Variation on a theme...

[IanW]

I made a (very) small chisel (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f279/making-mini-chisel-138659/)from a piece of HSS a couple of years ago. It's a handy little thing & has seen quite a bit of use. The blade was cut out of a thin piece of hard HSS, and has only a small bolster, & it has little to stop it being driven into the handle. This chisel never needs other than a light tap, but I would like to have used a tapered ferrule, to give a more positive register. Recently, I was making a chisel handle for a friend, to take a tapered ferrule, so I decided to take on the challenge & try making a couple for myself.

Turning the outside taper is very straightforward, but I don't have a boring bar small enough for the inside taper. So, being a long-time wood turner, I just hand-turned the inner taper with a scraper, after drilling it out to the minimum diameter. Brass is pretty easy stuff to work with, & by the time I'd done a couple, I was in the swing of it, so I made two for myself.

Now I have 3/32" and 1/16" mini-chisels: 298963


The only downside is that such narrow chisels are a beast to sharpen freehand!
Cheers,

[Simplicity]

They look fantastic Ian.
What timber did u use for the handles ?
Sharping would be difficult as u pointed out .
But then ,when u need a chisel that size, I can see were they would be just the ticked .
Has regard to sharping ,I think they would be the size when I would get out my long forgotten guide.


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[IanW]

...What timber did u use for the handles ?.....

One of my favourites, She-oak. (But She-oak that's workable, not splintery iron like the stuff we had at the w'shop! :;)


.... with regard to sharping ,I think they would be the size when I would get out my long forgotten guide.

I gave mine away years ago, so haven't any choice but to freehand them. They are ok if I tackle them on a good day, & take them very carefully. Fortunately, being an infrequently-used tool, they need infrequent sharpening... :U

Cheers,

[Simplicity]

I must be the only one who didn't have a problem with she oak at the saw workshop.
I found it ok to use !!!


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[BobL]

Great looking chisels Ian. :2tsup:

I have cut short small tapers on soft metals like brass and ally using a broken HSS drill bit ground into a tapered half circle cross section.
I place the bit in a chuck and then run the bit slowly into a pre-drilled small hole in the ferule that is the smallest hole in the taper.

[IanW]

.... a broken HSS drill bit ground into a tapered half circle cross section....
I place the bit in a chuck and then run the bit slowly into a pre-drilled small hole in the ferule that is the smallest hole in the taper.

Bob - is the drill ground to the size of the finished (internal) taper so it acts like a reamer?? I didn't think to taper the tool & use it in the tailstock chuck, but it would probably be much easier to manage than what I did. I will give something like that a go, next time. Hand-holding the scraper was ok, but hard to keep the internal wall straight - both got slight curve to them, which I allowed for by dishing the taper on the handle slightly..

Cheers,

[DSEL74]

Nice chisels Ian! :;