I wanted to have decent whetstones for my tool sharpening but as I don’t have a storage and a place to dry them, I decided to make it!
Project Summary
I made a whetstone storage/drying by cedar pickets. I wanted to experience making something from rough lumber so pickets are perfect material.
On this page, I will share the tips I found during the project. For the steps of how I made it, please watch the video.
My Findings
Materials
Water Resistant
This is a whetstone drying rack so the materials I use have to be good against the water damage. Therefore, I chose cedar and bamboo. Both are relatively good water resistant materials.
Cedar?
Cedar is soft and easy to work with but it has a strong smell. I don’t really mind it but please note it’s strong especially when you are working with it.
Pickets
I bought pickets from the HomeDepot. When you buy them, please choose one that doesn’t have many knots and is relatively straight. In addition, the cedar pickets at my local HomeDepot were so wet… I needed to dry them before using them.
Fabrication
Marking Tips
The pickets are rough so when you need to dimension them by hand tools, please be sure at least one corner is square. You can use the corner or the two surfaces around the corner as a reference for marking.
Single Dovetail
As far as I researched, this style of the single dovetail (One pin and 2 half tails) is commonly used for Japanese small crafts and it’s a good exercise for a legit dovetail joint.
Bamboo Lid
I made a lid by bamboo strips. For how to do it, you can check the video but here’s the thing. To size the lid, it’s better if you cut the strips after tying all of them rather than cut them and tie.
Whetstone things
The height of Case/Dividers
Most of the stones are about 2-3 inches tall (If you lay it like how I lay it). Therefore, I made the height of dividers 3.5 inches. However, it’s too high so it’s difficult to pick up a stone from a narrow space. I think it’s good if you cut the dividers into 2.5 inches or 3 inches but cut out the top part like a concave shape so you can easily pinch the stone to pick it up.
Just Try!
The good thing about hobby woodworking is, you can make things you want as how you want! It doesn’t have to be perfect but it can be still much more functional than a shinny pro-made one.
If you feel like it, why don’t you try it!