Simple and Handy Toolbox

To build the toolbox, you should have a planed 13x60x450 mm alder board.
To ensure integrity of your end product, it is recommended to use unicolor edge-grain parts.

Select work-pieces by color and number them. It is imperative that you read grain direction. Mark out face sides.

Before gluing parts together, smooth joint surfaces with a hand plane; shape work-pieces in couples and keep them face to face. To avoid tear-outs, retract the iron to the minimum position.

Step 1: Glue

When you have smoothed the work-pieces, glue them together into small boards. Remove excess glue with a damp sponge. Wait for the glue to dry.

When the glue dries completely, smooth one of the sides using a simple tool. Mark the surface with a marker or pencil to control cuts. It is important that you do not shave off more than 1.5-2 mm. Mark this side as front.

Plane the work-pieces down to 10 mm thick on a thickness planer.

Step 2: Cut Out

Adjust width using a circular saw.

Trim the work-pieces down to the needed size using a miter saw.

Cut a template out of a piece of paper. Outline side walls using the template. Mark the center point of the future 20 mm hole. Cut out side walls with a jigsaw power tool and sand the edges.

Cut grooves for the bottom using a handheld router tool fixed on a router table and equipped with a circular groove cutter. Cross-cut grooves for inside partitions using the miter saw. Cut handle holes with a 20 mm drill.

Fit the parts together without using glue and trim them if necessary. Polish all the parts with a polishing tool. Prepare the toolboxes for gluing.

Step 3: Сontinue...

Smear the parts with glue and clamp them together. Do not use glue when inserting the bottom and inside partitions. It is absolutely imperative that you leave expansion gaps to allow for wood movement. Remove excess glue with a damp sponge. Wait for the glue to dry.

When the glue dries completely, scrape joints with a hand scraper. Trim the side walls’ edges using a flush trim router bit featuring a R5 cutter. Cut a hole for a 5x30 mm loose tenon using a Domino tenon joiner.

Step 4: Finish

Carve handles out of 22x22 mm work-pieces. Drill 8 mm dowel pin holes. Polish your toolbox.

Finish your toolboxes with white wood oil.

Now your portable toolboxes are ready. A durable toolbox is a staple in any garage or workshop by keeping all your parts and tools organized in one portable unit. This simple portable toolbox will help you in the kitchen and garden.

It is spacious, durable, and easy to craft.

Comments

[Alaskan Bev]

Very aesthetically pleasing design, understandable directions - all-over great job! Thanks.

I made a vaguely similar tool box for a young friend many years ago. I added an optional-use lid as well, with rope going through each end (to avoid leaving it behind somewhere). The rope was long enough to set the lid flat on the ground to provide a stable surface for setting items down. I filled the box with child-friendly tools. He loved it! I wish I'd thought to take pictures.

[CharlieR18]

This is very close to the size and shape of a tool tote I banged together about 40 years ago, and I still use it. Yours shows craftsmanship, I just needed something I could make quickly to carry a bunch of hand tools out of the house. My point being, the simplicity of these designs will hold up and they are comfortable to carry, not just a stylish throw back to the old days.

I made sure the dowel handle was thick enough for big hands and that it can rotate freely so when lifting and carrying, it doesn't resist and chafe the hand. I also had a typical steel tool box with a thin bent rod handle. It was so uncomfortable when it was heavy that I took a clue from my wooden box and split a dowel, grooved it and glued it back together around the steel handle.

The only divider I have is a half height board that runs the full length but is mounted at an angle instead of parallel to the long sides, but not so much that it intersects the corners. Another option depending on what a person plans to carry in the tote.

[harisimtiazmalik]

amazing Work... nice photographs

[BeachsideHank]

A classic "tote" design, nice touch with the tenon decoration too!