Show Off Your Chisels

[Blue-deviled]

If you are looking for boxwood handles, then Lee Valley has the traditional octagonal London pattern boxwood handles in various sizes.

Octagonal Boxwood Chisel Handles - Lee Valley Tools

No affilliation etc...

Regards
Ray

Here's a link to the company I mentioned (no affilliation, I just bought some stuff a while back): Not so badly priced with the chicken-chested pound!

Tool Accessories & Parts

regards,
B-D.

[derekcohen]

OK, I would like some comments on the most low tech method I know of heat treating a blade. Let's call this a learning experience and I will takes the lumps and criticism.

Here is the situation ...

As mentioned earlier, I made a chisel for a woodworking friend. The basis of the chisel was the blade out of a black, plastic handled Stanley I have had for 10 or more years. The steel was reasonable, but on the too soft side to hold an edge for long, and the black handle was just plain Horrible.

I wanted to turn this into a nice looking chisel that could be used for paring dovetails. First thing I did was to wack off the handle (easily done with a hammer), and then ground the shoulder of the blade until they were narrow (there is a pictorial on my website). This was the result. You can see the interesting tang ...



Incidentally, the Marples/Irwin blue handle chisels look the same.

The heat treating was done with two butane torches ...



Alongside is a tin of peanut oil for part-quenching. Why "part-quenching"? Because I have no idea what the steel is. I suspect it is a O1 type rather than a W1 type. So I plan to quench in oil (which can be too slow for W1) and then re-quench in water. I have done this before successfully - any comments?

I do not heat the steel to cherry with the lights on. It is difficult to judge colour in the light, so the lights go off and I am left with a gloom.



I did not think to take a picture of the cherry (partly because it was difficult, but mainly because I only thought of pictures after this stage!). So just imagine cherry red for the first 2" of the blade. Then dunked in peanut oil until still warm, and then under cool water.

A file slides off the steel (i.e. the steel is harder than the file), so I consider it ready for the next stage.

First I clean off the blackened steel with fine sandpaper, getting back to a bright surface (all the better to see the colours in the next stage). So it is time for tempering.

Back to the torch - this is what I meant by low tech. I start about 2" back, get the steel hot and watch the colour changing as it moves along the blade towards the bevel end. As it get the palest of yellow I immediately quench it in the oil and again the water.

Here is a picture. The flash has made the yellow a little whiter than it actually was, but the steel was a faint yellow ("straw") at the tip.



The blade is now cleaned, lapped on 400 grit diamond stone, 1000/5000/12000 Shaptons - however I must point out that only the last 1" behind the bevel was lapped to 12000.



The final chisel looks like so ..



The eagle-eyed among you will notice that the handle has changed. Well I found a hairline crack in the wood of the other and so made a new one (of She-oak).



The proof of the pudding lies in the eating. Paring endgrain Radiata Pine (Truly Horrible Stuff) ...



It held up well in very hard wood as well. This is Wandoo endgrain - one of the hardest woods in the world. I kid you not.



Comments?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Basilg]

Derek

I was taught this process many years ago using a blacksmiths coke fired furnace ( I guess that would be Sub Low Tech ). These methods certainly work, but they can be a bit unpredictable as you do not have the fine control on temperatures as a modern manufacturing facility has. As you rightly point out the background lighting affects the colour & one persons assessment of Cherry red or Straw will differ from another. Tempering especially can be difficult as the colour can change very rapidly, which can be assisted by laying the piece on a heated fire brick to slow the heat transfer.

Congratulations on your results the chisel not only looks nice but would seem to be performing well.

Regards

[IanW]

My colour-vision is too poor to judge the 'straw' colour, so I have used (once!) the oven method. An hour at flat-out in our standard domestic oven seemed to do the trick. Tempering is a time + temperature affair - i.e. a longer time at a lower temperature achieves the same end. You don't actually need to quench for tempering in an oven, cooling fast or slow is ok, but quenching allows you to play with your new edge sooner, of course.

We all seem to be spending more time making tools than making things with them, lately - what's going on??


Cheers,

[rsser]

Winter?

There's real satisfaction I reckon in making tools and jigs. And it gives you new respect for the professionals.

[Christos]

We all seem to be spending more time making tools than making things with them, lately - what's going on??

Work has taken up most of my time.

[Claw Hama]

Got a heap of sawdust in my chisel drawer today so while they were out I took a quick family snap shot of them. Clockwise from the top left are some of my Great Great Grandfathers carving chisels ( I have another heap of them in his 170 year old chest) then a few odd gouges etc, a couple of slicks (one western, one Japanese) home made squew, some Pfeil carving chisels, LN dovetail, a set of Stubis, a few motice chisels (some more of GGGrandfathers) a Jap, a Titan (needs attention) a Toledo, E A Berg, and a set of Titans which are my main users. There's another bunch in my site trailer and the old tool chest, I'll leave them for another day.

[Pat]

CH, use the Stubai's , they love the use!

[Claw Hama]

Hi Pat, I like them for the finer, lighter jobs but a lot of my work is heavier so I reach for the Titans. I can be a little more forcefull with them. The Stubais are a lovely fine chisel and I enjoy using them on Cedar, Kauri etc.

[epringle]

[neilyeag]

My basic set of chisels:
Chisels.jpg

[pmcgee]

My basic set of chisels:

Very nice - what brand is in the second-from-bottom row?

Paul

[AJOE123]

I have been lurking for some time and thought it was about time to stump up with some snaps,so here are most of my chisels.

[Cliff Rogers]

Impressive but.... some of them aren't chisels.

[Pac man]

Impressive but.... some of them aren't chisels.

When you have a hammer everything looks like ... a chisel