Big-Time Boxes: A home-made toolbox built from scrap wood

March 3, 2014
Veteran tech makes use of his woodworking hobby to build his own toolbox

Woodworking can be a very practical hobby. Especially if you're an automotive technician. Jerry Wright, a 31-year technician employed at J& B Auto Service Inc. in Uniontown, OH, recently built his own toolbox using mostly scrap wood. Wright, 61, built his 7.5’ x 70” x 29” toolbox this past year. He completed the box spending an hour a day for three weeks.

Wright used two 3/4’-long pieces of plywood to build the base of the toolbox. Most of the toolbox is made of scrap wood.

Aside from scrap wood, Wright purchased six wheels and 17 drawer glides for the toolbox. He attached a piece of formica on the top layer of the cabinet. He also attached a metal coat hook, a metal handle, a tool holder on the sides of the toolbox. He used a pegboard on which to hang small tools above the cabinet.

Wright acquired his woodworking skills after taking a shop class in high school. After beginning his automotive career working at an OEM dealership, he began woodworking as a hobby. He started out small, building shelves, tables and stands while he worked as an automotive technician. After spending his first year working at an OEM dealership, he moved to a fire department where he spent most of his years as an automotive technician.

Wright viewed woodworking as a hobby during his years working as a technician. “I enjoy doing the woodwork,” he says.

After retiring from the fire department, he found himself in need of a large toolbox when he joined J&B Auto Service, which is owned by Dave and Joanne Cotton. Wright owned some tool carts, but he also needed a big toolbox.  

He painted the box black and red to match the other technicians’ toolboxes at J&B Auto Service Inc.

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