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Thread: They're baaack

  1. #91
    I know the packaging says CrV, but these feel like standard high carbon steel. Not sure there's much difference I'm seeing between a old, abused Marples firmer and an Aldi...about the same price, likely about equal work in restoring them, so mainly the butt ugly handle part makes a difference for some folks. That said, one of the students said he really liked the Aldi handles. No accounting for taste.

    Edge retention seems about the same as my older stuff and better than my Ashley Iles roundbacks, although I'd have to whack away at the Aldis for a couple decades to see if there are some subtle differences that only show up with AARP cards. Two of the four sets have been put into service, and a third prepped and stored... no differences between those we are using.
    Last edited by Todd Stock; 09-28-2017 at 10:37 PM.

  2. #92
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Chase View Post
    Why must there always be a false dichotomy between these and "$30-80" chisels?...
    Patrick, I don't disagree with your points. But you insist on completely ignoring what I've tried to say. If one IS looking for an inexpensive set of chisels that actually perform quite well provided one is willing to invest some time in setting them up, the Aldi chisels have a good track record. They provide an affordable point of entry: they are serviceable and can meet most woodworking requirements when properly flattened and sharpened. This is pretty amazing for an $8 set of chisels sold by a grocery store. We should celebrate rather than denigrate the broader access to woodworking these encourage, particularly among those who may wish to engage in woodworking but have limited funds to invest. Be happy.

  3. #93
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    Quote Originally Posted by steven c newman View Post
    Whatever.....

    Thinking of grinding the sides of some of these chisels to be closer to "Imperial" sizes.....That would result in the 8mm being slimmed down to 1/4"......and may even transform it into a mortise style..OR...a Firmer stile of chisel. Current 1/4" Mortise chisel is by New Haven Edge Tool Co. others are either Butchers, or OLD Buck Brothers.....Firmer chisels I have are by Witherby.....
    8mm is for all intents and purposes the same as 5/16". For a 1" piece that has been smoothed down to 7/8-15/16" that is a great size for a mortise chisel. One of my pig stickers is a 5/16".

    Many of my 1/4" chisels cost less than the Aldi chisels. My plan was to acquire enough 1/4" chisels to have extras to turn into a pair of skew chisels.

    SWMBO beckons...

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  4. #94
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    They at least work as paring chisels...
    trimmed back.jpg
    In Maple....

  5. #95
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    They at least work as paring chisels...
    They surely are capable of many tasks.

    Do you grind a new bevel for your paring chisels? If so, what slope do you like for paring?

    I like mine in the 20º area.

    Have you ground any into skew chisels? My 1/4" & 1/2" skews come in handy.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  6. #96
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    Quote Originally Posted by Todd Stock View Post
    I know the packaging says CrV, but these feel like standard high carbon steel. Not sure there's much difference I'm seeing between a old, abused Marples firmer and an Aldi...about the same price, likely about equal work in restoring them, so mainly the butt ugly handle part makes a difference for some folks. That said, one of the students said he really liked the Aldi handles. No accounting for taste.
    CrV is a blanket term for AISI/SAE 6000-series steels. Some of those have pretty low alloy content to the point where they might feel like HCS for most purposes.
    Last edited by Patrick Chase; 09-29-2017 at 3:46 PM.

  7. #97
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    I bought a set a few years back for 4.99. I sharpened them up. Backs were fairly flat, no big problem. They work OK. Have not used them for any heavy chopping. My problem is they are metric. I have put them in the metric tools box. I don't have a problem with working in metric but when I do I use it throughout. I tend to use my chisels as gauge blocks so having metric or imperial mixed messes me up a bit. I definitely try to keep things separated.
    Jim

  8. #98
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Pallas View Post
    I bought a set a few years back for 4.99. I sharpened them up. Backs were fairly flat, no big problem. They work OK. Have not used them for any heavy chopping. My problem is they are metric. I have put them in the metric tools box. I don't have a problem with working in metric but when I do I use it throughout. I tend to use my chisels as gauge blocks so having metric or imperial mixed messes me up a bit. I definitely try to keep things separated.
    Jim
    If you work with any plywood for drawer bottoms or other construction a set of metric chisels may be good to have. There doesn't seem to be any 1/4" plywood anymore, it is 6mm.

    One frustrating aspect of metric for me is chisel makers do not always agree if 3/4" is 18, 19 or 20mm.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #99
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    If you work with any plywood for drawer bottoms or other construction a set of metric chisels may be good to have. There doesn't seem to be any 1/4" plywood anymore, it is 6mm.

    One frustrating aspect of metric for me is chisel makers do not always agree if 3/4" is 18, 19 or 20mm.

    jtk
    You are exactly right about that Jim. There are those cases where they are useful. To me it's like wrenches also I don't like the mental anguish of having to think through that "is it 5/16 or 7/16 that is close to 8mm or is it 9mm".
    Jim

  10. #100
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Pallas View Post
    You are exactly right about that Jim. There are those cases where they are useful. To me it's like wrenches also I don't like the mental anguish of having to think through that "is it 5/16 or 7/16 that is close to 8mm or is it 9mm".
    Jim
    The way to remember is to think of the 5s: 5/64, 5/32, 5/16, 5/8" correspond to 2, 4, 8 & 16mm. 1-1/4" (5/4) corresponds to 32mm. If you get into such things 2-1/2" converts to 63.5mm. Most likely a 64mm wrench wouldn't

    7/16" corresponds to 11mm.

    Here is a list I made years ago:

    Metric to Sae wrench sizes. 6.5mm is common in many wrench sets.

    A 't' next to the wrench size indicates this wrench will be tight on its corresponding size nut, i.e. a 14mm wrench is snug on a 9/16 nut.

    Millimeters = Inch
    6 = N/A
    6.5 = 1/4t
    7 = N/A
    8 = 5/16
    9 = 11/32t
    10 = N/A
    11t = 7/16
    12 = N/A
    13 = 1/2t
    14t = 9/16
    15 = 19/32 (not common)
    16 = 5/8
    17 = N/A
    18 = N/A
    19 = 3/4 (This is such a perfect match, it is used internationally for automobile wheel nuts)
    20 = N/A
    21 = N/A
    22t = 7/8

    32 = 1-1/4 If memory serves me well, this is the size of the hub nut on the rear axle of Volks Wagons before '68 or so.

    That has 7 metric sizes throughout the range not covered by an SAE wrench set.
    3/16 would be tight on a 5mm, neither size is included with most sets.
    Three common SAE sizes, 3/8, 11/16 and 15/16 are not covered by the metric sizes.
    Make copies and change the format if it helps. My automotive wrenches include SAE, Metric and Whitworth with a few other weirdos thrown in.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 09-30-2017 at 8:33 PM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #101
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    Thank you for posting the chart Jim. What I do now is get out the tools I think I'll use. If metric whether mechanical or woodworking I get out those tools. For woodworking I have metric squares chisels rules drill bits and just try to stay with that throughout the project. Somethings readily crossover some just don't.
    Jim

  12. #102
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    Thank you for posting the chart Jim. What I do now is get out the tools I think I'll use. If metric whether mechanical or woodworking I get out those tools.
    You are welcome, it gets posted here and other places about once a year.

    My current vehicles, mostly older, have had a mix of both SAE and metric sized nuts and bolts. It wasn't too long ago they were either metric or SAE.

    Do some car makers still mix parts or have American car makers gone full metric?

    Today one of my tasks was to cut a slot in a drawer side for the piece across the bottom. My Stanley #45 was set up with a 6mm blade from a set made for the Record #405.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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