So I made a tool cabinet…I’ve always loved the Arts&Crafts style. Hard to beat the beauty of quartersawn white oak. I used oiled bronze handles, knobs and piano hinges on the doors. The oak is a challange to work – hard as a rock! But, when the finish hits the wood, wow.
I took the design from a number of wall cabinet designs I found, many out of plywood and ‘shop looking’. I wanted to follow the woodworking tradition of making a much nicer than needed piece for the shop that would push my capabilities and be yet another learning opportunity. Working out the details, building these drawers, making panel doors and figuring out the finish were all a stretch and a lot of fun to tackle.
I wanted to have some small drawers along with doors where I could mount tools. To add capacity, I added an inner door that would allow me to add more stuff on both sides. At this point, I’ve got everything in there and still have more space. I need more planes!
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- Almost looks like a cabinet
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- The drawers even seem to fit – still need the drawer fronts
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- An unfinished door
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- One of the doors getting finished.
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- Lots of coats of finish were applied.
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- Closeup of the doors during finishing
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- Looks pretty good
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- With the internal door, lots of hanging space.
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- The front doors open and the first of my tools mounted.
SilverPearl Woodworking 
I really like this cabinet. How did you finish it? I like the color and contrast a lot.
Joe- thanks! I used a formula by Jeff Jewitt…you can see it here:
Click to access mission_oak_rev1-2011.pdf
I used the Aurora finish:
Stain with TransTint Medium Brown diluted at 1 oz dye to 1 qt. water
Apply one coat General Finishes SealACell Sealer. Let dry one day and scuff sand with 320 grit
Apply General Finishes Antique Walnut Gel Stain. Wipe clean and let dry overnight.
Apply 2 coats General Finishes ArmRSeal Satin Finish.
Super, thanks Rusty!
Beautiful work Rusty. I heard you interview on MWW. Great tool cabinet “A place for everything and everything in its place”
Nice cabinet. 🙂 Was it difficult to make the drawer runners? I need to do something like that for an upcoming tool cabinet. Do they slide well?
Jeff- thanks….they were not difficult. There are a couple of articles on Finewoodworking.com that do a good job of describing the process- build the drawers, cut the groove in the drawers, mill the slides to fit, mount the slides in the case using a story stick or spacer. Have fun! Rusty
Nice cabinet! We’re the drawer runners hard to make. I am about to build a new tool cabinet and am thinking about doing something like that. Do they slide well?