I recently finished removing (4) 1/2" layers of fir from a pair of glulam
beams (for my workbench, but that's another story). I did this by making
lots of 1/2" deep saw cuts across the beam faces, then using some bench
chisels to waste away the majority of the wood. Lots of pounding involved.
My query revolves around the durability, or lack thereof, of the leather
shock washers on the striking ends of the chisel handles. I need to
preface my question by noting that the chisels have been passed down to me
from my great-grandfather's toolbox. He was a carpenter who built his own
house in 1906 in California. The chisels have the original handles and
leather shock washers, and most likely date back to somewhere around 1900.
Unfortunately, even though I was using a wooden mallet, I destroyed one of
the washers before I noticed, and the second chisel's washers are pretty
beat up, too.
I thought the washers were supposed to protect the handles. Were they
falling apart because they're 100 years old, or because they do that
anyway?
Now I need to replace the washers. Should I use some kind of leather
again, or maybe switch to brass rings? Metal rings might protect the
handles, but would beat up the mallet. Any idears? Also, if leather is
correct, what is the best kind? I possibly have a source of free shoe sole
leather scraps, which would seem to be ideal, being fairly hard and tough.
"Scritch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I recently finished removing (4) 1/2" layers of fir from a pair of glulam
> beams (for my workbench, but that's another story). I did this by making
> lots of 1/2" deep saw cuts across the beam faces, then using some bench
> chisels to waste away the majority of the wood. Lots of pounding
> involved.
>
> My query revolves around the durability, or lack thereof, of the leather
> shock washers on the striking ends of the chisel handles. I need to
> preface my question by noting that the chisels have been passed down to me
> from my great-grandfather's toolbox. He was a carpenter who built his own
> house in 1906 in California. The chisels have the original handles and
> leather shock washers, and most likely date back to somewhere around 1900.
> Unfortunately, even though I was using a wooden mallet, I destroyed one of
> the washers before I noticed, and the second chisel's washers are pretty
> beat up, too.
>
> I thought the washers were supposed to protect the handles. Were they
> falling apart because they're 100 years old, or because they do that
> anyway?
Sounds as though you were abusing the chisels.
The leather may be under warranty though, Check with the manufacturer.
"Scritch" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> I thought the washers were supposed to protect the handles.
I fear that this is a very well-known old wive's tale.
I have it on the authority of a chisel manufacturer that the difficulty of
fitting a handle so that it perfectly abuts the flange of the tang is so
great that a leather washer is inserted to accommodate/disguise any small
error.
To me this is the only explanation that makes sense.
Sorry to be a nay-sayer,
Jeff
--
Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK
email : Username is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
www.amgron.clara.net
"Jeff Gorman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > I thought the washers were supposed to protect the handles.
> I have it on the authority of a chisel manufacturer that the difficulty of
> fitting a handle so that it perfectly abuts the flange of the tang is so
> great that a leather washer is inserted to accommodate/disguise any small
> error.
Bah! You just destroyed the last illusion I had in life. Go away and don't
come back.
:)
On Nov 21, 1:29=A0am, "Jeff Gorman" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Scritch" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> > I thought the washers were supposed to protect the handles.
>
> I have it on the authority of a chisel manufacturer that the difficulty o=
f
> fitting a handle so that it perfectly abuts the flange of the tang is so
> great that a leather washer is inserted
It was my impression that the original poster was referring
to the striking surface, on the butt of the handle, which (to
prevent splintering) was often turned down so that a leather
torus could be centered, and glued onto the end-grain, then
lacquered to stiffen it. I've made such handles, with a bit of
shoe-sole-like leather, and it's not hard to do, nor should
repair be difficult. The hard part is finding a suitable punch to
make the center hole in the leather (the outer edge can be
trimmed/sanded smooth against the handle after assembly).
On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:08:18 -0500, "Upscale" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Lee Michaels" <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote in message
>> >> The leather may be under warranty though, Check with the
>> >> manufacturer.
>> >
>> > Uh, what part of "100 years old" did you miss?
>> >
>> Ed has been known to exercise some dry wit from time to time.
>
>Well, if it's dry wit, it's so dry that it's thoroughly mummified.
>
it was sort of a "shift of wit", I think..
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
"Lee Michaels" <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote in message
> >> The leather may be under warranty though, Check with the
> >> manufacturer.
> >
> > Uh, what part of "100 years old" did you miss?
> >
> Ed has been known to exercise some dry wit from time to time.
Well, if it's dry wit, it's so dry that it's thoroughly mummified.
I'd buy the Craftsman line of pounding chisels with the black platic
handles and shank all the way thru. Although they do not sharpen up as
deadly sharp as a good paring chisel, they are very tough and reasonable
price. Also: free replacement if you bust 'em, and I have. Save the
heirloom set for a bit lighter work, such as finishing rabbets or splice
joints in timbers. And, yes, I would try to replace the leather with
belly hide from a shoemaker or harness shop, put on wet and let to
shrink onto the center peg.
On Nov 20, 9:18=A0am, Scritch <[email protected]> wrote:
> Now I need to replace the washers. =A0Should I use some kind of leather
> again, or maybe switch to brass rings?
Personally, if I had a "heritage" tool, I would restore it to as close
to original condition as I could. I would go with the sole leather.
Glue the leather first, then a light oil of neatsfoot on the leather
tip should do it. Make sure you oil it; dry leather is brittle
leather.
I am not being ugly here, but why were you using nice chisels to do a
nasty chore like table top removal? For something like that, the old
beaters (you probably have) sharpened on the grinder would have worked
better as you could have used a regular hammer and beat the hell out
of them.
Just wondering...
Robert
"J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>
>> The leather may be under warranty though, Check with the
>> manufacturer.
>
> Uh, what part of "100 years old" did you miss?
>
Uh, none at all. Did you hear a whooooshing sound?
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in news:993580a5-
[email protected]:
> On Nov 20, 9:18 am, Scritch <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Now I need to replace the washers. Should I use some kind of leather
>> again, or maybe switch to brass rings?
>
> Personally, if I had a "heritage" tool, I would restore it to as close
> to original condition as I could. I would go with the sole leather.
> Glue the leather first, then a light oil of neatsfoot on the leather
> tip should do it. Make sure you oil it; dry leather is brittle
> leather.
>
> I am not being ugly here, but why were you using nice chisels to do a
> nasty chore like table top removal? For something like that, the old
> beaters (you probably have) sharpened on the grinder would have worked
> better as you could have used a regular hammer and beat the hell out
> of them.
>
> Just wondering...
>
> Robert
1) I didn't expect the washer to come apart like that. I stopped
beating on it before the handle was ruined. I'll be able to rehab the
butt end still.
2) I'm not a tool collector. I'm a tool user. I have multiple copies
of some planes and chisels, but the most I have of any one tool is may
(4) #4 planes, two of which are real crap (like Sears Handyman) that I
use on dirty wood. All of my tools are users, not museum items. The
best thing I have is a Lie Nielsen jack rabbet plane, a birthday
present, but I feel that in general, tools were made to be used, so I
use them. I have a lathe, and I can make new handles if I break them.
Scritch wrote:
> I need to
> preface my question by noting that the chisels have been passed down to me
> from my great-grandfather's toolbox. He was a carpenter who built his own
> house in 1906 in California. The chisels have the original handles and
> leather shock washers, and most likely date back to somewhere around 1900.
I don't have an answer to your question, nor do I really care...
but that is the coolest thing ever.
--
-MIKE-
"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com
[email protected]
---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply
Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> "Scritch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I recently finished removing (4) 1/2" layers of fir from a pair of
>> glulam beams (for my workbench, but that's another story). I did
>> this by making lots of 1/2" deep saw cuts across the beam faces,
>> then using some bench chisels to waste away the majority of the
>> wood. Lots of pounding involved.
>>
>> My query revolves around the durability, or lack thereof, of the
>> leather shock washers on the striking ends of the chisel handles.
>> I
>> need to preface my question by noting that the chisels have been
>> passed down to me from my great-grandfather's toolbox. He was a
>> carpenter who built his own house in 1906 in California. The
>> chisels have the original handles and leather shock washers, and
>> most likely date back to somewhere around 1900. Unfortunately, even
>> though I was using a wooden mallet, I destroyed one of the washers
>> before I noticed, and the second chisel's washers are pretty beat
>> up, too.
>>
>> I thought the washers were supposed to protect the handles. Were
>> they falling apart because they're 100 years old, or because they
>> do
>> that anyway?
>
> Sounds as though you were abusing the chisels.
>
> The leather may be under warranty though, Check with the
> manufacturer.
Uh, what part of "100 years old" did you miss?
--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
Gerald Ross wrote:
> Lee Michaels wrote:
>> "J. Clarke" wrote
>>
>>> Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Sounds as though you were abusing the chisels.
>>>>
>>>> The leather may be under warranty though, Check with the
>>>> manufacturer.
>>>
>>> Uh, what part of "100 years old" did you miss?
>>>
>> Ed has been known to exercise some dry wit from time to time.
>>
>
> But there are people who do not recognize humor unless they can hear
> the canned laughter. I have lived with one for thirty something
> years.
Perhaps you need to work on your delivery?
--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
Lee Michaels wrote:
> "J. Clarke" wrote
>
>> Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>
>>> Sounds as though you were abusing the chisels.
>>>
>>> The leather may be under warranty though, Check with the
>>> manufacturer.
>>
>> Uh, what part of "100 years old" did you miss?
>>
> Ed has been known to exercise some dry wit from time to time.
>
But there are people who do not recognize humor unless they can hear
the canned laughter. I have lived with one for thirty something years.
--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA
A Lot of people mistake their
imagination for their memory.
On Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:47:14 -0500, Gerald Ross <[email protected]> wrote:
>Lee Michaels wrote:
>> "J. Clarke" wrote
>>
>>> Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Sounds as though you were abusing the chisels.
>>>>
>>>> The leather may be under warranty though, Check with the
>>>> manufacturer.
>>>
>>> Uh, what part of "100 years old" did you miss?
>>>
>> Ed has been known to exercise some dry wit from time to time.
>>
>
>But there are people who do not recognize humor unless they can hear
>the canned laughter. I have lived with one for thirty something years.
ahh... Jay Leno fans....
if the canned stuff doesn't work, the shoulder shrug and outstretched hands
might..
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing