Thread: Ashley Iles Dovetail Chisels

Ladies & Gentlemen,

Here for sale is a set of Ashley Iles Round Back Dovetail Chisels. Included is every size made in this range:
- 25mm / 1"
- 18mm / 3/4"
- 12mm / 1/2"
- 9mm / 3/8"
- 6mm / 1/4"
- 3mm / 1/8"
- 1.5mm / 1/16"
- Left skew 6mm / 1/4"
- Right skew 6mm 1/4"

Note - these sizes are quite approximate; they're very handmade items. Also included is a stand I knocked together out of quarter sawn white oak.

I need to thin the herd and raise some cash; hence the sale. Only a few of these items are currently available to buy new, and if they were all available the cost to import them either from the UK or US would be $600+. I'm asking $400 including shipping in Australia. GST and invoice included if that's useful to you.

Here are some detailed notes for those interested..

The larger sizes have had the backs flattened to the point necessary, without going crazy. Particularly the smaller sizes do have some flex, so there's only so much flattening that is worthwhile. The skew chisels haven't been used or sharpened.

I found the steel in these relatively soft, although I'm mainly used to PM-V11 these days. They're currently honed to a micro-bevel of 27 degrees. If lower angles are required, perhaps something like the unicorn sharpening method would be beneficial. I tried lower sharpening angles but had difficulty keeping an edge intact in hard timber.

They've never been struck with a mallet. I believe these are best for fine paring and the like.

Finally, you'll see in the photos that the 1/2" chisel has a split in the ferrule. I'm not sure when this happened - I only noticed when taking the photos. I don't know that it would affect the functionality, especially if not whacking them.. If you're so inclined, ferrules are available from the Ashley Iles website for around 1 pound!

There's a more extensive description of these chisels on the TFWWW website - Round Back Dovetail Chisels by Ashley Iles

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