2017-07-07T10-33-17

Last night I stayed up late drafting a plan for a #JapaneseToolbox. I did not know what a traditional Japanese toolbox was when I first saw it listed as a final-day optional project in the curriculum of #UWArtisanProgram that I took last year; it picked my curiosity, but we never had the time to do it at #theunpluggedwoodshop. Now that I watched #TomFidgen make a beautiful one for his essential tools, I could no longer resist and went out and got myself two 11-1/4”x3/4”x6’ boards of pine with a tight and straight grain figure I liked and started thinking about the tools I would want to put in it (three back saws, Jack plane, block plane, shoulder plane, router plane, and more in the bottom; drafting and marking tools and chisels in a till above) and the dimensions and proportions I needed and could achieve with the wood I bought. Tons of details to decide on! #woodworking #handtoolsonly

2017-07-07T11-48-09

I ended up coming up with a layout and dimensions I am really happy with for my future #JapaneseToolbox. I especially like how the wood grain will flow around the sides and ends of the till and then along all the cross pieces on the top of the toolbox. The external dimensions will be about 11-1/4” W, 27” L, 9” H. Now I have to hold my horses and finish #TheEnglishWorkbench before starting on this new project :-) #woodworking #handtoolsonly

2017-08-02T09-22-14

Time to get to work on the #JapaneseToolbox. I had to adjust the layout of the cuts a little bit in order to avoid ending up with knots on end-grain or joinery, but am otherwise happy with my two boards of pine. #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-02T11-24-04

Time to get to work on the #JapaneseToolbox. I had to adjust the layout of the cuts a little bit in order to avoid ending up with knots on end-grain or joinery, but am otherwise happy with my two boards of pine. #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-02T11-31-48

The pieces for the #JapaneseToolbox are all rough sawn (although some smaller pieces are still bundled together to make planing more efficient), so I stacked the bigger pieces to get a better visual of the actual size and proportions of the planned toolbox. #handtoolsonly #toolbox #woodworking

2017-08-04T10-56-10

Geological sedimentation layers #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-04T14-51-51

I ganged up the sides and ends of the #JapaneseToolbox to plane all the boards to the same width. Extra bonus: because the three edges form a larger surface, it is also easier to plane them perpendicular to the faces. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-07T12-20-37

I really liked Tom’s wedged through tenons on his #JapaneseToolbox at #theunpluggedwoodshop, so I decided I would use that for my version as well (maybe with double wedges, who knows). I drew a few side elevations to try two or three tenons, bigger or smaller and settled on three 1-1/8” x 11/6” (the final thickness of my end pieces) tenons; I put the outer mortices at 1” from the edges; the board is 8-3/8” wide. #toolbox #handtoolsonly

2017-08-07T16-34-14

Cutting the 12 mortices and tenons for the #JapaneseToolbox went faster than I expected; I also ended up making shallow dados on the sides to accept the tenoned ends. This wood is so soft I had to brush off debris every time I moved a board lest something got under it and marked it (which happened a few times, of course). #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-08T09-08-32

I needed a thin piece of walnut for the #JapaneseToolbox so I decided to resaw a piece using the kerfing saw I made while at the #UWArtisanProgram at #theunpluggedwoodshop… #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-08T09-09-00

I needed a thin piece of walnut for the #JapaneseToolbox so I decided to resaw a piece using the kerfing saw I made while at the #UWArtisanProgram at #theunpluggedwoodshop… #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-08T09-17-12

… and finish it off with the big frame saw, also made while at the #UWArtisanProgram at #theunpluggedwoodshop… #JapaneseToolbox #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-08T14-35-08

In the end, I was too scared to split the sides of the #JapaneseToolbox trying to hammer double wedges in the through tenons of the end pieces; the grain direction of the side pieces is just not right for that kind of aggressive joint. So, I decided to go with diagonal wedges that are going to spread the pressure in all directions and should better agree with the grain direction of my carcase. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-08T15-29-13

One side of the #JapaneseToolbox is all glued up and clamped and the diagonal wedges are in; I was very happy that the sides of the carcase did not split; instead, some of the wedges cracked while I was hammering on them; I had chamfered the sides of the wedges since they were going in at a diagonal through the ends of the tenons, but that gave them a bit too much wiggle room; in retrospective, I probably should have left them alone. #toolsbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-10T12-25-12

One of the nails that hold the bottom of the #JapaneseToolbox knocked off a knot in the side piece; I guess I will have to glue it back in once I carve some space for the nail. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-10T12-27-44

I do not know what came over me. Without much thinking I decided to space the nails that hold the bottom of the #JapaneseToolbox at every 2”; I ended up with a gazillion nails, probably a lot more than were needed for the job. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-10T12-42-25

I am very happy to have gone with the diagonal wedges; I really like the way they look and they caused the tenons to expand mainly along the grain of the mortised board, thus reducing the risk of splits (I had none). #JapaneseToolbox #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-21T15-08-09

Back to work on the #JapaneseToolbox after a few good days on vacation. I decided to keep the handles very simple and just slope their underside inwards (they are shown upside down) to make the grip a little more ergonomic. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-21T15-10-36

The top cross piece of the #JapaneseToolbox has a slanted edge so that the wedge locking the lid can work like a sliding dovetail. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-21T17-43-31

I had a case of tunnel vision and did not notice this glue spill until it was already quite tacky and I had to scrape it off and plane the side of the #JapaneseToolbox once again. I was glueing the handles and somehow the glue squeezed out through the wedged mortise and tenon joint next to it! #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-22T13-51-49

Final glue up for the #JapaneseToolbox. The diagonal brace now completes the lid of the box. I made the cross pieces into a letter Z; I do not know if traditional Japanese woodworkers preferred a specific direction for the diagonal. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-23T09-29-45

The #JapaneseToolbox is ready for the finish. I really enjoyed working on this piece; although it is pretty simple, it still provides plenty of opportunities for personalization and I ended up learning a lot from making it. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2017-08-30T09-14-37

I finished the #JapaneseToolbox with three coats of Tried & True Original (linseed oil and beeswax); I had not used this product before, but I like how it brought out the figure of the wood without making it too yellow. #toolbox #handtoolsonly #woodworking

2018-03-05T14-37-01

It’s been over six months since I completed my #JapaneseToolbox and I finally got around to building a simple mitered tray for it. I am really happy I have a bi-directional miter shooting board to help with the construction; I can register the bottom (reference) edge of all my pieces against the shooting fence; any spelching from shooting is going to be on the bottom edge of my pieces; any small angle error in my board or miter plane is cancelled out by shooting adjacent ends in opposite directions. I did run into a spelching problem with the bottom groove, but that was easily solved by plugging the groove with a small sacrificial piece. #MiterShootingBoard #ShootingBoard #WorkbenchAppliance #WhitePine #Pine #MiteredBox #HandToolsOnly #Woodworking

2018-03-05T16-22-30

I am really spoiled! These Veritas 4-Way Speed Clamps make it really easy to glue up the mitered tray for the #JapaneseToolbox. #MiteredBox #WhitePine #Pine #HandToolsOnly #Woodworking

2018-03-07T16-37-01

I have added Walnut keys to the mitered corners of the #JapaneseToolbox. I cut the kerfs with a tenon saw and widened them with a piece of sandpaper glued to a ruler and then with a small file. Some of this did not go as well as I had hoped and I ended up mixing some Pine saw dust with hide glue to fill in a few gaps; we’ll see how that turns out after I apply the finish. For the keys, I started from a small 1/8”-thick piece I had and planed it thinner on my friction board, then I scored it with a marking gauge and snapped it into narrow strips that I finally cut into trapezoids using my miter hook. I am really appreciating the help of all the workbench appliances I took the time to build. #MiteredBox #WhitePine #Pine #Walnut #HandToolsOnly #Woodworking

2018-03-07T16-37-29

I have added Walnut keys to the mitered corners of the #JapaneseToolbox. I cut the kerfs with a tenon saw and widened them with a piece of sandpaper glued to a ruler and then with a small file. Some of this did not go as well as I had hoped and I ended up mixing some Pine saw dust with hide glue to fill in a few gaps; we’ll see how that turns out after I apply the finish. For the keys, I started from a small 1/8”-thick piece I had and planed it thinner on my friction board, then I scored it with a marking gauge and snapped it into narrow strips that I finally cut into trapezoids using my miter hook. I am really appreciating the help of all the workbench appliances I took the time to build. #MiteredBox #WhitePine #Pine #Walnut #HandToolsOnly #Woodworking