A place for me to display some of the varied projects that come out of my shop, as well as to "talk" about some of my experiences working with wood.

Tuesday 17 November 2015

Honey, I shrunk the Tommy Mac!!!!




I decided I wanted to build a smaller scale version of my Tommy Mac Tool Chest that I built 3 years ago.


I have a few miniature versions of some tools from various sources.  Once Veritas settled on one-third scale for their miniature tools, I have acquired most of these, some as gifts, some as "must-buys". I also made a reproduction of my original-design plane hammer, which was very cool.

I have purchased a few Paul Hamler reproductions over the last while as well and felt I wanted to house them in the style they deserve. My Tommy Mac Tool Chest was a seminal project for me which ties many of the skills I have developed over the years into a single project; and providing a benchmark to strive toward for future projects.

Lumber Stack
The miniature version was to stay true to the original, from the dovetailed case, to the cherry sapwood feature on the exterior,right down to the green leather drawer liners. And yes, as I have been reminded by friends and family - I do have a problem.

Like all projects, I started out with my lumber stack. All materials were milled to exactly one-third of nominal thickness of the original materials - mostly 3/4" (.250") & 1/2" (.166").

This provided a chance to use up some strips i had left from the previous projects, while still leaving at least a cord of tongue depressor sized strips behind. These will be for the next project - or the stove!



Cleaning out the tails in the top.










Since I was doing dovetails and it was to remain true to the full-scale version, I used my David Barron dovetail jig to cut them. While making dovetails 1/3 the size in 1/4" material is no different, errors are magnified so absolute precision was paramount.


test fit of dovetails...
Gluing up the carcase, staying square was critical.

Cleaning out the dadoes and rabbets with the Veritas Mini Shoulder.
When adjusting a mini plane, one needs a mini hammer...

The web frames installed providing more structure and runners for the drawers.
These are maple with cherry strips on the front.


The first drawer being test fit and trimmed for a piston fit.






Beauty shot of the original plane hammer and its baby brothers.
All parts turned by me on  the lathe.






With the drawers fitted, time to clean up the dovetails with my Bill Carter mini plane.
Drawer layout with green leather bottoms and knobs installed.


The Tool Chest completed, finished, and its a new home for some small tools

Now back to projects on the to-do list, this was a nice distraction.

2 comments:

  1. Wow. I thought I had a problem with miniatures - your collection is very nice indeed. And now you have the proper toolbox for them.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Ralph - mine is just a mild obsession, my target is to get together a "complete" set of hand tools for my miniature self. They should all fit in the new chest.
      Cheers,

      Richard

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