Thread: Store chisels with magnets?

Dengue

Magnets are fine. I know some people are wary that the blades become magnetised, but I don't really see an issue unless you plan to chisel some steel! I know of one famous Australian chisel maker who said it was no problem at all and he did not even trouble to de-magnetise after the grinding and polishing steps in production, which leave a slightly magnetised steel.

Regards
Paul

Thanks for. this reply , BM.
How would you go about de-magnetising a chisel if it becomes a problem?

I have mine on a magnetised bar on the wall above a small bench and screwdrivers on another bar. They have been that way for about 4 years and it does not seem to be a problem.

Well I'll take the dissenting view, I loathe & detest magnetised woodworking tools & would never use magnets on any storage rack for chisels in my shed! Soft steels have low retentivity, meaning although a magnet sticks to them readily, once you separate them from the magnet, the object retains no magnetism itself. The hard steels of chisels, screwdrivers & plane blades etc. magnetise have high retentivity, so once they are magnetised, they'll stay that way until you either heat them to beyond what is safe for hardened steels, or use a de-magnetiser. Because I do metal work in my shed, and use steel wool quite a lot, there are always plenty of iron filings around, no matter how assiduously I sweep the bench-top, and they get picked up by any tool that has a hint of magnetism. A fur of iron filings along the edge of my best paring chisels is not a pretty sight to me...

Demagnetisers come in various guises, I don't know how well this one works, I know you can reduce the magnetism of a piece by stroking in the 'opposite' direction, I vaguely remember doing something along those lines in physiscs class in junior high-school, but the most effective way is with a gadget like one I had access to at work that ran on 'lectrickery. It was a potent electromagnet activated by an alternating current and the way it worked was to start at a high current & reduce to zero, which sort of fades the magnetism out of the tool (that's the simplest way to explain it). The ones for sale above & here don't cost much, so might be worth a try on spec...

Cheers,

I'm with Ian on this and don't like magnetised things either although I will use magnets from time to time.

Originally Posted by Dengue

. . . . .How would you go about de-magnetising a chisel if it becomes a problem?

I posted about this in the MW forum including a link to a vid on how to make your own demagnetiser from a 3P motor coil.
Magnetic ?

I chose to use small rare earth magnets on the chisel trays below. These exert enough magnetic force to prevent the chisels moving. Whatever magnetism is induced does not bother me. I rather doubt that the blades will become magnets for filings. So far so good ... but it has just been a few weeks so far.



Regards from Perth

Derek

In this day and time, most of my wood carving is done with the crooked knives of the Pacific Northwest First Nations designs.
Not only do they have sweeps but I have both single and double bevel tools.
Awkward enough to sharpen, moreso if they clanged together.
You get the idea from this box which holds my first dozen or so. Elbow adze, sharpening stuff and planer knife in the lid.
The curved cuts in a slab of western red cedar shroud the knife blades well enough for travel.

Could you do the same with chisels? Store them on edge with the blades in cutouts?


Since then, I've got some little leather sleeves and blocks of stiff foam.
They all ride in a jumble in a carved bowl that I don't like.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

....... I rather doubt that the blades will become magnets for filings. So far so good ... but it has just been a few weeks so far.....

Derek, I rather suspect your chisels will retain some magnetism even from 'weak' magnets. The softer steel used for backing probably has low retentivity, and low reluctance so it acts as a "keeper" concentrating the field within the chisel body so they won't develop as strong an external field as a solid, all-hard chisel can. (Just theory, I'll leave you to do the empirical tests...)

I also suspect the fact you haven't noticed any effect so far is testament to the fact you keep a much cleaner shop than I do!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

I also suspect the fact you haven't noticed any effect so far is testament to the fact you keep a much cleaner shop than I do!

I also don't keep a super clean shop and detest the fur clinging to magnetized tools.

Thanks for these replies everyone, sharing your thoughts and experiences.

I think I will steer clear of magnets on chisels and work out some other way of holding my rag tag collection of old Stanley chisels of varying lengths in position in a box that can be carried. Same style of black and yellow handle as shown in a pic below of a new chisel taken off the Internet , but of varying sizes handle widths and thicknesses

Derek's chisels and the way he stores them is very impressive, thanks for the photo, I could drool over that

Any suggestions on how to hold chisels firmly in place in a box that will be carried like a briefcase?

stanley chisel -32mm.jpg

Perhaps something along the lines of this pic I found. Only trouble is, with the type of 10 yellow /black handles side by side, I would need the box to be 450 long, and 300 deep. Big box to fit on the bench.

Perhaps a combination of this chisel layout of the box on the left with the neat location of each of the chisels, and the collars in the lid of the other which will drop down over the tangs neatly and hold the chisels securely in position for travel. My 10 chisels would be orientated at right angles to the ones shown, with the handle ends at the hinged edge of the box.
The box on the left appears to have a foam block in the lid to hold the chisels in place, might be simpler.

PF-BC-6_3.jpgIRWINS.jpg

Dengy, does the whole boxful have to be sat on the bench? Could you have a couple of trays in the box & take whichever trayful you need to the bench while the rest sit comfortably out of the way?

I generally find I'm working with only a few chisels around a given size at one time. My original idea was that the drawers in my tool cupboard would serve as trays & I could take the whole drawer to the bench. That lasted about a day until I realised it was more of a pest than a help! The drawer always ended up in my way no matter where I put it, it got full of chips & shavings & had to be cleaned before putting it away, and because I didn't replace each chisel immediately after use, there were still 3 or 4 chisels lying somewhere on the bench & I still had to search for the one I wanted next.

Until we can train tools to come out of the toolbox when you call their name and go back home when told to do so, I doubt there will ever be a perfect solution to the perennial problem of bench clutter. I'm moderately tidy normally, but there are times when it gets out of hand, usually because I'm working on several projects at once. I would be deeply embarrassed if any of you walked into my shed atm, there are two projects worth of "stuff" pushed to one end in a great pile, and a half-stripped chainsaw sitting (on a metal tray!) on the other. It looks like a very wild person has gone berserk in there!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Dengue

Any suggestions on how to hold chisels firmly in place in a box that will be carried like a briefcase?

Have you considered a leather or canvas roll?