Chisel Advice

[Gunny]

Recently did some mortise and tenon work and found my basic chisel set in need of an upgrade.  Having my eye on Narex chisels for awhile I am asking for some advice on what type of chisel or chisel sets would suite my needs.  

 

These would be a nice upgrade:  Narex chisel set

 

BUT, what else would I need to do more work?

[Gene Howe]

The Narex set I have does an adequate job. I'm sure you have a wood mallet?

[Gunny]

18 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

The Narex set I have does an adequate job. I'm sure you have a wood mallet?

 

A few.... 

[John Morris]

Gunny the link you provided for the chisels are regular ol bench chisels, if you want to mortise, you'll want to purchase mortise chisels, Narex does sell them, but I was not too happy with their performance, They seemed bouncy to me, not very solid when struck.

I finally settled on these English Chisels

Pricey, but well worth it. I have two sizes, I buy one as I need them. I have a 3/8" which is used widely in most work, then I purchased a 1/4".

If you do go with these, I'd purchase the 3/8" first, it's the most commonly used one.

[Gene Howe]

26 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Gunny the link you provided for the chisels are regular ol bench chisels, if you want to mortise, you'll want to purchase mortise chisels, Narex does sell them, but I was not too happy with their performance, They seemed bouncy to me, not very solid when struck.

I finally settled on these English Chisels

Pricey, but well worth it. I have two sizes, I buy one as I need them. I have a 3/8" which is used widely in most work, then I purchased a 1/4".

If you do go with these, I'd purchase the 3/8" first, it's the most commonly used one.

Man, John. You weren't kidding about the expensiveness of those chisels! I think I'll keep using the router and, square the mortise or round the tenon with my Narexes.

[Gunny]

Wow!! Let me check if a relative is leaving me money and about to croak. 

 

Have to do some side work to get funds up.

[StaticLV2]

Those are some nice chisels John. For bench chisels, I have a combination of Narex and some crap Craftsman chisels who's only saving grace is that they appear to be nigh-indestructable and are stupid easy to sharpen.  

 

I am looking at getting some mortising chisels in the future and have narrowed it down to just a couple that I really want.

The Lie Nielsen mortising chisels are really nice but I recently had a chance to look at some from Covington and Sons and I really liked them.  The C&S Usunomi paring chisels are just amazing too.

[John Morris]

1 hour ago, Gunny said:

Wow!! Let me check if a relative is leaving me money and about to croak. 

Have to do some side work to get funds up.

Just buy one chisel at a time Gunny, you don't need the whole set. I've had two chisels for a few years, and so far it's all I need. There really is a big difference in performance between the cheaper Narex and a higher quality chisel, you truly get what you pay for. IMHO

[StaticLV2]

One of the most interesting things that I find about this discussion is the price of hand tools and how expensive quality tools are perceived to be.

Today a nice high end plane will run about $200-250.

Interestingly in the 20's a Stanley No. 5 would run about $10 and by today's prices the melt value on 10 silver dollars works out to the $180-230 range.

Quality hand tools are just as expensive today as they have always been, go figure.

 

 

[Gunny]

1 hour ago, John Morris said:

Just buy one chisel at a time Gunny, you don't need the whole set. I've had two chisels for a few years, and so far it's all I need. There really is a big difference in performance between the cheaper Narex and a higher quality chisel, you truly get what you pay for. IMHO

 

Gotcha.

I looked up price for set.  

[John Morris]

2 hours ago, StaticLV2 said:

One of the most interesting things that I find about this discussion is the price of hand tools and how expensive quality tools are perceived to be.

Today a nice high end plane will run about $200-250.

Interestingly in the 20's a Stanley No. 5 would run about $10 and by today's prices the melt value on 10 silver dollars works out to the $180-230 range.

Quality hand tools are just as expensive today as they have always been, go figure.

 

 

Yep, I did that same study a couple years ago. And you are correct, the price of a Stanley#5 back in the 1800's is the same as  a Lie Nielsen#5 today.

[steven newman]

Just takes the right set up...

Legs are made of Ash.   Key Tip:   ONE good whack, then move, and whack again....clear the chips as you go. 

6mm Narex Mortise Chisel, and a Mortise gauge set to that width.   Jig is set up on the top of the bench's leg...no bounce allowed. 

One curved chisel for bottom cleaning, wide chisel to clean the sides of the mortise...Mallet has plastic faces ( Hyper Tough, Walmart brand) Rest of the tools as needed...Then I just sit down on the shop stool, and get to chopping.

 

I strop the chisels after each mortise is done.  Usually by using the pants leg of my work jeans...

[John Morris]

The design of the English Mortise is heafty and solid, the bolster is thick and supports the wood handle when you strike it. I sincerely feel the design of the English Mortise chisel is well done, and there is a reason it's been around for as long as it has. If you don't want to purchase new, you can always look at the used market, here is a quick search I did using "Pig Sticker" as we Americans like to call these English chisels.

pig+sticker+mortise+chisel: Search Result | eBay

WWW.EBAY.COM

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Buy and sell electronics, cars, fashion apparel, collectibles, sporting goods, digital cameras, baby items, coupons, and everything else...

 

[John Morris]

7 minutes ago, steven newman said:

Jig is set up on the top of the bench's leg...no bounce allowed. 

The bounce I described Steve doesn't come from an improperly secured work piece, it's in the chisel itself, it just has a bouncy feel to it, it does not solidly register to the work piece as you strike it. It's the steel, or construction. The Narex design has too much going on, it has a metal striker at the top of the hand, then a ferrule, and the ferrule rests against the bolster, whereas the English mortise handle has one connection to the chisel, at the wide bolster and that's it. You get a direct connection to the chisel as it's stricken. I had a set of Narex, and I have used the English chisel design, and could feel the difference immediately.

 

[steven newman]

Mortise chisels in my shop..

Big guy is a 3/8" Buck Brothers.   Japanese is 12mm..the 3 narex chisels are from gene Howe

And remember,

 

Them skinny mortise chisels are usually call Sash Chisels....that short one came from a Handy Andy tool set...

[Gene Howe]

Unlike most, I guess, my chisels aren't used to chop. Paring, mostly. My last furniture build was a pair of Morris Chairs and, I used a mortise machine for those. Nowadays and, in the future, I don't anticipate the need for anything more robust than those Narexes. Once these Limbert tables are done, it'll just be boxes and, Scroll saw bowls. Maybe some power carving. Little stuff. 

[Gerald]

I can see John's point as the English style is maybe heavier for one. Second no metal at the top carries the impact away easier ( my guess) . Now as to Nairex, I did some table with them and loved it. Something lime 23 mortises on each or maybe 24. Had no problems and they sharpened easily. Also very reasonable price. Oh I am referring to the mortise set.

[mike swindelll]

I have about 6 sash mortise chisels, 1/8" and a few 1/4". These don't have handles as I couldn't find ones on ebay that would work. I have a 3/16 witherby and 1/4 witherby I'll sell for $20 each if interested.