Firmer Chisels

[Frederick Skelly]

Geez. Sounds like we need a Word Origin Forum now. I'm with Steven. I'd rather hear more about what Firmer Chisels are used for than go to English class.

And fortunately, Warren is probably exactly the right guy to teach us.

[steven c newman]

Sooo, IF I wanted to clear this dado with a chisel...
jig.jpg
Which chisel to use?

[Patrick Chase]

Geez. Sounds like we need a Word Origin Forum now. I'm with Steven. I'd rather hear more about what Firmer Chisels are used for than go to English class.

And fortunately, Warren is probably exactly the right guy to teach us.

Precisely because he took the time to understand the history and origins :-)

I'm not saying everybody should be interested, just that there's a valid reason why some subset of folks might want to go down this path.

[Jim Koepke]

I have Mortise chisels ( but no "Pig Stickers" Am I deprived?)

Yes, you may be eligible for a government grant.

jtk

[ken hatch]

Page 17; 1959 William Marples & Sons Catalogue. https://archive.org/stream/Marples19...ge/n0/mode/2up

Stewie,

A beautiful set of chisels, priceless in today's market.

ken

[Pat Barry]

Sooo, IF I wanted to clear this dado with a chisel...
jig.jpg
Which chisel to use?

I'd recommend another cut down the middle before you go at it with a chisel. Then work from both sides toward the middle.

[Warren Mickley]

For a dado like Steven shows, I would use a similar technique to what Nicholson recommended 200 years ago. Nicholson recommends laying things out so the high area between the dados is somewhat narrower than the width of the chisel, so possibly using an extra narrow dado down the middle as Pat suggests, so that the chisel is cutting the whole width of the strip that is left. I would probably take most of the waste away on the first pass, rather brutally, Then almost everything else on a second more careful pass. Finish up with a rabbet plane if needed.

Nicholson recommends a "firmer chisel", but except for having no side bevels, his firmer was almost certainly lighter than today's average bench chisel. It is much tapered in thickness and very slightly in width. Tapered octagonal handle with a tang, with no ferrule or ring. I gradually changed to this style of chisel over the last 8 years after decades of using bevel edged chisels. Without side bevels, I think it is slightly easier to sharpen freehand (more stable) and maybe easier to cut riding the bevel also. If I am making a handle for a chisel that has seen considerable use, I make a longer handle to achieve an optimum length (I like 11 inches).

P. S. It is tough to read stuff like Nicholson. It is easy to read along imagining he is doing things just like your own technique and miss subtle differences. Sometimes I read the post of someone who has read the old text, but has missed a few interesting details in a paragraph that they obviously have read.

[steven c newman]

Used a 12mm Japanese Mortise Chisel to remove most of the waste.....then a bevel edged chisel to pare the dado flat. Didn't want to take a chance on a "middle" saw cut.....as it might have been at a different depth? Saw cuts were done on a Langdon 75 Mitre Box, using depth stops...