Rev. Jim Paulson made this 18th century style tool chest to hold a set of Windsor chairmaker’s tools. He brought his dovetailed pine chest to a chairmaking class at The Windsor Institute. Paulson combined the basic dimensions and design concepts from Chris Gochnour’s Heirloom tool chest with some features of Adam Cherubini’s 18th Century tool chest. Being an advanced woodcarver, Paulson then opted to enhance the basswood chest lid with some chip carving designs on the top and on the inside. The chest top is sealed with a polyurethane coating and the sides and trays are finished with milk paint followed by a mixture of linseed oil and paraffin wax.
Fine Woodworking Recommended Products
Milwaukee M12 23-Gauge Cordless Pin Nailer
This tool is designed for convenience. The battery and pins are easy to load, and the safety lock operates with the same finger you use to pull the trigger. The depth of set is adjustable, there’s a work light, and there’s a hook for hanging the tool on your toolbelt. A gauge lets you keep track of when you’ll need to recharge.
The Powermatic smoothed boards excellently. It has a plastic insert that sits shallow of the fence, where thin boards tended to catch when flattening faces. The Powermatic was the only model that uses a knob to adjust the angle of the fence—a nice feature—except that locking it caused the fence to move slightly, which made it tricky to square the fence. But when locked, the fence did not move. The 90° stop was easy to set but wasn’t reliable. The guard was finicky to install and would often not snap back fully after a board passed by.
2-Stage Filtration: Includes a static cotton medium efficiency filter (cleanable) and an H11 HEPA high-efficiency filter, which can filter more than 95% of 0.3μm particles.
- Excellent dust collection and stock removal. Must be used with a vacuum - The paddle switch was awkward to use, but the shape of the head made handling - Comfortable with one hand or two - Stops very quickly.
Rev. Jim Paulson brought his carved tool chest to The Windsor Institute for a class.
Paulson carved a hymn theme (Thine is the Glory) on the tool chest lid.
Paulson also carved the inside of the tool chest lid to show his company logo, J.D. Paulson Furnituremakers.
Paulson's 18th Century style tool chest holds a set of Windsor chairmaking tools.
Paulson's chip carving design integrated lettering, music, as well as rosette, leaf, and flower motifs. Various design elements were influenced by the work of woodcarver Wayne Barton.
With its graceful curves, cabriole legs, and ornamental back splat, a Queen Anne side chair is a bucket list build for many woodworkers. Dan Faia had a very specific Queen…
Become an UNLIMITED member and get it all: searchable online archive of every issue, how-to videos, Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking digital series, print magazine, e-newsletter, and more.
Comments
Hey Jim -- Glad to see your tool chest here! FWIW, folks -- Jim also makes beautiful Windsor Chairs
(from Chuck Pezeshki -- fellow classmate)
Thanks Chuck for the supportive comment. Good to hear from you.
Take care, Jim
AMEN!
Great tool box Jim. Your chip carving is superbly executed and I really like your design.It should be an inspiration to everyone.
All the best,
Wayne Barton
That is the snazziest tool chest I've ever seen Jimbo! How's about you work on a fly tying desk for me? - Joe Heer
That is an amazing tool chest, Jim. By far the most intricately and beautifully crafted chest here. Keep up the excellent work. ~ Jake
love it when hymns and verses are carved into wood, it really shows time, dedication and love, great work thanks for the inspiration
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in