BooTENDS TnRoITIoNAL SuurTERs STEp TooI Box ... - Wood Tools

lnstall a 1/c" dado blade in your table sawand plow a dado in each side for the drawerrunners. Make sure the hardboard fih,SlJibh to a %" dado blade and make severalpases h cut fie wide dado at tp topend of each slde. Then cuthe shelf dadoes.the drawer runners in each side(Figure 1). After you finish thedrawer runner dadoes, exchangethe r/+' dado blade for ar/zttbladeand cut the rabbets and the shelfsupport dadoes (Figure 2).Moking the FeetI recommend making the feet fromone piece of 2rr x 8rr stock (see theFeet Construction View). Rip the2rr x 8rr to 61,/srr wide, then crosscutthe blank to 141/ztt tong,Begin by laying out the feet onyour stock. Next, form the curvedends of the instep using a drillpress and s/err bit (Figure 3). Afterdrilling the holes, equip your tablesaw with ^zlnu dado blade, and cutthe wide dado for the foot-to-sidejoints (Figure 4).Rip your stock in half to createthe two feet, and nibble away theremaining instep waste (Figure 5).Layout the 45' corners (see theFoot Detail), and cut them withyour table saw (Figure 6). Sandthe feet thoroughly and rout achamfer along the outside edges.Feet Construction ViewBore 5/s"holeAssemblyBefore glue starts flowing, take afew minutes to dry fit the jointsand to drill countersunk pilot holeswhere required for the screws.With a project this small theassembly really happens all atonce. Spread glue in the side paneldadoes for the shelf, slip the shelfinto position, and drive the screws.Now put glue in the side panel rabbetsand add the top.Glue and screw the feet to thebox, then cut the two rails and fitthem into the assembly. Drill countersunkpilot holes and secure therails with glue and screws.Adding the rails to the shelf createsa storage well big enough tohold a cordless drill, jigsaw,router, or other tools you mightneed to carry to ajob site.A Plqce For EverythingAt this point, the step tool box isready to function as a tool carrierand a plafform. But you don't yethave suitable storage for hardwareand other small items. Adding theFoot Detail45'Lay out the feet on a 61/8"-wide blank, thenbore 5/s" diameter holes firough the stockto form the curve at the ends of the instep.Use a3A" dado blade tomachine /2" deep x 972"wide dado.Ttrvo"l10,,_ ___NY2uTTo form the wide dado, first make twopasses to define fie ends of fie dado, thenremove fte waste between the first cub.Rip the two feet from the blanK ften standthe pieces up and cut away the waste thatremainsthe insteps,Turn your miter gauge '[5o and make thecorner cub on each foot. Chamfer theends and edges of the feet witrr a router.52'Workbench tJune 1997