We’ve had a fair amount of rain here in Kansas City lately, and last Thursday’s thunderstorm brought driving rain that managed to work its way up under the roofing of my garage workshop. I watched, disturbed, as rain water started dripping steadily from the ceiling, less than two feet from my hand tools. The dripping eventually stopped, and it’s been an isolated incident, but it got me to think more about tool storage. My current arrangement is far from zombie-proof. It’s not even dust-proof, and it’s certainly not mobile. An Anarchist’s Tool Chest is definitely on my 2013 build list.
Interestingly, the top nine items on my woodworking want list (including the tool chest) are things I want to make instead of things I want to buy. So far, I’ve made it through my current project without once thinking I could do something better if I only had some new tool. Instead, I’ve found myself grateful for the tools I own, like my miter box, my Gramercy Tools saw vise, serviceable back saws, and my jack plane.
My tools aren’t glamorous. I don’t own anything I’d be afraid to use. There are some pieces I’d like to upgrade, mostly so I’ll have tools for my kids’ kits. But getting to an essential kit of tools created an exciting creative constraint that energized my woodworking. I spend less time thinking about tools I want and more time thinking about projects I want to build.
Like a tool chest.
Maybe the tool chest itself won’t escape the zombie apocalypse, but at least it could escape a random roof leak.
life, revisited 