Chisels on the cheap

[Webb Willmott]

I’ve always wanted some mortise chisels and after making a kerfing knife, I thought, why not make some. For less than 20 bucks, I picked up some HSS bar blanks. I had a little 1x1 piece of Lignum Vitae left over from making a mallet so I used it for the center of the handle and surrounded it with Purple Heart. A little beeswax on the handle and now I have a set that matches my mallet so I can whack in style.

Not bad for $10 a chisel.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Interesting that you went with high speed steel rather than high carbon tool steel.

 

[Gary W Miller]

Was the HSS pre-hardened and tempered? I only ask because, as I think Mark might have wondered, HSS can't be hardened like Carbon tool steel can. If it takes a good edge and keeps it (with a little occasional honing) it's likely been done.

 

[Webb Willmott]

It was hardened when I bought it. I used an angle grinder to shape and took my time to not overheat the steel and finished the angle on a disk sander.

Also HSS blanks the right size were readily available and most importantly, the blanks had square sides and sharp edges instead of rounded edges.

 

[Russell Nugent]

I'll be interested to see edge retention and if it gets fractures/microfractures from impact.

 

[Gary W Miller]

Sounds like you've done well and, like others, I'm interested in seeing how they perform over time

 

[Andrew Hobbs]

Love the look of these. You truly made magic with your angle grinder. The grind from the handle up to the tool. That transition is really nice.
I made a rudimentary looking pointed scraper like raffan uses. I love it and bought the steel from Amazon. Uxcell I think the company is called. It holds an edge so much better than some of my older hand me down sorby tools. Significantly longer. It's actually quality hss. And I was very new and didn't know about cooling hot steel and bluing it. So, for someone not a novice it would have looked like I was attempting to ruin the temper of the tool. Somehow I didn't. It's hold an edge very very well.

 

[Webb Willmott]

Call me frugal, not cheap. I’m saving for a lathe upgrade.

I used the last 2 HSS blanks I had and made a 3/4” scraper and a 1” shew. Where else can you get 2 chisels for $11 each. Maple for the handles was left over from the bench I made and ferrels were cut from a piece of pipe I had in the junk box.

I didn’t have a straight scraper. The skew I’m retiring I have deemed the spawn of Satan. It’s a 1” oval skew that came with a set of Shop Smith lathe tools and we don’t geehaw at all.

 

[Andrew Hobbs]

Hahaha. I did the same exact thing. Leftover steel pipe for the ferrule, or I think the scraper has copper. Leftover maple from a table I made for my brother. I make all my own handles with the steel ferrule threaded for grub screws. It's my favorite method. Much easier to sharpen without the handle for my gouges.
Your angle grinder skills are better though.