Vintage Toolbox
Taking cues from luxe tool storage from the early days of car travel, build a handsome benchtop organizer for your most-used tools and gear.
I often refer to projects like this toolbox as a “chip away” project. It’s a project that can be addressed in between other duties, or serve as a break when you’ve hit a wall or are waiting on material for other projects. It’s also an aid on the weekends to fend off the ever present golf-on-TV nap that I catch staring at me — when they think I’m not looking. Yes, this toolbox is an ideal small project in that it has some challenges that will keep you awake, while not demanding a lot of space to work on in the shop. All the parts can be set aside or easily stowed away when more important issues arise. As for the look of the toolbox, all you need to do is an image search on the web for rare Louis-Vuitton-tool-box and you’ll see the inspiration behind Dillon Baker’s design. Notice the brass trim on the box. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill hobby shop brass strip. This is architectural-grade brass that has a soulful luster. Also the corrugated door that keeps things contained evokes a cloth-like warmth to the front of the toolbox. When the door is lowered there are the whimsical leather-tabbed drawer pulls that adorn the beveled drawer fronts. Throw into the mix the hand-cut dovetails that join the case bottom to the sides and punctuate the rim of the lid. All these elegant details makes for a convincing argument that you’ve got an instant classic on your hands.
SELECT YOUR PLAN PACKAGE
What You Get:
- 10 pages of step-by-step instructions
- 50 full-color photos and illustrations and exploded views
- Hardware sources and materials list
Product Recommendations
We don't have any links to project supplies and hardware for this particular project yet, but here are some other products that might be of interest to you. (We may receive commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.)
Similar Woodsmith Plans
Imperial Plans
The United States Customary System of Units (USCS or USC), more commonly referred to as the English or Imperial system, is the standard set of units for our plans. It uses inches and feet for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are in the United States, and it is the one we have traditionally offered on this website.
Metric Plans
The International System of Units (SI), more commonly referred to as the metric system, is the alternative set of units that we have available for some of our plans. It uses millimeters, centimeters, and meters for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are outside the United States. These plans are provided by our business partner, Australian Woodsmith, and are based on the original Woodsmith plan. However, dimensions and other elements of the plan may vary between the metric and standard versions. Be sure to double-check the plan before building.
Premium Plans
All of the information that you need to build our plans can be found in the standard plan. However, if you want even more granular detail to make your job easier, you should consider our premium plans. These come with additional shop diagrams that we drew when creating the prototypes. Shop drawings are not available for every plan.