Blunt Chisel Technique

[ruby50]

The English perfected what is known as the infill plane. It is a plane (any length, any bedding angle) that is made of a metal shell with a wood insert at the toe and the heel. They are typically made with a mouth that is a few thou wide. The advantage is purported to be that they are very heavy and therefor easier to get through the wood, but tell that to the guy who uses wood bodied planes that weight 1/2 of what these guys weigh. I have used several and own one, but don't see the advantage as much as an acolyte does. They are simply gorgeous though. There are a lot of people who make these for sale ($500 - $10,000 or so), and even pre-cut kits, but the grandaddy of them all is Bill Carter:

http://www.billcarterwoodworkingplanemaker.co.uk

If you have a spare hour, this is a remarkable site. He even has a 30 part youtube series on making one of these, something that has been on my bucket list for a long time.

He is full of cool woodworking techniques throughout that series. and all of his videos, but here is one that we can all use once in a while, the Blunt Chisel Technique (said with an English accent):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re_bp5Lp0To


I remember to use it only once in a while - I should hang a reminder in my chisel cabinet. I have a shallow gouge and 3/4" chisel set up - takes just a minute and works with any $2 flea market chisel.

Ed

[redir]

I've never heard of that before. It's more or less a scraper at that point. I can definitely see some application for that in guitar building though. I guess I need to go find some more old used chisels now

[srick]

It’s hard to be gobsmacked after being a woodworking hobbyist for so many years, but this qualifies. So simple. Thanks for sharing!

[charles Tauber]

Looks like a good technique. Thanks for posting it.

Another similar technique is to sharpen a chisel normally then use it vertically, rather than horizontally, as a scraper, pulling the back of the chisel towards you.

[ruby50]

I was thinking it would work for final shaping of the vertical part of the heel, where you are working across the grain. A gouge with the right curve would handle a lot of that.

Ed

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by ruby50

There are a lot of people who make these for sale ($500 - $10,000 or so), and even pre-cut kits, but the grandaddy of them all is Bill Carter

I think I would have to take issue with that, Ed.

I might be biased, as he is a friend of mine, but IMO the finest maker of handmade planes, not only in Britain, but in the world, is Karl Holtey (and the finest by quite some way, nobody else even comes close).

Marvel at his amazing creations here http://www.holteyplanes.com/

[ruby50]

Yes Holty's stuff is mazing, as is Sauer and Steiner, Wayne Anderson, and my favorite, Jim Leamy. He died recently and I can't get his website to come up - it shows a bunch of wedding planners! But here is an article that shows some of his stuff:

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/w...my-plow-plane/

He uses spectacular rosewoods and ebony, and all sorts of great wood. I have a friend with 3 of his planes using faux ivory, but years ago he used to use real ivory:

https://www.jimbodetools.com/product...m-leamy-81021u

It is accurate in every detail down to how much out of line the stamped lettering is.

Ed

[redir]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Looks like a good technique. Thanks for posting it.

Another similar technique is to sharpen a chisel normally then use it vertically, rather than horizontally, as a scraper, pulling the back of the chisel towards you.

That is the way I have always done it. Sharpen normally but leave the burr on.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by ruby50

my favorite, Jim Leamy.

https://www.jimbodetools.com/product...m-leamy-81021u

That's pretty crazy.