gentlemens tool chest

[Dutchman]

wooohooo. merry christmas to me!!

i'm off to williamsburg in a couple of weeks to learn about 18th century woodworking, tool making, and all about two gentlemens tool chests. the first is the 1773 william howlett example and the gem is the 1793 benjamin seaton- it was built by seaton, a cabinet maker and loaded with his tools, but never shipped to the colonies. the box remained packed and in the family till recently (40 yrs or so i think).

Now knowing that there is always a raging debate about seachests, are there any specific questions anyone would like to raise while we have the chance to ask the williamsburg folks? ( i know its a little late for our period, but what an opportunity!!!)

-dutch

[JohnnyTarr]

Besides dovetails what did they use to fasten the sides?

[Mary Diamond]

Oh! I do so wish I could attend ~ I saw the seminar posted while researching Sea Chests and Mission's Medicine Chest.

Let me gather my thoughts, and I will pm you.

[Captain Midnight]

I'd be interested in seeing pics of this toolchest and news of your findings when you have a chance.

[Captain Jim]

A fine tool chest to be sure. I had to look it up and downloaded some plans for it.

But on the subject of tool chests, one should always be aware of the Studley chest, which underwent repair in 2006. Look Here.

Its enough to make a tool nut drop to his knees and cry.

[Dutchman]

class begins tonight. if you get a chance and have a good woodworking store nearby check out their book section and find one called treasure chests. goes into some mighty fine chest building and design- all be it current builds, still make ya misty eyed.

[Dutchman]

hey gang, just got back and had a ball.

there is a lot of territory to cover so i'll do it in groups as i decipher the notes.

since the question was asked lets do fasteners first. tight dove tails, mortise and tendons, hide (as in horse, rabbit) glue, nails and turn screws keep em together. Interesting thing with the mechanical fasteners, they are all pre-drilled. Nails were run multi-directional on the trim. the first would be set to the left, the next up, next down, next to the right. this keeps 'em from pulling out. the fasteners- lots of them- are used to hold the bottom boards and molding in place. the carcass of the box relies solely on the joints to hold it in place.the joints that hold the molding in place are oppositely cut from the carcass and therefore provide the strength. let me explain again. if the dovetail pins are on the face of the carcass, they would oppositely be cut on the molding sides. the corners are not fastened to allow seasonal movement. combined with the screws on the bottom boards the box becomes sailor proof.

a note on bottom boards and kick molding. the bottoms are designed to be replaced if needed. sea chests were sometimes placed on cleats to allow water to flow under. cargo chests and blanket chests were likely not fitted with these as they were not meant to stay aboard ship. The bottom of the moldings on these chests were often planed up on the outer edge to keep the chest from being supported by the molding. carpenters chests bottoms were often multiple strips instead of one solid board to allow easy replacement of just one section that might break or wear through with the thought that heavy or sharp tool would eventually wear them out.

ok . . . what shape were the chests and what made them sailors chests. Depends on the region, era, and intended purpose. Blanket chests were a bit big, but did see use as sea chests after modification. handles were replaced, tills were added. if you have a chest with a molded (mortise and tendon) till it is probably sea oriented. if they were fastened with fittings (an afterthought) it probably started life as a blanket chest.

Sloped sides- yes, no, maybe . . . what ever the maker happened to make according to the contract- these varied by ship or custom order. this also changed upon availability. if someone was pressed, or shanghaid , they had few belongings, much less a chest. they would eventually pick one up somewhere. if it was too big, it may be cut down aboard ship, often following the popular model aboard.

more later- sleep now- sorry for the typo's.

-dutch