I mentioned in my last post that I planned on going to the world’s largest flea market in Canton, Texas. Well, I went a couple weeks ago, and was both overwhelmed and underwhelmed.
The size of the flea market was staggering. But what was more surprising was the ridonculous amount of garbage that people were selling. From the standpoint of tools, I found that 80% of the tools were covered in rust, 10% were too ordinary to even bother looking at, 5% were grossly overpriced and 5% were worth consideration. (Of course, there are some of you who would take a more serious look at the rusty stuff.)
There wasn’t really any order to the booths set up, so you just have to be alert and be ready to walk a lot. It got to where I would tell my dad, “Hey, I think I see a pile of wood and rust – let’s check it out.”
I did see a decent enough drawknife, but it cost $20. I think I can do better than that on eBay, even with shipping factored in. But I did find a halfway decent 1 1/4″ mortise chisel for $6. I really needed a good wide mortise chisel for my [upcoming I promise!] workbench. This one should let me do my big mortises in almost one pass.
It looks like the “handle” took quite a beating. I’m hoping to get it out somehow and get a new handle turned for it. I’ve been looking around at what mortise chisel handles look like, so I’m not sure right now how to do it. Any tips?
So all in all, a mixed bag. But that’s what you get from a flea market right?
13 comments
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October 17, 2009 at 12:02 pm
jake Gest
That’s gonna take some grinding!
As far as the handle.. I personally like the look some something like this: http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/woodworking/chisels/85s0210s1.jpg
October 17, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Gary Roberts
Hmm… I think what you have is a 1 1/4 inch socket firmer chisel. Which could be used for anything from paring mortises and tenons to creating mortises. These were often used in timber framing, millwrights and ship yard work. Nice to find one with good steel still there.
Gary
October 18, 2009 at 3:03 am
Dan
Nice score! That should clean up into a great user. I’ve gotten old handles out using a combination of drilling and burning with a torch – shouldn’t be too hard. You could also make the new handle with a spokeshave, fitting the taper with candle black and repeated adjustments, and a hunk of copper or brass tubing for the top ferrule. Sounds like a fun project.
October 19, 2009 at 8:33 am
Eric
Jake: I like the look of those handles too – but wow, that looks like it’d be a major project! Maybe I’m just easily intimidated.
Gary: Thanks for the ID – appreciate that. I’ve seen “firmer chisels” on eBay but never really knew the difference between those and “proper” mortise chisels.
Dan: Drilling and burning? I have no idea what you’re talking about. Of course, there’s a proper galoot in town so I think I’ll give him a buzz!!!
October 19, 2009 at 10:06 am
jake Gest
Yeah, I too would not even know where to start as far as making those handles go (I’ve never done any turning though.. so that could be a big reason)
I think Dan is talking about how to get the old handle out. I would think you’d have to be really careful not to break a drill bit if you did that and with the torch you’d just want to be careful not to heat up the steel too much.
October 19, 2009 at 10:29 am
Eric
Oh duh! Yeah, now that I re-read Dan’s comment I see what he was talking about.
I was going to start by trying to twist that stump out with a pair of pliers but that’s probably pretty naive, huh?
October 19, 2009 at 11:44 am
Gye Greene
It’s actually **good** that’s there’s still a chunk of wood in the end of the chisel: if not, some people try banging on the flange(?-terminology), thus mushing it all out of shape.
Maybe this is a good excuse to get a tabletop lathe…?
Mortise chisel: my understanding is that they should have a cross-section approaching a square, or thicker. That way they don’t twist in the mortise, as you’re chopping it.
True mortise chisels are hard to find: I’ve only found one place online that lists them. Most are actually “sash” mortises.
My understanding is that these — http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/indextool.mvc?prodid=MS-MORT.XX — are actually more like sash mortises. But your other readers may disagree…
–GG
October 19, 2009 at 11:48 am
Gye Greene
Hm. Actually, I think I’m wrong. Maybe those **are** “true” mortise chisels, and THESE are sash m. chisels — http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/browseproducts/Sorby-Sash-Mortise-Chisel-Set.HTML
–GG
October 19, 2009 at 11:55 am
Gye Greene
OK – a very timely blog posting, from a guy who knows his chisels — http://pfollansbee.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/new-mortise-chisel/
(How incorrect was I…?)
–GG
October 19, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Eric
Gye: In your first link, those things only go up to 1/2″ – surely “true” mortise chisels go further than that? And thanks for the Follansbee link. I think the Sorby in the last picture in that post is probably what I’ll base my handle off of. Now I need to figure out where to get the hoop/ferrule for the top and bottom of the handle (if I’m using the right lingo). And figure out how to get it to stay put!
October 19, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Gye Greene
Huge mortising chisels: Well, my wife’s uncle (apprenticed as a carpenter, back in the day) thinks I’m a bit idealistic (or a glutton for punishment) for wanting to mortise out by hand: he says the sensible way to do it is to use a drill press to get rid of most of the ”meat”, and then tidy it up with a chisel…
Googling ”timber framing tools” yields a few examples, from various online shops. The chisels look like yours — just a bit bigger, mayhaps. (This place has ones that look similar to yours, at 1″, 1.5″, and 2″ wide (and 7″ long). —
http://www.timbertools.com/Products/Hand-Tools/Framing_Bench_Chisels.html )
–GG
December 15, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Alex Rowat
Hey, I’m a journeyman carpenter up in Canada .. a quick point about your chisel. The first guy’s right, that’s an old framing slick, which is just a big firmer chisel, basically. To answer a later poster, no, they don’t really make mortise chisels bigger than about 3/4″ or so .. if you need to make a mortise bigger than that (such as in timber framing, or constructing a workbench) you bore the centre with a brace or auger, then pare the walls with a slick or large paring chisel. It’s way faster, and the way it’s done traditionally to boot. Old timers didn’t like wasting time and effort trying to chisel out huge mortises either
About the handle – the guy with the torch/drill idea, that’s gonna be the fastest. Just make sure you stop with the fire if the steel starts to discolour, and quench it in some water or oil quick. Easiest way to make a new handle (and makes the nicest handles if you ask me) is to cut a square blank a little oversize, say 1/4″ to 1/2″ in width and exactly to length (you’ll see why in a sec). Rough your tenon out square, then octagonal, then use the above guy’s method of trial fitting, rubbing it around, and then paring the shiny spots until it seats firmly. THEN carve the handle in line with the chisel – first square and parallel with the blade, then octagonal, using a drawknife/block plane/chisel/your teeth. You can round it further if you want, though I like the octagonal ones myself. Both are historically accurate. And the reason you wait to straighten the handle is because on those old chisels, the socket on them is frequently not perfectly even or parallel to the blade. You could theoretically make the handle perfectly straight and it would still be crooked. Wow that went on for a while. Good luck.
December 15, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Gye Greene
Alex,
Good tips; saved to HD!
–Gye Greene