“Life being very short, and the quiet hours of it few, we ought to waste none of them in reading valueless books.”
-John Ruskin.
Substitute the word "books" with "blogs", and perhaps you should stop reading.
I did my part and you are warned. No, I can't refund 4 minutes of your life.
For the most part of my woodworking life, I've kept my loose chisels in felt lined drawers. (I mean excess chisels purchased on impulse:
Those of cast steel, those of boxwood, those octagonal London snobs, those ergo grips that promises an orgasm with each mortise, the socketed, the tanged, the handle-less tangs, the long paring ones, those curious crank-necks, the basic pig stickers, the vintage ferrule-less-...you know. I know. Some folks have too many hammers or smoothing planes or trammels.
I'm a chisel guy.
But the ones that are constantly on the move live in a canvas tool roll.
I like the look of a chisel roll, except that the edges tend to slice the tool roll open. I've tried making edge guards, and they work until you pull out a chisel. The guard remains lodged in the pocket. It's a litte annoying to get them out and re-sheath them on the chisel. One day, while handling the tool roll, one narrow chisel slipped out and ended up on the floor, edge first (as always)
A hour is lost restoring the edge. That's one woodworking hour. Slightly longer than a New York minute.
I recall reading Scott Granstaff's article a few years back. He made a box for someone's chisels.
The way the box was made, it stowed the chisels flat and folded in half like a book. In use, the twin hinged racks can be tilted up for easy access.
A full circle:
I went from home center plastics to modern Stanley plastics to Vintage Stanleys, to vintage Sheffield makers, to Japanese white/blue paper steels, back to vintage Sheffield, and now back to plastics. Eew...plastique.
Marples sold to Record. Record to Irwin, Irwin is now part of Newell Rubbermaid, chisels made in ROC or China? They put Marples on them chisels for credibility. In my opinion, the steel in these are still good, despite many negative feedbacks in tool reviews. I just don't admire the handle shape, albeit being very practical for mallet/paring ops.
I never thought I could tolerate plastics; Polypropylene in this case.
I regarded them as an affront to Hand tool tradition.
But I look them over one day, without the usual prejudice.
Namely the Stanley 5002 blue grips.
Shaped like a torpedo, the carver's pattern grip enables one to push a cut, and pull (eg. out from a mortice). Well, most chisels allow that, but with complex turnings that sacrifice holding comfort. (bulbs, flats, scored lines) These 5002s felt good in the hand. With the heft of boxwood. Yes,they're top heavy and slippery when wet. So is boxwood.
The 5002s (Made in 60s-90s England) have decent carbon steel. I'm not saying they hold an edge like those powdered metallurgy steel hybrids. I'm saying they make the cut and sharpens up easily. You have a razor edge in between more frequent but brief sharpening. Not an almost sharp chisel that stays that way for a long time, like A2 or high speed steel. Even those A2 makers offer plain carbon O1 steels.
The 5002s also comes in red polypropylene. How's that for variation?
Have you seen any manufacturer who makes plastic handles in 2 sizes?
Neither have I. Until I met these 5002s.
Sizes 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", & 1/2" is a tad shorter in handle length and smaller in girth as well.
And if you hate grind/mill marks, Stanley used to offer a highly polished version: The 5001. They probably cost 50% more and did not sell as well, judging by the ebay listings.
The chisel box I'm about to make here is inspired by Scott Grandstaff.
Ok, ok, okay..
I SHAMELESSLY COPIED THE CHISEL BOX DESIGN FROM SCOTT GRANDSTAFF.
Bite me, but it was a clever design. I copied him, but with some subtle variation in the hardware.
I also blued everything else than can be blued. This is not a wussy box.
And yes, so that they match. Smart girl!
40 Screws and six hinges later:
A word about bluing. Remove all surface rust and oil, for an even finish.
At this point, I've decided to box either the black 5001s or the blue 5002s, since both match the hardware in color.
I flat sanded the screw heads before they touch the flame.
After and before sanding.
I will screw down the strips as I go along, using the actual chisel for size, rather than working from a calculated drawing.
A little variation to the back board:
By chamfering the ends of the board, the chisel's bolster can reach in deeper to the blade pocket.
The twin strips of horizontal chisel retainers will be epoxied to the frame. They look too thin to bore holes for screws.
An impatient mock up of the whole assembly. Sloppy fit, but not too bad for a wood-butcher. 13 3/4" long x 7" wide.
But before this, I need to attach the chisel rack to the box's carcase.
(Below)In operating mode, the handles of the chisel stand ready for action..pick a chisel..
The retainer which keeps the chisel-rack in place also served as a prop-up lug for the chisel-rack. (below: a close up look)
While I was trueing up the box with a block plane, I realized that the grain direction of the upper and lower sides at the front of the box runs opposite of each other. Major tear-outs occurred. I sanded the surface to reduce the tear-out, card-scraped and steel-wooled the surface. A few deep scar remains. I will Danish-oil the box later.
-John Ruskin.
Substitute the word "books" with "blogs", and perhaps you should stop reading.
I did my part and you are warned. No, I can't refund 4 minutes of your life.
For the most part of my woodworking life, I've kept my loose chisels in felt lined drawers. (I mean excess chisels purchased on impulse:
Those of cast steel, those of boxwood, those octagonal London snobs, those ergo grips that promises an orgasm with each mortise, the socketed, the tanged, the handle-less tangs, the long paring ones, those curious crank-necks, the basic pig stickers, the vintage ferrule-less-...you know. I know. Some folks have too many hammers or smoothing planes or trammels.
I'm a chisel guy.
But the ones that are constantly on the move live in a canvas tool roll.
I like the look of a chisel roll, except that the edges tend to slice the tool roll open. I've tried making edge guards, and they work until you pull out a chisel. The guard remains lodged in the pocket. It's a litte annoying to get them out and re-sheath them on the chisel. One day, while handling the tool roll, one narrow chisel slipped out and ended up on the floor, edge first (as always)
A hour is lost restoring the edge. That's one woodworking hour. Slightly longer than a New York minute.
I recall reading Scott Granstaff's article a few years back. He made a box for someone's chisels.
The way the box was made, it stowed the chisels flat and folded in half like a book. In use, the twin hinged racks can be tilted up for easy access.
A full circle:
I went from home center plastics to modern Stanley plastics to Vintage Stanleys, to vintage Sheffield makers, to Japanese white/blue paper steels, back to vintage Sheffield, and now back to plastics. Eew...plastique.
Marples sold to Record. Record to Irwin, Irwin is now part of Newell Rubbermaid, chisels made in ROC or China? They put Marples on them chisels for credibility. In my opinion, the steel in these are still good, despite many negative feedbacks in tool reviews. I just don't admire the handle shape, albeit being very practical for mallet/paring ops.
I never thought I could tolerate plastics; Polypropylene in this case.
I regarded them as an affront to Hand tool tradition.
But I look them over one day, without the usual prejudice.
Namely the Stanley 5002 blue grips.
Shaped like a torpedo, the carver's pattern grip enables one to push a cut, and pull (eg. out from a mortice). Well, most chisels allow that, but with complex turnings that sacrifice holding comfort. (bulbs, flats, scored lines) These 5002s felt good in the hand. With the heft of boxwood. Yes,they're top heavy and slippery when wet. So is boxwood.
The 5002s (Made in 60s-90s England) have decent carbon steel. I'm not saying they hold an edge like those powdered metallurgy steel hybrids. I'm saying they make the cut and sharpens up easily. You have a razor edge in between more frequent but brief sharpening. Not an almost sharp chisel that stays that way for a long time, like A2 or high speed steel. Even those A2 makers offer plain carbon O1 steels.
The 5002s also comes in red polypropylene. How's that for variation?
Have you seen any manufacturer who makes plastic handles in 2 sizes?
Neither have I. Until I met these 5002s.
Sizes 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", & 1/2" is a tad shorter in handle length and smaller in girth as well.
And if you hate grind/mill marks, Stanley used to offer a highly polished version: The 5001. They probably cost 50% more and did not sell as well, judging by the ebay listings.
Note that only 3 faces (top,side bevels)are highly polished. The back is the usual grind look.
The chisel box I'm about to make here is inspired by Scott Grandstaff.
Ok, ok, okay..
I SHAMELESSLY COPIED THE CHISEL BOX DESIGN FROM SCOTT GRANDSTAFF.
Bite me, but it was a clever design. I copied him, but with some subtle variation in the hardware.
First, the hasp, or hook / latch or whatchamacallit.
I bent and cut a piece of 4" iron nail to a shape I deemed important.
I forged the ends flat for a screw hole. I bored the hole and countersunk it. The rest of the hook, I filed to my fancy. I then blued the whole assembly with a butane torch, quenching in oil.
And yes, so that they match. Smart girl!
40 Screws and six hinges later:
A word about bluing. Remove all surface rust and oil, for an even finish.
At this point, I've decided to box either the black 5001s or the blue 5002s, since both match the hardware in color.
I flat sanded the screw heads before they touch the flame.
Making the box. The strips I salvaged from a staircase blocking off-cuts. Teak. The rest of the box will also be in Teak. 1/2" thick.
The twin strips of horizontal chisel retainers will be epoxied to the frame. They look too thin to bore holes for screws.
One half of the set completed. I chose 5002s because in the 5001 set, I'm missing the 3/8" size, a most used size in dovetailing.
Next, I made the carcase for the box. Straight-forward dovetails.
Cutting the recess for the butt hinges.
work in progress...
 |
| Left over nail shank from making the box hasp. Hot forged, filed, bores and countersunk, these will be the chisel ramp retainers.. |
I filed the retainer to resemble a chisel's blade.
But before this, I need to attach the chisel rack to the box's carcase.
The retainer which keeps the chisel-rack in place also served as a prop-up lug for the chisel-rack. (below: a close up look)
I can flip the thing over like turning a page.
And finally, I will install the strange hooks I fashioned out of a pair of iron nails. The will be the hasps/latch to keep the box closed.
While I was trueing up the box with a block plane, I realized that the grain direction of the upper and lower sides at the front of the box runs opposite of each other. Major tear-outs occurred. I sanded the surface to reduce the tear-out, card-scraped and steel-wooled the surface. A few deep scar remains. I will Danish-oil the box later.
In all, I counted:
- 60 screws, flame blued, pilot-hole bored, most of them countersunk;
- 20 overlapping joints;
- 16 dovetails;
- 8 grooves plowed (for front and back panel);
- 2 raised panels done by hand;
- 4 pcs of hand-hammered hardware, filed and blued;
- 7 hinges ;
- 4-5 evenings, can't remember.
All that for a chisel box? Not sure if it's worth the candle. But then, I'm a chisel guy..
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