I used to store my handsaws on pegboard hooks with multiple saws stacked on top of each other to save space. You know where this is headed, the saw I needed was always at the back of the stack. I was getting tired of this and wanted a saw till but didn't feel I had the available wall space. Most of my shop has pegboard on the upper half of the walls with lots of hooks holding lots of crap. After looking at the space above my tool chest, I decided that I didn't need a lot of this crap, so maybe I did have the wall space for a till.
I saw an article in the August 2016 edition of Popular Woodworking magazine that started this whole reorganization project. The link to the online portion of that article and the Sketchup drawing are at the bottom of this post. I liked this design better than any I had seen before and it would also hold my bench planes. Not only is it convenient storage but it looks cool when someone walks into the shop.
My recently cleaned off pegboard wall (forgot to take a before pic).
The case construction is pretty straight forward. Through dovetails, dados, glue, nails, screws, etc. I sprayed on two coats of Sealcoat shellac followed by two coats of satin lacquer. I'm not a big fan of shiny.
Dry fit of the components.
Dovetails and upper cleat detail.
Mounted with six #12 flat head screws into the studs.
I stacked some scrap boards on top of my machinist chest to rest the till on while I marked for the holes and screwed it to the wall. It wasn't terribly heavy but it was too much to hold steady with one hand while trying to mount it. With two people, it would have been easy enough.
Showtime!
I would have liked to have had the drawers in the original design but I needed enough space below the till to open the top on my machinist chest. With the open back, I was able to utilize the pegboard to hang my saw vise and saw sets above the saws within the cabinet so that was a bonus.
The divider in the saw till can be moved if I need to adjust left or right to allow for a changing saw collection. Of course I would have to take it off of the wall to remove the two screws that hold it in place. For now, I have plenty of room to expand on my saw addiction. I also have a place to store my recently built marking gauges which have been all over the shop waiting for a home.
I now have a permanent home for my small collection of molding planes and my plough plane. The plane till dividers are customized for my collection of bench planes. The empty spot above the shoulder plane is for a traditional wooden smoother. It felt a little top heavy and I was afraid it wouldn't take much of a bump to knock it out of the till. I'll need to add a taller cleat to make sure it stays securely in place.
I used hand tools for all of the case joinery. I did use my drill press to bore the holes for the closet rods and my impact driver to install the screws. I also used a brad nailer to secure the saw divider at each end. It was only four nails, so I could have pre-drilled and driven them by hand but I didn't have the right size nails on hand. Overall, it was a really fun project.
Sketchup model
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