I bought four sets of chisels from a used place. The kind with a light green
see-thru handle and a black trim - no brand. It performed fine for a few
weeks until a pearl sized chip came off in sections from the tip of the green
handle which I did not notice earlier. I was chiseling against the grain of the
wood, not along the grain as instructed from a book. But, I've chiseled against
the grain with a 10-year old Stanley (with a non-see-thru plastic handle) without
problems.
The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more careful.
I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I pound
them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
Thanks
Laburnum is one of the nicest decorative trees for turning :) It has a very
dark center and a yellow outer layer. Wonderful close grained wood but hard
to find. Some of my best looking pieces came from the nastiest looking
scraps :) Amazing how the coloring in the grain changes from being wet and
dried multiple times under various types of junk. Madrone and manzanita
root can be very interesting too.
"Jim" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Martin, you aren't kidding. I stopped by the saw mill & bought $102
> worth of wood yesterday. I don't do it too often & the pile this time
> was depressingly small. Locally, we get nice cherry, oak, poplar &
> maple. Got a couple of boards of each just to put in the shop & let it
> sit for when I need it.
>
> Lately, I've mostly been turning green wood - found wood. I like that
> price a LOT better. <G> We have some neat local woods that never make
> the sawmill; osage orange, dogwood, beech & sycamore. There are also
> some neat exotics like the japanese sampora that a woman had cut out of
> her back yard last year. I'm starting to cut a few of my own boards.
> I don't really have the room for even a portable sawmill & drying shed,
> so I doubt I'll get into it too much, but besides being a lot of fun,
> working with these other woods is very interesting. Also keeps my
> wallet from hiding in a dark corner & whining. <G>
>
> Jim
>
Buy good chisels & use a wooden mallet. I turned a chunk of Red Oak
firewood into a mallet that is perfect in about 10 minutes. My chisels
are used, but they are a nice set of swedish ones that were passed
down. I keep a couple of small sets of Stanley & other cheap ones for
beater projects. You can't do decent woodworking without a good set of
chisels that are just for good work - in my opinion, anyway. - Jim
Sat, Mar 5, 2005, 7:18am (EST-3) [email protected] (Jim) says:
Buy good chisels & use a wooden mallet. I turned a chunk of Red Oak
firewood into a mallet that is perfect in about 10 minutes. <snip>
He was probably whacking them way too hard too. I've got 7
mallets, different sizes, weights, types of wood, 6 if you don't include
the pine one the dog chewed on. The lighter ones work great for more
delicate chiseling, the big heavy ones are for whacking the Hell out of
them.
JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold
On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 15:45:34 -0500, [email protected] (J T)
wrote:
> He was probably whacking them way too hard too. I've got 7
>mallets, different sizes, weights, types of wood, 6 if you don't include
>the pine one the dog chewed on. The lighter ones work great for more
>delicate chiseling, the big heavy ones are for whacking the Hell out of
>them.
You never "whack the Hell" out of chisels. (i) you sharpen them, and
(ii) the fact that the mallet is heavier should do ...Like my dear old
daddy used to tell me, rest his soul, "Let the tool do the work."
Sat, Mar 5, 2005, 5:10pm [email protected] (Guess=A0who)
erroneously claims:
You never "whack the Hell" out of chisels. <snip>
LMAO Maybe in your world. My chisels "are" sharp, by the way.
When I want delicate cuts, I use a light mallet, and tap, tap, tap,
letting "the tool do the work".
However, in my world, on those times when I need (or want) to take
a big chunk at one go, I use my biggest chisel, take my biggest,
heaviest, mallet, and "whack the Hell out of it". Works quite well.
Fun too. When my woodworking stops being fun, I'll stop woodworking.
JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold
It was somewhere outside Barstow when [email protected] (J T)
wrote:
>I use my biggest chisel, take my biggest,
>heaviest, mallet, and "whack the Hell out of it".
My heaviest wooden mallet is around 18lbs.... 8-)
Sun, Mar 6, 2005, 12:35am (EST+5) [email protected]
(Andy=A0Dingley) says:
My heaviest wooden mallet is around 18lbs.... =A0 8-)
That definitely makes it a two-man job. OK, you hold the chisel,
and I'll swing the mallet. Trust me.
JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold
It was somewhere outside Barstow when [email protected] (J T)
wrote:
>My heaviest wooden mallet is around 18lbs.... 8-)
>
>That definitely makes it a two-man job.
One man, _definitely_. No one even wants to stand near it when it's
being swung. It's a timber-framing "commander" for putting big joints
together.
I have a well-beaten rawhide mallet that came with a box of old tools
I bought in an auction. This ugly mallet became my favorite
mallet--just the right size, weight, and non-marring. For heavier
stuff, I have a dead-blow shot-filled mallet. Most often I just use
hand pressure with a chisel--if that doesn't work chances are it's
time to do some sharpening.
Nick Huckaby wrote:
> I bought four sets of chisels from a used place. The kind with a
light green
> see-thru handle and a black trim - no brand. It performed fine for a
few
> weeks until a pearl sized chip came off in sections from the tip of
the green
> handle which I did not notice earlier. I was chiseling against the
grain of the
> wood, not along the grain as instructed from a book. But, I've
chiseled against
> the grain with a 10-year old Stanley (with a non-see-thru plastic
handle) without
> problems.
>
> The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15
percent
> chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am
more careful.
> I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way
I pound
> them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
>
> Thanks
Chisels with plastic handles are not made for beating on with a hammer.
For hammering they should have a metal core that extends to the
striking surface. You should never use a steel hammer on any wood
chisel. Beechwood, rawhide or nylon mallets are made to drive chisels.
Save the steel hammer for driving cold chisels.
Bugs
Nick Huckaby asks:
I bought four sets of chisels from a used place. The kind with a light
green
see-thru handle and a black trim - no brand. It performed fine for a
few
weeks until a pearl sized chip came off in sections from the tip of the
green
handle which I did not notice earlier. I was chiseling against the
grain of the
wood, not along the grain as instructed from a book. But, I've chiseled
against
the grain with a 10-year old Stanley (with a non-see-thru plastic
handle) without
problems.
The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15
percent
chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more
careful.
I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I
pound
them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
First, the chisels didn't break. The handles did. Second, the chisels
didn't break, you broke them.
I don't know where you got an iron hammer, but use a mallet, instead of
a steel hammer. Now, you can take the handles off, turn new handles,
install them and use a wooden, rawhide (my preference) or plastic
mallet.
Martin, you aren't kidding. I stopped by the saw mill & bought $102
worth of wood yesterday. I don't do it too often & the pile this time
was depressingly small. Locally, we get nice cherry, oak, poplar &
maple. Got a couple of boards of each just to put in the shop & let it
sit for when I need it.
Lately, I've mostly been turning green wood - found wood. I like that
price a LOT better. <G> We have some neat local woods that never make
the sawmill; osage orange, dogwood, beech & sycamore. There are also
some neat exotics like the japanese sampora that a woman had cut out of
her back yard last year. I'm starting to cut a few of my own boards.
I don't really have the room for even a portable sawmill & drying shed,
so I doubt I'll get into it too much, but besides being a lot of fun,
working with these other woods is very interesting. Also keeps my
wallet from hiding in a dark corner & whining. <G>
Jim
Sun, Mar 6, 2005, 4:19am (EST-3) [email protected] (Jim) says:
<snip> We have some neat local woods that never make the sawmill; osage
orange, dogwood, beech & sycamore. <snip>
Yup, I decided quite some time back that it was more satisfying to
work with just wood native to North Carolina. Or, free wood. Free wood
is popular wood. Pallets are free, and can have some nice wood - oir
not - "free" is the operational word. I'm not sure where pallets grow.
but I know they're native. Anymore, the only wood I buy sometimes is
plywood. I buy it becuse I know plywood trees are native here too.
JOAT
Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.
- David Fasold
Andy Dingley responds:
Rawhide ? really?
I have plenty of rawhide mallets that I use for coppersmithing, but
I've never heard of anyone using them to drive chisels before - always
wood.
Yeah, rawhide. I've got a couple with cast iron holders that are
weighty enough--ye olde basic rawhide mallet is very light, but add 16
ounces of cast iron, and bingo. I've also got one that has a copper
head and a rawhide head...great for non-sparking needs, but I no longer
work around such substances when striking is needed, so it is also
handy for driving chisels. To me, the more compact heads are easier to
control than larger wood mallets, though I also like the various
deadblow Stanley hammers.
Nick Huckaby apparently said,on my timestamp of 6/03/2005 1:50 AM:
> The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
> chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more careful.
> I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I pound
> them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
You can't easily repair them. Try grinding/sanding to shape?
Or better yet, get another set. They are cheap enough.
The iron hammer would be the cause. Use a mallet.
Wood is a good choice and you can make one yourself.
Rawhide hammers are the best for this, IMHO. But hard to find.
If all else fails, get one of those cheap hammers with one
side rubber mallet, the other yellow nylon. Use the nylon
side: it bounces really well.
It's important that the head of the hammer is wider than the
top of the chisel handle. Otherwise it's real easy to
swing slightly off-centre and end up with a chip.
HTH
Cheers
Nuno Souto
in sunny Sydney, Australia
[email protected]
Andy Dingley wrote:
> I have plenty of rawhide mallets that I use for coppersmithing, but
> I've never heard of anyone using them to drive chisels before - always
> wood.
I prefer them for framing chisels.
Kevin Gallimore
----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
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Whatever type of chisel you use, be sure to whack it with a back and froe
motion.
Bob Swinney
"aftershock" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> With this type of chisel I like to use a wooden mallet.
>
It was somewhere outside Barstow when "Glenn" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Laburnum is one of the nicest decorative trees for turning
Have you ever seen "oyster veneering" - an 18th century decorative
technique ? Diagonal slices of laburnum are trimmed rectangular and
placed together as a decorative veneer. It's plug-ugly IMHO, but
certainly an interesting and impressive technique.
>I bought four sets of chisels from a used place. The kind with a light green
> see-thru handle and a black trim - no brand. It performed fine for a few
> weeks until a pearl sized chip came off in sections from the tip of the green
> handle which I did not notice earlier. I was chiseling against the grain of the
> wood, not along the grain as instructed from a book. But, I've chiseled against
> the grain with a 10-year old Stanley (with a non-see-thru plastic handle) without
> problems.
> The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
> chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more careful.
> I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I pound
> them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
>
> Thanks
>
>
Get this set of chisels http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/C!00730.htm
And this 4-1/2" mallet: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=30004&cat=1,41504
Or this type from anywhere else, and you'll be proper. I have some of
these chisels and they are an acceptable tool steel that does take a very
fine edge. When honing these Buck Bros., the edge does build up a
signifigant bur, but it is easliy lapped off perfectly clean, I was happy
with that, and got a glass edge from 1200 grit paper.
--
Alex
cravdraa_at-yahoo_dot-com
not my site: http://www.e-sword.net/
"Nick Huckaby" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
> chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more
> careful.
> I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I
> pound
> them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
>
> Thanks
Toss them and buy a good set. Hone them before use.
Nick Huckaby wrote:
> I bought four sets of chisels from a used place. The kind with a light green
> see-thru handle and a black trim - no brand. It performed fine for a few
> weeks until a pearl sized chip came off in sections from the tip of the green
> handle which I did not notice earlier. I was chiseling against the grain of the
> wood, not along the grain as instructed from a book. But, I've chiseled against
> the grain with a 10-year old Stanley (with a non-see-thru plastic handle) without
> problems.
>
> The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
> chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more careful.
> I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I pound
> them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
>
> Thanks
If they have plastic handles, they are not designed to be struck with a
hammer.
...lew...
In article <1110033614.29945f02d53262e407d38a91971d5c31@bubbanews>, "Nick Huckaby" <[email protected]> wrote:
>The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
>chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more careful.
>I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I pound
>them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
There are two problems:
1) You bought cheap, low-quality chisels.
2) You should be using a wooden or urethane mallet, not an iron hammer, on a
plastic striking surface.
The best way to "repair" them is to throw them out, buy better chisels, and
treat the new ones properly.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
Glenn wrote:
> Laburnum is one of the nicest decorative trees for turning :) It has a very
> dark center and a yellow outer layer. Wonderful close grained wood but hard
> to find. Some of my best looking pieces came from the nastiest looking
> scraps :) Amazing how the coloring in the grain changes from being wet and
> dried multiple times under various types of junk. Madrone and manzanita
> root can be very interesting too.
> "Jim" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Martin, you aren't kidding. I stopped by the saw mill & bought $102
>>worth of wood yesterday. I don't do it too often & the pile this time
>>was depressingly small. Locally, we get nice cherry, oak, poplar &
>>maple. Got a couple of boards of each just to put in the shop & let it
>>sit for when I need it.
>>
>>Lately, I've mostly been turning green wood - found wood. I like that
>>price a LOT better. <G> We have some neat local woods that never make
>>the sawmill; osage orange, dogwood, beech & sycamore. There are also
>>some neat exotics like the japanese sampora that a woman had cut out of
>>her back yard last year. I'm starting to cut a few of my own boards.
>>I don't really have the room for even a portable sawmill & drying shed,
>>so I doubt I'll get into it too much, but besides being a lot of fun,
>>working with these other woods is very interesting. Also keeps my
>>wallet from hiding in a dark corner & whining. <G>
>>
>>Jim
>>
>
>
>
As I pack, I have a spindle with ends still attached of Osage Orange curing
in my bottom dresser drawer. Been there 8 years and I think it might be dryish.
It has a beautiful color now, and will be turned a bit to true up internal stretches.
Speaking of the magical Madrone - I have some that are 100' or more high but are likely
150' in length! - One is larger than my belt size at 100' and is horizontal!
The trunks twist and turn. The color of the wood is so fine and the wood tight.
I have two limbs well seasoned for future projects. Larger bowls never made it as
the wood comes alive during turning as the stress grain is cut and a twist comes undone!
Now try to cut that with a hand skew! Exciting times.
In my new shop, I'll get the wood lathe out and have plenty of room. Hope to get my skill,
my Uncle - Uncle Dave - he is making Hats! - Yes western, and others! The pictures are
something else. I get one this summer. Can't wait to walk into a lumber yard or wood working
store of some sort with a wood hat!
Martin
--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer [email protected]
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
<< Snip >>
>The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
>chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more careful.
>I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I pound
>them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
I don't know what the best way to repair them is, but I see a few
causes for your problem right offhand. First, a "plastic striking
surface" is not a striking surface at all- the chisel is most likely
designed for hand use only. If you can't push it by hand, it's
probably not sharp enough for what you're doing. Chisels that are
intended to be used with mallets usually have a steel shaft running
all the way through the tool, and a metal striking plate at the end or
a socket-type reciever for the handle, and (again) a metal striking
plate at the end. Asking plastic to hold up to repeated hammering it
probably unrealistic, unless you get some superb chisels.
Second, even when carving with a mallet, you probably want to use a
wooden mallet rather than an iron hammer.
Third- Chisels carve, they don't umm.. "pound". They're not nails,
after all. Try taking several shallower cuts, and sharpen your tools
more often!
Sounds like you got yourself a fairly cheap set of chisels to begin
with- it may just be easier to get another set than it is to fix them.
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam
On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 06:50:56 -0800, "Nick Huckaby" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I bought four sets of chisels from a used place. The kind with a light green
>see-thru handle and a black trim - no brand. It performed fine for a few
>weeks until a pearl sized chip came off in sections from the tip of the green
>handle which I did not notice earlier. I was chiseling against the grain of the
>wood, not along the grain as instructed from a book. But, I've chiseled against
>the grain with a 10-year old Stanley (with a non-see-thru plastic handle) without
>problems.
>
>The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
>chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more careful.
>I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I pound
>them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
>
>Thanks
>
>
>
>
some cheap chisels have decent steel, some don't. if yours don't,
treat them as disposable. if they do, make new wooden handles.
On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 12:20:52 +0000, Andy Dingley
<[email protected]> wrote:
>It was somewhere outside Barstow when "Charlie Self"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>use a wooden, rawhide (my preference) or plastic
>>mallet.
>
>Rawhide ? really?
>
>I have plenty of rawhide mallets that I use for coppersmithing, but
>I've never heard of anyone using them to drive chisels before - always
>wood.
I have a few rawhide mallets. every once in a while one or another of
them will be used to drive a chisel, like if the mallet happens to be
out at the time or is the right weight for the cut or whatever.
usually I do use a wood mallet, but I don't have a rule about it....
It was somewhere outside Barstow when "Charlie Self"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>use a wooden, rawhide (my preference) or plastic
>mallet.
Rawhide ? really?
I have plenty of rawhide mallets that I use for coppersmithing, but
I've never heard of anyone using them to drive chisels before - always
wood.
"Charlie Self" wrote in message
> I don't know where you got an iron hammer, but use a mallet, instead of
> a steel hammer. Now, you can take the handles off, turn new handles,
> install them and use a wooden, rawhide (my preference) ...
Your comment brought back memories of when you used to see a lot of rawhide
tools, and rawhide _in_ tools. Rawhide was a staple of the life on the
frontier and one of the handiest things to have around. It was used to write
on, as seats and backs for chairs, as "windows", as shopping bags, as
lariats and whips, as bridles, as glue when ground into a powder ... and,
because of its ability to stretch when wet and seriously contract when dry,
was used universally to fasten things together, much like nails today. The
plains Indians often wrapped prisoners in a fresh buffalo hide and left them
out in the sun for a few days ... constricted their options considerably. :)
Stranded folks were even know to survive by chewing on it.
I have a collection of J. Frank Dobie works, a Texas historian, folklorist,
and professor of English at the University of Texas in the early 1900's who
wrote extensively about rawhide and its uses in some of his early pieces.
Dobie was raised on a Texas cattle ranch and is well known for having
interviewed old timers about such things.
Fascinating, useful material.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 11/06/04
On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 06:50:56 -0800, "Nick Huckaby" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I bought four sets of chisels from a used place. The kind with a light green
>see-thru handle and a black trim - no brand. It performed fine for a few
>weeks until a pearl sized chip came off in sections from the tip of the green
>handle which I did not notice earlier. I was chiseling against the grain of the
>wood, not along the grain as instructed from a book. But, I've chiseled against
>the grain with a 10-year old Stanley (with a non-see-thru plastic handle) without
>problems.
>
>The problem is that a few of the green see-thru chisels have 10-15 percent
>chips gone from its plastic striking surface. Since that day I am more careful.
>I'm not sure whether the cause is the a 12-oz. iron hammer or the way I pound
>them. What's the best way to repair these tool?
>
>Thanks
>
>
>
>
move up to a 24 oz. hammer...
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
Jim wrote:
> Buy good chisels & use a wooden mallet. I turned a chunk of Red Oak
> firewood into a mallet that is perfect in about 10 minutes. My chisels
> are used, but they are a nice set of swedish ones that were passed
> down. I keep a couple of small sets of Stanley & other cheap ones for
> beater projects. You can't do decent woodworking without a good set of
> chisels that are just for good work - in my opinion, anyway. - Jim
>
Funny how some of us hunt the wood pile for turning wood!
Martin
--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer [email protected]
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder