Furniture Builders: What size paring chisels do you use most often?

[Joe A Faulkner]

I'm currently working on a tool cabinet. This is my first project with hand-cut/chopped dovetails. I am getting by with bench chisels, but I am considering adding some paring chisels to my arsenal. I am considering the Narex set but got to wondering how useful the 1" and 1 1/4" chisels are. My projects primarily tend to be home furnishings: cabinets, book cases, tables, chests, boxes, specialty cabinets, beds, that sort of stuff ...

I'm thinking that 1/4" 1/2" and 3/4" paring chisels would likely see a lot of use, but I'm not so sure about the wider ones. What has been your experience? What size paring chisels get frequent use, and which ones are rarely used?

[Jim Koepke]

Joe,

It really depends on what you are doing. My 1-1/2" chisels get a lot of work. Some of my dovetails are pretty big.

If all you do is London style dovetails with skinny pins, you may only need a 1/4" chisel.

My work includes a lot of lap joints with construction lumber. So a big chisel is a must for my work.

jtk

[Reinis Kanders]

Big Narex paring chisels are like a mini swords. At minimum they are good for a self defense:) Big chisels do come in handy here and there.

[Frederick Skelly]

Joe, for me its one of those 'when you need it you're real glad to have it' things. I used the 1 1/4" on Sunday for the first time in the year Ive had this NAREX set. And I was very darn glad to have it. But honestly, I only use my NAREX parers when my regular chisels (regular old blue handled Marples) are too short. But I agree - I use my 1/4"", 1/2" and 3/4" (of either set) the most.

Just thinking about it though - do the dovetails you're cutting really require chisels that long? I think I've seen some vintage paring chisels that are shorter/thinner than the NAREX. Would those - or perhaps a better set of bench chisels - suit your work better? Something to think about, anyway.

Good luck!
Fred

[Brian Holcombe]

I practically have my 1-1/2" paring chisel on my bench the entire time I am in my workshop. I use 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, 1, 1.5"

[Steve Rozmiarek]

1/4, 3/8, half and 1 1/2 mostly here too. My favorite is a 2" Barton though. The go to for so many things.

[paul cottingham]

I own 1 paring chisel,the Narex 1 1/2" one. Great tool.

[Hilton Ralphs]

Think of it this way Joe, if you purchase the full set you get the 1" and 1-1/4" at a massive 30% discount. Who can resist?

[Jim Koepke]

There are many situations when a wide chisel comes in handy.

Good for a quick chamfer on end grain.

Trimming the ends of dowels or a through tenon.

Smoothing the sides of a mortise.

Shaving the face of a tenon.

And more...

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

I like a paring chisel wide enough to 'register'
on shoulders, mortise/bridle cheeks and tenons.

The wider it is, the better I can judge if it's cutting square.

I'll use a slick to get close on larger tenons,
but it's not what I would call precise.

The chisel getting most work in my kit is 3/4" wide.
If the paring chisel is out, I'm fiddling a joint together.

[glenn bradley]

This is certainly one of those things that will vary with what you do. I picked up a Lee Valley 3/8" chisel and ground it to 25*. Other than a 3/8" crook-neck, it has done all my paring work where a long flat reference surface was desired. I do have other chisels for dovetails and such but, for general paring tasks, I have not been wanting.

[Matt Evans]

I use my 1.5 and-2" chisels frequently.

Offhand I would say that I use 1/8-1" almost daily, and 1"-2" several times a week. (increments of 1/8" with a few 1/16ths sporadically, and I wish I had all the increments of 1/16")

[Prashun Patel]

I have a 1" and 1.5" wide Narex. They do a fine job. I use these for chopping a clean base line reference on dovetails, but I don't use them for paring. I find wide blades harder to push. I use my 1/8", 3/8" and 1/2" for most drawer-paring tasks.

If you do a lot of hand paring of mortises, I can see the wider chisels being used more often.

[Shawn Pixley]

I don't own proper paring chisels. Until I found something I can't effectively do with what tools I have, I don't get new / additional tools. I have a couple of bench chisels at 25 degrees that I can use for paring when the standard chisels seem inadequate. In reality, I just keep my chisels sharp and work on.

Please don't take my cave access away...

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I don't own proper paring chisels. Until I found something I can't effectively do with what tools I have, I don't get new / additional tools. I have a couple of bench chisels at 25 degrees that I can use for paring when the standard chisels seem inadequate. In reality, I just keep my chisels sharp and work on.

Please don't take my cave access away...

:eek: I dunno Shawn, I guess we could award some points in your favor because it takes nerve to admit something so shocking...

[Daniel Rode]

I have no idea what I'm supposed to do but this has been working for me.

I have 2 sets of bench chisels. On set is ground to 25 degrees and the working edge is about 30. The other set is about 20 degrees and the working edge is 23-25 degrees. The first set is great for rougher work as they hold the edge longer. The second set is what I use most often as they slice through the wood smoothly. This is a real benefit on pine end grain. Usually 1" is the widest I use even though I have a 1 1/4"

[Brian Holcombe]

I don't own proper paring chisels. Until I found something I can't effectively do with what tools I have, I don't get new / additional tools. I have a couple of bench chisels at 25 degrees that I can use for paring when the standard chisels seem inadequate. In reality, I just keep my chisels sharp and work on.

Please don't take my cave access away...

I can understand this, I've been eliminating redundancies in that regard. I have both, but in many instances I could do with just bench chisels.

[Jim Koepke]

My wide chisels also come in handy when installing hinges. Though my favorite chisel for that is a 1-1/4" Stanley 400 series butt chisel.

jtk

[dan sherman]

I'm currently working on a tool cabinet. This is my first project with hand-cut/chopped dovetails. I am getting by with bench chisels, but I am considering adding some paring chisels to my arsenal.

Are you wanting them just for helping with dovetail work? If so, you would probably be better served buying a small bench chisel or two and making dovetail, skew, or fishtail chisels out of them.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Thanks all for the feedback. The recent paring of dovetails and pin sockets prompted the question, though I have to admit that paring the tool cabinet dovetails with my bench chisels hasn't been an issue. I have encountered other situations where a longer blade would have been useful (cleaning up dados, rabbets, shoulders). I'll probably purchase the set knowing that for the type of work I do most often, I'll likely use the thinner chisels much more frequently than the wider ones.

[Alfred Kraemer]

I tend to use the <1 inch sizes the most. While it is not always ideal, one can usually always use a smaller chisel than what would fit best, but there are fewer options for a chisel that is too big, even if itIs by a little.
I do have a 2 inch chisel albeit a short one that I would miss. For trimming or paring I almost always use a small router plane to set the intended depth and create a shallow groove at e.g. a shoulder so that I can then use a small block plane.


Alfred

[James Owen]

I mostly use a couple of old (and now short) Erik Anton Berg chisels that are about 1¼ and 1½ wide.
For general-purpose "open" area paring, wider chisels give you stability and evenness in your paring, as well as the ability to use the chisel in a very controllable skew cut.
If you're paring narrow dovetails or paring in other restricted areas, then, obviously, an appropriately sized paring chisel is the answer.
If you haven't already purchased some paring chisels, take a look at the Henry Taylor paring chisels; nice quality, traditional English–style paring chisels.