This week's flea market finds

[Mike Davis]

I have been looking for a real mortice chisel for a few years, Saturday I found one for $7.50. I will make a handle and be happy. I looked up the price of a new one, BOY am i happy! I thought this was a Buck but when I got it clean the name looks more like S. RUSE. Is that is a known tool maker?

I don't like dial calipers, but a Starrett for $20? AND a Starrett square? They are both in perfect condition, except for some rust on the square.

The other old chisel needs a good bit of work but for $3 I couldn't pass it up.

 

[RandyJ]

Nice haul, Mike! Getting some new toyls is great, but when you get 'em for such a low price, it's even better:icon_thum

YOU ROCK!

 

[toolferone]

Mike, nice score at the flea market!! I can't belive the price you paid for the calipers, what a steal!

Please post the chisels with the new handles installed.

 

[LeftyTom]

YOU ROCK Mike. You get more bang out of a buck than I can get out of a $20 bill

 

[PChristy]

Great fine there Mike:icon_thum Congratulations

 

[Bryan S]

What a find. I believe I paid $120 for a set of Starret calipers 25 years ago.

 

[Gofor]

You ROCK!!

That old rusty chisel looks like a "Float", used to smooth out the bottom of notches when log framing or building boats. I have one but the handle end has been broken off, re-welded, and then hammered over by repeated blows with a metal hammer. I doubt I will ever be able to put a handle on it again.

Nice score!!

Go

 

[ptt49er]

I need to come flea market shopping with you!

NICE FINDS!!!

 

[cpowell]

Looks like a good find all around. :icon_thum

I don't recognize the mortise chisel maker but it looks stout. Hone it, make a handle and whack it with a mallet. Let us know what you find. It looks like it's up to the task.


Chuck

 

[Mike Davis]

It's good steel Chuck. I worked on it some already. The tip is tough and hard, the socket is softer but still very tough.

Gofer,

Does a float have an extra long handle? Do you know how it should look?

Thanks!

 

[McRabbet]

I've usually heard the type of chisel you have as a "framing" chisel. They usually have stout handles that are struck with a mallet and are used to cut and clean out joints in timbers when framing log homes. A larger, flatter style is a "slick", which has a long (often two-handed) handle and these are hand held to smooth large flats on timbers. Here is a website with some good pictures of both types with handles that may help.

 

[Trent Mason]

Nice score(s) Mike! That's pretty thrifty! :icon_thum

 

[Mike Davis]

Thanks Rob,

They mention Apple wood for the handles, Anybody heard of that before? I thought hard maple and ironwood were common.

 

[McRabbet]

I suspect their choice of applewood is more one of convenience (i.e., free wood from nearby apple growers) versus using a stouter wood like Ash or Hickory (or the hard maple and ironwood you mentioned). I've never made handles, but I've put some Ash and Hickory ones through some pretty rough use!

 

[Ozzie-x]

Mike (and Rob),
Apple was used extensively for saw handles and some plane bodies. A lot of the the old manufacturers used apple or "fruitwood" on their nicer models of saws. I guess fruitwood could be fruit bearing woods other than apple, but I think I can safely say most of it was probably apple, availability if nothing else. Typically, in the old days, the better chisel handles were made from hickory or ash. Maple, beech, gum and other woods were used to a lesser degree for whatever reasons, perhaps quality, availability, consistency, or production reasons? I scrounged in the shop and couldn't find a single (finished) hickory or ash handle even though I've made bazoodles of them, I guess I've sold them all or the gremlins got them :dontknow:?? I've been making a lot of the smaller chisel handles out of exotics because the wood is so beautiful and it turns and woorks so well, especially the rosewood family. Not trying to hi-jack your thread, so I'll just post a couple of pictures, there's more photos and more narrative in my photo gallery under the "Chisel" folder. These are all old chisels that I have found in my old tool endeavors that I have restored and turned new handles. I'll be glad to help you figure out the handles for those 2 "new" chisels you have if you want :icon_thum.

Here's some large restored chisels, the largest one is maybe +20" long:

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Here are some smaller bench type chisels, some are my daily users:

​

 

[Mike Davis]

Thanks Randy,

That would be a big help!

I have a crab apple I'm thinking about cutting or I know where a big orchard is that probably has some trees ready to come out. I also have a piece of rosewood I've been saving.

I think a double taper shape similar to your large chisels would work.

I have the ring that came off the mortice chisel, don't know if it is original but I doubt it. What do you use to make rings?

 

[Ozzie-x]

Thanks Randy,

That would be a big help!

I have a crab apple I'm thinking about cutting or I know where a big orchard is that probably has some trees ready to come out. I also have a piece of rosewood I've been saving.

I think a double taper shape similar to your large chisels would work.

I have the ring that came off the mortice chisel, don't know if it is original but I doubt it. What do you use to make rings?

Hello Mike,
Just let me know what you need. Crab apple or apple would probably be fine, I can at least promise you it will last till it breaks . I've made handles from dogwood with good success also. I can send you some hickory- I rescued 2 blocks of hickory from my buddy's firewood pile a while back and sawed them into chisel handle blanks on the bandsaw. some of the old original rings are kinda cheesy. I made these out of schedule 40 black iron (sprinkler) pipe. I spun a short length of pipe in the wood lathe and cleaned it up with a file and emory cloth. Continued to spin it and cut the rings off with a hacksaw. The schedule 40 is nice and thick and probably won't split. Just let me know what you need or need to know, there's some simple tricks.

 

[Mike Davis]

I wondered about the black pipe, thought that may work well. Yes, some hickory would be good. I may have someone coming near Clyde Sunday or Monday. Maybe they could meet you? PM me if that may work.

One big question I have. How do you figure out the best fit of the socket? Is it trial and error? Fit and refit? Is there some way to make a model to follow?

 

[Ozzie-x]

I wondered about the black pipe, thought that may work well. Yes, some hickory would be good. I may have someone coming near Clyde Sunday or Monday. Maybe they could meet you? PM me if that may work.

One big question I have. How do you figure out the best fit of the socket? Is it trial and error? Fit and refit? Is there some way to make a model to follow?

Mike,
I'll be glad to meet your "rider" and pass along some hickory. We can PM and work that out.

The black iron pipe does work well. Plus, go on about any jobsite and the sprinkler contractors are glad to give you their short scrap pieces. I think I used 3/4" diameter pipe.

The first step in making a new socket tennon is to clean up up the socket on the steel. They're oftem mushroomed and need to have the burrs filed off. If they're too bad, I heat them in the forge and flatten out the mushrooming on the horn of the anvil. My Dad has the forge set-up and I usually stock pile a bunch of "needy" chisels and other things before I go fire up the forge. I use an old shotgun brass barrel cleaning brush in the drill press to clean up the inside of socket, this gets the rust and crud out so the socket will seat and stay better. I can determine the size of the tennon several ways. First, I have a box of old chisel handles that I try to find a match to the shape/size/taper of the tennon. There's lots of different old handles in that box, so I can usually find a match or close. If not, I wad up tin foil and pack down in the chisel socket. This gives you an exact pattern of the inside of the socket to work off of. You can then take the tin foil pattern and use your calipers to transfer the size to the tennon you're turning. If you turn the final tennon last and at the tailstock end and without any excess wood, you can take theh handle on and off the lathe to test fit it to the steel, and fine tune the fit. You can also sandpaper it some to fine tune after it comes off the lathe. Hickory, ash, maple and other domestic will compress "a little" when you drive the tennon in the socket steel, so they are more forgiving. The exotics are not. Any really hard wood (cocobolo, ebony, gonco alves, , the tennon must be an exact fit because it will not compress or give any, none, it's just hard. I also drill the lathe centers in the blanks. The first cocobolo handle I made, I tried to drive the lathe center into the balnk, and the blank split from one end to the other . The stuff is just hard and doesn't give, even for a little lathe center point. The flip side is that since it is so hard, it turns and polishes super well. I love turning exotics because they turn so well. Well this has gotten windy. Maybe I need to do a tutorial on turning handles?? :icon_thum

 

[Mike Davis]

The aluminum foil tip is brilliant and just what I need.

Thanks!

Tutorials are always welcomed! :icon_thum