jmaichel Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 I am going to try my hand at building a Dutch Tool Chest with all hand tools. WARNING!!! My hand tool skills are not as refined as others and the pictures you see may during this build might be disturbing . The Dutch Chest is just going to be built out of BORG pine with some cheap hardware for now. I am not sure what the chest is going to look like so I really did not want to splurge on fancy hardware. The chest is more utilitarian than a show piece for the shop. I rough cut all the stock using a Disston Crosscut saw and a cheap $15 hard point saw, which handled the ripping. In the next couple days I will do the dovetails for the sides and bottom as well as the dado for the shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 Sweet! Looks like a fun project James! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 I've been wanting to build this one! Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 James, This will be fun to watch! Why are you using hand tools only, to get back to basics? Seeing what time you posted this morning, this will definitely be a labor of love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 James, This will be fun to watch! Why are you using hand tools only, to get back to basics? Seeing what time you posted this morning, this will definitely be a labor of love I have always wanted to become a good hand tool woodworker. My least favorite tools have always been the router, sander and table saw. Not sure I will ever be able to give up my table saw though because there are times when it comes in very handy. I just would prefer not to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted May 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 I was able to make a little more progress today. I cut the two sides and bottom to final dimension. My cuts from the saw were okay but I used a Jack Plane, shooting board and my Moxon Vise to square everything up. The angle at the top of two sides is 30 degrees. I was not sure how I was going to get the 30 degree measurement because I don't have a bevel gauge or compass. Then I remembered that I have a miter gauge. I set my miter gauge to 30 degrees, placed the fence along the edge of the board and used the runner to mark the angle. In the next couple days I will tackle the dovetails and the dado in side pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markpelly Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Looking great, take your time with those cuts. I know I get inpatient when cutting with hand tools sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Wilkins Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Nice project. I'm definitely following because I haven't figured out a solution for tool storage yet (and it's a cool project). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted May 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 I am on hold for a couple days. I am ready to cut the dovetails but am patiently waiting for something "Bad" to be delivered first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted May 16, 2014 Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 Axe? Lucky you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 16, 2014 Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 I am on hold for a couple days. I am ready to cut the dovetails but am patiently waiting for something "Bad" to be delivered first.I hope that "Bad" is nothing worse that running out of beer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted May 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 Axe? Lucky you After downsizing my shop and selling most of my Festool's I decided that it would be okay to treat myself to just one item. I went with one of the Bad Axe Battle Scar saws for two reasons, one I am super impatient and two I had the extra money for the saw now, 3 months from now might have been a different story. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted May 16, 2014 Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 Awesome! I've been on the fence about ordering one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted May 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 I was able to get a little more work done on the tool chest the last couple of nights. I got my Bad Axe saw in delivered yesterday and was eager to put it to use. It has been awhile since I have cut any dovetails but I decided to just dive right in with the new saw. I clamped both sides together, marked out six tails and cut both side pieces at once. I cut out most of the waste with a fret saw but switched to a coping saw because of issues I have been having with my Knew Concepts Fret Saw (a whole different story). Chopped out the remaining waste and then marked the pins on the bottom. I decided to try two different methods for marking and cutting the pins. The first pin board I used a blue tape trick that I saw in a recent issue of FWW magazine. I put blue tape on the pin board, lined up the tail board and used a marking knife to transfer the lines from the tail board. I then removed the blue tape on the pins leaving blue tape on the tails which needed to be cut. I cut right along the blue tape and then sawed out and chopped out the waste and tested the fit. The fit was not to bad but needed a little extra finessing. For the second tail board I decided to just mark the pins without using the blue tape trick. I had minor problem, the tail board moved on me while I was transferring my lines. I tried my best to line it back up but I know it was not perfect. The second mistake I made was that I was little to aggressive when cutting my pins. I should have cut a little inside each line and then finessed the fit to the tail board. Instead I decided to try splitting my line, resulting in a little bit of a gap. It's going to be painted so not a huge deal, nothing that I can't hide. The Bad Axe Saw was a dream to use and might have been a little much when sawing out the pins. I will probably just stick with my Veritas Dovetail Saw when cutting dovetail in a single piece of 3/4" material. I only wish my Knew Concepts Fret saw was not such a nightmare to use. Tomorrow I will dado each of the side pieces for the shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 I hadn't seen the "blue tape" trick but, sound concept I suppose.. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 Nice work! Too bad about the coping saw. I've wanted one for a while, guess I'll keep looking.Don't let Roy Underhill see you gang coping either. He almost stabbed CS with a chisel when he mentioned it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 What problems are you having with the KC fret saw? Mine was primo right out of the box. Even had to switch mine around for lefty use...works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted May 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 What problems are you having with the KC fret saw? Mine was primo right out of the box. Even had to switch mine around for lefty use...works great. I have been having problems with blade breaking, bending or coming loose after only a little use. I had this problem when I first bought the saw. I contacted KC and they said my frame was bent due to improper tensioning. I sent it back to them to fix. I went a few months without using it until the other day. I got through one set of dovetails and the same thing happened, I broke a blade. I did not adjust the tensioning on the blade at all. I just replaced the blade as instructions stated but continued to have the same problems, blades breaking and bending once I started cutting with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 I guess I can't offer any advice on that since I haven't had any problems with mine. I wonder if you're applying too much force while sawing? It's basically like any other saw...let it do the work. Obviously you have to apply a bit of pressure since the cut is horizontal and there's no gravity at work, but you shouldn't have to add much more than what gravity adds when sawing vertically. Also the same as other saws...deliberate, straight strokes without twisting the blade. How's your form? I'd contact them again before giving up completely. Maybe there's a video somewhere from KC for proper setup and use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted May 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 I guess I could be applying too much force and my form could probably be better but I am not sure that is the issue. The saw cost about $100 so I am not ready to give up on it yet. I just don't want to have to keep paying to have it shipped to be fixed. Thanks for the feedback Eric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Crawford Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 I also have that saw and have not had that problem. What blades are you using - years ago I had a batch of blades for my scroll saw that broke very easily. If you bought the blades from KC then that is probably not the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted May 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I have made a little more progress the last couple days. I decided to recut the dovetails on the bottom of the case on the side that I miss marked. I just lopped off the existing dovetails and started fresh. This changed the width of my chest by just under an 1" but it's not that big of a deal to me. After cutting and fitting the dovetails, I cut the the dado in the side pieces for the shelf. I decided to tackle the dado without using a batten to help with the saw cut. It was not perfect but I was pretty happy with how they turned out. Chopped out the waste with a chisel and then made a couple passes with a router plane to make sure the dado's were the same depth. I did a quick dry assembly and to get the length of the shelf. I glued up the side pieces and then trimmed the shelf to size and glued it in. The shelf is a little long and my side pieces are not perfectly square. I wish I had approached the shelf a little differently. I should have used pinch sticks to get the exact measurement of the instead of a tape measure. The shelf was already glued in by the time I realized it was a little longer than it was supposed to be. Oh well something I can live with. I let the glue setup and then I nailed some cut nails in the sides of each shelf and then set them. While the chest was still clamped up I cut the notches for the wooden lock. The pictures are in a random order and do not coincide with the steps in the build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 Looking great James! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Wilkins Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 Coming along really well. Enjoying the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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