43 - Build Your Own Dovetail Jig, страница 6

This sturdy, pine toolbox combines the strength of dovetail joints with solid wood construction.

There's no getting around it — toolboxes take a beating. And when they get knocked around, there's always a chance your tools will get damaged too.

But you don't have to worry about that with this toolbox. It's made entirely of solid wood. (I used pine to keep the weight down.) And the corners are held together with dovetail joints to create a strong, sturdy toolbox.

Okay, but it's still only a toolbox. So why go to the trouble of cutting dovetails? Actually, it's not much trouble at all. That's because I routed the dovetails using the jig that's featured on page 16.

Now this doesn't mean you have to build the dovetail jig to make the toolbox. It's also a perfect project to practice cutting dovetails by hand.

nesting bins. But there's more to this toolbox than just solid construction. To help organize small tools, there's a pair of shallow bins that "nest" in the top of the toolbox, see photo 'A' below.

The nice thing about these bins is you don't have to rummage around for small items that work their way to the bottom. And when you need to get a

tool that's stored underneath, a large notch makes it easy to lift the bins out of the toolbox, see photo 'B.'

CASE

I began work by building the case, see drawing below. In addition to supporting the bins, the case serves as a "well" for tools and supplies.

The case starts out as a pair of long sides (A) and two short ends (B), see drawing. These pieces are held together with dovetails. So the pins (on the

A. Nesting Bins. To provide easy access to small tools or pieces of hardware, a pair of long, narrow bins "nest" in the top of the toolbox.

B. Notch. A large notch lets you lift out the bins to remove the tools stored below. For small jobs that only require a few items, just take the bin with you.

NOTE: sides and ends

are 3/₄"-thick stock

end

(9¹/4" x 10")

side

X 20")

NOTE:

cut dovetails before removing waste

DOVETAIL LAYOUT

full pin

half pin

6

ShopNotes

No. 43