Travel Tool Chest / Workbench

[MattF]

I do admire your patience & perseverance.

 

[Dr.Al]

During the evenings of the week I applied a few coats of Mike's Magic Mix to the box and drawers (inside and out) and also a coat of paste wax to the sides of the drawers (as I figured it might help with them sliding smoothly in and out). After letting the finish have a couple of days to dry, it was time to get on with the leather feet.

Carolyn lent me one of her punches (a 3/4" / 19 mm diameter one) and some off-cuts of some brown leather:

I'm going to use the "furry" side of the leather as the outside surface. Part of the aim of the feet is to stop the box moving around when you pull the drawers out. I took the leather scraps into work (this box will eventually end up on my desk) and the furry side had a lot more friction on the desk surface than the shiny side.

I used the punch to make the feet (along with quite a few spares in case of later errors or just losing the little circles!)

I then gave them to Carolyn who (and I quote) "burnished the edges with Tokonole (a Japanese edge-finishing and burnishing agent) along with a wooden burnisher and some canvas". The one on the right in the following photo hasn't had its edges treated and I hope you can see the difference:

I didn't trust myself to do a neat job of fitting the feet so I decided to give myself as much assistance as I could. I started by peeling off a length of double-sided tape, throwing the tape away (but keeping the backing) and sticking some masking tape to the backing:

The same punch as before was then used to make a series of holes in the masking tape and backing:

In preparation for this job, the 3D-printer had made this little cutting guide, which has a shallow raised section of the same diameter as the feet:

That got held down onto the masking tape and the edges used as a reference for a knife cut all the way round:

The little masking tape pieces could then be peeled off the backing and applied to the bottom of the box with the edges lined up with the edges of the box. To help the glue stick I used my thinnest card scraper to roughen up the surface slightly (taking some of the finish off) within the circle and then I applied some contact adhesive:

I also applied some contact adhesive to the shiny side of the leather feet:

The feet could then be pressed firmly into place and then the masking tape peeled away:

The finished underside and back of the box:

This photo shows the drawer joinery and that fabulous looking (in my opinion) grain "pouring" over the rim:

Rear view:

Straight on at the front:

Some more:

 

[Puglet1]

I’m useless with wood but can recognise great craftsmanship when I see it.

 

[Ali]

I think my favourite thing about your projects and workmanship is the way you look at a task and consider the best (and most accurate) ‘no compromise’ way of doing something with the tools you have to hand. I’m much more likely to grab the nearest tool to hand and get on with it, most often with disappointing results. (For instance, I’d have just used a rule to set the feet, but I guarantee at least one would be wonky.)

I’d love to make a resolution to think more carefully about the best way to go about executing the task before me, but I’m sure I’d just end up overthinking everything. Any tips?

The box is beautiful, enjoy looking at it sitting on your desk at work.

 

[Dr.Al]

I think my favourite thing about your projects and workmanship is the way you look at a task and consider the best (and most accurate) ‘no compromise’ way of doing something with the tools you have to hand. I’m much more likely to grab the nearest tool to hand and get on with it, most often with disappointing results. (For instance, I’d have just used a rule to set the feet, but I guarantee at least one would be wonky.)

If I were using PVA on an unfinished surface, that's what I would have done: put a thin surface of glue on the leather & then aligned them with a rule. However, if I'd done that then the feet would have absorbed the oil when I applied the finish.

I could have just skipped the finish on the bottom but I'd prefer it was all protected.

Using contact adhesive meant I had to put glue on the box as well as the feet. Contact adhesive is horrible stuff to apply so my chances of getting it only in the right place felt quite slim, hence the tape. Of course it would have been far easier to make the feet square & just use strips of tape, but where's the fun in that?!

I’d love to make a resolution to think more carefully about the best way to go about executing the task before me, but I’m sure I’d just end up overthinking everything. Any tips?

I'm not sure what to say: I just end up overthinking everything! Embrace it!

I'm generally a lot more blasé towards the start of a project. As I put more & more hours into it I tend to get more & more cautious.

The box is beautiful, enjoy looking at it sitting on your desk at work.

Thanks Ali

 

[MattF]

I'm generally a lot more blasé towards the start of a project.

I tend to be the opposite. I have a tendency to stall any project I have in mind by over-thinking it beforehand, but then just crack on once I start.