# Cherry Chisel Rack



## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

This year I have been building up my hand tool collection, starting with a massive upgrade of my chisels. Over a period of couple months, and a massive chisel sale at Woodcraft, I bought a complete set of Pfeil Swiss Made chisels, 1 or 2 at a time. I decided that I need something to safely store all my chisels, that would look good, and be a skill builder as well. I designed the chisel rack in sketch-up, though I did make some minimal design changes (changed a few dovetail joints to mortise and tenon joints) the drawing was a huge help in the over all build. A lot of the initial work was done with power tools. However, as the project progressed, I ended up using hand tools more and more to make sure each joint fit as best as possible. The 9 short dados in the bottom piece were done mostly by hand with a little help from the drill press, as were all the mortises. The glue up was a challenge, and took the better part of a Saturday afternoon to complete. Once the glue was dry I spent several days with card scrapers, hand planes, and sanding to get each joint smoothed out.

This was the first project that I had used cherry (unless you count the projects I did 20 years ago in Jr. High Shop). I decided to try to bring out its color. The finish consists of a coat of boiled linseed oil wiped on, and two coats of Bullseye's clear shellac sprayed on. This was my first experience with either of these finishes, and the first time I have used an HVLP sprayer.

Once I clear off some wall space, the rack will be hung on the wall using a french cleat. Ultimately I will be building a tool cabinet that this will go into as well, but that is a later project.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Hi Mike,
That came out really nice. Well done. Can't wait to see the tool cabinet.


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## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

Welcome and the rack looks nice


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## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

*Sweet!*


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Beautiful job and a great inspiration, Mike.. I've recently picked up some chisels myself and have been working on how to hold them when working...


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Mike that is especially well done, is the design yours? The finish is great I shall have to try it out on the final build in the bathroom downstairs. I really like your write-up, simple and to the point.

Very well done.


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

Thank you all for the kind comments!

Jim, make sure you post pictures of what you make for your chisels!

Jerry, I did indeed design the rack from the ground up using Google Sketch-up. Boiled Linseed Oil is great product, just make sure you properly dispose of the rags you use to apply it. As with any oil based production, as it dries and cures it can generate a lot of heat that can can cause the rag to catch on fire. There are a lot of different recommendations out there, however I simply throw them in a bucket of water till trash day, and then throw them in the trash can and take it out to the curb. Other recommendations is to lay out the rag completely unfolded and flat on the driveway for 24 hours and let it dry and cure. if you have a fireproof container, that is the best option.


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Nice custom design. love the finish!


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