After purchasing a set of beautiful Kent & Stowe garden tools for a gift, I felt that they needed a tool box to complement them. My search proved unsuccessful so I decided to make one. Hope you like it!
Step 1: Material Used
Birch plywood was the chosen material for this project. A few off-cuts that lay around from a previous project were ideal for the job. For the garden tool box sides I used 3/4 inch birch plywood and 1/2 plywood was used for the back, front and base. A brush handle was purchased for the carry handle. The cord used to hold the foam kneeler in place was taken from the garden hand tools.
Step 2: A Personal Touch
Seeing that it was a gift, I decided to personalise the tool box. I went with a nickname on the front panel and dated greeting on each side. The 'BUCKS' was first to get some laser treatment. I covered the front panel with masking tape and used a laser engraver to score 'BUCKS'. The inner masking tape was then peeled away to reveal the plywood that would be primed and painted. The laser cutter eliminated the need of a scalpel blade to score the 'BUCKS' for painting.
Step 3: Painting and Engraving
The front panel was given 2 coats of grey primer and 2 coats of blue aerosol paint. As you can see from the picture, it was for a Christmas gift 2015. This engraving was also carried out by the laser engraver I had at my disposal.
Step 4: Front Panel Assembly
The masking tape was peeled away to give a sharp vibrant paint job that I was really pleased with. All panels would be secured in place with screw through the base. This would hide any unpleasant looking screws on the knot free birch plywood.
Step 5: Sides Assembly
The back panel was screwed through the base also. I was left with the side panels that would require some sort of visible fixing required. I could screw through the base into the side panels but in order to fix the front and back panel I went with a galvanised nail. These nails looked great, better than I honestly expected. But before I could start the final assembly, a hole for the handle neede to be drilled through 1/2 inch of the the 3/4 inch plywood sides. I used a Forster drill bit to drill out for the carry handle. The drill bit size required would depend on the carry handle being used. I went slightly over sized with the drill bit used. This results in the handle rolling into to your hand when picking up the tool box.
Step 6: Tool Storage Rack
The garden tools were laid out and the distance between each tool handle was measured and transferred to the 3/4 inch plywood strip. This would allow each tool to be placed into its own unique place after use. Holes were drilled and notched for the positioning of each tool. A router was used to make a comfortable home for each tool handle. This was secret screwed to the back panel via two of the handle cut outs.
Step 7: Protecting the Knees!!
A vital part of any garden tool collection is a kneeler. I did not want to have it just placed within the storage compartment of the tool box so I decided to accommodate it at the back of the tool box. I removed 2 of the lacer ties from the garden tools (are used to hang up the tools) and drilled and tied them diagonally to secure the foam kneeler. I felt if the kneeler did not have a designated place, it would go missing too many times!!
Step 8: Enjoy Digging!!
The garden tool box was completed with the use of off-cuts of birch plywood and a number of screws and galvanised nails. This Christmas present was accompanied with a lint free cloth and a can of Danish oil. I believe there was 3 coats of Danish oil applied to the Garden Tool Box.
