Making a 1/4" chisel 3/16"

[Daniel Rode]

I need to make 3/16" mortises for a project. I have 1/8" and several 1/4" chisels. I'm thinking of making one of the spare 1/4" chisels into a 3/16". Seems like taking 1/32" off each side should not be too hard. I'd get close on the grinder and finish off with a file and maybe even a few rubs on a coarse diamond stone.

Other than overheating the steel, is there anything else I need to be aware of?

[Steve Voigt]

Other than overheating the steel, is there anything else I need to be aware of?

Yeah, do one side to completion first, so that you can use the other side as a reference. Once you've got the first side as good as you can get it, that will be your new reference.

I doubt you can use a file, since the chisel will probably be hard for most of its length. But you can use sandpaper glued to a flat plate after the grinder. I've done this a few times and it worked fine.

[glenn bradley]

Yeah, do one side to completion first, so that you can use the other side as a reference. Once you've got the first side as good as you can get it, that will be your new reference.

Yes, yes, yes . . do this. DAMHIKT.

[Daniel Rode]

Good advice, Thanks. I have a coarse diamond plate as well as sandpaper on float glass so I'll stick to that rather than filing.


Yeah, do one side to completion first, so that you can use the other side as a reference. Once you've got the first side as good as you can get it, that will be your new reference.

I doubt you can use a file, since the chisel will probably be hard for most of its length. But you can use sandpaper glued to a flat plate after the grinder. I've done this a few times and it worked fine.

[lowell holmes]

I made a fishtail chisel from an old 1/2" chisel. I ground it on a white stone low speed bench grinder.

Just take it easy and when the chisel begins to heat up (uncomfortably hot) stop grinding until it cools a bit.

It should not be an issue.

[Jim Koepke]

It will be a lot of work, but you will be happy you took the time in the end.

jtk

[Mel Miller]

A good stationary belt sander should handle this easily.

[Kristoffer Frederiksen]

I made a 3/4 out of a 7/8 on the Tormek and finished on a diamond stone. Make sure to keep the sides parallel to the centerline of the chisel. Good luck.

[Derek Cohen]

I need to make 3/16" mortises for a project. I have 1/8" and several 1/4" chisels. I'm thinking of making one of the spare 1/4" chisels into a 3/16". ......

Daniel, you will grow old and grey attempting to remove 1/16" with a file or a diamond stone. And it is not so easy to end up with the square or trapizoid sides that you need. Grinding is better, but really suited to making a bench or dovetail chisel (there are a couple of articles on my website).

Either acquire a short square section of 3/16" HSS rod. Turning stores sell this cheaply. Epoxy one end into a handle and grind a bevel at the other end.

Here are short 1/4" and a 3/16" sash mortice chisels I made (to be used when the oval bolstered mortice chisels are too large) ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/SquaringChisels_html_m117fad61.jpg

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/SquaringChisels.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Daniel Rode]

I made my 3/16" chisel last night. The donor was a 1/4" Irwin beater that I never use. I ground 1/32" off of one side as best as I could using the opposite as a reference, then repeated the process on the other side. Then I cleaned it up a bit on a coarse diamond stone.

It was a bit more difficult than I anticipated but it came out decent enough. The lands and the bevel are not as even as I'd like, but it works well, so I can live with it for now.

Even though I need to make some small mortises, this is a bench chisel, not a mortise chisel.

[bob blakeborough]

This might be a silly question, but wouldn't it be easier to make your mortises the size of the chisels you currently have? Will the extra or less 1/16th" make a big difference to the project?

That said, if making tools is fun, fly at it!

[Daniel Rode]

It's a good point, Bob. By and large that's how I size my mortises. In this case, the 1/16" does make a difference. It's a small project where 1/8" is too small and 1/4" is too large. This is a size I've wanted for some time, so it will get some use.

I don't enjoy metalworking the way I do woodworking. But I'm cheap, so I do what I need to save a buck ;)


This might be a silly question, but wouldn't it be easier to make your mortises the size of the chisels you currently have? Will the extra or less 1/16th" make a big difference to the project?

That said, if making tools is fun, fly at it!

[Ryan Baker]

I know it is too late now (maybe for next time). If you happen to have access to a belt sander, you might find that an easier way to take a little off the sides and keep it flat. That's not the easiest thing to do on a grinder. You can clean it up on stones, but it takes a while.

It's all fair game if it gets you a working tool in the end. :)

3/16" is a handy size to have. I was using mine today to clean out dovetails.

[Jim Matthews]

A good stationary belt sander should handle this easily.


+1 on this.

You might end up with a rounded profile
opposite the flat, but that shouldn't matter.

It's the lateral clearance that matters.

I prefer a round profile to a peaked one.
I'm clumsy, and like to handle smooth tools.

When grinding, quench often.

[Mel Miller]

I don't enjoy metalworking the way I do woodworking. But I'm cheap, so I do what I need to save a buck ;)

Next time, think about how much time and resources you spent on this (with maybe OK results, doing something you don't enjoy), and compare that to just buying what you needed in the first place. There are lots of 3/16" chisels available for not much money.