For the last 5 years, I’ve been making toolboxes to share with other woodworkers. This last year had been a bit of a challenge to get something done, but I made a promise that I’d put together a box for Plane Wellness. I pushed between Christmas and New Year to try and get something done before 2024 was out. How this box is used is up to the organization; whether in the hands of someone who needs them, as a community/loaner set of tools, or a travel set of full-size tools… so long as it’s used I’ll be thrilled.

A tall tool tote painted black with angled ends, a cherry wood handle, and canvas flap rolled along the back edge.
The finished tool tote.

The design for this box came from a Filson How-To article. I chose this design as it was simple (no hardware!), and should have plenty of space for a very basic set of hand tools.

I did make a few adjustments from the source design. First, I shortened the length to 25.5” from 30” based on the tools it will carry (no long panel saw). Secondly, I chose pine over poplar to save on weight. Thirdly, I changed the end angles. I originally cut them the same intending to trim down later, but I decided I liked them as they were instead as they showed some of the hand tool marks.

Construction was pretty straightforward and done using only hand tools: hand planes sized 7 and 4, a crosscut panel saw, joinery saws, chisels, spokeshaves, brace, and hand drill. I first cut the end pieces, then sized and planed the sides, bottom, and handle. For the handle, I chose cherry because that’s what hardwood I had in the right size. My cuts aren’t perfectly square, but the design is very forgiving. I drilled the mortises with an auger, and squared them up with a sharp chisel.

A stack of cut wood pieces laying on a workbench, with a tool wall covered in chisels, saws, and planes in the background.
Dimensioned pine and cherry ready for joinery.
The assembled bottom mortised through the ends of the tote. It is missing the sides and handle.
Testing my mortise joints.
A saw cutting the wooden end vertically to make a ledge to rest a side on.
This bench saw really is handy for long rip cuts.
A tool tote in raw wood, glued and in clamps.
Glue up.

The case came together in about 8 hours from start to finish, including dimensioning, smoothing, joinery, and waiting for glue to try. I shaped the handle after it was installed with flat and curved boggs spokeshaves choosing to shape the handle from the top instead of the bottom for aesthetics.

A tool tote as seen from the front shoulder, showing the through-mortise joinery on the end, and the sides with half-lap joinery.
Shaping the handle. Yes, the shaping weakens the handle, but I prefer the look of it on top. Should still be plenty strong.

At this point the ends were maybe 1/32” out of square rocking slightly on my bench top. To fix this, I made some 1/4” thick cherry rot strips, a unique touch that matched the handle, was functional, and allowed me to more easily adjust the bottom to get everything in the same plane and eliminate the rock.

Two long and thin pieces of wood with countersunk screw holes at either end resting on a workbench amonstly scattered screws, an awl, hand plane, and hand drill.
Rot strips in cherry. These helped with leveling any variance in the tote to eliminate rock.

The finish I went with was 4 coats of Old Fashioned Milk Paint with a top coat of Odie’s Oil, and the end nails are Tremont Nail Company decorative rosehead cut nails. The inside of the tote is left raw wood. Any oil finish works great to seal the milk paint, but Odie’s Oil sure is convenient. I opted not to nail the sides to the bottom as it’s a long-grain glue joint and I didn’t want the nails catching on your leg when carrying this.

A tool tote with the outside painted in black milk paint, and blue painters tape masking the inside.
Dried milk paint is extremely flat, but provides good contrast to the handle and interior.
The tool tote without nails, but painted and oiled. The flat paint is now very shiny.
The sheen will go way down when the oil cures, but freshly oiled.
The end view of the tool tote showing nails reinforcing the half-lap joinery. A hammer and box of decorative wrought head nails is next to the box.
I waited until the end to nail the case. Technically the glue is plenty strong, but this added a decorative touch and reinforce the glue joints.

One of the more fun parts of this build was the waxed canvas cover. It’s a hemmed piece of canvas that’s tacked onto the higher side. It does a decent job of keeping out dust and should protect tools when carried outside in the rain. It was hemmed on a vintage sewing machine, and sealed with Otter Wax.

A portable Singer 221K sewing machine with a shiny black finish and gold decals sits on a small folding table with a piece of natrual canvas and ends hemmed in red thread.
Hemming the canvas cover on my vintage sewing machine. Yes it's powered, but it's vintage and was made in the UK.
A piece of canvas lying ospread on the floor with a box of Otter Wax and a heat gun resting on it.
The canvas was waxed 4 times and each time melted into the fabric with a heat gun to make it waterproof.
The back, higher side of the tool tote is shown with copper tacks holding the piece of canvas which spans between the sides of the tool tote.
Copper tacks hold the canvas cover in place.
A tall tool tote with a cherry handle mortised through the ends. A canvas flap hemmed in red thread covers the opening of the tool tote between the sides. Black paint contrasts with the raw interior of the tote.
Ready to haul tools.