A fishtail chisel in an hour

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Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying my hand at half lap dovetails. Now I know that it should be entirely possible to clear the corners with ordinary chisels, but boy, do I struggle. I was at it today, and expect to be doing more tomorrow. Now is as good a time as any too whip something up.

I have a couple of pieces of metal that resemble a chisel given to me many moons ago by my in-laws. They never get used as they’re rubbish, so thought I’d try reshaping one. If I ruined it, no real loss.

I marked out a rough shape and set it to the grinder.

And because the buffing wheel was already on the other end, decided to give it a bit of a polish. Then of to the sharpening stones. I guess one advantage of really soft steal is that the back flattened in no time at all.

It seems to pear pine end grain rather well, but its real test will have to wait till tomorrow. I think dinner is nearly ready.

But where to put it now. Back with the reject tools or my special chisels? I decided to compromise. It can sleep with my nice set, but they will remain segregated. Once I buy a lathe and make a nicer handle for it, I will allow it to associate with the others.

Lance

December, 2019

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