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Thanks, James - they look like this. The side lands are fat and what you'd expect on a chisel from a home centre (though getting them through harbor freight means they'll be a fraction of the price of even those types). You can get an idea of the side lands by looking at how tall and squarish they are at the bevel.

I thought they'd be a decent chrome vanadium type steel with only minimal chromium and vanadium (adding more than is needed to improve hardenability would do nothing but make the rod/bar stock used more expensive, and they wouldn't do that on chisels that are less than $2 each). The interesting thing is that chisels are generally better if they aren't so alloyed up - but what I was intending to do was find their limits and sweet spot rehardening them, but to my surprise, they kind of came already in their sweet spot.

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All that said, for $10 out the door in a blister pack with beech handles, who could really complain (i prefer them by miles to the narex types as their edge holding is as good or better and they don't hold on to a wire edge tenaciously).
 
I've been making a bunch of chisels, but these aren't some of them.

You often see people say something like "these chisels are decent, but they'd be better with different handles and no lands".

So, I got a $10 set of imported chisels at the local junk chain here (harbor freight) and they turned out to be decent chisels, and actually usable as they arrive. They aren't LV or LN straight, but straight enough.

I reground them (chasing the side lands down so they could be used for fine work) and replaced their original tiny beech handles with stamped metal parts.

They are not as hard as super premium chisels, but harder than the typical stanley 5000 or marples blue chip type chisels and they actually hold up just fine once you figure out where the edge likes to be set. They also sharpen super easy and release their wire edge like magic - nothing at all obnoxious about them (they are also better edge holding than new sorby fodder, FWIW, but I think sorby makes their new chisels soft to meet some kind of industrial spec - there's no other reason I could think of that their chisels are so soft.

As often as I've seen people say "they'd be fine if they were reground and rehandled", I don't think I've seen anyone actually do it. So there! The something for nothing gimmick made complete.

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Nice job,very similar to my Ashley Iles set...
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Sort of like that, but less taper (the iles chisels are obviously more elegant). The only thing I wished for with the iles chisels was for the 1/4 and perhaps the 3/8ths to be a little taller in cross section up near the bolster.

Of all of the new chisels out there, though, the iles are my favorite and I had a set until a couple of months ago (sold only to free up rack space for newly forged chisels).

the wider width iles chisels are just divine, though, and I'm only picky because I can just dial up a shape and make it.
 
Last two things made are a 19” high kitchen stool for my daughter and 15” platter for my son, other family requests starting to come in now, so more sawdust and shavings will be forthcoming
Stool seat and platter are from a solid piece of Brazilian mahogany rescued from a skip from a bar being refurbished in Halifax, around 25 yrs ago, back when I was doing sound installation work. The stool legs are up-cycled mahogany window frame sections given to me to see if I could make use of them.
 
Finished this a couple of months back for my daughters 2nd birthday as opposed to buying one of those kiddie chairs from Ikea.

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Meranti, Danish oil finish. All mortice and tenon joniery. My first time using dedicated mortice chisels which was great.

In an ideal world I would have experimented with bent lamination for the rear legs but I had to knock this together in just under a week. So one for next time.

Also played around with a spoke shave for the first time. Pretty poor overall but that was my ability rather than the tool - it made a great round over to the front of the seat.

Anyway she loves it and it is also great for colouring in, both when sitting on or the actual chair itself!
 
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What abrasives do you use? I don't use beyond 180g dry, from there on it's w&d. Fifteen grits, not much more than a wipe with each - by the time 12,000 is reached there isn't really that much to gain from buffing polishes. I use pads for all the fine ones (about £9 a set), and find that by the time I stop the lathe and look to see whether I could skip a grade it's quicker just to have done it, necessary or not. A recycled spray (kitchen cleaners etc.) full of water is useful.
 
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