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Having had my sharpening stones rattling around in a drawer for a long time, it was about time they had a home. Watching Jesse (The Samurai Carpenter) build his toolbox/sharpening station gave me inspiration for my own. I didn't have a lot of spare timber available, so used my imagination. I did have a couple of 2" x 10" slabs of very dry pine, which I ripped in half for the sides and ends (it was free too!), some 8mm ply for the base and some Beech cutting boards from the local supermarket (for cheap), for the hardwood top and stone supports. I actually love those Beech cutting boards, as they're flat, a consistent thickness and nicely finished. I've used them for other things in the past, as hardwoods are just so expensive here in the UK.
I wish I had used something like Cherry for the box as the soft pine was a bugger to work with, especially the mortices and rebates. Hard to get a very clean edge in pine.
Confession time: I had planned to have the tray sitting inside the front and back rails, but when I measured the side rails, I forgot to add extra for the exposed tenons! Needless to say I was kicking myself off camera, but at least it was only free pine and I learned something new. So I ended up adding the rebate to support the tray, which worked out fine in the end (just a bit more work).
Something else I had to try, but on hindsight wished I haden't, was the wedged tenons. I should have left them proud as I originally intended. I cut the chamfer too wide, so the wedges weren't long enough. Something else I learned :) I didn't use Jesse's plans, but I did buy a copy to support a brother, so if you're planning to make your own, go check out his video and store (links below).
Watch Jesse's Video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUofvqiwenA Purchase Jesse's plans here: samuraicarpenter.com/toolboxsharpening-station The sharpening water stones that I used are available here: www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+waterstone-sharpening-set-of-3+dk6710