My Dutch Tool Chest

It is exciting that there is a new book out on how to build a Dutch Style Tool Chest, I know that many beginning woodworkers will want to try their hand at making one.

I built one in April 2019 to prepare for a move, we moved from our wonderful little cabin in the heart of the Colorado Rocky Mountains to the Denver metro area. The move was job motivated. 

This tool box was nice, but every time I moved it from one studio to the next, I had to empty it of all the tools, put it in my FJ Cruiser, then reload the tools. The process was reversed to place it in the new space. 

After using it for several months, I realized I should have made the chest deeper to accommodate my Stanley No.5 jack plane, tool totes, and several other tools. And it could have been at least 18 inches taller.

The DTC at my studio at 40 West Arts, Lakewood, Colorado, circa 2020.

One thing I didn’t like about the chest was the lid had this bad habit of slamming shut if I bumped the main body. It was rare for me to close the lid, I always needed access to my hand tools. And because I didn’t make the chest deep enough, I never put the front panel on, to do that I had to rearrange all the tools on the lower shelves.

My Dutch Tool Chest today. 

Several months ago, I removed the lid, cut off the angles of the angled sides and added to the sides and bottom of the carcase to make the box deeper. The lid got an extra piece of wood to make it deeper also, and now it is the fixed top of the chest. Down the road, I plan on adding some drawers to it and adding a taller base that will also have a drawer or two, but right now I am too busy building classical guitars to take the time to make this a decent chest of drawers.

As you can see in the above photo, all the tools that were in the original chest are now on the wall in easy reach. Sure, I have to dust the tools occasionally, but I really, really like this set up.

Would I ever make a Dutch Style Tool Chest again? I doubt it.

I hope that you like the DTC that you make!