Does anyone have a set of mortice chisels and what sizes are they ?
Also, what relative depths are they ?
The reason I'm asking is that I want to order the steel blocks from a steel
yard cut to make my own. Okay, this might sound a bit old fashioned as I'm
sure they can still be bought but I want my own hand made set.
I've only seen one at a car boot sale and I've seen that the (side on) depth
reduces from just after the cutting edge plane and assume this is to
facilitate a small up and down movement in cutting deep mortices. Sadly,
this was the only time I've seen one as I should have bought it.
Many thanks,
Richard.
>The reason I'm asking is that I want to order the steel blocks from a steel
>yard cut to make my own. Okay, this might sound a bit old fashioned as I'm
>sure they can still be bought but I want my own hand made set.
well you won't find the steel at a steel yard most likely. and wait till you see
the price (G)
>I've only seen one at a car boot sale and I've seen that the (side on) depth
>reduces from just after the cutting edge plane and assume this is to
>facilitate a small up and down movement in cutting deep mortices. Sadly,
>this was the only time I've seen one as I should have bought it.
>
>
a 7" blade is good plus the tang.
>
>
--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.
You can make your own from oil tempered tool steel. The directions for
tempering are usually on the package. The steel comes in an anealer
state, ready to work into the final design. For most furniture work
you'll find 1/4inch or about .5cm very useful for wood 3/4inch or 2cm
thick. Of course that'll depand on what you're doing the mortises for.
If you're timber framing a house, the size will be quite a bit larger.
Mike in Pelham, NC
Richard Brooks wrote:
>Does anyone have a set of mortice chisels and what sizes are they ?
>
>Also, what relative depths are they ?
>
>The reason I'm asking is that I want to order the steel blocks from a steel
>yard cut to make my own. Okay, this might sound a bit old fashioned as I'm
>sure they can still be bought but I want my own hand made set.
>
>I've only seen one at a car boot sale and I've seen that the (side on) depth
>reduces from just after the cutting edge plane and assume this is to
>facilitate a small up and down movement in cutting deep mortices. Sadly,
>this was the only time I've seen one as I should have bought it.
>
>Many thanks,
>
>
>Richard.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Richard Brooks asked some questions about making mortise chisels...
Hi Richard,
You might be interested in a couple web pages of mine on the subject.
www.paragoncode.com/toolmaking/mortise_chisels/details
www.paragoncode.com/toolmaking/mortise_chisels/handles/making
They're just a brief overview of how I make them, but they might give you
an idea or two. It really isn't all that hard, just requires some time.
Good luck, be safe, and have fun!
Jim
On Wed, 6 Aug 2003 20:32:49 +0100, "Richard Brooks"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>The reason I'm asking is that I want to order the steel blocks from a steel
>yard cut to make my own.
Forge them. Pick your own width.
The usual sizes are to match whatever size you make mortices in. I'd
say that 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" was a typical set, with 3/4" if you make
heavy casework. I also use really narrow ones a lot (1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm
& 4mm) for clearing out work in 1/4" mortices but wouldn't fancy
making those. Accurate and parallel widths are good, if you want to
gauge an accurate mortice with them.
What sort of steel are you thinking ? O1 is a good steel for many
workshop tool-making tasks, because it's easy to find (thus cheap,
because you're not buying a truckload) and easy to heat treat. You
can;t forge it worth a damn though. It comes in thickness ground bars,
which is handy too, although not much use for a mortice chisel.
You ought to read the rec.knives FAQ too.
On the whole, I'd buy them and spend my workshop time making something
less easily obtained.