Chisels for half-blind dovetails?

[Bob Jones]

I am about to learn half-blind dovetails. I have gotten pretty comfortable with thru dovetails, and I need to make some half blinds for my current project (chest of drawers from The Joiner and CabinetMaker).

I would like to get a list of chisels that other people use to make half-blinds. For regular DT's I use 2 - 1/4" and 3/4" MK 2 chisels and they work fine. It looks like some people use skews and some people use fishtails and some people use regular. What do you use? Brands are welcome in the discussion.
Thanks!

[Andrew Gibson]

I only have regular bench chisles so that is what I use... I actually have 5 drawers ready to be dovetailed tomorrow... we will see how many I get done.

That being said I would like to pick up a pair of skew chisles...
Highland has a set of Narex 20mm skew chisles on the bask of their Jan/Feb Catalog for $29.99
So many tools, so little time.

[Mike Wischmann]

I use LN skew chisels for pairing and 1/4"-3/4" bevel edge chisels for choping (whatever brand my hand hits first) and they have served me well for many many dovetails

[Tim Sproul]

skew chisels. And take a small bit from the tail where it won't show.

[Johnny Kleso]

Depends on size of Dt's but I think a pair of 3/8" skews are a must..
I'd buy two cheap ones and grind my own if you have a bench grinder..

[lowell holmes]

I made my own fishtail from an old chisel I didn't use.

I use my LN bench chisels other than that.

[Rick Erickson]

As others have said - it depends on the size of your DTs. But you need at least a set of skews or a single fistail. Making them on the grinder is fairly easy to do. You won't use them that often (at least not as often are your regular chisels) and they are for quick paring only so they don't have to be top of the line. You are just cleaning the corners out with them. I bought a few Blue Spruce ones last year (top of the line :-) but the shafts are a bit too thin for my liking. They flex a bit too much when paring with them. If I had to do it over again I would buy a cheaper blade and grind to my liking. Looking forward to pictures of the build.

[Adam Cherubini]

Bob, This is one of the reasons I don't like the modern chisels like the 750 clones. 750's are general purpose carpentry chisels. There's more to a chisel than it's a bility to hold an edge. In the 18th c, they did lots of this work and tended not to have skews or fish tail chisels. They also didn't generally have bevel sided chisels. But their chisels were a lot THINNER.

You certainly don't need fishtails or skews. There are plenty of other ways to skin the half blind cat. What i do with a traditional set of chisels is simply use an 1/8" chisel for the corner. At times this has left a TINY bit of stuff in the corner (or I was sloppy) so I just scratch at the corner with the awl end of my striking knife.

If you need a new chisel, I would just get a small chisel. If you can't find exactly what you are looking for consider a carving tool.

Good luck with your 1/2 blinds!

Adam

[Larry Fox]

For me, 1/8", 1/4", 1/2" and 1/2" fishtail (all LN).

[Frank Drew]

One shop-ground spear point chisel can take the place of two skews. Also, I got a small (1/4") Japanese dovetail chisel that's triangular in section and it's proven to be pretty handy getting into those tight spots around the pins and tails.

[george wilson]

They did not commonly have beveled chisels(though 1 was found at the 16th.C.(?) Novaya Zemlya site,where a bunch of sailors were marooned for several months.

What they commonly did,was to grind off the top front corners of chisels at an angle so they'd reach into dovetail recesses. It wasn't pretty,but did the job.

[Greg Wease]

I picked up a couple of 1/4" Narex chisels and ground a right and left skew at ~20 degrees. They don't have to work very hard so they don't need to be sharpened often. These supplement my "normal" chisels, all restored oldies with ground down side bevels.

[george wilson]

Though I have gone through my whole career without needing skew chisels for dovetails,if I wanted a special chisel to get into angled corners,I'd make a fishtail chisel out of 1/4" square W1 steel. It would be easier than having to keep grabbing a left or right skew. Such a fishtail wouldn't need a bolster just for cleaning corners up.

[Andrae Covington]

If you don't want to buy a top-end skew or fishtail, but don't want to grind your own, TFWW sells some fairly inexpensive Single Bevel Skew Chisels that they make or have made for them. A pair is about $33.


One shop-ground spear point chisel can take the place of two skews...

I like this idea. Seems like you could grind a spade bit for this purpose, as I've seen people do to make marking knives.

[Bob Jones]

Thanks for the tips! The pair from tfww looks like a good option, and so does grinding a spear point. I might get a cheap 1/4 in and try that too. I made a practice joint today and I was surprised that I Could do it with just good bench chisels. It would have been a bit easier with a skew. Thanks again!

[lowell holmes]

I have the Lee Valley skew chisels. I like my home made fishtail better for blind dovetails.

[Pam Niedermayer]

Here's my bachi nomi (fishtail) Tasai made for me, 3/8" as I figured that was the smallest dovetail I'd ever make. Works great.

Pam

[Kevin Adams]

Very nice, Pam. I am fortunate enough to have the same size made by Imai and I use it much more than I thought I would...what a useful tool and size.

Hope you are getting some woodworking done...we are just hammered with nasty weather here in New England so my energy seems to be going to shoveling and scraping...who needs a gym membership though?!

Take care,
Kevin

[Pam Niedermayer]

...Hope you are getting some woodworking done...we are just hammered with nasty weather here in New England so my energy seems to be going to shoveling and scraping...who needs a gym membership though?!

A little, not as much as I'd like, mostly house renovation; although I am making some progress on my first guitar. I lived in Boston/Cape Cod for 20 years and have to say I don't miss the weather one little bit. :)

Pam

[Kevin Adams]

I lived in Boston/Cape Cod for 20 years and have to say I don't miss the weather one little bit. :)

Pam

Yeah, the whole secret to living here is to learn to embrace all 4 seasons...I have never learned to embrace winter! Every time I go down to Houston or Austin in Feb I ask myself, "what am I doing in New England in the winter?"

Can't wait to see the guitar...I am spoiled (and it's not meant as a gloat!) with a beautiful Collins acoustic from right down your way...I am not worthy of such an instrument, but I am having fun trying to measure up!

Kevin

[Pam Niedermayer]

Yeah, the whole secret to living here is to learn to embrace all 4 seasons...I have never learned to embrace winter! Every time I go down to Houston or Austin in Feb I ask myself, "what am I doing in New England in the winter?"

Can't wait to see the guitar...I am spoiled (and it's not meant as a gloat!) with a beautiful Collins acoustic from right down your way...I am not worthy of such an instrument, but I am having fun trying to measure up!

I managed to embrace winter, went skiing and the like, loved the purity of the coldness; but in Boston snow was always so dirty, always clogged up more parking spaces, made driving and general daily life a chore.

My first guitar isn't going to be of Collins quality, not even close. I'm going for a cigar box type with fully braced neck to test the process without the pressure of bending, molds, etc.

Pam