The first thing I noticed is: No gaps!

If I hand cut finger joint they will be full of gaps.

It’s taking shape nicely.

Ian, by the time I got to the last one they were perfect. I planed the material the best I could. I then numbered each piece with a down arrow. 1,2,3, and 4. 1 was left side. 4 was front. I then used each piece to layout thicknesses as they would lay when together. Then I used 1/2" marks always starting from the bottom. Then I marked the fingers and I X’ed the waste. I went to the bandsaw and I whistled while I cut the finger lines first, always cutting on the side to the waste. I kerfed each waste area. I then went to the bench and used a 1/2" chisel to remove the waste in one precise blow. Then I always held the chisel carefully and took a very very thin shaving to remove any lines from the kerfs. All-in-all, I was quite pleased with this process.

I gave my drawers Shaker knobs.

That will be one heck of a toolbox.

what’s you opinion on the gorilla glue. If you have used titebond III how do they compare /differ.

Ian, I haven’t used Titebond that I can remember. I’ve only started back on the woodworking projects within the last year. So, recently I just purchased the Gorilla glue because I had used the clear-brown stuff they have for other things. I can say that I’m pleased with the Gorilla glue. And, if you get those little Delmont fruit cups, save the cups. I have a stack of them in the shop and I use them with a brush when I’m gluing. I’m so cheap I wash the little cup out when I clean the brush so if you need any glue cups let me know. In the past, I’ve stained everything and then used MinWax Tung Oil (wipe on Poly really). And, as you probably know, any glue that’s on the piece shows right up. This year I’ve learned a lot of wonderful things. 1) I now will use shellac unless someone wants to pay me to use something else. 2) I had never used a scraper, now I don’t sand much and 3) I glue everything because my joinery has changed from new (screws, brads, plugs, etc.) to old (tenons, laps, dovetails, etc.). Overall I’m more pleased with own work. I grew up around a dad that was more of a mechanic than a woodworker. He is good, don’t get me wrong, but he is fast and was about making money. So design-wise my dad is a genius, but he wasn’t doing this for the love of it. I love it. I was recording my progress this weekend because I had sent Huff an estimate for these drawers at 9-1/2 hours. I was close but if I had done the half-blind dovetails on the drawer fronts I would have blown my estimate. I had to hand saw my rough cut lumber because my 1/2" bandsaw blade broke and I had to modify my planing technique and use a scrub plane because my material was a little thicker than normal. I love my no. 4 smoothing plane because it’s fast when my material is in good shape, but when I have too much variation in my re-saw cuts, it’s not the plane to remove material quickly. I need to force myself to use the right plane for the job. I have a nice no. 5 that I need to tune up for that job. Overall I was close to my estimate and I learned some new things.

And, what does that have to do with glue? I have not a clue, LOL.

-:) -:)

9-1/2 hours is not bad with hand tool, not that I would know…

My planes are begging for attention. I need to build a cabinet for those guys so they are in view.

Do you plan on move the toolbox?

No. And, my wife had a really good idea but I’m not sure if it’s structurally sound. She asked “why would you not hinge the front bottom panel and just reach in and get what you need?” I don’t want to bust the panel because it’s already glued, but she had a good point.

Check out the two populated drawers.

It’s looking great!

what’s the handle on the set of chisels in the first picture? I am guessing bubinga?
Looks awesome.
it’s amazing, you filled it up before you officially finished the build.
It’s time to start a new one -:)

I don’t know what the handles are made from. I’ll ask my artisan friend when I show him the box. Those are Stanley Bailey chisels and I love them. I have used a chisel hammer and beat the stuffing out of them doing mortise work when I made my bench. I would recommend them as a “quality” set for someone starting out. I’ve had the clear yellow handled ones from the hardware store but these are very nice. They suit me. The other ones are carving tools but they were inexpensive. We’ll see how they do.

Thanks for the compliments. Time to sleep now for the day job writing Java code for all the big finance and insurance companies to use.

Where did you get the carving tools from?
I bought a set of 6 on ebay but it turned out to be crapy.