Portable Hand Tool Cabinet

Hand Tool Case (plan) now available:

Portable hand tool cabinet plan now available. Discover how I design and make a portable tool cabinet for storing woodworking hand tools. The clever design for hand tool storage is based on a Yeung Chan hand tool case. I had seen Yeung Chan's version of this hand tool case at a class I attended in 2004 at a furniture making school. Yeung Chan was the instructor and he brought his tool case with him from San Francisco when he travelled to teach. I was in awe of its beauty, functionality and detail. Let's say I had never seen anything like it before. I made sure to take a few measurements and a couple of photos before the week-long class ended. So 20 yrs. later I created my version of the portable hand tool case! 

I decided on Black Limba for the exterior of the case and Walnut for the inner components. The criteria was to work with wood I had in my existing inventory with minimal purchases. I also like the contrast these (2) woods provide. The portable tool case allows me to transport my woodworking hand tools to other workshops or locations. The Baltic Birch stand for each half (top and bottom) is incorporated into the tool case as pull out components. Very clever design! The tool case was created with a combination of hand and power tools.

I determined the layout of my hand tools as a criteria in the design this portable tool case. Each hand tool has its own compartment. The tool case cleverly incorporates the parts to create a stand for the two halves. I added (3) drawers to the design. Yeung Chan's version had no drawers. I find the drawers improve the aesthetic and also keep small tools, pencils, rulers, etc. from rattling around. The portable tool case consists of two parts, a top and bottom half that fit into each other to create a low profile tool case. I can bring my chisels, hand planes, layout tools, measuring + marking tools when I travel to teach woodworking or to deliver woodworking demonstrations. The chisel and instrument dividers are profiled to better access my tools.

I experienced a few challenges in the build, namely the best layout for the tools. I also took a hard look at the tools I would need and use in my offsite hand tool work. The weight of the tool case was also on my mind and this is addressed through the dovetail joinery in the corners to reinforce the top and bottom halves. The back panels are glued in to further reinforce the case halves.

The assembled interlocking stands can be seen here. They disassemble and fit into the hand tool case for transport.

Top drawer with leather pull in this photo. Holds small marking, measuring tools, pencils, erasers, folding tape rule, etc.

Bottom drawer with leather pull in this photo. Holds small marking, measuring tools, pencils, erasers, folding tape rule, etc.

When not transporting the hand tool case, it resides on a wall in my workshop studio. The shelves are torsion boxes lag-bolted to wall studs for structural integrity. The hand tool case weighs approximately 37 pounds when filled with hand tools. I use (2) heavy duty straps to tightly close the tool case halves for transport.