An iconic tote for your on-the-go tools
In the early twentieth century, Stanley made some of the best hand tools then available. Along with their iconic hand planes and chisels they also made a series of toolboxes including the model 888. Recently, a member of the Woodcraft team came across a vintage 888 which was featured on the cover of a recent catalog. After taking a look at this bit of woodworking history, we couldn’t help but want to build a similar one, stocking it with a collection of key handtools for bench work. But rather than strictly reproducing the original, which was simply nailed together, we went with box joint construction for added durability. We also substituted 1/2" birch plywood for the bottom to avoid the crossgrain construction we would have had to deal with should we have employed solid stock. Our dimensions are very close to the old Stanley’s, but feel free to tweak them to suit whatever tools you intend to tote. As a collection of tools can be quite heavy, you’ll want to choose a lightweight wood for your box so as not to add unnecessarily to your burden. We went with butternut (see p. 54 for more about this lightweight species) but white pine or even cedar would also be good choices. Online, you’ll find a file for recreating our custom WM logo which we laser-engraved as a nod to the Stanley’s brass badge.
Lightweight but solid
Box joints secure the corners of the both the box and its inner tray. The two interior dividers fit into dadoes cut in the ends with screws reinforcing the joints between the ends and the center divider. The center divider is made in two pieces with the top cap cut to fully lap the ends. When finished, the tray rests atop the runner and the saw divider with a rabbet cut along one edge of the tray to keep it from shifting from side to side. The tray bottom is quartersawn solid stock, simply glued in place. It’s narrow enough that wood movement shouldn’t be an issue. The box bottom is 1/2" plywood with mitered edging covering its layered edges. The rabbeted lids pivot on steel strap hinges—as close as we could find to the originals. Brass hooks hold the lids shut while a bronze utility sash handle screwed to the center divider provides for a good grip.
Order of Work
- Make box and dividers
- Make lids and tray
- Assemble bottom
- Apply finish and add hardware
Build the box
Mill the stock for the box to the specified sizes along with some extra for testing. Also mill the material for the top cap, dividers and lids, leaving the cap and dividers overlong and the lids oversize in all three dimensions for now. With thin material such as this, it is a good idea to store your pieces on “stickers” (3/4 × 3/4" strips) in between work sessions to help prevent warpage. Set up a dado and make a simple jig to cut the 3/8" box joints at the corners by screwing a piece of 1/2" plywood to your miter gauge. Clamp a second piece of ply to the first and cut a slot for the 3/8" wide indexing pin. Offset the pin by the thickness of the blade; the blade height should be just shy of the stock thickness. Make a test joint to check your set up. Adjust as needed before cutting your good stock. Then cut the ends to shape by removing their upper corners and bevel the sides to match. Rout the 5/8" dadoes for the center divider all the way across the ends. Rout the 7/16" dadoes for the saw divider part way across the pieces then square the stopped cuts with a chisel. Sand the inside surfaces before gluing the box together.
Cut the ends first. Cut the notches in the end pieces first. Start with the bottom edge of each piece against the pin (inset). Make the cut, then slip that cut over the pin to register the piece for the next cut.
Cut the sides to match. The notches in the side pieces start with a space. To register them, slide an end on the index pin with its bottom edge towards the blade and butt the side piece against it. Make the cut then remove the end piece before continuing.
Cut the corners. Set up a tapering sled to cut the ends so that they are 51⁄2" wide at joints and have a 5⁄8" wide flat in the center of the top edge.
Mirrored pieces. For the stopped dado on one end, you can start with the piece flat on the table and cut until it reaches a stop clamped 3" to the left of the bit. For the second “mirrored” cut (shown), clamp the stop 3" to the right of the bit. Hold the piece against the stop and pivot it down the fence into the spinning bit to start. Then push it to the left to finish the cut.
Check for square. Apply glue to the mating surfaces and clamp the pieces together. Measure the diagonals to check for square. I found it easier to do this with the assembly upside down.
Fit the dividers
Cut the dividers to fit, measuring from dado to dado on the box to get an exact length. Rout a groove the length of the center divider for the runner, locating it so that the top of the runner will be 1/16" below the top of the saw divider. Glue the end cap to the top edge of the center divider before cutting it to length and rounding its corners. Cut and hand plane the runner to fit before gluing it into its groove. Drill and countersink clearance holes in the box ends for the screws that will hold the center divider in place. Then glue the dividers in place before drilling pilot holes and driving home the screws.
Tap, tap, tap. If necessary, help the dividers into place with gentle taps from a mallet. If you’re using a softer wood such as butternut, be very careful not to dent and splinter the edges.
Mark for length and shape. Mark the overall length of the cap, then use a circle template to lay out the rounded corners before bandsawing the piece to shape.
Trim things flush. Hand plane the bevels at the top of the sides as well as the bottom edges of the dividers to make everything flush.
Make the lids
Finish milling the lids to thickness, jointing one face again if necessary to restore flatness. By thicknessing these pieces in stages, they are more likely to stay flat when you’re finished. Cut the pieces to length, then bevel both edges to match the end slopes, cutting the lids to final width in the process. Finish shaping the lids by rabbeting them at the router table.
Rout the rabbets. Partially bury a large diameter straight bit behind your router table fence, exposing slightly more than 7⁄16" of it. Set the bit height to 1⁄16" and rabbet the underside of both ends of both lids, helping to push the pieces through the cut with a beveled follower. Also rabbet the lower edge of each lid.
Build the tray
Cut the tray parts to size, leaving the bottom at least 1/4" oversize in both width and length. To minimize any potential problems with wood movement, try to cut the bottom from quartersawn stock. Cut some extra side/end pieces to use for testing. Reconfigure your box joint set up with a 1/8" pin (or one that’s thickness matches the kerf of your saw blade). Ideally, equip your saw with a square-ground blade and adjust its height to slightly less than the stock thickness. Test your set up then cut box joints for the four corners of the tray. Glue the tray up, checking for square. Make sure the bottom edges are flush then glue the tray to the oversized bottom. Trim the overhanging edges flush at the table saw before cutting a rabbet along one side of the bottom to serve as a retainer when the tray is sitting in place.
Testing, testing. Getting a box joint set up to work perfectly takes patience. The pin needs to be set precisely, or the joint won’t fit. If the fit is too loose, move the pin slightly away for the blade. If too tight, move the pin closer to the blade.
Table saw flush trim. To flush trim at the table saw, make an auxiliary fence that rests about 3⁄4" above the blade. Set the fence so the left side of the blade is aligned with the outside face of the auxiliary fence. Run the tray along this fence to trim the bottom flush.
Retaining rabbet. Rout a rabbet along one edge at the router table as you did for the lid pieces. This cut will engage with the saw divider and help keep the tray from sliding laterally in the box.
Fit the bottom
Cut the plywood bottom about 1/2" oversize in width and length and glue it to the underside of the box, driving several screws into the center divider for added reinforcement. Trim the overhang on the table saw as you did with the tray. This time, however, adjust the fence so the blade undercuts the box by 1/16". Cut the edging strips at the table saw, leaving them slightly wider than the plywood thickness and long enough to trim to fit as you miter the corners. Cut the ends at 45˚ as you fit the pieces, gluing first the ends, then the sides in place. Trim the edging flush to the bottom with a block plane.
Undercut. Set the blade height to match the plywood bottom’s thickness. Position the auxiliary fence so it aligns with the center of the blade. Trim away the overhang and undercut the plywood in the same pass.
Cut to fit. Miter cut the end pieces and glue them in place. Then use these pieces as a guide as you trim the side edging to fit. Pad your workbench to protect the box as you work with it upside down.
Trim flush. Once the glue has set, trim the edging flush with the bottom surface of the plywood with a block plane and/or a card scraper.
Finish up
Lay out the locations for the hardware. Mark the holes carefully with an awl then drill pilot holes for the screws. Also engrave and attach a maker’s mark/logo if desired. On our website, we’ve included the file for laser engraving the WM logo shown here. Finish the box inside and out before doing the final hardware installation. I used a hard wax/oil, but any wipe-on finish would be appropriate.
Mark and drill. Hold the hinges in place as you mark the holes. When you drill the pilot holes, be very careful not to drill through the thin box parts.
Logo adds a nice touch. Attaching a laser engraved logo or maker’s mark to the lid makes the box that much nicer and is a tip-of-the-hat to Stanley’s original design. A wipe-on finish enhances and protects your hard work.
Paraffin for the screws. Scrape a little paraffin on the screws before driving them home. The wax acts as a lubricant making the screws turn easier.
