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+-- Thread: Marking Chisel Sizes? (/showthread.php?tid=7352477)
Marking Chisel Sizes? - hbmcc - 01-20-2020
I have a massive collection of chisels and it keeps growing. One complication continues to plague me, long after I expected to resolve sizes by sight. I still have much trouble with the unfamiliar widths of Japanese chisels.
Do people have a convenient way to mark the tools, or readily identify their width?
Thanks for the assistance!
Bruce
RE: Marking Chisel Sizes? - Philip1231 - 01-20-2020
For my LN chisels, I have kept the hornbeam handles on the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 sizes. For the intermediate sizes, I have a variety of
species for the handles that allow me to differentiate one size from another. Its not a perfect system, but the more you use the chisels, the more you begin to associate a given size with a handle of a specific wood species.
(01-20-2020, 03:52 PM)hbmcc Wrote: I have a massive collection of chisels and it keeps growing. One complication continues to plague me, long after I expected to resolve sizes by sight. I still have much trouble with the unfamiliar widths of Japanese chisels.
Do people have a convenient way to mark the tools, or readily identify their width?
Thanks for the assistance!
Bruce
RE: Marking Chisel Sizes? - bandit571 - 01-21-2020
Scrape the finish off in a small area on the handles, can be flat...or round. Mark the size of the blade onto that cleared off space, in such a way, that you can read the sizes best, from where there are....like a 3/4"...or 12mm. Colour of the ink is left up to you. Idea for the non-japanese chisels...laser engrave the blades, or a dremel to engrave with...dyechem to infill.
RE: Marking Chisel Sizes? - AHill - 01-21-2020
Why do you need to know the exact size? Most of the better Japanese chisels are hand-forged, and the width varies from chisel-to-chisel. If you size your work to the chisel, then there's no worries about picking a chisel where you don't know the exact size. Just store them from smallest to largest and pick one that suits the job.
BTW, why isn't this a problem with your imperial-sized chisels?
RE: Marking Chisel Sizes? - hbmcc - 01-21-2020
(01-21-2020, 09:43 AM)AHill Wrote: Why do you need to know the exact size? Most of the better Japanese chisels are hand-forged, and the width varies from chisel-to-chisel. If you size your work to the chisel, then there's no worries about picking a chisel where you don't know the exact size. Just store them from smallest to largest and pick one that suits the job.
BTW, why isn't this a problem with your imperial-sized chisels?
I currently do as you suggest Allan. Just mentally fiddling with ways to store that can turn problematic.
Although I prefer using mentori oiirenome, essentially a butt chisel, I still size work in imperial units. It's a lifetime of working in English standards that make the unit recognizable. So, correct, tool size doesn't really matter when it's going to be the "next smaller".
Paring is another matter.
RE: Marking Chisel Sizes? - hbmcc - 01-21-2020
(01-21-2020, 08:27 AM)bandit571 Wrote: Scrape the finish off in a small area on the handles, can be flat...or round. Mark the size of the blade onto that cleared off space, in such a way, that you can read the sizes best, from where there are....like a 3/4"...or 12mm. Colour of the ink is left up to you. Idea for the non-japanese chisels...laser engrave the blades, or a dremel to engrave with...dyechem to infill.
I could probably use paint or permanent pen that will rub off. Like training wheels, hide the evidence eventually.
RE: Marking Chisel Sizes? - AHill - 01-21-2020
(01-21-2020, 12:16 PM)hbmcc Wrote: I currently do as you suggest Allan. Just mentally fiddling with ways to store that can turn problematic.
Although I prefer using mentori oiirenome, essentially a butt chisel, I still size work in imperial units. It's a lifetime of working in English standards that make the unit recognizable. So, correct, tool size doesn't really matter when it's going to be the "next smaller".
Paring is another matter.
Sounds like a change in process is to be considered. I'm assuming the most critical use of your chisels from a dimensions standpoint is mortising. If that's the case, eyeballing 1/3 of the width is just as good as measuring exactly 1/4" for a mortise in 3/4" stock. It doesn't really matter if the mortise is 1/4" exactly, or 6mm (15/64") or 7mm (9/32"). Krenov used to teach at College of the Redlands to size the work to the tools you were using vs. trying to get everything to match a particular dimension. At the end of the day, you want to try to make things fit to a size vs. sizing them to fit. You set your mortising gauge by the width of your chisel. That way you know the mortise and the tenon are the right width. As long as you use the same reference face, it doesn't really matter if the tenon and mortise are a hair off center.