Shipwright’s Toolchest

Completed Project

Prior to doing any boat building, students are required to build themselves a tool chest, with the object of learning basic woodworking techniques as well as having a place to store their personal tools.

details

The building of a shipwright’s tool box can be thought of as a “rite of passage” for yesteryear’s shipwright. Shipwrights of the past, as part of their apprenticeships, built a tool chest for storage of their tools. A chest design (as opposed to a cabinet design) was preferred because when they completed their apprenticeship, they would embark on their journeymanship, typically spending seven years traveling and working at various shipyards to learn and improve their trade skills. Upon completing their journeyman-ship, they would return to work at the shop where they had apprenticed and share their new knowledge with the master shipwright who had originally accepted them as apprentices.

The shipwright’s tool chest was typically built to be plain looking on the outside so as not to attract attention during transport, and strong to withstand the rigors of travel on horse drawn carriages. Some were finely crafted on the inside to show off the shipwright’s woodworking skills.

The final Classic Woodworking skills project for first-year students is the construction of their own shipwright’s tool chest. It will also serve as a safe, convenient place for storage of their own personal tools during their time at GLBBS. Students will be required to build the tool chest to specific dimensions (download student handbook plans). They will use the basic hand-tool and power-tool skills taught to them in preparation for moving on to the actual hands-on phase on small wooden boat building. The feature hand-tool exercise of this project is the laying out and chopping of the dovetail joinery that holds the tool chest together.

Once students have completed the construction of their tool chest, they can finish the inside to their own specifications on their own time, as well as applying the finish/color of their choosing.