lie nielsen chisels?

[Tim Sgrazzutti]

Try inserting them into the tool roll with the bevel down.....I haven't sliced through mine since I started doing that.

[Karl Fife]

Hairspray... we used to glue our handlebar grips on with hairspray!
...To reinstall, I repeat the adhesion procedure. The mineral spirits disolves the old hair quickly so you're back to new.

Funny! And I though that hairspray was only a bicycle shop trick. The tip about mineral spirits is new to me. Thanks for sharing!

[Jim Neeley]

The old-fashioned hairspray to which people refer is primarily made of shellac which serves as a light glue, holding the handles on. denatured alcohol (or everclear ) will work to remove it as well.

I say this because some of the "newfangled" hair sprays that don't include shellac may or may not work well.

One simple (and more macho) alternative is to buy a small container of shellac.

Shellac, if invented today, would be considered a miracle product.. tremendous amounts of it are used to coat pills, baby cribs, etc., because (when mixed with the right alcohols for application) is non-toxic after drying.

Jim in Alaska

[John Sanford]

I am not able to test drive the chisels. That really wouldn't sway me either...I have yet to pick up a tool I didn't like.

Obviously, you've never been to Harbor Freight.

[Matthew Hills]

I am thinking about getting a set of Lie Nielsen socket chisels for doing dovetails. Are they worth the price? Are there any sales that happen prior to Christmas? Is there a need to go to the long handle chisels if you have large hands or is the regular length adequate? I am not able to test drive the chisels.

Thanks in advance for any assistance...

The LN chisels are my favorites, primarily for the balance and the way they fit in my hand. As others have said, the handles are small... but this is more of a grip thing than a size-of-the-hand thing. I've also got Koyamaichi chisels and some Ashley Iles chisels. The working end on all are fine; and I find myself choosing primarily on the handle. (The Japanese chisels have the hoop; the Ashley Iles have a huge handle with a lot of weight)

Derek's review of the Veritas Bench Chisels had some good comments about chisel handles. His photos here contrasting how the Veritas handle and a Stanley handle (similar to the LN) fit his hand illustrate this nicely:



Matt

[Mike Henderson]

Note that this thread was started about a year and a half ago.

Mike