Broken chisel

[Kris Bjarnason]

I'm trying to integrate more hand tools into my projects little by little. I got a brand new set of Ashley Isles chisels, and today I was squaring off the end of a stopped dado and I broke one! When I say broke, I mean about half of the tip (this is a 1-inch chisel) broke off, about 1/8-inch up. Is it wrong to use a good chisel in BB ply? What else could have done wrong?

[Casey Gooding]

Sounds like you need a replacement. I'd contact the seller or manufacturer. A chisel should not break like.

[Bob Smalser]

Is it wrong to use a good chisel in BB ply? What else could have done wrong?

Send it back to where you got it and they'll replace it.

No, it shouldn't have broken paring those flint-hard phenol gluelines in plywood, but there are a lot of them in BB and that and repair work near hardware is why I keep some common Stanley butt chisels handy.

It broke most likely because the steel was too hard for the task at hand. The others in the set may be overhardened and defective, that individual chisel may have had a stress crack in it nobody found or you may have tried to take too big a bite of nasty glueline with too thin a blade.

[Kris Bjarnason]

Further info, a picture:

[Mat Ashton]

I wouldn't worry too much about it now. Keep pictures of the first break and if it does it again then raise the issue with seller and or manufacturer as you may have a harder than normal chisel. There should be a very small divot on the chisel somewhere that indicates it's hardness was tested - is there one.



Couple things that may contribute:

Bevel angle. Too low and the tip will cut real easy but it will also break easily.

Were you prying at all, especially while using the bevel heel as a fullcrum. It's very easy to break the tip off then.

Maybe you hit a glue pocket and or were trying to leverage it out with the tip. The hard glue could easily break the tip off.

[Pam Niedermayer]

FWIW, I don't use any of my good tools on plywood.

Pam

[David DeCristoforo]

It looks like that blade was hardened but not tempered. The color of the steel would indicate that the blade was not finished. The blade should be bright. Somehow this blade skipped past a few steps in manufacturing, got a handle stuck on it and slipped out the door without anyone noticing, to end up in your hands. You should have no trouble getting a replacement.

[Jim Koepke]

I am with Bob on this.
I have a set of chisels that are used for the rough stuff.
They are lousy beaters, but none of them cost a whole dollar. They get sharpened and used and sharpened again. If something bad happens, at least it happened to a chisel that won't pain me as much as it would if it happened to one of my Witherby, Buck or other "good" chisels.

Paring chisels may get a tap now and then with a light mallet.

Firmer chisels get hit a little harder.

Framing chisels get whacked.

Mortice chisels get walloped, but with care.

jim

[Kris Bjarnason]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely be sure not to use my good chisels in ply anymore. Also, I emailed AI the picture and asked what they recommend. Their reply: just give us the size, handle and your address, and don't even bother sending in the broken one. What great service!

[Randy Klein]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely be sure not to use my good chisels in ply anymore. Also, I emailed AI the picture and asked what they recommend. Their reply: just give us the size, handle and your address, and don't even bother sending in the broken one. What great service!

That sounds like great CS. You should grind your broken chisel into a skew now that you're halfway there...