In the future, please redirect your web browser to http://www.daikubob.com/.

- Bob

Small tool box. Dimension: 21Lx9.75Wx4H”

For the past three and a half years, I’ve been attending Jay van Arsdale’s Traditional Japanese Hand Tools and Joinery class at Laney College in Oakland, California. Given the nature of class activities (e.g., tool maintenance, sharpening, and wear) we are required to bring our own tools. I used to carry a big tool box to class and I packed all sorts of tools in it – yes, I’m one who is in a constant state of prepareness, never wanting to miss even a dull moment. Fully loaded, my big tool box weighs upward of 50-60 pounds. Laney campus parking can be a challenge. Sometimes I have to walk about a city block with the tool box propped up on my shoulder. 50-60 pounds eventually feels like dead weight at such distance. There were times when I huffed and puffed and my body was shaking by the time I got to class. Forget about woodworking; I got a workout!

I subsequently scaled down to a “medium-sized” tool box. It is much lighter at about 35-40 pounds fully loaded, but still feels like a heavyweight after a long distance.

More recently, I took the minimalistic approach and kept my tool kit light. I decided on using a small tool box and to limit the tools to what can fit inside. I came up with a list of tools I felt was most essential and they must all fit in the box!

Daiku Bob’s essential tools.

Tool organization can be an issue since there’s no compartment or partitioning. So I made a tool tray for storing chisels and miscellaneous small items. The tray fits inside the tool box.

Tool box and matching tool tray.

Everything is working out well and I’ve been quite happy with it. A frustration which has been growing over the past two months is that it’s difficult to put everything back inside the box! I’m starting to think that the small tool box is a tad bit too small. I’m in the process of building a slightly bigger tool box. Stay tuned…

Build date: ~2003
Dimension: 12Lx2.25Wx3H”
Materials: Maple and Goncalo Alves

Around 2003, I took a Krenov-style plane making class from Arnold Champagne, a graduate of the College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking program. Arnold ran a small workshop out of his house in the San Francisco Portola district, teaching locals the finer art of woodworking. There were about six students in the plane making class and we managed to each make a plane in the two-day session. This was the first wooden plane I made. I’ve made a few planes since.

The material for the plane body is maple and the sole is Goncalo Alves. The blade is a design for Krenov-style planes by Ron Hock. It is made of high carbon tool steel. The 3/16″ thick blade has a wide bevel, making it easy for hand sharpening – this is reminiscent of Japanese plane blades. The Hock blade gets quite sharp and is rather durable.

I admit I have not put this plane to use at all. I went through an experimental period with hand tools and then later set my preference on Japanese woodworking hand tools, including Japanese planes (kanna). Recently, I took the Krenov-style plane out of storage and tuned it. After conditioning the sole I was able to pull push some nice, full-width shavings. I plan to put the plane through some use to see how it compares against the Japanese wooden plane.

Build date: 2009/03/14
Dimension: 8Lx5.5Wx4H”
Materials: Cherry

I cut my last set of dovetails about seven months ago (July 2008) for the medium-sized toolbox. I worried that I may be getting rusty, so I decided to practice by making a small box with dovetail joinery. Honestly, I don’t need another small box. I made quite a few of them last year (see here and here).

For this project, I wanted to try cutting very tight tails and small pins – a line’s width. The tails were rather tightly spaced that I was barely able to slip a 4.5mm chisel in between them. Cutting the pins required some concentration since any small deviation in the saw cut would have resulted in very visible mistakes. Having said that, I made a few mistakes, but the end result still looks decent after some minor repairs. I glued the bottom panel in place, then secured it with nails made from a 1/8″ wooden dowel. I’m not too happy with the pull knob on the lid. In hindsight, I could have shaped it with a bit more curves. Oh well, next time. After completing the box, I applied 2 coats of Bioshield Primer Oil #1.

I gave the box to my Mom as an early Mother’s Day present. She was elated.

Dimension: 27″x23″x31″ (collapsed), 54″x43″x31″ (expanded)

My wife had wanted a dedicated sewing table for some time. I set out to build one in 2007 with a promise that it will be done by year’s end. I bought the sewing machine lift mechanism from Rockler and began the design process. Things became a little too ambitious since I wanted to use solid wood and complicated joinery, as well as employing Japanese design elements. The project was stuck in the design stage. One year and many months went by… The wife, having had to work on several quilting projects on makeshift setups like the family’s dining table and the kid’s study desk, got really fed up with my procrastination and gave me an ultimatum – build or buy, but it better be here in 2 weeks. Given the time constraint, I seriously considered buying but when I looked at the products out there, I was quite disappointed with the low quality and high price. A decent sewing table can cost upward of $1000! Time to build.

To make up for the lost time, I decided to use power tools almost exclusively and to keep the design simple. I also chose MDF, melamine board, and birch plywood for materials. I completed the project on 09/22/2008, over a 2 weekend period. It’s not a pretty thing, but is functional and very sturdy. More importantly, it brought up my approval rating!

A quick study of the design.

Collapsed sewing table for storage.

Sewing table in use. At about 150 pounds, this little guy is a heavyweight!

For 2009, I set a goal to learn Google’s SketchUp. I didn’t have much success in learning it for the past 3 years even though it’s supposedly the most user friendly of the 3D modeling software. The challenge had been to find a dedicated block of time to learn SketchUp. This time around I was determined to set aside an hour each day for a focused study until I become proficient at it. To track my progress, I created a SketchUp GoalTracker (more on that in a future blog installment) and monitored it daily. For study aids, I referred to:

• Google SketchUp For Dummies by Aidan Chopra (an excellent beginner’s guide)
• http://www.go-2-school.com/ (lots of great video tutorials)
• http://sketchup.google.com/training/videos.html

Those were pretty much all the resources I used. After learning the basic SketchUp tools (1 hour minimum each day for 2 weeks), I set out to create a model of my toolbox as a first ambitious project. It was an opportunity to try out a wide range of tools. I was quite happy with the result. I can claim that I now know SketchUp – the year’s goal accomplished.

My SketchUp toolbox model can be found at the Google 3D Warehouse. I had made several toolboxes in the past 2 years and this one is by far my favorite (more on that in a future blog installment). Since I decided to donate it to Daiku Dojo, I captured the dimensions and details just in case I want to build a replica in the future. The SketchUp skill came just in time!

2009/01/31 Daiku Bob’s toolboxes. The medium-sized toolbox at the bottom was donated to Daiku Dojo.

According to the Chinese calendar, 2009 is the year of the Ox. The Ox is the symbol of “prosperity through fortitude and hard work.” Wikipedia goes on to say “The Ox is not extravagant, and the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes them nervous.” Huh? Who made this stuff up? That doesn’t read like Chinese astrology to me. In any case, given the current global economic woes, we’re all going to need a bit of fortitude and hard work in the coming year(s).

I like to set goals to start off the new year. Last year I set about 12 goals and met 3. Having too many goals can be a distraction so this year I’m shrinking the list down to only a handful of goals. To help make the goals a reality, I plan to use the S.M.A.R.T. Goals method and to track them very closely.

My goals:

1. Learn SketchUp. I’ve been wanting to do this for the past 3 years. It’s now or never.
2. Take a summer course at College of the Redwoods. Registration begins in March and space is limited.
3. Build more stuff out of wood. 2008 was a productive year for me. This year I want to focus on curvilinear designs and to experiment with wood bending and lamination.
4. Develop this blog.
5. Work out regularly. A healthy woodworker should also train like an athlete. Okay, I made that up. But it’s important to stay healthy and be strong regardless of your line of work or hobby. Oftentimes the amateur woodworker is working alone, carrying heavy lumber or plywood. Having a little bit of strength is a definite plus. My strength goals:
   • Chin-ups – 20 reps. My max is 16 reps and I’ve been stuck there for some time.
   • 1RM Deadlift 350 lbs. Max is 280 lbs but that was 2 years ago.
   • 1RM Back squat 250 lbs. Max is 210 lbs.
   • 1RM Bench press 200 lbs. Max is 180 lbs.
6. Maintain consistency and stay organized through ritual, patterns, and repetition (I forget where I read that). Avoid procrastination, my biggest vice.

See also:

• Lifehack: New Years Resolutions Don’t Work – Here’s Why
• Lifehack: How To Make Resolutions Stick
• Get Rich Slowly: How to Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick

Build date: 2008/07/05
Dimension: 27×13.5×8″
Materials: Southern Yellow Pine, old growth red cedar (top, bottom), cocobolo (knobs), brushed steel handles (From Home Depot, Wife’s idea)

I had wanted a large traveling tool box for storing the hand tools to bring to my weekend woodworking class. On that premise, I created this box. Unfortunately it’s too bulky and as such is quite unwieldy. I tried various portability tests like carrying the box from my garage shop to the family room, back and forth, and I kept bumping it against things. I made a quick mock-up prior to the actual build and the size seemed right at the time. Sometimes the issues don’t become obvious until the actual application. Fortunately, my wife likes the box a lot, so I gave it to her to store her yoga stuff. She wanted pull knobs for the lid so I carved them out of cocobolo. She also picked out the brushed steel handles from Home Depot.

The box has quite a bit of joinery, mostly mortise and tenon, which took me several weekends to complete. The design was inspired by Nishiyama-san, a member of the Kezurou-Kai group. I saw his toolbox at the 2007 Timber Framers Guild Western Conference. See photos here:

See also:

• Making a Japanese Toolbox
• Small Toolbox
• Stack of Toolboxes
• Toolboxes and Tool Storage