Tool Tote with Copper and Brass Accents

The last picture of the 'Gang of Six' above shows one half of the challenge, with unused toolchest space being the other. You see, my toolchest is on the small side, and the area in front of the sliding tills has always been waiting for "something" to go there that'd enhance utility. Combine that with my grandad's tool tote (the one painted gold; now you know where I got the painting gene, Stef) and the wheels started turning. Said tote didn't fit in the space, however; too wide, too short, too high. That was it then, nothing to do unless it included the unthinkable: cutting up the legacy tote.

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Well, that's what I decided to do.

The tote's best features are the two stickers on either end; they're of my grandpa's business and I'll keep them in place without a doubt. I did remove the blue shag carpeting that was stapled and glued to to underside of the tote (that trick prevented scratching surfaces when it's put somewhere, grandpa told me once). The handle and the ends would definitely find a new purpose, but I needed new sides that would fit the space. Stair treads / risers I've had on hand were resawn. And it's mahogany, a great compliment to the inside of the chest. The base was vintage pine material that matched the look of the pine tills in the chest, too.

Only one pic (and not a very comprehensive one) of the dovetailing activity:

From there, the dovetailed carcase was glued up then matched up to the base.

The vertical pieces of grandpa's tote were cut to size, sanded and painted to match the toolchest. Sides were joined to the verticals with brass screws that were slightly countersunk then filed flush with the surface.

Finally, copper brackets that I salvaged years ago were added to the tote to hold the Disston level as a permanent tenant of this tote. I used copper nails that were cut to length, filed to a point and driven into pre-drilled holes. Then those cut-off nail shafts were used as a type of finish nail to affix the cross piece inside the tote. All went together very well.

And, it fits!!!

I'm very happy with the resultant look and functionality of the tote. It holds things that can travel when I have small tasks to do that are at the house vs. in my shop, AND it adds overall capacity inside the toolchest. For things like a full sized hammer, gloves, a bit index and my Summerfield tablesaw.

That's all, thanks for looking!