Anarchist Tool Chest with Megan Fitzpatrick

If you’d like to learn dovetails (while you build a sturdy chest that holds about 50 hand tools…which is to say almost all the hand tools you need to build furniture), this is absolutely the class for you – you’ll get plenty of instruction and practice. We’ll start at the back, so by the time you get to the joints on the front, you’ll be an expert!

Plus, we’ll make handsome and (almost) bomb-proof raised-panel lids, and cut the moldings, skirts, and lids by hand. Though we will have time to build only the outside of the chest, I’ll discuss how to divide up the interior for efficient work and show you some options.

A fully catered lunch is included and served every day and drinks and snacks are provided all day.

A tool chest organizes and protects your tools from damage, rust, and loss. While many woodworkers have attempted to improve upon the traditional chest design that emerged 300 years ago, the old form has remained the absolute best way to keep the most tools in the smallest space.

This is an excellent first project for a new hand-tool woodworker and the skills you will learn in this class include:

• Truing up panels using bench planes
• Traditional through-dovetail joinery
• Cutting basic moldings by hand

By the end of the class, you will have all the skills you need to complete the interior of the chest at your workshop at home, whether you want to make just a few sliding tills or even a full-blown interior cabinet with dovetailed drawers.