AI-supported woodworking: Building an up-and-over tool chest with a clever hinge

A DIY woodworker recreates an expensive professional up-and-over tool chest: closed, it is a carry box with a top handle; open, its front swings over the handle and lies flat on the body, forming a taller cabinet. The builder used Claude Opus 5.5 to develop the mechanism, starting with a Python hinge simulation and proceeding to 3D models, drawings, parts lists, sourcing, and laser-cut steel files. The finished chest uses 12 mm birch plywood, 5 mm steel links, and a beech-dowel handle, measures 486 × 350 × 268 mm when closed, and stands 701 mm tall when open. Materials and parts cost about €220.

The guide explains the four-bar hinge design, cutting and assembling the two trapezoidal box sections, mounting the handle plates, and fitting pivots only after the body is complete so they align accurately. The simulation reports 109.6 mm and 121.5 mm links, a 0.03 mm error when the lid rests flat, 16.4 mm minimum handle clearance, and no collision with the body. Plans, templates, CAD files, and a parts list accompany the instructions. The builder says the project worked well, apart from replacing a panel cut incorrectly, and found the finished chest useful for carrying household tools together. Key takeaways include the use of three-position Burmester synthesis for hinge design and shoulder screws and threaded inserts in woodworking; the AI-assisted process consumed about 28 million tokens.