Thread: Where do you buy very narrow chisels

I think whatever you use will have the problem of loosing hardness she you try to dry grind them unless you keep quenching them frequently.
I've made a pair of 0.8 & 1.5 mm chisels from triangular files. You need to temper them in the oven first, then you can grind them down to shape. Once you start sharpening them, it's a matter of touching them on the wheel, then quenching.

I'll have to look up the quenching times and temperatures - will post later.

What do you need them for?
Would a router bit do the job?
Maybe a fine bit in a dremmel or some such?
TM

Have a look here http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com.../products/402/

These are the narrowest commercial products I am aware of. http://www.bluesprucetools.com/cgi/c...&category=MNCH
I have a set of his paring chisels and they are top notch.

Cheers,
Rob

Have you tried japanese chisels? I have a 1.5 and 3 mm and they work a treat!

Re my previous post - temper them in the oven at 220 C for an hour.

That's gas mark 7 until golden brown on top......yum

The Blue Spruce narrow chisels are very nice, but I've always tended to make my own up as needed from (cheap) bits of McJings HSS. They do the job, but pretty they ain't.....

Originally Posted by Arron

Alternatively, anything which will function as a 1mm wide chisel will do. Any ideas anyone ?

What are you trying to do?
Seeing as you were trying to grind it yourself it sounds like you don't need it too deep/long.
If it is to cut a groove for something like a bit of inlay then a "old woman's tooth" scratch/notch tool is easy to make.

If you use HSS you can grind it and it won't lose its hardness easily.

HSS blanks that are ~3mm square are readily available from places like McJing that you can grind back

Thanks guys. I'm going to Mcjings this weekend for other things so perhaps i should get some skinny HSS as well. I had forgotten that I can grind Hss without it loosing its hardness.

Cheers
Arron.

Originally Posted by AlexS

Re my previous post - temper them in the oven at 220 C for an hour.

Or maybe I should pursue this line as I have some triangular saw sharpening files I dont mind sacrificing. If I put then in the oven as you suggest, then doesnt that mean the steel goes soft? Wont it make them difficult to sharpen and not inclined to stay sharp for very long?

Originally Posted by Arron

Or maybe I should pursue this line as I have some triangular saw sharpening files I dont mind sacrificing. If I put then in the oven as you suggest, then doesnt that mean the steel goes soft? Wont it make them difficult to sharpen and not inclined to stay sharp for very long?

To make them soft they need to be heated to red heat ~900ºC, and then cool slowly - no domestic oven is able to do that.
A soak at ~~250ºC for an out will turn them from glass hard to something a file can usually take a bite out of.
Not all domestic ovens can reach these temperatures even if they say so on their display panel.

It might even be worth looking at old hacksaw blades.

220º C is straw colour, it tempers them so they aren't brittle like files.

we still dont know what you are using them for.

you will have real problems with strength and edge support with a conventional chisel that narrow.

If it is a hand pushed tool, have you thaught about using a wood turning, thin parting tool......they look a bit like a boot knife and come about 2mm across the thin edge and about 20-25 mm wide and in high speed steel

cheers