Kyserike Kraftsman

Grooming Tote ready to be stained

Tonight I was able to complete the grooming tote for the tack trunk that I’m building for my daughter Chelsea. I spent the last couple of days completing the design of the tote, making a material list and cutlist, purchasing the material, cutting the parts to size, creating the joinery, and assembling the tote. It seems a little larger than I expected but I think it will work well.

I used 1/2″ oak plywood for the base, 1/2″ oak hardwood for the long sides, tall sides, and the long compartment divider, and 1/4″ oak stock for the small compartment dividers. The handle is a 7/8″ oak dowel. I decided on rabbit and dado joinery to strengthen the assembly and used only only waterproof  Titebond III glue (no screws, nails, or brads).

The next step in the tack trunk project is the removable wrap holder. I still have some work to do on cleaning up the design for the wrap holder that I need to complete before I start putting more wood to the table saw blade.

I’m creating woodworking plans for the grooming tote and the wrap holder separate from the tack trunk that you will be able to purchase and download from the website. I hope to have those available by mid June. Stay tuned !

Sliding Tray

Today I created the sliding tray for the tack trunk that I’m building.

I just returned from my yearly golf trip to Myrtle Beach. As usual it was a great trip with lots of golf (6 rounds), food, drink, friends and great weather. This was a much needed break but now that I’m back I’m ready to continue with completing the tack trunk (I’m not quite ready to head back to the day job just yet). I promised Chelsea it would be done by the time she returns from Arizona (May 20th).

The tray is actual a very simple design. Its basically just a drawer, 4 sides and a bottom. The bottom is 1/2″ oak plywood. The sides are created with 1/2″ oak hardwood. I created a dado in the bottom of all 4 sides to hold the plywood bottom and I also decided to use dovetail joints. The dovetails turned out very well as you can see in the photos.

Dovetail Joints

Next step is the grooming tote. I picked up the material yesterday for the tote and I just need to tweak the design slightly tonight before starting on the grooming tote tomorrow. I’ve also been experimenting with finishes. It looks like I’ll be using a cherry gel stain for the exterior and I plan on leaving the interior a natural color

That’s all for today … Come back soon to check on my progress!

The lid and top trim are done and I think that this might turn out to be a tack trunk yet!

The lid attached to the tack trunk

Another shot of the lid attached to the tack trunk

I tried to get the lid done yesterday but only succeeded in getting the lid sides cut. I needed to figure out a way to cut the plywood lid top to size which was just a little too wide for my table saw to handle so I stopped for the day to do some research in how I could accurately cut the lid top. I picked up today with cutting the lid top after I figured out a method that would work for my saw and completed the lid today as you can see.

I started yesterday by cutting the lid sides and top trim to size and cutting miter joints at each end. The lid sides and top trim are created from the same 1×8″ oak board . After cutting each side to length and cutting the miter joint, I ripped a 2″ piece from the board for the top trim, the rest for the lid side. I attached the top trim to the carcase using glue and screws.

Top Trim added to the tack trunk

In each lid side piece I created a dado to hold the plywood lid top. I also used biscuits in the lid side miter joints for added strength (It’s really nerve racking creating the biscuit slots in the miter joints as it’s very easy to punch through and ruin your work !). I then glued up the lid assembly and let that dry a few hours.

I couldn’t wait and needed to temporarily add the piano hinge and see how the lid would work. I was a little concerned about the weight of the lid which is why I purchased a good quality piano hinge.  After mounting the hinge with a few screws I gave it a trial test and it works ! A little bit of adjusting is still  needed and I also need to router some rabbits in the inside of the lid sides to add some clearance between the lid sides and the plywood carcase top edge trim  but I think the design will work well.

Next step is to add the top edging to the center divider and mount the casters as the trunk is getting a little too big now for the workbench. I also need to start experimenting with some finishing techniques and start building the grooming tote and wrap holder. But before I do that it’s time for some golf in Myrtle Beach!

Corner Trim and Top Edging

Shelf and Tray Supports

I’ve been busy with other tasks lately so I haven’t had a chance to work on the tack trunk, but today I finally found some time and added the top edging to the plywood carcase and also milled, drilled, glued, and screwed (that’s a mouthful) the tray supports and the shelf supports to the plywood carcase.

I used the solid hardwood top edging to hide the top edge of the plywood carcase.  The top edging will extend about 1/2 inch above the top trim (which I haven’t added yet) so that it will help to make a dust seal for the lid. I used miter joints between each top edging piece and edge glued them to the plywood top using biscuits to strengthen the joint.

Corner Trim

For the tray and shelf supports I used hardwood stock also that I needed to plane down slightly to make a good fit in the dado that I had cut earlier in the carcase. I used glue and countersunk screws to secure the supports. I also milled the divider top edging but ran out of time before I could secure it.

The next steps are to create the lid and the top trim pieces (Which I plan on cutting directly from the lid).  I plan on working on the lid tomorrow. Check back to see the results.  Thanks for reading !

Well I didn’t get the rest of the trim added to the carcase this weekend as I had planned. I had a small problem trying to glue and clamp the vertical corner trim pieces because I didn’t have the correct clamps available, but after some trial and error I decided to glue the corner trim pieces together first as a unit, let them dry thoroughly and then attach them to the carcase corners. Yesterday I glued up the individual corner assemblies and tonight I attached the four assemblies to the carcase corners. It’s drying now (sorry no photo).

This weekend I also received some of the hardware that I will be using. I ordered a solid brass hasp and a solid brass piano hinge from Lee Valley and a pair of spring loaded chest handles from Rockler.

Here is the link to the chest handles that I choose for the tack trunk in case you are interested in using them yourself.

Heavy Duty Trunk Handles
Solidly built to handle hefty loads. Choose from Brass plated or Chrome plated finish. 5” wide x 3-11/16” high. 1/2” thick backplate. 13/16” thick spring loaded . Sold individually. Heavy Duty Trunk Handles