Thanks for this video! Im building my first tool chest at the moment, and I had a couple of questions. My long beams will be laminated red wood (two 2x4s) and Im also using half laps for joints on the long cross beams, both front and back a the base of the tool box. I'm worried about the weight for my tool chest and I want my joints to be strong. 1. Should I do a mortise and tenon joint to the stretchers at the ends of each corner of the long beams to add strength to be able to carry the weight I'll have on this tool chest. I worry about the weight because I'll have my top box (which is about 120 lbs empty) sitting on it. 2. Or would pocket hole screws and glue be enough to add strength to that joint? My tool chest will be about 56" long and 25" deep, 36" tall on six heavy duty 5" casters.
Hi Ken, I think I understood your question and can definitely understand the concerns of the weight. In your case the way I would do it is, half lap joints on all of the joints, front and back, top and bottom. Also I would consider adding a third pair of “legs” in the center of the 56” span, also cut in a half lap joint. And as far as holding the half lap joints together, simple glue and screws will do. The glue and screws are not holding any of the weight, they are just holding the joint together, the wood is doing all the heavy lifting. If you want to be fancy, you can do dowels instead of the screws. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
@@homespot5445 Thanks! I think you got it. I'll probably go ahead and do half laps and dowels. I just worry about the joint breaking, so I want to over engineer it. (Already had 3rd leg in the plans) Thanks for your recommendation, I think I'll do that.
