dove tail chisel

[tablesawtom]

I have wanted a set of dove tailed chisels for a long time and I love the look of the Lie-Nielsen one. But the cost kind of out weighted the amount of times I would need one. On a comment I made a long time ago One person said why don't you just take an old chisel and grind it. My return comment was it just wouldn't look right, and I like nice looking tools. Well that was vanity speaking

As some of you know we have a antique -this and that store and I have a box of old chisels I pick up at auctions out on the table. Well I swallowed my pride and went out and got a 1/2 inch chisel, went over to my disk sander and went to work. I didn't swallow my pride completely because I did pick a good wood handled one that has a leather washer to help with mallet blows. I figured that it might have better steel in it.

I watch Lie-Nielsen's video on sharpening their dove tail chisel and I must say that mine is definitely not as pretty as theirs but it fits just fine in my Tormek jig so sharpening will be very easy to sharpen compared to theirs. As I have found most of the fish tailed chisels on the market need to be done free hand.

Anyway. I read somewhere that fish tailed chisels are sharpened at 15 degrees so I tried it and man does it slice nicely. Now I know just like everyone. who is anybody, in woodworking knows that the angle is 25 degrees for soft wood and 30 degrees for hard wood. And pattern makers prefer to set their tool rest at 27 1/2 degrees because they work with both. consistently so there is no need to reply about how you always use a certain angle and so on. Anyway I thought I would try the 15 degree angle  because, like a micro bevel from 25-30, the angle is easy to change. I also had to spend some time flattening the back. This old used chisel also had some chips in the cutting edge and a burr.

Anyway it isn't pretty but I had a $3 price tag on it when I picked it out of the box and I am quite happy with how it turned out to date. In use it might require some fine tuning. I am not sure how well the 15 Degree angle will hold up but it is a very specializes tool now and it won't see any rough work only the final finish work so I will see.

 I final note: if someone decides to give it a try, one needs to be very careful because once steel starts to turn light straw brown one is starting to take the hardness out of the steel, and the loss of hardness goes fare deaper than just removing the color.  

Anyway it isn't real pretty but then it wasn't $78.





Tom

[Bibliophile 13]

You're right. Not pretty, but obviously functional. Good work nonetheless.

[Admiral]

Nice.  I might have to try that.

Not as involved, but years ago I took two vintage socket chisels and ground them as left and right skew chisels; they are still in my "travel" toolchest.  You might want to try that as well as they do come in handy.

[AUswimKC]

this is exactly why I bought an extra set of the Paul Sellers ALDI specials. Just to make a fishtail chisel or two. Just haven't gotten around to it.

Any pictures of the process?

[Downwindtracker2]

I have more recent 1/2"  Stanley, a black handled "Blue Chip" I picked up for a loonie at the fleamarket for a fishtail. It's already been blued with layout dye on the back. Don't worry, the chisel isn't one of the English black handled #5001s from the '60s. I think that they were their best chisel of the day. I also have a couple of Task brand 1/4" chisels I picked up from a surplus store for skews.

[tablesawtom]

I have a couple of 1/2 inch crown skew chisels and I had trouble getting in tight places, That's why I wanted fishtail chisel in the first place. I do know that I will also make a dovetail chisel out of a smaller chisel I just don't know what I have a the present.

I was at a friends house delivering a band saw I sold him and I showed it to him and after a little use it stopped working. He said I had a burr on the cutting edge. But I didn't, it was a rolled cutting edge. That is why Butchers use a steel. Not to sharpen but to roll the cutting edge straight. That means that the 15 degree cutting edge is to thin for much use so I am going to try a 20 Degree angle, It won't take much more that a micro bevel to get there. I do know that a 22 1/2 included angle is supposed to be the perfect cutting angle, but we will see . I put included angle in just in case someone starts thinking knife which should be from both sides. but we will see. With all the work removing the mass changing the angle doesn't take much work so I will play and go slow at changing at the angle. It is easier to steepen the angle than to go the other way.

Tom

[Admiral]

Tom:  call me crazy or an old fool, but I'm a 25 degree base angle guy when it comes to chisels (exception is mortising chisels); it microbevels easy if you need it for some particular use, and for me is the best all around angle for the 95% majority of work.  I know, I know, the guys who get all scientific about these things will have their reasons and arguments that I am a dinosaur, but I always like to keep things simple, and if I am having trouble I take the tool to the stones and vary the angle. The way I see it, there's a reason old timers kept it to 25.   It always seems to work out for me.

[Downwindtracker2]

I think it may vary from chisel to chisel. I was using some resin coated formply, not the most chisel friendly wood, for a couple of projects. There was no way I was going to use a good chisel on it. First chisel was one of those Buck Bro. yellow and black Stanley #60 clones at 25 and the edge quickly rolled. It got resharpened at 30.  On the next project I used one of those clunky Dutch made Sandviks,  it merely dulled after a time.  Which surprised me.

[tablesawtom]

Yes, Admiral I hear you, and 25 degrees is where I keep my other ones. But I also know that when someone is talking they have something to say like putting a small vertical flat on a drill bit when drilling bronze. And putting the same treatment on a tap for tapping bronze. That one minute conversation saved me countless hours of frustration when drilling and tapping bronze.

I read somewhere that a dovetail chisel is sharpened at 15 degrees. I also know that just because it is writing doesn't make it true. Anyway I tried it and found 15 degrees lacking.  I also think that a dovetail chisel is a very specialized tool for getting into and slicing in tight hard to get at spaces where it is also hard to apply very much pressure and maintain control.  

I have a Tormek sharpener and truthfully it takes more time to get and put water in the tray than it take to change an angle from 15 to 20 degrees  or from 20 to 25 degrees, since I only have to do a small micro bevel. It is a complete reshape if going the other way.

I am playing with angles because it is specialized and I am more concerned with slicing and shaving effortlessly than I am with edge retention. The truth of the matter is I will probable end up preferring a 25 degree angle  for both slicing and edge retention. The 15 degree rolled the cutting edge and rendered the chisel inoperative.

And lastly it is 4 below zero outside and the only other thing I have at home is a small lathe. I have some knobs for hand planes to turn but to me lathe work, while I can do it, it still rates right up there with a root canal. No offence, to turners intended, it is different strokes for different folks.

Tom

[tablesawtom]

I rough in my planes and chisels at 20 degrees and then a micro bevel at 25 and if dealing with oak maybe 30 degrees. That way I don't have to deal with the whole bevel when sharpening just the cutting edge.

Tom