Re: shop-made chisels

Ahh, the scales fall from my eyes. Dang my eyes were getting tired with those
scales hanging on them and besides I couldn't weigh my fish very well.

Anyhoo, I see what you mean now. Yeah, that taper in the tip end woudl need
to come off.

I also like Jim's idea of a sandwich handle with the steel coming out the end
for
a mallet, that might be handy. In particular I was thinking of making a scoop
gouge
out of a file, just gring the scoop onto the tip end. The nice official
store-bought super-duper one
I user for the inside of mandolin tops doesn't hold an edge for beans-O!

Thanks Guys for the ideas.
Alan D.


"Kevin Hall" <timberline@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Alan;

Sorry, I guess I didn't make it clear. I leave the tang end alone, but
this particular chisel I had was only straight in the body for about 75% of
its' overall length. After that it started to taper from around 7/8" to
about 3/4" or a little less at the tip. I didn't want the taper in the
finished chisel, so I grooved and busted the last couple of inches off.
It's much harder to find a true straight-sided pillar file that size than it
is to find one of normal configuration. If you have to go the same route,
make sure you wear eye protection when breaking off the unwanted tapered
end. The blade is hard enough that it may shatter a little and spray small
sharp bits about. Grinding the groove 'round the site of the break helps.
Snug the file in the vice at the ground groove then belt the stub off with a
hammer. Crude but effective.

The tang on those files is good and strong, so will hold a sturdy handle
without any trouble. In order to pin a two-piece handle like knife scales
you'd need to drill the shank of the chisel of course, and that would be
tough sledding unless you used tiny grinding burrs in the Dremel or
spot-annealled the file. Not worth the trouble.

I didn't make the handle I used; just stuck on a spare brass-ferruled,
turned rosewood one I had in the drawer. LMI sell 'em. The original old
one I made years ago just got an ordinary hardware store file handle which
served well for about 25 years. At that point I discovered I had a spare
octagonal boxwood handle with brass ferrules and treated the old chisel to
that. Of course that was completely consumed in the fire. That one was
from Lee Valley Tools, and frankly I preferred it to the fancy rosewood
handle. Next time I'm in Lee Valley I'll pick up a few more of their
octagonal boxwood jobs.

Sorry for the confusion.

If you do try one of these homemade workhorses, you'll be pleasantly
surprised no matter how plebean a handle you use.

All the best,
KH
"Alan D." <SPAMNOTalan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:part1of1.1.wqw%23dVrCcpZY$w@xxxxxxxx
"Kevin Hall" <timberline@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

<<<Snippity-Do-Dah of excellent dissertation on chisel making >>>>

Kevin you say:

After grinding a notched line at the end of the straight section I held
the
file in the big bench vise on the metal working side of the shop and
clouted
the tapered section at the end of the blade off, leaving me with about 8"
of perfectly straight-sided blade. A rough bevel was ground on the end,
and then I spent about an hour lapping the back side of the blade to get
it
perfectly flat, and honing the business end.

and later you mention making the wood handle. Expand a bit on that. In
the
past I
have just used the tapered file tang end as the part to attach a handle
for the
resultant chisel. This is find for lighter duty chisels where you don't
have to
worry
about the wood breaking from work pressure and the tang punching your
hand.
But you appear to be breaking off the tapered tang.
Are you re-grinding the blank to make a handle tang or are you
somehow doing a two-piece wood handle with pin-through to hold it to the
metal.
A photo would be nice if you have it or a little more detailed description
of
how
you attach the handle.

TIA,
Alan D.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: shop-made chisels
    ... this particular chisel I had was only straight in the body for about 75% of ... finished chisel, so I grooved and busted the last couple of inches off. ... The blade is hard enough that it may shatter a little and spray small ... The tang on those files is good and strong, so will hold a sturdy handle ...
    (rec.music.makers.builders)
  • Re: OK, I give up: what is a "registered" chisel?
    ... > point where the tang enters the handle. ... This flange is ... > joint when the chisel is heavily hammered on. ... It dampens the ...
    (rec.woodworking)
  • Re: OT: Ying tong iddle-i po! (was: Ying tong iddle-i po!)
    ... | an "integral tang for extra durability". ... | on the blade of a knife, chisel, file, or other implement by ... We in Britain had the Stone Age and the Bronze Age; ... such a profound effect on Chinese society. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: OK, I give up: what is a "registered" chisel?
    ... A registered chises has a kind of flange at it's tang, ... joint when the chisel is heavily hammered on. ... Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany ...
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  • Re: The one part youd except to be CNCed
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