Planning the New Blanket Chest

This weekened was weird. I hadn’t chosen a main project when it started so I wasn’t able to just tear through a bunch of wood like I prefer to. I got good stuff done anyway, but I think in the future I might try to do more planning in the evenings of week nights so that I’m fully loaded on stuff to do for weekends.

Another Toolbox

About eight months ago I made some boxes to store tools that I don’t access often enough to belong in my toolchest. I am happy with those boxes, but I have a few tools (notably my Stanley 45, my froe, and my brace) that don’t fit anywhere convenient. I still want to protect them from dust, so I decided to make another toolbox. This time I did dovetails instead of finger joints and made the box bigger than the rest to house the large tools. The last time I did dovetails with this wood (basswood) I made the angles of the dovetails too steep, so many of the corners chipped during assembly. This time around I made the dovetails with a very subtle angle (about five degrees.) Everything fit right off the saw and it is sturdy and works great:

Left is the new box. Right is one of the boxes I made in October. I love how light and sturdy the new one is!

When I first put the tools in the box, I was dismayed that the 45 didn’t fit:

Thankfully, partially disassembling the tool solves the problem:

Mom’s Hope Chest

This is the next major project I’m working on. The design is still in progress, but it’s close enough that I don’t think anything major will be changing:

I’m still figuring out details like what kind of lock to use, how thick the pieces should be, etc.