Build your own wooden toolbox

The internationally renowned woodworker, artist and author Toshio Odate has not only popularised Japanese tools all over the world, he has also described how to store them in his book "The Tools of the Japanese Carpenter". It contains detailed drawings and a comprehensive description of the traditional Japanese toolbox. In these building instructions, we will show you step by step how you can build such a wooden toolbox yourself.

Contents - We answer the following questions:

Advantages of the Toshio Odate toolbox
How can I build a wooden toolbox myself?
Which material is suitable for the toolbox?
What parts does the toolbox consist of?
Which corner joint for the toolbox?
How do I make the carrying handles for the box?
How does the lock of a Japanese toolbox work?

Advantages of the toolbox according to Toshio Odate

"Japanese toolboxes", he writes, "are not intended for storage, but for transporting tools". For this reason, no value is placed on elaborate production, only functionality and light weight are important. All the individual parts are simply connected with nails and glue, yet these toolboxes are amazingly stable. No screws or fittings are required, as the lid is held in place by a clever sliding mechanism.

Fig.: Basic construction of the toolbox according to Toshio Odate

The wooden toolbox presented here is very close to Odate's model. This box is quick to build and you can choose the exact dimensions yourself. The size of the box depends on the tools that are to fit inside. For Japanese tools, it is usually the largest saw that determines the length. Don't plan the toolbox to be too big, it shouldn't be much longer than 600 mm so that you can still carry it comfortably.

How can I build a wooden toolbox myself?

The following steps are required to build a Japanese-style toolbox:

Cutting the parts to size
Mark out the wooden joints
Groove the corner joints
Assembling the body
Attach the carrying handles
Fitting the lid

Which material is suitable for the toolbox?

We have chosen ash as the material for our example box and planed it to a thickness of 12 mm. Basically, all long-fibre types of wood are suitable, including oak, pine or fir. The boards were cut to size using a circular saw and all surfaces were simply planed and left untreated, i.e. without any elaborate surface treatment. If you want to use ready-made board material from the DIY store, glued wood boards 16 mm thick are suitable, for example. You will also need forged nails (30 mm long) for assembly. These not only look nicer, but also provide more support than simple wire nails.

What parts does the toolbox consist of?

2x side panels
2x top boards
1x base
1x lid
2x handle strips
4x cover mouldings
1x push handle

Marking out

First make a detailed sketch or a construction plan with the dimensions of your toolbox to understand the construction. All dimensions are taken or transferred directly from the workpieces to avoid measuring errors. Use the handle blanks to mark the distance between the groove and the front of the side panels and the head boards for the width of the groove.

Which corner joint for the toolbox?

All joints are very simple and are only nailed (possibly a little wood glue, no screws). Small grooves approx. 2 mm deep in the sides hold the head boards in position during assembly. You have several options for making the groove:

Score them with a knife and chisel out the groove with a chisel
After scribing, saw the flanks into the crack and chisel out the waste in between
You can also use a moulding plane (with depth stop) to remove the waste or
use a grooving plane. This must have two pre-cutters, as it is planed across the wood fibre
You can cut the grooves step by step using a circular table saw or
using a hand router and a groove cutter

Once the grooves have been made, you can start assembling the carcass straight away.

Gluing and nailing the carcass

The positions where the nails are to be placed are marked and pre-drilled in a dovetail shape (alternately at a slight angle). This gives the nailed connection more pull-out stability. Important: the holes or their diameter must match the shaft of the nails. Our forged nails have a 2.5 mm shank, so we pre-drilled the holes with a 2 mm drill bit. After pre-drilling, the outer surfaces are cleaned with a plane. The glue is applied to the groove and the sides are nailed down. You can then proceed directly to nailing on the base plate. This aligns the carcass at an angle and holds it permanently at an angle. As with the sides, first mark the position of the nails and pre-drill. Then the base is also cleaned, glue is applied and the base is nailed on.

Fig.: The nails hammered in alternately at an angle give the joint more stability

How do I make the handles for the crate?

Slightly thicker material is used for the handles. For a better grip when carrying the crate, the bottom edges of the handles are bevelled slightly inwards. To do this, mark the bevel with the moulding knife and plane it. Alternatively, you can also cut a suitable moulding using a circular table saw. As the bevel has no other function, this does not have to be very precise. Round off the sharp edges slightly before fitting and plaster the outer surfaces. You can now glue the handles to the head posts and nail them to the sides if you wish. Once the glue on the handles has dried, the top edge of the toolbox is plastered flush. You can then glue and nail on the two previously cleaned and bevelled cover strips.

How does the closure of a Japanese toolbox work?

The lid is slightly longer than the opening between the two cover mouldings. The lid must therefore first be pushed diagonally under a cover moulding and then rests on its two cover mouldings, which rest on the side of the body. The exact position of the cover mouldings on the lid must be determined. The lid should be able to be pushed in so far that both ends are equally far under the two cover strips of the body. This can be seen exactly in our video.

Fig.: The lid is closed using a clever sliding mechanism

Production of the lid

Fig.: When the lid is closed, all dimensions X are the same size

Before the cover mouldings are glued and nailed to the lid, you should clean and chamfer all parts with a plane. To ensure that the lid and cover mouldings are as firmly connected as possible, use slightly longer nails that protrude slightly on the inside of the lid after being hammered in. Pre-drill the nails, hammer them in and then fold over the protruding tips on the inside of the lid. The diagonal sliding handle is scribed directly on the lid, sawn off precisely and then also glued and nailed on after plastering. All remaining edges are lightly chamfered at the end.

Conclusion/summary

With only a small amount of material and tools, you have now built a sturdy and attractive box yourself in which you can store and transport your tools within easy reach. Such robust boxes are not only suitable for tools, but also for storing other small parts in the workshop. And as they are quick to build, this technique is also ideal for elegant gift packaging of all kinds. Build a smaller box for a good bottle of wine, for example, or use fine wood for a jewellery box.

You can find all the hand tools and power tools you need to build the toolbox yourself in our online shop or in our shops in Munich and Plattling. If you are looking for more DIY building instructions for beginners, we can recommend the online course Project: Six-board chest!