Tool Roll

[Steven Wilson]

I was working with my LN chisels a couple of weeks ago and started looking at the tool roll that came with it. I have some paring chisels that needed something to store them so I decided to try my hand at some leather work. My daughter and wife are interested in leatherwork and weaving so I decided to buy a few tools, read a couple of books, and try my hand at this tool roll. BTW, if you have a woodworking branding iron you can use that to stamp tool leather.

[Ryan Cathey]

Wow, I like it. I love the rivets and the "belt". Very cool!

[Steven Wilson]

Thanks Ryan. The belt is riveted to the roll and the other rivets are there to take stress that would otherwise be transfered to the stitching. It's actually all functional. I'm working on a couple of pouches to store some fly fishing reels (small ones), and have a need for another tool roll for some japanese bench chisels.

[Jim Becker]

Nice job on that Steven. I really like the flap that protects the business end of the tools as well as protecting "you" from said business end of the tools! :)

[Mike Henderson]

Nice job, Steven. I prefer tool rolls where the chisels alternate end-to-end. The reason is that the roll rolls up better. When all the handles are on one side, you wind up with a big side and a loose side when you roll it up. By alternating the pockets, side-to-side, each side winds up with about the same number of handles and the roll rolls up better.

It's also good to leave a flap on the end of the roll - the end that winds up on the outside when you roll it up. The reason is that the end of the last chisel in the roll (especially if it's a narrow chisel like a 1/8") usually sticks out of the end of the roll and you can cut yourself when you pick up the roll.

I make my rolls from canvas - I buy a painters drop cloth and use that for my rolls, but your leather roll looks much nicer than mine.

Mike

[added note] Here's a couple of pictures of my canvas rolls to show what I was trying to explain. One is for carving tools and one for mortise chisels. Both made from painter's drop cloth.

[Steven Wilson]

Mike, I have my carving tools in rolls like that too and will probably do something similar for the next roll I make. I was trying to imitate the tool roll that came with my LN chisels and use that for paring chisels.

[Mike Cutler]

Steven.
I have the LN tool roll, and I think yours is just as good if not better.

Food for thought. Incorporate the alternating arrangement of Mike's tool roll with fold over flaps from your tool roll, on both sides, to prevent tools from falling out.
Make it out of leather,and put a price on it. I have yet to find one for sale, and I'd really like one that hold at least 20 chisels.;)

[Mike Henderson]

Steven.
I have the LN tool roll, and I think yours is just as good if not better.

Food for thought. Incorporate the alternating arrangement of Mike's tool roll with fold over flaps from your tool roll, on both sides, to prevent tools from falling out.
Make it out of leather,and put a price on it. I have yet to find one for sale, and I'd really like one that hold at least 20 chisels.;)
This is just my opinion, but I find you don't need the flaps on both sides to keep the tools from falling out. When you roll up the roll, the center is "loose" because there are no handles there. If you tie the roll in the center, the tools are held into place pretty well and can't fall out.

I certainly don't object to the flaps, but I don't think they are necessary. The flap on the end is necessary, however, for the reason I described earlier.

It's also necessary to make the roll wide enough that the blade end of the tools do not stick out when the tool is seated in the roll. I made my mortise chisel roll fairly wide but then obtained two long mortise chisels that are too long for the roll. Note that I have blue tape on those chisels because the sharp end sticks out. If I had made the roll wider, I wouldn't have had that problem.

While the rolls are easy to make, they do take time and I didn't feel like making a new roll to accommodate the two chisels.

Mike

[Dave Williams]

Mike i use a tool roll similar to yours, but I put the blades in the pockets because i'm always afraid that the nice sharp edges will knock in to the other tools and get dull when rolled up. Does that happen to you or am i just being overcautious?

[Mike Henderson]

Mike i use a tool roll similar to yours, but I put the blades in the pockets because i'm always afraid that the nice sharp edges will knock in to the other tools and get dull when rolled up. Does that happen to you or am i just being overcautious?
There's a couple of problems with putting the blades in first.

1. The blade can cut the canvas, and
2. for carving tools, you want to see the blade so you can choose the right width and sweep for the job. Most carvers lay out the tools they're using on the bench with the cutting edges towards them so they can easily choose the right tool.

For chisels, this is a bit less important because you can usually see the shank of the chisel in the roll and know how wide it it.

The major disadvantage of having the working edges exposed is that you'll cut yourself if you're careless in reaching for a tool - don't ask me how many times I've done that.

I've not had any problems with dulling because of the tools knocking together. And with carving tools, I'd notice it quickly if that was happening.

Mike

[John Schreiber]

Very nice looking. Congratulations on the leatherwork to go along with the woodwork.