Firmer Paring

[Gary Morris]

Hi
I thought I would buy a woodworking chisel, as a start of a collection, for general woodworking and for creating joints. Having no experience what so ever in woodworking or chiselling can I ask what's the difference between 'Firmer' and 'Paring' chisels.
I notice on http://www.1066tools.co.uk/tools/Firmer_Chisels.html that the Ashley Iles 'single chisels' are either 'firmer bevelled' or 'paring bevelled', yet the '5 box set' are just bevelled chisels, is this a third type of chisel?
I've watched a video on lapping film and wondered if anyone has a preferred site or shop for both the chisels and the lapping film please.
The lapping film will also assist with the restoration of a Stanley Hand Plane which my Brother in Law gave me and which I also have no experience with.

thank you
thanks
Gary

 

[Phil Pascoe]

:idea: Why don't you start at the beginning? Buy stuff in car boots, markets, small adds and so on. Learn what you need and what you don't, learn how to grind and sharpen them, and save yourself a load of money?

 

[jimi43]

:idea: Why don't you start at the beginning? Buy stuff in car boots, markets, small adds and so on. Learn what you need and what you don't, learn how to grind and sharpen them, and save yourself a load of money?

Spot on!

They start this week and if you take £20 with you...you will probably come away with some junk...but always in that pile is a treasure!

Look out for old names on chisels like WARD, SORBY, IBBOTSON, MARPLES...to name a few.

If you think it looks "quality steel" it probably is. If it's got a boxwood handles (light coloured fine grain) then it almost certainly is!

You can do the same with planes as well...there are usually always one or two at bootfairs if not more.

Try to find tool dealers. You don't have to buy at their prices but start up a relationship with the dealer and they will usually help by showing you examples of their gems...

Jimi

 

[MickCheese]

Always look on the bright side, if it's rubbish steel then it will be a useless chisel but much easier to sharpen so use that to practice your sharpening technique.

I wore away a lot of metal practising sharpening.

Mick

 

[GazPal]

Hi
I thought I would buy a woodworking chisel, as a start of a collection, for general woodworking and for creating joints. Having no experience what so ever in woodworking or chiselling can I ask what's the difference between 'Firmer' and 'Paring' chisels.
I notice on http://www.1066tools.co.uk/tools/Firmer_Chisels.html that the Ashley Iles 'single chisels' are either 'firmer bevelled' or 'paring bevelled', yet the '5 box set' are just bevelled chisels, is this a third type of chisel?
I've watched a video on lapping film and wondered if anyone has a preferred site or shop for both the chisels and the lapping film please.
The lapping film will also assist with the restoration of a Stanley Hand Plane which my Brother in Law gave me and which I also have no experience with.

thank you
thanks
Gary

Hi Gary,

Firmer chisels have a heavier blade that's suited for dual roles involving chopping in partnership with mallet and heavier paring, but tend to have a blade length of approx 4.5". They're available with straight and bevelled edges - as are paring chisels - with bevel edge capable of reaching into tight corners and internal angles below 90deg.

Paring chisels have a lighter and - typically - much longer, thinner blade than firmer chisels. They're intended for trimming duties and paring, but driven by hand and without mallet. Some suggest they can be used with light mallet work, but it's far easier to use the right chisel for the job than it is to straighten a bent chisel blade (Yes they can bend) and I always err on the safe side.

If chisels are labelled as bevel edged I'd safely assume they're of the firmer chisel type unless otherwise stated.

I wish i could help in terms of advise regarding lapping films, but I'm strictly an oil stone and diamond plate sharpener and have no experience using lapping papers.

 

[Harbo]

Try Workshop Heaven for lapping films.

I think the link is a bit confusing firmers are generally straight sided - bevels have bevel sides?
Bevel edged firmers must have thicker sides?

Rod

 

[GazPal]

Try Workshop Heaven for lapping films.

I think the link is a bit confusing firmers are generally straight sided - bevels have bevel sides?
Bevel edged firmers must have thicker sides?

Rod

Their full title used to be bevel edged firmer chisels, but it tends to be abbreviated to bevel edged chisel. They can be thicker sided, but not always, as descriptions often vary from maker to maker. In all honesty, if bevel edged chisels prove to have thicker lands/sides than desired, it's a detail the user can fine tune to fit his/her needs with a little file and stone work.

 

[speeder1987]

Yes the 3M lapping films are great from workshop heaven, but they are all very high grit and therefore can only be used for honing

John

 

[Gary Morris]

Thanks for all the replies, some good sound advice and after sleeping on it they make more sense, there's a large car boot place near to Redditch, I'll check it out and see if I can pick up a bargain or two. I'm happy now. I have a plan

Gary

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Gary, don't forget there are numerous threads here dealing with grinding, flattening and re-handling chisels. Really nice handles (if you've not a lathe) and ferrules can be bought from various sources.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

There isn't really a simple, clean answer to the question of what is a firmer chisel, because over the years, chisel shapes have changed somewhat. However, in general, a modern firmer chisel is a strong chisel with a blade about 4" to 6" long, having either a rectangular cross-section or a bevelled-edge cross section. A paring chisel is longer, up to about 10" or so in blade length, and modern ones are usually bevelled-edged in cross section.

Other types of chisel that crop up fairly frequently are registered firmers, which are stronger than firmers, rectangular in cross-section, and with sides exactly at right-angles to the face and back. They often have double-hooped handles, and are intended for heavy chopping work. Mortice chisels are even thicker, having blades that are thicker in depth than width, and intended (as their name suggests) for the heavy work of chopping mortices.

(Going back to the 19th century, almost all chisels were of approximately rectangular section. Firmers were thin compared to modern chisels, paring chisels even thinner. The bevelled edge chisel was virtually unknown.)

For someone just starting out, a small selection of modern bevelled-edged chisels will do almost anything you need. Useful sizes are 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4" and 1". Carboot sales, Ebay, junkshops and similar will yield excellent examples as long as you don't mind doing some fettling and sharpening of edges. Even the sheds-on-the-bypass will provide reasonable new examples, but stick to good brand names like Stanley and Marples. As your activities develop, and your knowledge and horizons expand, you can add more specialist and nicer chisels when the need arises.

One last tip - obtain a wooden mallet, too. Plastic-handled chisels will survive being hit with a hammer, but wooden-handled chisels will quickly become very raggy indeed if subjected to such treatment!

 

[GazPal]

One last tip - obtain a wooden mallet, too. Plastic-handled chisels will survive being hit with a hammer, but wooden-handled chisels will quickly become very raggy indeed if subjected to such treatment!

In the absence of mallet, with care, hammers can be used with chisels, but not by striking the chisel handle using the face of the hammer head. Rotate the hammer by 90 degrees and strike using the side of the hammer head as the striking face. I'd tend to only do this when working with chisels hafted in plastic or with hooped wooden handles and not chisels with plain wooden handles.

 

[Gary Morris]

thanks, I'm looking on ebay and intend to do some car boots. I'll get myself a wooden mallet, I'm really looking forward to making some joints and owning some sharp chisels. I have a piece of float glass that I got for a fiver, it's only 6mm thick, I noticed that the 3M lapping set up from workshop heaven comes with a piece of 10mm float glass, which will be good. I noticed also that Veritas sells saw guides (I think Dovetail) are these worthwhile or would a sharp pencil and steel rule be better?

thanks again for all of the information
Gary