Friday, August 23, 2013

Japanese Tool Box

I liked the look of the box that Christopher Schwarz posted about here:

http://blog.lostartpress.com/2013/03/24/japanese-tool-chest-measured-drawings/

And so I made one (two, actually). I think the sketchup model has an error in it, but more on that later. Anyway, here is take one:




I used cedar. In this case, fence boards. I hunted through the whole stack to find the clean ones. Not bad for $2 per 6' board. I let them dry out for eight weeks or so. Still, some were still a bit wet, so had to move carefully. I really like this design. Finger joints are actually harder to cut than dovetails in a way, but I always like learning a new skill. Also, cedar can be a pain. It can also be quite lovely. We move ever onward!

4 comments:

  1. I'd like to know what you mean by finger joints being harder to cut. I tried to post a comment on the Schwarz 'blog to explain the Japanese writing. By my best interpretation, the case was used to protect a kimono.
    You chose cedar so I wonder whether you also have textiles in mind for it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Rob,

    I also like that design. I have some old reclaimed cvg fir stair stringers that I'm using to build a few of these. Bob Le also has nice stuff about Japanese toolboxes on the Daiku Dojo web site.

    -Eric

    ReplyDelete
  3. Same here. Saw CS's post and the next day went out and built one for a traveling tool chest. With some careful positioning it can hold everything my anarchist tool chest can hold. Mine's about a foot square and somewhere around 36 inches long or so. Love it

    ReplyDelete
  4. Potomacker, dovetails, being tapered, have a limited ability to suck themselves closed. Finger joints go e you nowhere to hide. Hitting harder does not compress them closed.

    This box is actually a presentation blanket box, but I chose cedar more because of local and affordability considerations. I did make a second and might make a third which will be tool boxes. I love working out of a chest but feel auger bits and braces might be better having their own box.

    ReplyDelete