Full Chisel Blog

Well I re-made the first chisel rack and am pleased with the results.  I went about it in a methodical way, although it is difficult to tell from how I botched things up.  I had all four racks cut out (with an additional length available should I need it, which I did) and only did one at a time, well I did two but the second one was acceptable as it holds the chisels by their tapered sockets, so with the luck of geometry and physics, I dodged that bullet

By not doing them all at one time, I avoided having to re-make them all.  The gouge and carving tool racks are both very functional and I can now see all my chisels and gouges.

This has also freed up some space in my tool cabinet, after I removed the old three tiered rack.  I moved in the block with assorted tools and the rest of the boring bits into the vacant space.  I also have a bit of free space on the inside back side to hang up stuff I need at hand. 

With that problem largely out of the way, I started to organize my layout tools in the upper cabinet, I had already partially re-done my saw till (is still needs work), so it is time for to square away my squares.

I will soon be opening up an online Store here on my blog to offer items for sale.  Items for sale will be old tools, artifacts, shop art and Woodworker’s Note Cards.  I have permission from Clinton Whiting to reproduce and offer for sale his pen and ink drawing of the ‘Cabinet Shop’, just getting packaging material together.  The Woodworker’s Note Cards are pen and ink drawings of Traditional Tools from the eighteenth and nineteenth century.  Each card comes with an envelop and each card has a description of the tool and it date on the back.  There are about 40 images to choose from including saws, planes, braces, workbenches, &c.

Stephen

Well the first go round went off with only 50% failure rate.  The lower chisel rack with the sockets is fine, but I think I will re-do it a bit.  The upper one was a complete failure.  The slots don’t work.  I lightly kicked the door when it was closed and heard a shower of chisels, so until I make a new one I scabbed on a piece of wood to retain them.

So I took the suggestions from M.Mike and Mitchell and decided to drill holes and add a few slots.  The hole in conjunction with the slot holds the tools much more securely than just the slot.

I will probably add some leather keepers on the slots if it proves necessary.  The only problem I have now is if, no when I get more chisels and gouges.  I suppose I will deal with that at the time.  There are an extra hole for a small gouge or chisel on this one and it is possible to add new holes.

While the arrangement looks compact and I will need to be careful when removing tools from the lower racks, I may put a flap of leather or some other safeguard if I should bleed just once.

I have looked at other racks and the hanging kind or the drawer solution are the best as there is little chance of damage to the sharp ends.  Racks that hold the chisels or gouges by them resting on their cutting edges is a bad idea.  Even if a soft padding of cork, soft wood or leather can still get stuff on it that can damage the cutting edges.

So, I will re-make the upper chisel rack and post a final post, with the Chisel problem solved.

Stephen

When I first built this Tool Cabinet, I built a three tier rack that held all of my chisels at the time.  Well I have sold a couple and picked up several, so there was a need for a change.  My chisel rack is full (he he).

Besides I could not see what tools were what as all of my chisel handles match.  The original design was to alleviate the sharp ends of the chisels and gouges from cutting me.  Well it is a bad design and was in need of a remake.

So I decided to utilize the unused space behind the doors to the base of my Tool Cabinet.  I decided to put the chisels on the left side and I will put the gouges and carving chisels on the right hand door.  I cut up some pine, planed it and did a layout of the chisels.  I drilled holes for the screws with a gouge bit and cut the slots with a cross cut hand saw.

This is the first iteration and the lower rack for the large chisels was mounted too high, so it had to be repositioned down an inch and a half. (I still need to replace that hooped chisel handle, as soon as I figure out how to remove it without damaging the handle, I give all my replaced handles to a friend).

The lower rack works fine and holds the chisels by their sockets, the three narrower chisels are in holes in the base and the others are in slots.  I will probably add leather tabs, similar to a Billiards Stick Rack, to hold them in place.

The top rack has a problem.  I was worried about a chisel falling from the rack when the door is open, and sure enough one of my chisels landed on the floor point first.  I am going to re-do the top rack with holes instead of slots as all of the tools have narrow enough blades to fit into a hole and be removed easily and will prevent the tools from falling out if the door is opened too quickly or slammed shut.

After I figure out all the problems I will tackle the gouges and carving tools.

Stephen