Chisels!

[SteveB43]

...in the style of Le Salvager... today Im thinking about Chisels.. (hammer) well some like the pic you bash mortices etc but what sizes are the most used.... stirkes me (ha 2nd pun...) that the most useful are the smaller sizes with anything over say an inch, not really useful for a lot of joints like dovetails etc...For lap and halving joints, ok, I can see the attraction of paring with a 50mm chisel, but surely that's where the shoulder planes come in?

Im not differentiating between firmer or bevel but again joint requirement would be a strong influence and until recently, looking at the range Matthew of WSH fame is now stocking, it was bevel or owt.

Anyone got any thoughts?

 

[RogerP]

Car boot and look for old ones with good makers names. 50p to £1 each for nice ones.

 

[Racers]

Look for Cast Steel on the blade, I haven't found a bad one yet.

Pete

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Which are most useful obviously depends a bit on the work you do, but by the sounds of it you're thinking mostly of furniture work in solid timbers, maybe with 'other work' as it arises.

Most chiselling can be done with a few firmers, or their more modern equivalent, the bevel-edged firmer. I don't think you really need many. Perhaps a couple of little ones, a couple of medium-sized ones and a big one - say 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4" and 1 1/4". For the very few jobs they can't do easily, a small selection of bevel-edged chisels with very fine lands - say 1/8", 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4". Then maybe a big, fat mortice chisel - 1/4" will cover most furniture-sized mortices. Anything else is either a bonus, or buy one if you find you really need it. Then maybe three or four 'beaters' you don't mind striking with a hammer and using in the garden for DIY and rough work.

Among the optionals - a small selection of out-cannel gouges (small, medium and large), a couple more sizes of mortice chisel, maybe a long paring chisel or two, maybe a pair of skew chisels (though for lapped dovetails, the 1/8" b/e will clear all the waste with just a small undercut covered when the joint is assembled), and maybe a drawer-lock chisel. Perhaps a few carving chisels and gouges of various sweeps if your work veers in that direction. Maybe two or three in-cannel scribing gouges. The optionals would give you a very comprehensive set of tools, with which you could tackle pretty much anything.

Sources? Vintage are nice, but getting really good ones of the right sizes may take a bit of searching, and you may accumulate a boxful of also-rans gtting them. The firmers could well be modern Marples from the DIY shed if you don't mind plastic handles. It's worth being selective about the fine bevel-edged (I'm biased, but I like the Ashley Iles ones - quite pricey, but you don't need many, and one purchase is for life). Proper mortice chisels will have to be vintage, but there are a lot of 1/4" ones about, and they don't cost the earth. Ditto the 'optionals' if you keep your eyes peeled for a few months, and buy very selectively.

 

[matthewwh]

There is certainly benefit to having more options the smaller you go, a 3/8" is half as big again as a 1/4" so it's significant, whereas the difference between 1" and 1-1/8" would be less significant. Most people get on fine with a set of six, and then add to that as and when they need to. It's nice to have at least one broad one so that you can take full advantage if you have a large accessible reference surface. Chisels and large shoulder planes have some crossover of function but there are many situations where one or the other are either preferable or the only way.

As CC says, one mortice chisel about 1/3 of your normal stock thickness should do it to begin with. The Narex ones are spot on, nice steel, correct shape, and you can bash the cr4p out of them all day long.

As most of our customers are furniture makers, most of our chisels are bevelled - either bevelled firmer for heavier work or true cabinemakers bevel edged for finer work. We do also stock the traditional AI registered firmers for those that require extra indestructibility.

 

[SteveB43]

Thanks for the feedback.... much appreciated!
I think it depends what you're doing, if you want a set of general chisels for joinery, then a good set of the Stanley's or Irwin's out there should do. However fine cabinetry demands a higher spec and the set of the smaller sizes to start with would seem appropriate.
The old adage 'buy what you need for the job in hand' should apply, but hey it's the season of lists for the old man at the North Pole!

I've got a copy of Charles Haywards 'Woodwork Joints' so I'll practice a few of those with what chisels Ive got, then work it out from there....




Footnote:
(no mention of the shar word.... ) @runningforthedoor....

 

[Jacob]

You don't need many as a rule. You certainly don't need a "set" - they aren't like a mechanics kit where you do actually need one socket/spanner for each size (between limits). Just get hold of a few odds and ends and you are off!