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Thread: Mortise Chisels

  1. #16

    C.I:Fall, Eskilstuna, Sweden

    I own a 6mm (ca. 1/4'') C.I. Fall Mortise Chisel, wich i bought in Eskilstuna, Sweden, from Anders Fall past summer.

    It's quite rough, but I'm not sure if that's their standard quality, because they were out of stock when i was in Esikilstuna. I did not work a lot with it so i can't tell you much about resharpening ...

    But i love the modern Auger bits i bought from Anders Fall. (They're cheap, too.)

    Cheers Pedder

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Kent View Post
    I would love to hear more about the MHG and CI Falls as they get used on projects.
    I had the MHG and the steel was not what I wanted, it chipped out badly with just chopping. It chipped out before I did any levering .
    I found that with a round handle it was difficult starting the mortise square and plumb.

    To make a long story short I sold them and I got the Ray Iles 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" and they are wonderful. The oval handles helped fixed the problems that I had with starting the mortise square and plumb.

    I highly recommend the RI's

    Peter

  3. #18
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Tremblay View Post
    I had the MHG and the steel was not what I wanted, it chipped out badly with just chopping. It chipped out before I did any levering .
    I had exactly the same problem at first. I sharpened them up and went to work. Chop, crumble, fold. Then someone pointed out that the primary bevel was ground at 25 degrees, way too fragile for chopping... I ground it back past the chipped edge, grumbling under my breath the whole time and put a 35 degree secondary bevel on it. Now it works like a charm! The 25 deg primary lets it dig deep into the wood when I whack it, and the 35 deg secondary keeps the edge in one piece when I pry out the chips. Maybe you got a bad one? I've read that MHG had some quality control issues when they were first imported into the US.
    We few, we happy few, we band of brothers --
    joined in the serious business of keeping our food,
    shelter, clothing and loved ones from combining
    with oxygen.
    -- Kurt Vonnegut

  4. I was thinking that I got a bad one because I exchanged them. Still the second set that I got had soft steel, for what I wanted. The secondary bevel worked in preventing large chips but they dulled way too fast for my taste.

    Peter

  5. #20


    I find large mortise chisels to be much faster. But you'll be forever finding a set like mine. I'd be looking for bolstered mortice chisels from Ward. Butcher, Sorby etc on eBay in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 or their metric equivalents. If you want new, I had the opportunity to use the Iles pigstickers and was favorably impressed.
    “Perhaps then, you will say, ‘But where can one have a boat like that built today?’ And I will tell you that there are still some honest men who can sharpen a saw, plane, or adze...men (who) live and work in out of the way places, but that is lucky, for they can acquire materials for one third of city prices. Best, some of these gentlemen’s boatshops are in places where nothing but the occasional honk of a wild goose will distract them from their work.” -- L Francis Herreshoff

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    I was lucky enough to find a deal some of the last Record/Marples sash mortise chisels on Ebay. Some people scoff at Marples, but they work for me.

    1/4" & 5/16" are all I've ever needed.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    Southern California
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    After reading through this and another thread I decided to try the 1/4 and 3/8" Ray Isles pigstickers. Well they showed up today from TFWW and to my dismay both had corners nicked and blunted on the both bevels. Besides that bummer the chisels feel bulletproof and the ergonomics of the handle fits my liking very well. Can't wait to try them out

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Circa Bellum View Post
    Some of you may remember that I posted a question last week about C.I. Fall mortising chisels. No one seemed to have tried them, so I went ahead and ordered a set to be the guinea pig. The arrived Monday and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with them. The finish on them is not elegant, they haven't been polished and the handles are quite plain other than the brass ferrules, but I chopped a couple of mortises with them right away and they handle well. I can't speak to longevity on them and hope to report about that later. but if you're not doing a lot of mortising, at $70 for a set of three I don't see how you could go wrong. Here's where I found them... http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com...ath/39_172_471

    Looks like the 3/8th took a dive on you from the e-bay sale of the set. Any observations other than the obvious (one broke)?
    Quote Originally Posted by James Carmichael View Post
    I suspect family members are plotting an intervention.

  9. #24
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Danny Thompson View Post
    I'm another big believer in getting one or two higher quality chisels instead of a big set of lower.

    One way to make this strategy work is to buy and use a single 1/4" mortise chisel for the vast majority of your heavy chopping, then, if necessary, use your bevel-edge chisels to pare the mortise to final width. That is the route I am taking, anyway.

    FWIW, I went with a hefty Ray Isles English Mortise Chisel (http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/M...gory_Code=TBMC).
    These are fantastic. After a lot of research I gave it a try and… Oh Wow!
    Veni Vidi Vendi Vente! I came, I saw, I bought a large coffee!

  10. #25
    I found a millwright chisel (after reading Bob Smalser's excellent FWW article), 1/4". It makes keeping the mortise square a lot easier than my shorter chisels, and levering out the waste is quick. I got it on that auction site, and it was listed as a firmer chisel. I think I paid $20 for it.

    Bob also has a great thread here on SMC which I subscribed to (so I wouldn't lose it.

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13734

  11. #26

    Pig Stickers

    I had (as you might read in the thread above) purchased the C.I. Fall mortise chisels a year ago. They worked fine chopping the big honking mortises in my new work bench with the exception that I cracked one of the handles. I used them on several other projects and they were okay. Then I started finding pig sticker chisels and put together a set of four different sizes and they absolutely rule. I sold the Fall chisels on eBay and have not looked back.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    My mortice chisels were bought on eBay. One is a James Cam and the other is a Newbould.

    One is a 5/16 the other is a 3/8.

    Both have been fitted with new handles. Due to my not having experience with putting handles on tang chisels, one of them split, but it is usable until it has to have another handle made. Both are great pieces of steel with close to 200 years of dings and patina.

    My recollection is the pair cost me less than $40.

    Sure, one can pay too high a price on eBay, but if one sticks to their price and exercises patience, good deals can be had.

    Holding to my guns, bids were placed on at least a dozen individual chisels before this pair came along. As I recall, mine may have been the only bid. Maybe the others only wanted the Buck, Swan and Witherbys.

    One caveat, many people will list almost any chisel as a mortise chisel. If you do not know what it is, don't bid on it.

    jim
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 01-15-2009 at 2:11 PM. Reason: addition

  13. #28
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    Sep 2008
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    "Holding to my guns, bids were placed on at least a dozen individual chisels before this pair came along. As I recall, mine may have been the only bid. Maybe the others only wanted the Buck, Swan and Witherbys."

    There may be another reason. The chisels you have are, as you noted, quite old (as well as being collector's items - the James Cam was worth a lot more than $20, at least with the original handle). Mortise chisels that old are often of soft iron with a forge-welded piece of cast steel on the end. So long as the steel's intact (the chisel hasn't been sharpened to the point where it's worn away), the chisel's fine as long as it's not "bellied". But it's tough to tell from a photograph, and if the steel is gone, the chisel's next to worthless as a user. Swans, Witherbys and other newer makes were made after advances in manufacturing made steel cheap enough so that the whole chisel is cast steel, so they're still usable even if quite short.

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