Gerstner Tool Chest kit from Stu Mac

[mayfly]

Hey Folks,

So I got one of those Gerstner tool chest kits from Stu Mac.  I've assembled it and it's ready for finishing (which a friend has volunteered to do for me).

So here's the deal:  I really like the end result.  But it was a PITA to put together. Issues included:

1 - parts broken on arrival
2 - complex tongue and groove parts requiring tricky sanding to fit together properly
3 - drawers don't fit without an extreme amount of sanding.  I'm talking about having to sand off 1/8 of an inch total off the sides.

A more full report later (I have two squirmy boys on my lap right now).  But here's a shot of the end result to wet your appetite:

 

[bbl4ck]

Those tool chest are very cool :icon_thumright:
I am really bummed to hear it was such a PITA to assemble because I have wanted one for quite some time  :sad:
They have one on the website that is finished in a BRY burst and looks really sweet.
How is yours going to be finished?  I would love to have a nice Tonar burst chest.
Please post finished pics...
:rock-on:

 

[mayfly]

Thanks man!

One of the parts that was broken on arrival was one of the drawer sides:

As you can see, it was cracked right down the middle where the slide notch was cut.  The material is only about 1/8 thick at that point so it was a freaking nightmare to glue up properly.  Dealing with something like that will really test your patience and your jig making abilities. 

The other part that was cracked was one of the door panels.  It was the end of one of the 'groove' parts that was broken.  Very annoying to deal with.

The other main issue was dealing with these little joints on the drawers:

None of these joints fit out of the gate.  A fair amount of tricky sanding was required to get these drawer joints to go together.  Once together though, they do look pretty and seem to be strong.

Finally I had trouble fitting the drawer to the box.  If you build these, you better get a few sheets of 60 grit for taking a lot of material off the drawer slides.  Each drawer was oversize by about 1/8 of an inch.  That's a lot of sanding, but I finally got them where I wanted them.  The funny thing is that after I finished fitting the drawers, I got on the gerstner website and checked out the videos. I saw one that was captioned "each drawer is fit individually" and I swear to god it was a video of a guy trying a drawer, finding out it would not fit, then running the drawer on a BELT SANDER that was conveniently located right next to him!  A few times on that and he finally got the drawer in the box!  If that's the manufacturing technique at the factory, I guess I should not complain too much.

Anyway, I don't want to be completely down on these guys because it is a nifty thing having your own Gerstner tool chest around.  But if you build one, be warned.  You'll have to do a lot of work to put it together.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I could see that being a really nice chest for setup tools in particular, ie; fret files, nut files, t-rod wrenches, precision screwdrivers, and the common wrenches used for pots, switches, jacks, & tuner nut-grommets.

I can't wait to see it with the finish on it all cured & buffed!

 

[Re-Pete]

Hey Folks,

So I got one of those Gerstner tool chest kits from Stu Mac.  I've assembled it and it's ready for finishing (which a friend has volunteered to do for me).

So here's the deal:  I really like the end result.  But it was a PITA to put together. Issues included:

1 - parts broken on arrival
2 - complex tongue and groove parts requiring tricky sanding to fit together properly
3 - drawers don't fit without an extreme amount of sanding.  I'm talking about having to sand off 1/8 of an inch total off the sides.

A more full report later    :

I know this will sound like I'm an ass, but did you check out other places first before going with Stew Mac for the chest? I'd suggest that IKEA would have better quality control with kit furniture.

 

[mayfly]

well, Stu Mac does not make the kits.  It's Gerstner that makes the kits.  Stu Mac just re-sells them.

 

[mayfly]

Folks,

An update.  My friend finally got around to applying a finish to the kit.  here's what it looks like:

and here's a boy opening it 

Overall I'm happy.  Quite the little adventure mind you.

 

[Hbom]

Congratulations!
Looks like you turned out a great chest in spite of Gerstner's efforts.
Good job.

 

[Cagey]

Looks really nice! And as, Hbom said - good recovery.

Wouldn't work for me, though. Too many tools that simply wouldn't fit in the thing.

Myself, I use a Vaultz Toolbox. Wide enough for 18" straightedges and levelling blocks, deep enough for most other stuff, and with a top tray for all the little files and what-have-you.