Socket chisels, how store? Upright?

[Jerry Olexa]

Building a storage rack for my chisels....Most of these are socket chisels and thinking of storing them upright (with handle down). This in view of the the iron tending to withdraw or fall out sometimes if held vertically with wood handle up..
What do you guys think? Usually see iron down but the other option might work better for socket chisels.Look forward to your thoughts...

[Barney Markunas]

I'd consider going edge down and just setting your rack up to suspend them from the socket and not the handle. I can't say exactly why edge up bothers me but I know that it does. Old habits die hard I guess, plus gravity helps keep you from having to chase after a handle if it shrinks a bit and drops out if you pick your chisel up edge up. That being said, I guess I'd rather chase a stray handle than find myself with the handle in my hand and the blade having dropped a few feet onto the floor or even worse into my foot. I guess being lazy and keeping most of mine in a roll has some pluses.

[Prashun Patel]

Sorry for crude drawing. I made an L-shaped shelf, then drilled holes in the top and finally sawed slots to make 'key holes'. The tang of the socket chisel slides in from the front, and then the socket drops into the hole. The holes are (I forget) but either 5/8" or 1/2" - just wide enough so the tapered part of the blade seats completely and is supported by the shelf; it does not drop so deep that only the handle is supported. That would happen if the holes were 3/4" as they are for my Narex and mortise chisels.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I did much the same as Prashun, except used a Uni-bit to drill (sort of) tapered holes. I like them stored edge down; I've found this way requires fewer trips to the ER.

My shelves are in a dedicated cabinet to minimize exposure to the air and/or moisture.

[bridger berdel]

Mine are flat in a drawer. I don't want all of them out all of the time. They do move around a little opening and closing the drawer which is annoying. My selection of chisels is fluid- I add and remove chisels often enough that I don't want the storage too settled.

[Mike Henderson]

While it might be tempting to put your chisels in a rack, I would suggest putting them in a roll or in a drawer, as suggested by Bridger. The reason is that any metal exposed to the air like that will rust. Additionally, you may have the occasion to do some work with others, or at a different location, and it's nice to be able to grab a roll of chisels and go.

I have my dividers and outside calipers hanging on pegs in my shop. I've put wax on them and they still rust. And this is California where it's dry.

Every so often I have to soak them in EvapoRust and then wax them again. I'd hate to have to go through that with my chisels.

Mike

[lowell holmes]

I keep edge protectors on my chisels and store them in a plastic shoe box.

I keep the chisels that I'm using on the bench. I have two benches. They will be on the back bench.

[steven c newman]

While I just completed a dresser build for under the bench,,
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The drawers are mainly to hold my extras...
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My users have their own rack on the back of the bench..
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Drilled a 1/2" hole, then made a slot for the blades to fit through....
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So these will be handy, when I need them.

[Jerry Olexa]

Good logic here:

1. the size of the hole in rack sized just right to hold the socket portion of the chisel (not the handle) so hang handle "up".
2. Use a chisel roll..Good for portability and rust prevention.

Both make sense..May have to reconsider the approach...Well I'm still building the cabinet so there's time to adapt/change.
Thanks..Good ideas already...

[Ray Bohn]

Tapered slots to hang LN chisels by their sockets and a little protection for sharp ends. Blades do not bottom out.

[David Eisenhauer]

I store my LN socket chisels right side up in a rack designed like Prashun's (rests on the chisel, not the handle). During coldest winter, my handles may loosen up and I have gotten into the habit of immediately flipping them upside down after pulling them out of the rack and then tapping the handle end on the benchtop to ensure that the chisel is fully seated in the chisel socket. So far, no chisel drops on my toes or elsewhere following this routine. When I sharpen the chisels before putting them away after the bulk of the chisel work part of a project is completed, I then either apply some Johnson's wax or wipe a little light tool oil on them to keep them rust free when sitting in the rack for a while.

[Jerry Olexa]

Sorry for crude drawing. I made an L-shaped shelf, then drilled holes in the top and finally sawed slots to make 'key holes'. The tang of the socket chisel slides in from the front, and then the socket drops into the hole. The holes are (I forget) but either 5/8" or 1/2" - just wide enough so the tapered part of the blade seats completely and is supported by the shelf; it does not drop so deep that only the handle is supported. That would happen if the holes were 3/4" as they are for my Narex and mortise chisels.

Good explanation..Makes sense..thanks, Prashun...And a good drawing.

[Prashun Patel]

Also, Jerry, having used my open-tipped racks for a few months now, I highly recommend the bottom shelf that Ray uses. I have cut my fingers on the edges more often reaching for things below the chisel rack than when actually using the chisels. It's a subtle point, but the speed with which I reach for things appears to cause deeper slices into my fingers than during actual usage.

[William Fretwell]

I use a drawer; can see them easily. All those sharp edges mounted out in the open would be a safety issue. I have lined the drawer with 'rust paper' previously; whether it works is debatable. If they are mounted in the open at least you can watch them rust!

[Jerry Olexa]

Also, Jerry, having used my open-tipped racks for a few months now, I highly recommend the bottom shelf that Ray uses. I have cut my fingers on the edges more often reaching for things below the chisel rack than when actually using the chisels. It's a subtle point, but the speed with which I reach for things appears to cause deeper slices into my fingers than during actual usage.

Very good tip!!! Thanks Prashun..

[Ray Bohn]

Also, Jerry, having used my open-tipped racks for a few months now, I highly recommend the bottom shelf that Ray uses. I have cut my fingers on the edges more often reaching for things below the chisel rack than when actually using the chisels. It's a subtle point, but the speed with which I reach for things appears to cause deeper slices into my fingers than during actual usage.

The other reason for the bevel protection- I used to have my sharpening station right below this rack. I knew I would cut myself sooner or later.

[glenn bradley]

I'd consider going edge down and just setting your rack up to suspend them from the socket and not the handle.

Yes, this.

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I drilled a reverse sequence of larger and larger holes to create the "cone".

[Mike Brady]

I have LN socket chisels, and when I built my wall cabinet a mounted the chisel holders using 1-1/4 by 3/4 x12" brackets screwed to the insides of the front doors. Be sure to follow the advice to suspend the metal part of the chisel, not the handle. To do this, I bored 3/8 holes spaced a couple of inched apart in the brackets. I then used a Veritas tapered mortise cutter to taper the holes to a size to fit each chisel. The last step is to cut away the front of the tapered mortise with a fine saw so that the chisel can be slipped into the holder at its narrowest part at the base of the chisel socket. By making the brackets this way, the chisel can't fall through the holder even if the handle slips out of the chisel (a common occurrence with LN chisels that haven't been used in awhile).

[Jerry Olexa]

Based on your various ideas and suggestions, I am rethinking my approach for hanging the socket chisels.
All your ideas make sense...Thank you all.