My travel chisels

[dai sensei]

Every time I went traveling in the past I have either taken my own handled chisels in a huge bag, or borrowed someone else's. I have got used to my own chisels, with their own grinds, so I decided to put together an unhandled kit I could take with me more easily.

I decided on a collet system so I wasn't doing up screws on the tool shafts, that eventually makes the shafts hard to fit anyway. I started with a heap of collets, but then decided by using a large/medium and mini handles with specific sized collets, with the various tools with tennons made (usually from brass) to suit. Each handle has a foam outer layers as the arthritis in my wrists plays up a bit these days.

Photo 1, the handles:
Large 22” with ER25 15-16mm collet 5/8
Med 11” with ER20 12-13mm collet
Mini 7” with ER11 6-7mm collet


Photo 2 the large tools with 15-16mm diameter tennon x 50mm long
Hamlet 31mm skew
Hamlet 13mm bowl gouge
Rolly Munro hollowing tool
Ci0 16mm finishing tool
Ci1 15mm roughing tool


Photo 3 the medium tools, all with 12-13mm diameter tennon x 50mm long
Hamlet 10mm bowl gouge
Hamlet 10mm fingernail spindle gouge
Hamlet 13mm spindle gouge
Hamlet 10mm bedan
Hamlet diamond parting tool
Soren Berger hollowing tool
Ci2 10mm scraper
Vermec 10mm hollowing tool
Vermec cranked 10mm hollowing tool

Photo 4, the mini tools, all with 6-7mm diameter tennon x 50mm long tennon
3mm fingernail spindle gouge
5mm fingernail spindle gouge
6.5mm fingernail spindle gouge
8mm spindle gouge
half round scraper (from 8x4mm)
full round scraper (from 8x4mm)
bedan (from 6x6mm)
fine point chisel (from 4x4mm)
skew chisel (from 12x4mm)
parting tool (from 8x1.6mm)


All sharpened on the Tormek wet-grind (except the TCT tools). They are all razer sharp, I've already sliced my fingers a few times just moving them :-

All up the weight of all of them is 14kgs, but I don't have to take all of them each time I travel. Still have to get a wrap for them, foam will have to do for now.

Cheers

[Bluegum]

Nice collection Neil. I have just started woodturing after a 20 something year absence. Last time turned something was in 1985 at school. I was recently given an old lathe and tools and I am loving every minute of it, The family are flat out dragging me out of the shed. Am looking forward to the WWW show now for a new set of chisels plus what ever else I can score.

[Skewturn]

Thats one nice set up. I am hoping to do a similar thing with my new extra long sorby handle.:2tsup:

[nz_carver]

Hmmmm did you get that idear off me??
I'll post picks of mine tonite :q

[dai sensei]

Hmmmm did you get that idear off me??
I'll post picks of mine tonite :q

Nah, been working on this idea ever since I got the big handle a few years back, but I know many others have done similar. But please post yours, I'm certainly interested, the more ideas the better.

At this years TurnFest, some of the demonstrators had spring loaded connector handles, similar to what air hoses use. They had all the chisels with the special tennons to suit, all free of course as prototypes someone is developing. I had a close look later and thought they were brilliant, so I am sure we can expect to see them on the market soon.