Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Dutch tool chest build 6, painting and thoughts about the build.

There are some adventurous woodworkers out there who will make their own paint, I have tried that before with various success, but I felt that there was no need to stretch my luck anymore on this project. So I decided to go for the sure thing and find a bit of grey oil based paint.
A small DTC doesn't take much paint, so if you need to buy or mix paint yourself, a small portion wil get you a long way.

Inside the chest, on the sloping part of the back, I have chiselled MMXVII, just like I normally do, but I felt like it could be interesting to paint some sort of decoration on the outside too that would show the world that this is my tool chest.
Brian Eve has got his Spanish bull painted, and that looks good, but if I made a bull it would be a shameless copy.
I like beavers because they are woodworking animals, but people might think that I was from Canada (which sadly I am not).
Termites are sort of woodworking creatures as well, but I don't like those.

I have wished for an exlibris stamp for my birthday, and my daughter Laura and I did a bit of brainstorming about that. I guess that brainstorming for my part is mostly keeping quiet, but we ended up combining two of my favourite things: Newfoundland dogs and gambrel roofs.

So I enlarged our stamp suggestion and used that as a decoration. Maybe someone will think that I actually live in Newfoundland in a house that has got a gambrel roof :-)

I am pretty good at sketching gambrel roofs, but I genuinely suck at drawing Newfoundland dogs. So In order to get by I taped the print out onto the lid. I then traced all the lines and the outline of the dog using an awl. I didn't poke through the paper, but the pressure is enough to leave a faint line in the painted surface. It is very similar to how I do when I mark out for the name signs for horses that I have made earlier.
The template was removed and I just had to colour inside the lines. This would most likely have been a bit easier with a smaller paint brush.

All in all, I find that the Dutch tool chest is an interesting and satisfying project to make. The project can be completed in a variety of ways, simple or difficult according to the abilities or the desires of the maker.

For a simpler version,  the chest can be made with rabbets instead of dovetails for the side to bottom assembly, and the fall front and the lid can be made with regular battens nailed on instead of sliding dovetails and breadboard ends.
Similarly the project can be made more complex e.g. by using stopped dados or sliding dovetails for the shelf, and using breadboard ends on the fall front or perhaps use a frame and floating panel construction for the lid and the fall front. 

As I have demonstrated, the chest can be made out of reclaimed dumpster wood or pallet wood. Using this kind of wood can give some challenges in preparing the stock, but after all, it is a tool chest, and not a jewellery chest, so I can live with a less than perfect surface, as long as the chest is sturdy.

I have to accept the fact that the project was a bit too large for me to do out here. I mean physically too large. I had difficulties planing the lid and the sides due to their size, and that pestered me during most of the project.
Having completed this project, I now remember one of the reasons why I normally make smaller items out here.

I haven't added any handles to the chest, but I think I'll do that once I get home, and can use some of the handles I already have in my shop.

Painted and decorated Dutch tool chest

Newfoundland dog and gambrel roof

Scrub planed back.

Template.
 
Precision paint brush.




14 comments:

  1. Where can I get one of those paint brushes? Perhaps you could sell me one?

    Nice work, again as usual. I really like how the back turned out.

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    1. Now those brushes are rare, but I might just be able to sell you one. It won't be cheap though! :-)

      Thanks for the nice comment.
      It was a little hard to take a picture that shows the shallow grooves left by the scrub plane. It is much more clear to see in real life.
      Cheers
      Jonas

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  2. Great project again, Jonas. It's always inspiring to see what can be done with a few tools, a small work space, and trained hands. And a Danish brain, of course, but I'll have to find a substitute for that bit.

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    1. Hi Jeff
      Thanks a lot.
      I think the brain part is mostly required for making a cool decoration logo. I was so lucky that I could count on my daughter to help me out there :-)
      Brgds
      Jonas

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  3. Nice going, Jonas. That paint brush reminded me of Alfalfa, a character in "The Little Rascals" - a TV show from my childhood.

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    1. Thanks.
      I remember Alfalfa. The old series was broadcasted in Denmark in the early 1980'ies in black and white. I can't remember any of the other characters, but somehow his character stuck in a small unoccupied part of my brain.
      Brgds
      Jonas

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  4. Nice logo, the Newfoundland dog came out especially well.
    I feel inspired to build two of these for my sons kits

    Bob, alone at the keyboard, Rudy went back to sleep :-)

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    1. Hi Bob
      Thanks. My daughter told me that she thought it played along well with my short description. The gambrel roof symbolising a family man, and the center of our family is a Newfoundland dog.

      Funny that you should mention kit building. I have played a lot with the idea of making a small DTC event with my boys, it should be made with rabbets and battens for the lid, and most parts should be made to size and shape. But I'll have to see about that when I come home.
      Brgds
      Jonas (who is also alone at the keyboard) :-)

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  5. Jonas,

    I like your logo. Are you going to have a stamp made?

    I guess my next question is what tools do you have to work with and how do you transport them? Full disclosure, I'm still trying to figure out my traveling kit for the motorhome.

    My thinking is a #5 with three cutter units (heavy camber, light camber, and all most straight), a low angle block plane, a router plane, a plow plane, and a wood rebate plane, a small spokeshave, a standard 4 chisel set, a two stone and strop sharpening kit, a carcass saw and panel saw, a turning saw, saw files, a pin and a wheel marking gauge, kinda short winding sticks that can serve as a straight edge, a set of dividers, a couple of knifes, and so on. My goal is o make it light enough for an OF to move without help and small enough to fit in one of the motorhome's storage bins yet allow me to work with ease.

    It looks like you have hit a sweet spot.

    ken

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    1. Hi Ken
      Thanks for the nice comment.
      I have wished for a stamp for my birthday, so I am hoping that there will be one for me.

      Regarding the tools.
      http://mulesaw.blogspot.no/2014/12/maritime-woodworking-tools.html
      These are the tools that I use on board.
      I think that you suggestion sounds very well thought out. I am limited by the weight due to travelling by airplane to get to the job, so I guess that you can take a heavier load on the motorhome than I can.
      You will most likely need some clamps too. Quick grip type clamps are not my favourite, but they are lightweight which is kind of nice for travelling.
      I rely on tools from the ship such as a hammer and clamps and a panel saw. I mainly use a hacksaw for all the joinery tasks too, but a real joinery saw would be better.

      I just got to thin of that if you have a trailer hitch on the motorhome, you could use that for attaching a workbench.
      One leg from the back of a small workbench going down to hold the mushroom shaped thing (don't know the name of it). And perhaps two legs on the front. Then you would have a really sturdy bench.

      I can't remember the weight of my current kit, but I think it is somewhere around 20 Lbs.

      Brgds
      Jonas

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  6. Nice chest, Jonas.

    Did you level the back boards with a scrub plane after you mounted them on the chest?

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    1. Hi Mikkel

      Thanks a lot.
      That is exactly how I did it. I have found that it is an effective way for me to level back sides and bottoms of chests etc. when I build out here.
      I just try to make sure that all nails are set well below the surface so I don't get a nick in the blade of the plane.

      By the way, I was wondering if you are coming to the Vikingemarked på Mors? It is the first time they are organiszing it, so I have no idea about it except that I know it is taking place.
      Brgds
      Jonas

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    2. I will try you method for leveling backboards on my next project. Seems like an effective method.

      About the viking event on Mors. I am not planning on going. My wife works at a local Viking Museum, so we mostly go there to "play vikings". And since being a viking is my wife's job, we try to not do too much viking stuff in our spare time.

      If you wan't to see me in my viking clothes, turning bowles on a pole lathe. I suggest you come to the viking event at Bork Vikingehavn 12th and 13th of august.

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    3. Hi Mikkel.
      I can understand that if it is your wife's job, then spare time is best spent doing something else.
      I guess it is also one of the reasons I don't have a need for owning a sail boat.

      The time for the Bork Vikingehavn event is just before I have to go back to sea again, so I probably won't be going.

      For the backboard leveling, please remember to once in a while check how much you have removed, so you don't suddenly plane into the head of a nail. I sadly speak of experience on a former project in that matter. A scrub plane going full throttle removed a bit more material than I had expected.
      Brgds
      Jonas

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