Your First Toolkit
No matter what your style of woodworking, you need a basic set of hand tools. Here’s where to begin. When I came to America, I had a lovely wife, two suitcases and 50 bucks. Oh man, where do I …
Sharpen While You Work
Chisels don’t wait to get dull until you’ve finished a job—do they? The trick is to keep them sharp while you’re working. Rather than pull out my stones to renew an edge, I keep a piece of MDF [...]
Glove Finger Chisel Protectors
Here’s a simple way to protect your chisels from getting nicked and rusty rattling around in your toolbox. Just cut the fingers off some old leather work gloves. Poke holes with an awl at [...]
The Unicorn Sharpening Method
A simple sharpening technique for unbelievably sharp edges that are tough and long-lasting. By David Weaver, Winston Chang, and William Tindal Nothing slices, chops or pares through wood like a [...]
Don’t Get Foiled by a Broken Chisel Handle
Whether you are into new socket chisels or old, sooner or later you’re going to have to replace a handle that is worn out or gets lost. Here’s a little trick I came up with to help you get …
WoodRiver Bevel-Edge Socket Chisels
Tool: WoodRiver Socket Chisel Manufacturer: Woodcraft MSRP: $39.99+ When WoodRiver announced its new socket chisels, I was very intrigued. Price-wise, these chisels fall into the intermediate [...]
Narex’s New State of The Art Chisel, Part 3
After talking about the look and feel of the new Richter Chisel (including its test companion the Stanly #750) and last week’s entry on how I sharpened them, we have finally reached the finale of [...]
Narex’s New State of The Art Chisel, Part 2
After my initial inspection of both the Narex-Richter and the Stanley 750 chisels, I was ready for the sharpening process. Before sharpening a new blade I like to check the back for flatness with [...]
Protect Your Hands From Chisel Lands
Many new chisels, especially most premium-quality chisels, have sharp lands (the beveled side edges). Some people wear cotton gloves to protect their hands when using these, but I don’t like the [...]
Narex’s New State of The Art Chisel, Part 1
In late January Narex, the reputable Czech hand tool manufacturer sent me a box that contained three chisels for review. The sturdy but old fashioned stapled together gray cardboard box held [...]
Veritas Butt Chisels
Tool: Veritas Butt Chisels Manufacturer: Veritas Price: Starting at $70 Butt chisels have shorter blades than bench chisels and are generally made in wider sizes. They’re typically used for [...]
A Chisel Rack for a Peg Board Tool Cabinet, Part 3
Read part 1 here and read part 2 here. As the design and construction of the rack was completed (see part one of the story) and after I added the utility magnets and tried to hang the rack using [...]
