Here is my completed tool tote. It's significantly smaller than the others in the shop, but as you can see, both at work and in my hobbies the things I'm carrying are smaller, too. And it's already surprisingly heavy for its size.
On the plus side, it's sturdy, and I'm pleased with how the top of the handle came out. I smoothed it to a round shape by rocking it back and forth by hand against the belt sander (the trick was to turn the board around halfway through, so it couldn't help by finish symmetrically). On closer inspection, though, a few things feel just a tiny bit off. The base juts out just a bit past the long sides, the screws at the top are just slightly off-center, there are small divots at the base of the diagonal cuts, etc. Small issues, but it makes me long for the precision of the laser cutter.
I had two main stumbling blocks. The first was the opening in the handle. Originally I drilled out the ends to 7/8" diameter, then cut across with a jigsaw. My hands aren't as steady as they used to be, I guess, and it looked like a wavy mess. Then I tried smoothing with a router, but I didn't tighten the bit enough, and it slipped down and bit into the piece I was using as a straight edge, making the hole even less straight. I got it right eventually, but (a) it's unnecessarily large, and (b) I gave up on round edges and went for an easier rectangular hole.
The second was in assembly. First I attached the center three pieces together, then I assembed the frame, and finally dropped the center piece into the frame. I kept checking the fit along the way, and it was fine, but at the last step the frame was just a bit too tight, perhaps from vigorously driving the wood screws. No problem, I thought, I'll just touch the ends of the center piece to the disk sander and it will fit like a glove. But the disk sander is a hungry beast, and took off over a sixteenth of an inch in no time. I was able to fill the gap with a shim, so at least it looks fine from above. All the other flaws are nothing that a good coat of paint wouldn't cover.
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