Tool Cabinet
miketulchinsky Feb 22, 2020
Tool cabinet in ash, with soap finish. Dovetailed case construction, half blind dovetail drawers, turned drawer pulls, decorative kumiko panel with an asanoha pattern. I really tried to have as much straight grain visible as possible on this piece. The drawer fronts are continuous quarter sawn pieces. The back is a glue up of all quartersawn and riftsawn pieces to continue the straight grain look.
#cabinet #handtoolcabinet #handtool #handtools #dovetail #dovetails #halfblinddovetails #handcutjoinery #joinery
Milling the ash for the case.
Cutting tails with rabbet for the back.
Working on the pin boards
Working on drawer construction.
Back glue up
Needed two pulls. Turned two sets which are mostly the same but just slightly different in length.
Another shot of pulls.
Turning is fun. I don’t do it often anymore but I do enjoy it.
Completed drawers.
Kumiko lattice cut on the table saw.
Planing the lattice flat.
Beginning the infill pattern.
Completed 4x6 asanoha panel.
Kumiko
Completed and finished cabinet. I am still deciding on tool placement so the kumiko is not permanently affixed yet.
Side detail with dovetails.
Side detail of finished cabinet.
Side detail with some hand tools in place.
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Wow Mike! That's stunning work! Absolutely beautiful. The dovetails are spot on. How did you like using the soap finish?
Looks good Mike!
Thank you Sean. Soap finish was a fun experiment. I went with soap because I wanted a finish that would keep the ash from yellowing very much and I had to finish this inside the house because most finishes wont cure in my garage right now. Like all finishes it has strengths and weaknesses. On the plus side it is dead simple, fast and easy to apply. Dries quickly. Five coats in less than 24 hours. No smell, this is detergent free soap, which is perfect for indoor application. Clean up is simple, just wipe off excess and rinse your hands. clean up is basically just washing your hands. On the negative side, there is almost no durability to this finish and it won’t stand up to water or any moisture very well. You have to make it a night or a few hours in advance. It’s not the most beautiful smooth finish once it dries though I buffed it with a cloth and that helped smooth it out. It did yellow the ash a little bit, though not much, and significantly less than shellac or an oil finish would have. You get some degree of control with the level of shine by the mix of soap to water. Soupy consistency yields a satin type and paste wax consistency builds a matte finish.
@Sean said:Thanks Colbi. 👍👊
@colbi.stowers said:Love this one. Really nice work
Thats really nice, almost too nice for a tool cabinet. How thick is the exterior frame?
Thank you Joe.
@joelav said:Thank you. The outside case pieces are 11/16”. The shelf is 1/2” and the drawer divider is 3/8”.
@firewoodmaker said:Thanks for that info, I'm prepping for a jewelry case and know the basic dimensions but was still trying to figure out the widths. It's going to be like 28" wide so I think your dimensions would probably fit it nicely for it.
@miketulchinsky said: