I have a nice bit of beech that I want to carve something out of for my sons birthday. Recommend me some half decent chisels.

Wouldn’t he prefer an Xbox? 😉

He is 4.

And we have an xbox.

My Dads a carpenter most of his tools are Stanley. I’ve inherited his old set, still going strong.

As you can imagine, you can go crazy and spend silly money if you want, which I’m sure you probably don’t want to do.

I have two sets: Stanley for cooking, Marples for shagging (if you know what I mean).

If you look after a decent set of Marples, they’ll last you years.

EDIT: Marples

Stanley

Beech is a very hard, close grained hardwood (hence it gets used for butchers blocks, chopping boards etc) and will need decent kit.

What you planning to carve then SBZ?

I can reliably inform you new Stanley aren’t as good, Marple red-yellow are were it’s at now and the handles are gauranteed split proof. So ignore my earlier post 🙂

Marple red-yellow are were it’s at now and the handles are gauranteed split proof.

Indeed – they’re a tenner more than the set I recommended but well worth it IMO 🙂

chisels are for dovetails and mortices + tennons, which is nice if you’re making you’re son a dressing table. For ‘carving’ you want gouges (if SBZ Jr is getting a rocking horse for Chrismas), which your less likely to find in B&Q.

Its the sort of thing you’d get in Tiranti or Axminster. Or if you are a man who is really into his choppers you can get a weighty tome full of tools sent to you from the continent under plain wrapper from the gentlemen at Dick. No innuendo intended, but if you’ve got wood, get dick.

Not made a final decision on what I’m going to make him yet, but it’ll be quite intricate and take a few months to finish – it’ll include playing with a woodturning lathe too.

Intricate like this:

The best chisels I’ve ever owned are my Robert Sorby firmer chisels. Unsurprising they’re not cheap.

I suspect their curving chisels are up the job too.

http://www.buckandryan.co.uk/product.php/site/froogle/sn/SOR606

Got a set of Marples red/yellow and they are excellent. Much better than any I’ve owned before.

Is there anything STW can’t fix?

I’ve got a set of Marples, on offer at £50ish iirc.
However they get used very little, as I use the set from Screwfix – Forge Steel :
http://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-wood-chisel-set-3pcs/86451

These got a good review in Good Woodworking mag a year or so back, and were rated better than the Marples. 3.5 for the Marples, 4 for the Forge Steel.
Stanley Fatmax got 4.5.
Overall, they were all much of a muchness as regards quality, but if price is a factor, then the Forge Steel are way in front.
It was noted in the mag that almost all of the chisels had to be flattened and sharpened properly before use.
Alan.

If you’re buying chisels don’t forget the stone and a sharpening guide.

A dremel or an electric carving tool work better, with no malleting, dont forget youll also need some skill and a bench or vice to hold the beech to.

ALWAYS CARVE AWAY FROM YOU AND BLUNT TOOLS WILL INJURE YOU.

Learnt that during my appreticegship and still got a squidgy thumb, from where the chisel took part of it away.

Oh indeed, there are few things more useless (and dangerous at times) than a blunt chisel 😀

i’ve got a set of oire nomi chisels, which i think means “wood chisel chisel” seeing as nomi means chisel already in japanese. anyway, they look a little like this:

their construction is similar to that of a samurai sword. folded layers of hard and soft steel. they can be sharpened up to be sharper than Marples and will stay sharper for longer.

they do chip more easily and because of the hardness of the steel it takes longer to buff/grind out any chips. sharpening is also a PITA, again as it takes a lot longer than for normal chisels and it is best done with a wet stone. but then again you needn’t sharpen them as often as a standard chisel.

HTH

Anyone from the ******* community, very high probability of finding a chiseller amongst that lot, they’re all at it.

Marples here too, paired up with a trend fast track sharpening kit

On the Forge Steel ones from Screwfix it’s worth noting that it’s currently cheaper to buy them separately than as part of the set…