My tool chest ready for drawers

I hope to begin the drawers to the tool cabinet tomorrow. I worked on the top and bottom framed panels again today and that went really quickly. The flat panel cupped a lot but went into the bottom frame easily, which straightened everything out. Thin pine will do that. It’s a great weather gauge for changing conditions. Though I always leave panels in the clamps to help keep them flat the thin stock offers no resistance and so changes very quickly.

I still have presents to complete for the weekend, but now it’s mostly applying finish and refining finer details. I love Christmas and what it means to people, families and such. The highlights of my career as a woodworker were not the prestigious designs and fancy work, but the pieces I made for special occasions as I walked through this life. The first time i made a piece for someone I cared about was a cook at an outdoor pursuits centre in Hope, Derbyshire where I learned and then taught rock climbing on the weekends. It was a dovetailed cutlery tray made out of pine. I liked that. I have lost track of all the other pieces. Rocking chairs and dining tables and beds and such. Great fun.