Chisel Rack and Chamfers

[John Sanford]

I've been working on my "backwall" as part of setting my shop back up. When I last moved, I seem to have tossed or lost my chisel holder. So, I've made some new ones, but have had some unexpected challenges. "Seriously, what sort of challenges can you have making chisel racks?" The racks are similar to these (http://www.bluesprucetoolworks.com/cgi/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=CHRACK-10)by Blue Spruce, but made from some pine reclaimed from packing crates. The problem that I ran into was with chamfering the holes. What's the best way to do this?

[ian maybury]

Chamfering the holes after cutting the slots will make it more difficult, but there's a reasonable likelihood that one of these large diameter/wide angle countersinks from Lee Valley (well sharpened) would pull it off cleanly under very light down feed force (just kiss it gently) especially in a drill press: http://www.leevalley.com/US/hardware/page.aspx?p=41012&cat=3,41306,41328 It'll self centre.

You could probably manage something similar by gluing some fairly coarse and long lasting (maybe 180grit sandpaper from e.g a piece from a good quality sanding belt) to a turned 45 deg point on a similarly shaped piece of wood - but it might wear out too quickly to do many holes unless you go lightly.

The slots could be cleaned using a conveniently sized square piece of wood with the same sandpaper glued to it - hold it so that it simultaneously puts a 45 deg chamfer to both sides of the slot....

Don't overdo the chamfer in any case, as it would up all the risks...

ian

[Dave Richards]

You could use a chamfering bit in a router and chamfer the slots along with the holes.

[phil harold]

modify (grind) a spade bit to your desired angle

have a waste block fastened to the bottom to brevet tearout

[John Coloccia]

I happen to have this set. I threw them all out except for the ball. Sometimes when I want to chamfer a hole, I put the ball in the hole and turn it back and forth by hand a few times.

[Charles Wiggins]

You could use a chamfering bit in a router and chamfer the slots along with the holes.

This is what I did, except I chamfered the hole before I cut the slots.

[Michael W. Clark]

I wrapped self adhesive sand paper around a 1/4" dowel and chucked it in a handheld drill. It worked great, but next time I would use a cut-off bolt instead of the dowel. The dowel breaks after a few holes and has to be replaced.

Mike

[Sam Murdoch]

I often do this with a drum sander by leaving the sleeve just a bit below the drum. Works pretty well after the fact and is easy to control the amount of chamfer.

[phil harold]

The example you linked to are tapered holes not chamfered
Maybe you could use reamer


The holes are tapered

[glenn bradley]

You could use a chamfering bit in a router and chamfer the slots along with the holes.


This is what I did, except I chamfered the hole before I cut the slots.

Chamfer on the RT before cutting slots here also.

[John Sanford]

The example you linked to are tapered holes not chamfered
Maybe you could use reamer You're correct, I didn't want to spend a bunch of time searching around for one with the chamfers, it was the specific form of the rack (round holes with access slots rather than flat slots for blade capture) that I wanted to illustrate.

[Julian Tracy]

Here's a pic of a modifed spade bit from a FWW article years ago. Just came across the article tonight by chance.

JT

[John Sanford]

I like that idea. I may give that a try when I build some nicer ones to go with some nicer chisels I'll be getting sometime down the road. Right now, my bench chisels are 4 Footprints, a Marples Blue, 3 Sandviks, and a new modern Stanley 750. Worst case, I screw up an inexpensive spade bit and a piece of scrap. :)

[Malcolm McLeod]

Dragging thread back from the 'dead pile'....but it came up in my search.

I just built 2 cabinets to hold chisels and was faced with how to create the same tapered holes as OP. Simplest way I found was to use a Unibit. They're available in a couple of taper angles and maximum diameters, but over all they work great - - and quick. Also, the Unibits are available at the big box retailers (vs. machine tool suppliers for a ream) and are much cheaper.

[Jim Becker]

John, I didn't bother to chamfer the openings in my chisel racks...but if I had, I'll agree that it needs to be done prior to cutting the slots. I'd probably do it on the router table.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v646/a-j-adopt/Woodworking/IMG_6743_zpsokcfligl.jpg

[Frederick Skelly]

Malcolm, your idea caught my attention, as an alternate approach. (I used the large LV countersink last time.) Did the unibit give you smooth sided holes or "stepped" holes? Any chance you could post a picture sometime?

Thanks,
Fred

[Malcolm McLeod]

Fred, the holes are stepped, but they are quick to make and overall give an acceptable taper.
348067
My sample board - playing with depth, spacing, and cutouts for wide blades.
348068
Looking down at the sample.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Finished 'cabinet-on-cabinet' (I am running out of wall space, so scabbed them onto the front of my storage cabinets)...

348069

I wanted them enclosed to minimize air and moisture exposure. Each shelf is on a sliding dovetail and held with a single screw from the side. All I have to do is pull the screw and make a new shelf if my chisel inventory changes.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks very much! I think I'll try one of those next time.
I like the cabinets!
Fred

[Jim Becker]

That's a seriously nice cabinet setup, Malcolm!! Hmmmm.... ;)

[Dave Cav]

Simplest way I found was to use a Unibit. They're available in a couple of taper angles and maximum diameters, but over all they work great - - and quick.

That's what I did, too. The Unibit clones at Harbor Freight are entirely adequate for wood working, and inexpensive as well.