Making your own chisels
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Chris Knight
Established Member
I have found that a good source of easily treated carbon steel is the cheapest, biggest and ugliest old chisels you can find, on ebay or car boots. If you get the old (prewar ones with lots of metal in them you easily have enough to to a bit of smithing. I use a propane torch (eg from Machine Mart (get the biggest they have) run off a typical bottled gas cylinder (again use propane, it burns hotter than mixed butane/propane LPG) is enough to get the necessary heat into the thing for simple reshaping and heat treating the steel, especially with a few firebricks to hold the heat in a confined area
Frank D.
Established Member
For O1 it's like on Pete's pics: heat it red on the barbecue or with a MAPP torch, dunk it in peanut oil to harden, then temper by putting it in the oven or retorching till you get a straw colour. Here are a few good links with more details:
http://www.hocktools.com/diyht.htm
http://www.threeplanes.net/toolsteel.html
For A2 steel, you can't harden it by yourself at home. You can find tempering instruction on the Crucible site (see link above), it takes very high temperatures for an extended period and a very long and precise cooling schedule.
http://www.hocktools.com/diyht.htm
http://www.threeplanes.net/toolsteel.html
For A2 steel, you can't harden it by yourself at home. You can find tempering instruction on the Crucible site (see link above), it takes very high temperatures for an extended period and a very long and precise cooling schedule.
Racers
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Hi,
Like Frank D says heat to red and quench, I use old engine oil but 5 litres of the cheapest stuff you can find and the barby for large stuff. If after you harden it try filling it after getting through the outside coating the file doesn’t skid off it means you didn’t get it hot enough, so just heat it up again. This happened to me on the blade for my shoulder plane.
http://wdynamic.com/galoots/4images/det ... ge_id=1898
I was using a blowtorch its not the best way as it only just gets up to the correct temperature the second heating did it and it now works fine.
pete
Like Frank D says heat to red and quench, I use old engine oil but 5 litres of the cheapest stuff you can find and the barby for large stuff. If after you harden it try filling it after getting through the outside coating the file doesn’t skid off it means you didn’t get it hot enough, so just heat it up again. This happened to me on the blade for my shoulder plane.
http://wdynamic.com/galoots/4images/det ... ge_id=1898
I was using a blowtorch its not the best way as it only just gets up to the correct temperature the second heating did it and it now works fine.
pete
Chris Knight
Established Member
Pete,
Very nice little planes!
Very nice little planes!
Frank D.
Established Member
I'm amazed at all the talent on this board!
Well Noel asked for a few pics so bear with me everyone ( :wink: ). Here's one of the A2 bar stock after I sneaked it past my wife and into my shop:
I bought way too much, I have enough to make floats and plane blades and plenty of other stuff, but the price of steel has gone up around 30% since I bought it, so :'P .
Then I cut it into lengths. It's a good idea to buy as many appropriate widths as possible to reduce cutting the metal lengthwise and grinding the side, which is a lot of work:
Then I cut to width what I had to, and cut out the tangs, all with a hacksaw. After that, grinding. I've been grinding on and off (mostly off) for the past 6 months. Thank god Noel asked for some pics, I finished the grinding
. Here they are, ready to be touched up by hand with files and stones. The dovetail chisels (1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4"):
And from top to bottom, two cranked-necks (1/2", 3/4"), three mortising (5/16", 1/8", 1/16"), two skews (1/2") and a paring chisel:
So just a bit of touching up to do, even out the shoulders and the bevels, and hone a taper toward the top of the mortising chisels (I decided to use Charlesworth's method of tape on a stone, the one he uses to camber his blades). Of course I forgot to make a blade, a 1/2" paring chisel 1/16" thick (to fit between tails, to make relief cuts into the corners). As soon as I do all that it's off to the heat treaters. I have all the wood for the handles, and several kinds of ferrules but I don't know exactly what I'll use yet. I'm going to burn the tangs into the handles (I've always been told that that's the traditional method; I guess it depends which tradition...).
Well Noel asked for a few pics so bear with me everyone ( :wink: ). Here's one of the A2 bar stock after I sneaked it past my wife and into my shop:
I bought way too much, I have enough to make floats and plane blades and plenty of other stuff, but the price of steel has gone up around 30% since I bought it, so :'P .
Then I cut it into lengths. It's a good idea to buy as many appropriate widths as possible to reduce cutting the metal lengthwise and grinding the side, which is a lot of work:
Then I cut to width what I had to, and cut out the tangs, all with a hacksaw. After that, grinding. I've been grinding on and off (mostly off) for the past 6 months. Thank god Noel asked for some pics, I finished the grinding
. Here they are, ready to be touched up by hand with files and stones. The dovetail chisels (1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4"):
And from top to bottom, two cranked-necks (1/2", 3/4"), three mortising (5/16", 1/8", 1/16"), two skews (1/2") and a paring chisel:
So just a bit of touching up to do, even out the shoulders and the bevels, and hone a taper toward the top of the mortising chisels (I decided to use Charlesworth's method of tape on a stone, the one he uses to camber his blades). Of course I forgot to make a blade, a 1/2" paring chisel 1/16" thick (to fit between tails, to make relief cuts into the corners). As soon as I do all that it's off to the heat treaters. I have all the wood for the handles, and several kinds of ferrules but I don't know exactly what I'll use yet. I'm going to burn the tangs into the handles (I've always been told that that's the traditional method; I guess it depends which tradition...).
Chris Knight
Established Member
Frank,
As Noel says, I reckon that was a lot of hard work!
As Noel says, I reckon that was a lot of hard work!
Frank D.
Established Member
No problem ydb1md,
When you get the metal it's soft, otherwise you wouldn't be able to work it. It has to be hardened and tempered (when you harden it it's too hard and brittle, so tempering it makes it tougher). You have to get a steel like A2 hardened and tempered by a pro. A steel like O1 can be done at home. I'll surely pick some up soon to make odds and ends on the fly asnd not have to wait to get them treated. But for large batches like the chisels or a batch of plane blades I prefer to use A2 steel.
When you get the metal it's soft, otherwise you wouldn't be able to work it. It has to be hardened and tempered (when you harden it it's too hard and brittle, so tempering it makes it tougher). You have to get a steel like A2 hardened and tempered by a pro. A steel like O1 can be done at home. I'll surely pick some up soon to make odds and ends on the fly asnd not have to wait to get them treated. But for large batches like the chisels or a batch of plane blades I prefer to use A2 steel.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Where can I find out how to taper chisels using Charlesworth method?
I just bought a small portable forge. I'll probably temper in the kitchen oven.
I just bought a small portable forge. I'll probably temper in the kitchen oven.
Frank D.
Established Member
Hi guys,
Actually I was talking about mortise chisels. You want to taper the sides from bottom to top (actually from back to top), otherwise the chisel will jam in the cut. Here's a picture of an old mortising chisel I have; the taper is quite visible (we are facing the bevel in the picture):
The problem with grinding a bevel like this one is that you can't take off any metal from the back of the blade (the bottom, in the pic), otherwise the width of the chisel will be changed. The easiest way I thought of to grind the taper on the whole side except at the point that contacts the back would be to put some tape on a course stone, and let the corner of the blade ride on the tape, moving the blade back and forth. That way the tape would prevent you from taking off metal where you don't want to, and the uneven wear would taper the blade automatically.
Hope that's clear...
Actually I was talking about mortise chisels. You want to taper the sides from bottom to top (actually from back to top), otherwise the chisel will jam in the cut. Here's a picture of an old mortising chisel I have; the taper is quite visible (we are facing the bevel in the picture):
The problem with grinding a bevel like this one is that you can't take off any metal from the back of the blade (the bottom, in the pic), otherwise the width of the chisel will be changed. The easiest way I thought of to grind the taper on the whole side except at the point that contacts the back would be to put some tape on a course stone, and let the corner of the blade ride on the tape, moving the blade back and forth. That way the tape would prevent you from taking off metal where you don't want to, and the uneven wear would taper the blade automatically.
Hope that's clear...
Chris Knight
Established Member
Frank,
I thought that mortice chisel widths were always a bit approximate anyway - hence the age old advice to set your marking gauge to the width of the chisel. So I wouldn't worry about getting an exact half inch or whatever.
I thought that mortice chisel widths were always a bit approximate anyway - hence the age old advice to set your marking gauge to the width of the chisel. So I wouldn't worry about getting an exact half inch or whatever.
Frank D.
Established Member
You're right Chris,
I do have a tendency of being a little anal at times. The tape method will still make it easy for me to get a taper, but I agree there's no use being too precise about width when it isn't needed.
I do have a tendency of being a little anal at times. The tape method will still make it easy for me to get a taper, but I agree there's no use being too precise about width when it isn't needed.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Thanks, Frank.
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