Gerstner style tool box plans

Mark_f

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I been a Machinist all my life ( well over 40 years ) and I always dreamed of owning a new Gerstner tool box. I remember looking at the price years ago and said " I can never afford an $800 tool box". Well ...... I went to look at them again a few days ago and I figured they have gone up a little ....... BUT THAT BOX IS $2300 NOW. I know I will never own one before I die now. So I thought about looking for plans to make one but can't find any, even to buy. Does anyone have plans for a Gerstner style tool box. I used to do wood working as a hobby and building one would not be a problem.
 
Your interest in Gerstner boxes echos mine, Mark. Thanks, Ron, for the plans.

Now that I'm retired (18 years come New Years) I probably ought to get started. I just inventoried my wood stock, I have one piece of teak, 12" wide, 9/16 thick and 7.5 feet long. It had been destined to be part of a transom on a Matthews cruiser, but the grain was 'wild', not suitable for transom material. It will make a grand tool box. In case any one is concerned about sourcing the teak, I've had it in my possession since the late 1960s.
 
I made it in 2 pieces like the plan but see no reason why you couldn't make it 1 piece.

I used 3/4 oak ply for the sides and 1/4 oak ply for the top and back. the drawers are poplar that I've had for about 11 years. It was used as cribbing for a pivot irrigation system I hauled to Utah form Iowa when I drove truck for a while . It took me a week of resawing to make all the drawer parts.

Ron
 
I just bought a 52 off craigslist for $100, loaded with tools that I gave away here. Refinishing it will be my winter project. Gerstner sells "2nds" all the time and you just missed the warehouse sale they have once a year. Subscribe to their newsletter and while still not cheap, some deals still do come up. They also sell kits where you have to put them together and finish them.
 
After looking at the 10 drawer Gerstner chest for $2300 ...:confused: ... (I know I will never own one of those) , I looked the the same model 052 box as a kit and it is $800 to build it yourself. I was shopping around the internet and found a box I may like. Now , a friend of mine has a wood shop and since I help him a lot , he has offered to help me build the box of my dreams from solid cherry wood. This is going to be a winter project and take months to build, so I thought about buying a cheap knock off to do for a while. I came across a nice looking box from Grizzly for $195.
It has 12 drawers. Is made of maple ( Gerstner now offers one made of maple also. ) Well ..... I ordered it and it came today. This box is amazing. The large panels are maple veneer, the drawers,front panel , and smaller sections are solid maple. Guess what...... The Gerstner is built the same way now. Thier large panels used to be glued up from solid boards but now they too are using veneered plywood. The drawers on this box are solid maple front , sides and back. ( The Gerstner is not). All the hardware is identical to the Gerstner. The joinery is excellent. Usually the Chinese knockoffs have filler in the poor fit joints. I can find no filler anywhere on this tool chest. As far as materials, this chest is as good as a Gerstner. As far as construction quality, it is close to a Gerstner. I looked closely at the Gerstner kit and in my opinion, this box is built a little better. The factory built Gerstner may be a shade better, but not $2100 difference better. Here are a few pics of the box. It is 26" wide, 11 1/2" deep, and 17" high.
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Usually there are flaws and repairs on the knock off items, but there are none on this box. ( Maybe I just got a good one, I dont know). But I will be proud to show this tool chest off in my shop. I am still building the cherry box this winter, but it will be hard to beat this for the money.
 
Nice box Mark , What dose the badge say on the front
 
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