Congrats Bob Smalser

[Jim Becker]

SMC member Bob Smalser's article on chisels is in the latest issue of Fine Woodworking magazine (Tools and Shops 2006) starting on page 46. If you are a newby to chisels (as I am) or even experienced, it's a great and informative article. Good reading! Congratulations Bob!!

[Bob Noles]

Jim,

Thanks for posting the heads up. I got it about a week ago and it is about as great an article as they come. Bob knows his stuff and there is a bunch of good info in there. This is one article I am keeping close at hand.

[Carl Eyman]

I couldn't agree with jim more. When I run across chisel names like "firmer" or pig sticker" now I'll know what they mean. Also it was interesting to pick up a bit of biography info on Bob. Before this I thought all boat building history was concentrated on Atlantic and Gulf coast. (just kidding, of course)

[Bob Smalser]

Thanks, fellas.

But it was the editor and art director resposible for those pics and layout. I jsut wrote the words and felt a bit silly posing all day.

[Jim Becker]

Bob, yes the magazine took care of a lot of details to make it pretty, but the meat of the article is "all you". Much appreciated!

[Roy Wall]

Thanks, fellas.

But it was the editor and art director resposible for those pics and layout. I jsut wrote the words and felt a bit silly posing all day.

Yeah......I didn't think you were a "hollywood guy":cool: ....just good ol' Bob!! Great article - very informative.........

Thanks and congrats on the assignment!

[Todd Burch]

Well Bob, as humble as you may be, you have a gift of teaching, and a deep repository of information that you don't hesitate to share. You take what could easily be complicated (or taught in an overcomplicated manner) and put it in perspective for us, straight and simple.

Thanks for all your contributions. Todd

[Dan Forman]

Bob---Well I finally got to see this in depth article, and give it my personal "thumbs up". The photo shoot was very well done, but I can see how you would rather have been doing something else. Thanks for all of your contributions to the craft.

Dan

[James Mittlefehldt]

I have, like many others benefited from Bob's knowledge here, and have been grateful for it. The article was excellent, it really was informative and answered a number of questions about chisels I had but was afraid to ask, lol.

Congratulations Bob and maybe in future you may end up as author of one of those Taunton Press books we all know and love. Carry on, you are doing fine.

[Frank Pellow]

Bob, Even though I have been using chisels with some degree of competency for as long as I can remember, I learned from your article that I knew very little about them. Thanks Bob, for organizing all that information in an easy to read and easy to understand way.

I have a good set of what I now know are Bevel Edge Bench chisels as well as a couple of very well used Butt chisels and I expect, now that I know a little bit, I will soon be buying a mortise chisels (or, two, or three ...).

[Bob Smalser]

I have a good set of what I now know are Bevel Edge Bench chisels as well as a couple of very well used Butt chisels...

Editorial angels in committee danced around for months on the head of that pin.

As firmer chisels used to be almost entirely straight-sided, the term "bench chisel" used to comprise firmers, parers and bevel-edged cabinet chisels...."bevel edge" being just a feature and meaningless as a category.

That's the way I wrote it.

Now nobody makes straight-sided firmers any more, just bevel-edged firmers....and the angels have elevated "bevel-edge" to a category.

As I don't think semantics to be the important aspect of the craft, I didn't argue. But that's not how I see it.

[Alice Frampton]

Now nobody makes straight-sided firmers any more They do (http://www.axminster.co.uk/recno/2/product-Henry-Taylor-Henry-Taylor-Traditional-Firmer-Chisels-23547.htm).

Cheers, Alf

[Bob Smalser]

http://www.axminster.co.uk/images/products/TYLF49_l.jpg


Thanks. One strange-looking "firmer", though. A bit short and fragile to be hit very hard.

[Alice Frampton]

Thousands of British woodworkers seem to have been happy with the design over the years.

Cheers, Alf