Thread: Chisel end caps

Trouble with caps of any kind they always end up being misplaced and I also think I got more cuts putting caps on chisels than in woodworking.
I have on the odd occasion wrapped and folded paper over the ends held on with masking tape just for transport.
Regards
John

What about cork? Make a little block of cork of the appropriate size and then tap the chisel into it at the end of the carving session. After cutting the slot for the specific chisel the first time and then leaving it for a while, it seems like it would deform the cork and allow you to slide the tool in and out with a friction fit.

Just a thought.

My shop is so cold in winter that I wear gloves for carving. Not until every edge is put away do I take the gloves off.
Many have been the times when the gloves catch an edge which would have cut me.

My clumsiness suggests that either I get badly cut putting little caps on edges or the carving tool edges get bumped.
Me? I do nothing other than custom denim tool rolls. I don't care if the denim gets get cut. So what?
Four rolls hold groups of sizes.

If all you wanted is a shroud for the edge, buy a cheap garden hose and cut it into useful lengths.
I use some card board tubing from the cores of large rolls of plastic film at the grocery store.

About a dozen of my PacNW style crooked knives fit into a box with cut outs in a cedar block for the curved edges.
I need to make another box like that for the D adze and the rest of the knives.

Arron

An easy "cap" is to cut the fingers off old work gloves (riggers gloves are the best for this). This of course is dependent on having numerous old work gloves that are past their best or you are prepared to sacrifice. The second problem is retaining them on your tools. One method might be a blob of blue tac in the tip of the finger. Whether you would consider they might bring down the rather nice appearance of your nicely made chisel roll is another matter. How many chisels are we talking about? I may be able to help if the idea appeals.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Arron

Now that I don’t really have a workshop, I keep my chisels and carving tools in cloth rolls which I make for them. I make them from oiled canvas in the hope that it will keep the rust off them (rust prone seaside location). There is always risk of the edges cutting the handler, or cutting through the fabric, or the edges getting damaged. Thus I want some caps.

Has anyone found a way to make chisel end caps (edge guards) - I’m appealing to the inventive side of the forum. Maybe someone has made something out of some household item or building hardware or something.

I know I could sew up leather caps, but I have dozens of carving tools and doubt I could make a serious dent in the number.

Photo illustrates what I’m talking about. The blue things.
804EC1BD-6B51-4ED8-9E18-6C259CD59F77.jpg

Jim Davey used to sell chisel boots at very little cost.

an alternative is to change the way you store chisels in the roll.

I've had some success with alternating blades as per this example from Pfeil


or Lee Valley's version

Actually, most of my tool rolls do store the tools alternating. I gave the idea of making one where they all lie in the same direction a go after I took one of my alternating ones to the woodcarving group I used to belong to and one of the leaders said that almost all the serious cuts they had observed over the years came from those tool rolls. Apparently it’s to do with the way your eyes (or is it your brain) adapts to the depth perception of the thing you are carving so when you reach into a tool roll to pick up a tool your brain doesn’t adapt to the new depth paradigm so instant sliced finger. Personally, I don’t think it makes much difference, safety-wise.

The carving group people much preferred trays.

And to answer the question someone asked about how many tools i have it’s about 60 quality carving tools and about 40 so/so tools - fairly average for a carver.

Then there is about 40 bench chisels. Mostly titans.

Anyway, all the ideas are appreciated. Anyone familiar with Plastidip?

Originally Posted by orraloon

Trouble with caps of any kind they always end up being misplaced and I also think I got more cuts putting caps on chisels than in woodworking.
I have on the odd occasion wrapped and folded paper over the ends held on with masking tape just for transport.
Regards
John

Too true. I haven’t had a problem with cutting myself but the misplacement thing is a continual issue. I’m not a naturally careful person so I would go through the little plastic caps pretty quickly. That’s why I want something not too labour intensive to make

Buy a box of binder clips and line them with self adhesive felt.
Cheers, Robbie.

I have several wood carving tool rolls made of denim cloth, all the gouges lined up in the same direction.
There's a broad flap of cloth which covers the edges. They are lumpy, rolled up, but that protects both me and them.

The carving usually goes from big tools to little tools so I've grouped that gouges like that for most likely use.

I got cut a few times with the alternating style of tool roll so I abandoned those.

Originally Posted by Arron

...I know I could sew up leather caps...

I did that for a few chisels, way back, before putting them aside at a time when I was doing very little woodwork. The leather caused rust and damaged a few chisels - especially a nice little 3/16" Marples that was brand new.

So if you go the leather cap/pouch route - get some advice on the type of leather first - it's to do with the leather curing process I believe.

Have you considered small wooden trays with slots/compartments for each chisel?

Cheers, Vann.

Hi Arron
Over the past 40 years or so I have tried various methods of storing chisels including rolls / Pouches of differing materials none of which ( to me ) were satisfactory.

So I tried making trays, which are stored in drawers of very low height. The trays can be removed from the drawer and placed on the bench, or stacked on top of each other ( with a simple interlock ) and carried around if you wish to work somewhere other than the workshop. I found this method to be much better than others I have tried, & reducing the dust penetration into the drawers by keeping them reasonably tight, means the dust does not become a film on the steel harbouring moisture and promoting corrosion.

One important advantage, is chisels can be easily seen, selected and replaced.

DSC_0122.jpeg

I hope this assists you

Regards

Originally Posted by Arron

Too true. I haven’t had a problem with cutting myself but the misplacement thing is a continual issue. I’m not a naturally careful person so I would go through the little plastic caps pretty quickly. That’s why I want something not too labour intensive to make

Here's a low tech easy one. Not massively asthetically pleasing, but effective. I use it when mailing edged tools to stop them eating their way out of the package.

• Obtain a heavy duty cardboard box. A removalist box will do at a pinch, but I go to my local landfill and ask if I can fossick through the paper recycling skip. I can usually find super heavy boxes around 5ml thick.
• Just cut a little rectangle with the short side marginally wider than the chisel and the long side 6 to 8 cm. Cover one side with packing tape or any other slick surfaced tape. This helps the chisel slide in without snagging and cutting.
• Fold in half. Place the chisel on the taped side of the cardboard, with the cutting edge positioned at the fold.
• Close the fold and press down firmly to conform the inside shape to the chisel; then tape around tightly to close the sides.

Now you have a virtually zero cost and low effort alternative to individual sewn leather hats. And if you lose one it's going to cost you around 60 seconds of your life to make another.

Arron,
I use Fimo polymer clay to make chisel and gouge end caps. I buy the clay in 250gram quantities from Aliexpress for roughly Aud$12 to make 30-40 end caps.
As it takes 35-60 days for items to arrive from China so I plan well ahead.

PROCESS
After kneading 6-10g of Fimo I form the end cap. I carefully remove the Fimo from the chisel. I would place it on a small piece of paper to say what chisel it is. That is placed on a tray with baking paper.

After baking at 130 C degees, I walk away from the oven for a few hours and allow the Fimo to go cold. (When it is still hot it is still soft and you would change the profile of the end cap if not careful.) I will upload a photo with my method.

It's a good project to do while watching the cricket.