Craftsmanship in Wood

How are you guys doing on flattening the backs of the Konobu chisels? I've been working the backs sort of like a kanna and trying to maintain the sides thinness as much as possible. Hasnt been super easy, but I've gotten through three of them now with good results.

I wonder if that's the intention of the maker, for the sides to wind up like my photo above, or if I'm a bit heavy handed.

If I initially have a large amount of metal to remove to make the back flat, I will only attempt to flatten a third or half of the back. Depending on usage, this may be enough. If the chisel back not being fully flat causes registration problems in use, I will flatten more of the back. In reality, I can always compensate or simply use a different chisel with a flatter back. If it becomes too much of a pain, I will fully flatten the back. This is just what I do, certainly not "best practices".

I think for paring chisels, a flat back may be more important, since the chisels are used for finish cuts.

Here is a picture of a set of Kunikei chu-tataki chisels I recently setup. Many of the chisels have a pronounced belly, so I only flattened the front edge portion of the back. If you look at images of well used japanese chisels, you can see back flatness seems to trump aesthetic concerns. There is a great picture on Japan-Tools, in the listing for Nagahiro Oiire Nomi 36mm (Fully Sharpened), showing the condition of the back after flattening.

Nice work! I think you are correct, I am over worried about aesthetic concerns, which will not effect them in use. I will proceed with flattening them totally flat since they're for paring.

I always like a cup per back on a bench chisel, since I leave them that way assuming they will work themselves flat over time.

Hey Chris Pyle, how's the shop coming?

Matt J wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 10, 2017 8:57 pm

Hey Chris Pyle, how's the shop coming?

Hi Matt, thanks for asking. It sadly devolved into a graveyard of 'machines in process'. I was awed by many of the OWWM transformations and thought I wanted to take that path but in reality, I just want to build things with the tools, not beautify the tools themselves (at least not right now since I have so much to learn). My father in law is using a chunk for some built in storage shelves that will be delivered to my sister-in-law soon. That'll free up some space.

I've also been doing a lot of 'catch up' work on our home: landscaping/gardening, cleaning the exterior, trimming bushes/trees, etc. I expect the current phase of landscape work to be finished this week and I've been given approval from the boss (wife) that I can focus my efforts on making the garage functional again.

Hopefully I'll have pictures to share soon but as of right now, it's an embarrassing rat hole.

Chris Pyle wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 06, 2017 10:08 am

It sadly devolved into a graveyard of 'machines in process'.

Given that I'm much earlier in the process than you, Chris, I'll admit to a nagging terror of entering this phase. It's something that also makes me quite tentative to adopt old iron. I'm not convinced I have nearly the experience to discern the good from the bad in this regard(**), or much convinced of my current ability to troubleshoot and remediate any issues. That's another thing I get to thank Chris Hall's many detailed machinery-related posts for: developing my sense of how easily I could get in over my head. A bit further down the road, especially once I have a baseline shop that's in working order, I expect this situation will change.

(**) Even with new(-ish) stuff this can still be a problem, excepting that research and support tasks become a bit easier.

I've had a little movement in my shop: getting stuff cleaned up, getting machines put back together and.....(drumroll).... I finally found a jointer!

I'll have pics soon once I get it to my shop. It's lacking in width at only 12" but it's 96" long and built within the last 20 years. I'm super stoked to finally have a serious jointer big enough for a piled up list of projects.

Here she is after a quick clean-up of the tables:



This was sold to the Air Force base about 45 mins away in April of 1998. It was used in their arts and crafts center until the cost of insurance/bonding for the teacher necessitated it's removal. There are some minor cosmetic nicks on the jointer but overall it appears to be in great condition. The one exception is they drilled/tapped the outfeed table for a feeder. I'll probably look into plugging those holes down the line.

It's currently wired for 208v so I'm rewiring to 240 and getting a VFD and hope to have this thing spinning before the end of next week. The blades obviously need to be replaced since there are 3mm+ gashes in multiple spots. The fence locking mechanism appears to be under-engineered but I haven't spent much time with it. More to follow...

Congrats! There is nothing embarrassing about that rat hole.

Matt J wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 22, 2017 4:29 am

Congrats! There is nothing embarrassing about that rat hole.

Thanks Matt, I've spent the better part of the last 4-5 weeks cleaning things up and getting rid of machines that were of no use to me. I tore down my table saw and cleaned it up since it came from a plastics factory (very gummy raising/tilting mechanisms). Just waiting on the new bearings, which have been stuck at the St. Louis USPS sorting facility for 6 days. I'm itching to put it back together.

Then, after moving out a few more machines I'll finally have the place operable. Will post more pics as I get things sorted.