Mike Pekovich offers an inside look at the compact tool chest he designed and built to meet the needs of his life on the road as a woodworking instructor. In the beginning of his teaching career, he relied on a simple canvas tote to haul his tools from class to class. Eventually, he distilled his kit down to the essentials and designed a chest around that carefully chosen set. The first iteration was a great solution but was too large to fly with. He adjusted the original design, and the result is a beautifully made case that’s small enough to travel with easily.

Mike believes the most important criteria of a tool chest is being able to access all of your tools without having to move something out of the way. This thought carried over, for example, into moving the chisels out of a drawer and making them easily accessible in the back of the chest. Every drawer and divider has a purpose, reflecting Mike’s practice of efficiency and craftsmanship, as well as his relationship with his tools. It’s not just a tool chest, but an example of  how experience shapes design.