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New tool cabinet packs in a lot of storage

Michael Pekovich, art director

36 users recommend

This is my old cabinet. It was a little crude but took good care of my favorite tools.

Here's the new cabinet. Not much different at first glance, but the deeper case offers a lot more plane storage. 

The deeper doors have swing out panels that provide a second layer of storage. There are also swing out panels in upper portion of the main case.

To nail down the design, I built a quick mock up out of plywood scraps. This was really helpful in figuring out how to make the most of a deeper case.

I determined the angle of the plane till by holding a longer plane in place.

The gallery was a happy accident. I had planned on filling out the bottom with drawers, but I happened to put a no. 4 plane down and realized it would fit headfirst if I deepened the case by 1/2 an inch. My no. 7 sits above the gallery.

This is my old cabinet. It was a little crude but took good care of my favorite tools.

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My old tool cabinet was one of the favorite things about my shop. But when I took a look around I realized more of my hand planes were stored outside of it than inside, and I figured it was time for an upgrade. 

Even though I needed more storage, I wanted the cabinet to fit in the same space as the old one. I accomplished that by building a deeper case and doors. The new cabinet has almost triple the cubic space of the old one and 1 1/2 times more surface area for mounting tools. 

The best thing for me, though, is that it has the same look and feel as my old friend. By the way, I found another spot in the shop for my old cabinet which now houses glue, screws and finishes.

I'll take you through the building process in an upcoming video workshop series. Hopefully you can get some cool tips for building your own cabinet.

Mike

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Make perfect square pegs with real strength

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UPDATE: Dovetail Techniques with Stephen Hammer

Comments (10)

bassman00 writes: This is a very helpful series. I found many useful tips and ideas to apply to my cabinet build. This may be a silly question, but where did you buy those hinges? I've searched locally and online at Rockler, Lee Valley and Woodcraft to no avail. I was going to use piano hinges for the doors and interior swinging panels, but seeing your use of loose pin hinges convinced me to go in that direction.

Thanks,
PaulD
Posted: 8:38 pm on January 29th

Sharper802 writes: I just started building this cabinet for my shop. I too have a fair amount of hand-planes. I was curious to know where you stored your router planes? I own both the small and large versions.
On a side note do you own/use plow and rabbet planes?
Posted: 4:17 am on January 21st

ghaz writes:
Posted: 3:10 pm on October 16th

Vaneng writes: I am currently renting and need a mobile tool cabinet.
Has anyone designed one for a small workshop.

Posted: 7:05 pm on May 31st

Don2Laughs writes: That looks a lot like my plane till cabinet but I filled the main body up with planes and still had to give a few away rather than have them float around the shop. I used my doors for saws and measurement instruments just like yours. http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f345/Don2Laughs/
I've been trying to design a better way to do the saws and I will undoubtably have to redo the till layout as my planes evolve to the right fit for me. I've added a filister rabbet plane since these pics were taken. And I would like to design a place for my drawknives and pullshaves.
Posted: 8:54 pm on May 25th

MPekovich writes: I'll track down an exact date, but I believe the video series is scheduled to start in mid-July. -Mike
Posted: 8:31 am on May 25th

NikonD80 writes: At last - this is the Video Workshop I've been waiting for most of all.

Really looking forward to this.
Posted: 5:45 am on May 25th

FarmerFunk writes: Looking forward to building this cabinet. Any idea when the video workshop will be available? Thanks
Posted: 5:57 pm on May 24th

MPekovich writes: mt4511- Good luck, it's a lot of fun. I'm still fine-tuning the tool placement and finding new things to store inside. -Mike
Posted: 10:27 am on May 24th

mt4511 writes: Great tool cabinet and based on your comment regarding the video workshop series, I am in the process of building one for my shop. I look forward to it.
Posted: 1:58 pm on May 22nd

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