Remove material on the corners, down to the outline on the tenon shoulder. Sand by hand until smooth.