A book review this week. More accurately, a thinly disguised chance to boast. I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time. Dutch Tool Chests is a book Fitzpatrick has been talking about on and off for years. When I built my mini Dutch tool chest it was based off Fitzpatrick’s article in Fine Woodworking. I read every article and watched every video I could get my hands on before building it. Given the volume of material I have ingested on the topic, I believed this book would serve as a nice one stop shop on the topic, but would not teach me much new.

I was wrong.

It is said the mark of a great woodworker is the ability to hide and fix mistakes. There are a ton of little tricks, and more importantly, instructions for recovering from mistakes. These would have been a great deal of help as I made my own. I found the dovetailing instructions particularly interesting. The suggestion to simply re-saw a slightly out of square tail rather than tuning it with a chisel stopped me cold. So simple. Such a time saver. I have never seen it suggested before.

For those who have never made a chest before. I strongly recommend the book. Fitzpatrick has both made, and taught others to make these chests for many years. This shows in the very clear order of operations. Some may look at a Dutch chest and think it a simple project. I tip my hat to them. I struggled to figure out the process, and this book would have been a great help.

Where do I think the book is weak? It is very US centric. Instructions for getting parts and supplies are not going to be a great deal of use to those of us in Europe. You will have some homework of your own to do. I would have liked to have seen a slightly more opinionated take on laying out dovetails. For a beginner, this can be a confusing topic. Giving specific recommendations for spacing, half pin size, etc. would be a welcome addition. Even as someone familiar with dovetailing, I delight in hearing others explanations for their choices.

Those who keep their chests in non climate controlled environments get a mention here and there, but I felt it was a topic that was only skimmed. For some, building a chest exactly as shown in this book, will not result in enough protection. These are all extremely minor niggles. The result of hunting for something to critique, rather than large weaknesses.

The book closes with a gallery of chests over 40 pages long. This section alone is a gem and a joy. A full size Dutch chest is a project I very much intend to tackle at some point. I’ll be revisiting the gallery with a notebook to steal many ideas. All sorts of chests, in all sorts of sizes, some not even intended for tools are included. The many options for outfitting the interior displayed are worth a look, even if your own preferred chest is not Dutch. This is also the part where I get to brag a little. My own little Dutch tool chest can be found on page 182.

A great book. A good read for the beginner even if they don’t intend to make the chest. It walks through an entire project from start to finish, exploring the tools and techniques needed. The biggest problem , is that given it is a recent Lost Art Press book, it is not yet available in many European retailers yet. Give it time and it will be. It might be worth it to order right now, if you can use a U.S shipping address. Until December 11th, if you buy the book, you get the PDF for free, and will not have to wait for the physical copy to arrive to begin reading.

Dutch Tool Chest The book. As is usually the case with Lost Art Press, An understated but lovely cover. Dutch Tool Chest The table of contents Dutch Tool Chest I loved this tip for tail correction Dutch Tool Chest My own chest get it’s moment to shine on page 182