I decided to model the cleats that hold the locking bars for the drop front after a photo of an original Dutch tool chest in Jim Tolpin’s The Toolbox Book. I played a bit with a set of French curves to find something I liked and drew the profile on both sides of my piece. I was not sure how to hold such a small piece and I ended up using four drops of hot glue to attach it to a scrap piece that I could hold in the front vise. After a minute I was working away with a cabinet rasp and a Nicholson file and the setup held up wonderfully; once I was finished shaping, I cut the piece in two to get my two cleats. I then used a heat gun to soften the glue and detach the pieces; I was surprised it only took a few seconds. #DutchToolChest #ToolChest #HandToolsOnly #Anigre #Woodworking
Putting a decorative rabbet around the drop front of the Dutch tool chest turned out to be an easy job for the skew rabbet plane; it left a great finish across the grain and even when I went against the grain on one of the long edges. Too bad that then I went over it with my router plane to remove some of the markings left on the corners and that did not leave a very good surface when going across the grain. #DutchToolChest #ToolChest #HandToolsOnly #Poplar #Woodworking
