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  1. #1
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    Default Wood Chisel Survey for Beginners

    Okay, here I go yet again -- but I just have to ask:

    Butt chisel vs. bevel edge chisel -- how are they defined and what's the difference?

    Mortise chisel vs. sash (?) chisel -- again, how are they defined and what's the difference?

    That’s OK…some of it still confuses me these days as there is some overlap between types. This is just my take on it as terminology by trade, country and era varies a bit:

    Bevel edge doesn't mean much per se, as even some firmer and framing chisels have them....it merely allows getting into a tighter corner. Neither does socket or tang handles, although the larger chisels are generally socket chisels, as are many high-grade chisels, as sockets are considered a better design as handles are easier to replace, but cost significantly more to manufacture. To call a chisel a “socket” chisel with no other descriptor is a common mistake today, often by people who should know better.



    Butt Chisel: Any short chisel, usually with bevel edge and design suitable for paring and striking with 30-degree bevels. A finish carpenter or shipwright’s pocket chisel easy to store with a major role in hanging doors and all around trimming. Usually tang handles.



    Bench Chisel: Longer chisel for workbench use. Paring and light chopping, usually with 30-degree bevels and beveled edges.





    Paring Chisel: Long, thinner chisels not designed for any striking, only paring with 20-25 degree bevels. Some have "cranked" handles for clearance and were primarily used by pattern makers making negative patterns in soft pine. Others are skew cut to reach into corners, and a “dovetail” chisel is diamond-shaped to clean female sliding dovetail sockets. Usually with tang handles.



    Firmer Chisel: Usually the same length as bench chisels but of thicker, heavier steel, usually straight sided. For paring and striking with 30-degree bevels. Usually with socket handles.



    Framing Chisel: Larger, longer chisels usually an inch or larger wide. Some were designed for paring with beveled edges and 20-25 degree bevels and some for striking with square edges and 30-degree bevels. Usually with hooped, socket handles.


    Corner Chisel: A framer forged into a 90-degree angle to clean out corners. Generally 30-degree bevels. Usually with hooped, socket handles.



    English “Pigsticker” Mortice Chisel: Ward and other makers. A short, stubby, fit-in-the-tool-chest, tang-handled mortise chisel with unhooped handle designed for striking. All mortise chisels are generally straight sided…some have some taper for ease in popping out chips. All with 35-40 degree bevels.

    Continued…

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  3. #2
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    Sash Mortise Chisel: Medium length mortise chisel for bench use, generally with unhooped handles. “Sash” comes from window factories, and there is some confusion describing medium length and long length mortise chisels as factories generally used the longer chisels but the medium ones are often called “sash” chisels.



    German Pattern Mortise Chisel: My term for them as they don’t fit other descriptors. Heavy, untapered blades and hooped, tang handles. Many English "registered" mortise chisels also are constructed like these, and I don't know which nationality, if either, should get the primary credit.



    Millwright or Factory Mortise Chisel: Very long, very heavy mortise chisel designed for heavy striking with heavy, hooped handles. Many were 16” long and often made by manufacturers like New Haven Edge Tool who specialized in large chisels. Always with hooped, socket handles. These are often called “framing” chisels, but timber frames in buildings and ships used much larger mortises than the 1/8 thru 7/8” these come in.



    Slick: A large, very heavy 2-4” framing chisel with long handle up to 24” designed for paring large timbers with 20-25 degree bevels. Never struck. Always with socket handles. These and the heavier framing chisels are dangerous and should have protective edge covers made, and should have their handles epoxied to their sockets.

    Buying old chisels, you can expect to see many combinations, as handles are interchangeable and chisels are often converted to other uses as they wear. The butt socket chisel in the top left picture at the beginning of the article was originally a well-worn DR Barton firmer I converted, and the skew parers below I converted were originally well-worn, socket bench chisels of many flavors:



    From my observations in buying up lots of cast-off chisels to make up sets, anything marked "Stanley", "Witherby", "Winchester", "Chas Buck" or "I&LJ White" is going to a collector for too high a price....along with some Swan's. Older Greenlee, older (not newer) Buck, New Haven Edge, Ohio Tool, DR Barton, Underhill, Union Hardware, GI Mix, Shapleigh Hardware, Eric Anton Berg, Dickerson, Gillespie, Dixon, PS&W or PEXTO, Robt Duke, Fulton, Merrill, Butcher, Hibbard OVB, Simmons Keen Kutter, Lakeside and several other old makers are every bit as good as the collector prizes and are much less expensive. Most unmarked chisels of that era were usually made by one of the above makers and are also generally excellent.

    The only really poor socket chisels I've observed buying are newer Craftsman (older socket Craftsman were made by Greenlee) of too-thick, modern, gummy, shiny chrome-vandalium steel...and some "Eclipse" brand and the occasional Stanley Defiance that refuses to take a good edge.

    The bad news in making up sets for yourself is that used tool dealers rarely understand any of the above and you have to look at each and every listing in detail. The good news is because of that ignorance and the minimum number of name brands collected, all of the others, including many of the rarer types are dirt cheap.



    Pictures other than mine are from Harry Miller and Rob Lee, used with permission.
    Last edited by Bob Smalser; 20th November 2004 at 08:01 AM.

  4. #3
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    Very good primer on chisels, thanks Bob,


    Peter.

  5. #4
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    boy !

  6. #5
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    I'm just bumping it to the front, cause I think it is so good.
    Does anyone think it should go in the "Best of the Best" section or something? Took me ages to find it (search chisels and see what I mean) and I think its pretty handy.
    Cheers,
    Clinton

    "Use your third eye" - Watson

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/clinton_findlay/

  7. #6
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    Bob Smalser is one of the best posters that I've seen on the board.

    Sadly, he hasn't posted for a long time.

  8. #7
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    I just learnt more about chisels in 3 minutes than I have learnt in the last 20 years.
    Greg Lee

    Old hackers never die, their TTL expires....

  9. #8
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    I'm still around when somebody has a question about one of my tutorials.

    Ellis Wallentine over on Wood Central collects them here:


    http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl#smalser

  10. #9
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    Two words that are never in Bob's answers, yes and no
    Just a massive informative flow of detail.
    I was doing some work on my Titans (have you seen them Bob?) and was wondering about a particular type of chisel when I stumbled on this.
    Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I often wonder what you do in your spare time
    Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

  11. #10
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    The US Fine Woodworking Tools and Shops isuue #181 has a more complete article on chisels they commissioned after seeing this shortie.

    http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki...fw_181_046.asp

  12. #11
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    #1 Did you give it time to load
    #2 If it is a box with an x, right click and select view picture.
    Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Smalser
    I'm still around when somebody has a question about one of my tutorials.

    Ellis Wallentine over on Wood Central collects them here:


    http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl#smalser
    Like your tutorials Bob.

    Love the woodcentral site, its so easy to find info on just about anything in their articles.
    Regards, Bob Thomas

    www.wombatsawmill.com

  14. #13
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    Default Chisel pictures

    Quote Originally Posted by Iain
    #1 Did you give it time to load
    #2 If it is a box with an x, right click and select view picture.
    Did the above .No Xbox showing in Bob's mail on my computer.Gone back to some of his older tutorials and they don't show pictures or Xbox.some other members pictures have thumbnails when the message loads the first time.
    Perhaps i should pm you ,to not bore other with this .
    Regards ,Bela
    forge

  15. #14
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    I'll defintely put this in the BotB. I must...must get myself a slick. I can't think of anything more fun that doing giant sized joints in framing.
    Cheers,

    Adam

    ------------------------------------------

    I can cure you of your Sinistrophobia

  16. #15
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    This thread is in the Best of the Best post twice, under sharpening and Chisels. Thread has also been moved to handtools and a number of posts no longer required have been pruned.

    Groggy
    Forums Moderator

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