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Hand Tool Cabinet

This thing is evolving wonderfully. It is so great that as woodworkers we get to customize our stuff to this degree. I'm a belt and suspenders guy so I went with the paracord method shown in one of the trade rags.
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I added one divider but then realized that they were not really necessary. Having your tools ready to hand is a great efficiency booster. You are going to love (and probably continue to modify) that thing. (y)
 
I woke up at 5 AM out of the blue, so got a little shop time in this morning before I had to start “work”.

I got a couple of quick coats of fast dry spray poly on the chisel rack.
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I then started on a holder for my dads brace.
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I went with just a simple holder, with a couple of arms to support it. Chamfered all the edges, which I did on the chisel rack too.
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I've got his original bits he bought when he first started working in construction in 1959. The box needs some repairs from rattling around in his truck toolbox(es) over the years. I'll probably repair the box and keep it stored in one of the drawers. I need to clean up the brace a bit.
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Next up will be the beater drill, which will probably hang on the back wall.
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Vaughn McMillan said:
That's coming along very nicely, Darren. :thumb: Your dad's Powr-Craft chisels look very similar to the 4-piece Craftsman set I bought the '70s and still use.
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I have that same set of Craftsman chisels. I think I bought them in the mid sixties. They've actually got some pretty good steel in them. Mine are about half an inch or so shorter than they started out due to many sharpenings.
 
The finished brace holder
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I got started on the drill holder. There are recesses drilled for the top handle, rear handle, and the chuck. Given the chuck screws in/out to tighten, the overall length changes, so fits best screwed most of the way in.
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I’m going to stop there for a few days and think about the look of it. I feel like it needs some curves and/or other details added.

I still need to add a cleat to the back and a spacer at the bottom. Might also look better from 1/2” stock, just looks heavy.
 
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Jonathan Shively said:
Darren, that is coming along nicely. I assume the shop is set up and doing this you are finding if there are any flaws in the layout? The best brace holder I have yet seen.
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Thank you!

I'm still setting up the shop and unpacking boxes, but part of that is finding homes for many tools yet that are coming out of boxes. My last bay is still quite full of things we "may" be using for the guest cabin and after we remodel the farm house. We're down to only a couple of furniture pieces, mostly smaller items in boxes. Also a lot of items that will be going to the fall garage sale (city wide, in town), probably a trailer full. I'm considering building a loft area over that last bay that the truck can still park under and use the loft for storage.

I feel like I have an enormous amount of isle space as I walk in the shop as they put the entry door a bit further over than I originally planned. I'm still using the cabinets from the tool trailer for most of my hand power tools and various job tools (electrical, painting, plumbing, etc), I had planned for that space to be for my drill press, bandsaw, sanders, etc. Also her GG-Grandpas hardware cabinet was to be down in the 3rd bay area, but is in the front area still.

We're on a home stretch of getting the guest cabin over the finish(ish) line, so may take on the loft build this winter.

I also have some structural work to do on the old garage, part of the back wall is rotted due to windows rotting out. My wife is wanting to build a "studio" in the first bay, closest to the house. So it will be getting a make-over when the walls are fixed. Though she'll have her Jeep parked in one of the other two bays, I'm thinking of leaving my welding equipment in the garage along with the mechanics tools for doing general maintenance/oil changes.
 
One thing I've not been happy with is the upper area lights of the cabinet. When sitting down or even standing at the cabinet they were some what blinding.
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I decided to add some angled mounts for them to redirect the shine.
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This is working much better. though I may consider just an LED strip at some point across the front valance. Though the hot spots aren't as noticeable in person, the camera is picking up on those more so. This is from the same sitting position.
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Vaughn McMillan said:
The angled lights are much better indeed. The cabinet is looking good!
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Thanks!

I think I know what I want to do with the hand drill holder to finish it up now, so will work on that this week.

I have one smaller set of hand carving chisels, but I've also been buying some older used carving chisels on ebay and from other sources. I got the Miller falls set today, another similar set is on the way. Some Buck gouges and some Marple gouges have yet to ship. So far I'm under $100.
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I'll see what all each set has when they arrive and continue to fill in some of the gaps. According to the charts I've seen, I have a ways to go. ;)
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I also have been gathering up all my rasps and ones I've found around here on the farm and cleaning them up. Many need handles, so as I'm making handles for the new chisel set I bought, I'll do more for those.
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