I would love to tell you that the dovetails were flawlessly executed and that they are way easier than you would think. Maybe for some people they are but not for me. The cabinet and door went together fine and they were both square but it was challenge both mentally and physically. In the interest of full disclosure some of the joints had gaps and the very first one that I cut was done in a different orientation than the rest of them. Do I regret going with dovetails? Not one bit! Even though they were not perfect it was very gratifying and I will definitely be using dovetails on more projects in the future. Now don’t feel obligated to use dovetails, there are several different joinery methods that would work just as well for this tool cabinet.
You will also notice along the way that I made a few errors that required extra attention and ended becoming a lesson in patience (or lack thereof). Not everyone has the same tooling so the interior storage becomes more personal. For my cabinet, I wanted to make sure there was room for future tool additions. I even left 23” between the shelf and top just in case I ever wanted to add a No. 7 plane. While my needs are most certainly different from everyone elses', this design leaves plenty of ways to make the cabinet your own. If have scrap wood, you could use it to add some drawers or even an adjustable shelf or two.
This Project is Brought to You by Bell Forest Products