Convert Bench Chisel to Skew Chisel?

[Mike Baker 2]

I have a set of Harbor Freight chisels, as well as a couple of sets of Aldi's and a set of Stanley FatMax chisels. So I have 4 or more 1/4" , 1/2", 3/4", etc., chisels.
I don't currently do small dovetail work. I'm planning a cabinet, but that will be larger dovetails. However, I'm contemplating the idea of taking a couple of the 1/4" chisels and converting them to skew chisels; one right hand, one left hand, for the corners of small dovetails.
Has anyone ever done this, and how did it work out?
Any pointers, tips, how to's, etc.?
Thanks.

[michael langman]

Mike, If you have a dremel , get the thin cut of wheels to remove the tip of the chisel. A lot less heat then grinding tip off on grinder.

[Mike Baker 2]

I do, and have the cutters, too, i think. Great idea, thanks.

[glenn bradley]

I prefer my skew chisels narrower than the typical 1/2"-ish sizes commonly found in the sub-$80 arena. I picked up a couple of Narex 1/4" chisels and ground them at 30* and they do nicely.

[Mike Baker 2]

Yep, I was thinking 1/4" as well.

[glenn bradley]

Yep, I was thinking 1/4" as well.

I cheated a bit in that I went to dad's shop (he's a turner) and used his slow grinders and 30* tool holders to grind the 30* skew and 25* bevel. I then used his wet grinder to bring the job to near finish. I went home and used my diamond stones and micro-abrasive paper to finish the job. Whatever method you use, you want to set the skew angle and bevel in a way that meshes nicely with your normal edge finishing method.

[Jim Koepke]

Two each of my 1/2" and 1/4" chisels have been converted to skew and are quite handy for paring.

They do come in handy for jobs other than dovetailing:

379061

This is a 1/2" skew being used to cut a dado. All three chisels on the bench in the picture are 1/2" Witherby square side chisels.

My 1/4" skews are from unknown makers:

379062

Here it a 1/4" skew is being used to chamfer the edge of the waste to the base line.

Glenn mentions 30º as a skew angle which is probably a good place to be. Mine haven't been measured for angle. On the 1/4" my first try was too acute and the chisel was more like a stabbing implement than a useable chisel so the angle was increased.

Here are a couple more pictures for folks like me who just love to look at pictures:

379063

This is a 1/2" trimming the side of a lap joint.

379064

This is a 1/4" trimming waste between ganged tails.

So Mike my suggestion if to go for it, you will like it.

jtk

[Mike Baker 2]

Thanks, Jim. I think I will.

[Patrick Chase]

Mike, If you have a dremel , get the thin cut of wheels to remove the tip of the chisel. A lot less heat then grinding tip off on grinder.

If you grind the tip off vertically then it doesn't matter, because the heat has somewhere to go (the full cross-section of the iron).

[Mike Baker 2]

Love the pictures, too.

[Patrick Chase]

I've converted about a half-dozen chisels in various width, mostly Narex and Stanley 750. It's pretty idiot proof. My process is:

Paint the back of the chisel with Dykem and scribe in the desired skew angle
Set the tool rest at 90 deg (such that there's no bevel) and grind back to the line from step (1). This generates a fair bit of heat but it won't burn your tool because a vertical face has ample thermal conductivity into the bulk of the tool. Burning almost always happens when you have an exposed corner with lots of surface area but not much thermal conductivity to the rest of the tool.
Once you have the skew angle roughed in, set the tool rest to your desired bevel angle and grind the bevel. You will need to be careful about heat towards the end of this step, as the leading edge becomes thinner and no longer has good conductivity to the rest of the tool. I never grind all the way to a sharp or wire edge for that reason - I always leave the last little bit for my waterstones.
Optional: Extend the side bevels down to the chisel's back. This is most easily done with a light touch on a belt grinder IMO.

[Mike Henderson]

I prefer my skew chisels narrower than the typical 1/2"-ish sizes commonly found in the sub-$80 arena. I picked up a couple of Narex 1/4" chisels and ground them at 30* and they do nicely.

I did the same with some cheap 1/4' Irwin chisels - left and right hand. But they really don't get much use (meaning most of the time you can skew a regular square chisel).

Mike

[Jim Koepke]

Depending on one's sharpening set up turning a regular chisel into a skew is really rather easy. Patrick's method will produce what is wanted but seems like a lot of work to me. If one is careful with the heating of the tool it would likely be easier to set the tool rest for the desired bevel angle and then skew the chisel to the desired skew angle. Touch chisel to stone and take light cuts and quench often.

My skews were done using a Veritas® Mk.ll Power Sharpening System. The tool holders are equipped with guide screws to allow for repeatable skew angle sharpening. Of course not everyone has the same setups, but this could be done using a belt sander or many other systems of powered abrasion.


Love the pictures, too.

Okay, here's one more:

379066

Notice the trailing edge of the blade is against the tail. If the point is against the side it will tend to dig in. The side bevel is also lower on the trailing edge of the blade. When you see these gloves on my hand in the shop it usually means it was pretty cold.

jtk