I decided I needed a central place to store most of my woodworking tools. I had always liked the idea of a wall-mounted tool chest since all items are visible and easy to get to, so I made this chest to mount on the wall of my workroom. It includes two piano-hinged doors, but I never bothered to add knobs or latches to the doors since I basically never close them. I thought building the frame would be a good excuse to practice dovetail joints - and it was, except I don't think I've done one since. I made the chest larger than I needed to to be sure I had room to accommodate new tool acquisitions. The chest is mounted using a pair of angled wooden hangers that mate to similar units on the wall. This lets it hang securely but also be easily removed. I've only removed the chest once, and the hangers were wedged so tightly together that I had to use a jack to lift the chest and break the connection of the hangers. So in theory, the hangers work like they are supposed to, but the reality is a bit different.
I made some removable tool holders like the ones for the carving tools on the left and the drill bits. That way, I can pull out a full set of tools to use without running back and forth.
The plastic 2" dust collection tubing seen in the pictures is connected to a standard central-vac unit that is exhausted outside. That is still in place but I've since installed a better
dust collection system.
| Material: | Back: | Maple plywood |
| Sides: | Maple |
| Trim: | Maple burl |
| Pins: | Walnut |
| Finish: | | Polyurethane varnish |
| Size: | | 36" w x 44" h x 9" d when closed |
| Done: | | Circa 1995 |
