I've recently restored a tool of my grandfather's. An old hammer that my father replaced the handle on many years ago. While using it a few years ago the claw snapped and I finally got around to replacing the head with a head I found in an antique/curio shop. All fixed now but it's still my grandfather's hammer.
I've been binge watching all your videos you've made over the past 7 years, aside from your obvious love for woodwork, respective tools, vintage guitars, etc...you kind of lost your calling in life, could have easily been in showbusiness (theatre, standup comedy, talk show host...) So eloquent, witty and cool you are, thanks a ton for your knowledge AND persona
I love old tools about as much as Ben, I have a drawer full of socket chisels like that, mostly old Stanley with a couple early Greenlee mixed in. I just love the way the old stuff is made, and I totally agree, building and repairing guitars is almost just an excuse to use them.
I love these tool restoration videos, btw. Would be great to see some 'instructional' videos about specific tools. Not 'best practices' persé, but how YOU use the tools; what YOU look out for; how YOU do things; How YOU approach certain tasks within a project (and perhaps your considerations for which tool you reach for). I always find it very interesting to know about the process in detail. (Not just "these are the steps I took to make this guitar look pretty", if you know what I mean) How do you measure out a pattern (like you did with the cyberpunk guitar, and your daughter's guitar), preferably including the times it went wrong (and explaining why you thought it was 'wrong', even though it might look good to someone else) Everyone in my life that was really into tools has passed. This is the kind of information I can't ask of anyone, you see.. I know you can build guitars (Very, very well).. But a glimpse into the actual physical (and mental) process of sketching, correcting, and using the tools to achieve your goal.. that's infinitely valuable. There are a lot of 'scraps' already within your regular videos (which I truly appreciate), but it would be very cool to have some dedicated videos on 'chisels', 'planes', 'carving a certain shape hole', etc. Anyway - thanks for this insightful video. (I need to make an adjustable table for my bench grinder / belt grinder to make fixed degree bevels, it seems (: )
It always gives me a heap of smiley pleasure to see craftsmen tools of old lovingly restored and given new life. Going on to create further treasures in the hands of yet more craftsmen. CNCs and all the gadgets have their place, but the forged beasts of wood wrangling really are something special.
Aye Captain! I've just opened a drawer with some Sheffield made Sorby's, Marples, Warriors and plenty of anonymous (mostly because of the age) beauties. It's a challenge to pick one... or five only that deserve immediate restoration. We're the same age Ben and I think I'm going through similar symptoms of midlife crisis LOL. Have a great day!
There’s a RUclips channel called the torque test channel I think. And they just did a video on the difference between a stamped/CNC cut set of wrenches versus a set of forged wrenches. And they really show the difference in the steel. The way that the molecules align is really different. And it causes the strength to be vastly different.
Really nice restoration of a great set of chisels. I'd love to be able to compare these to my favourite chisels, which are Ward and Payne Aristocrat full tang socket chisels (which I use with a urethane mallet). The Aristocrat chisels were game changing, award winning, and still are excellent chisels, I was lucky enough to find a set to restore.
Ward and Payne 👌👌👌 I've not heard of these Aristocrat chisels. Sound great. Ward and Payne were wonderful. Just not seen many around in the last 20 years. I will search now. Thank you 👍
I love a Tormek T-8 for the reason of the tools just never get hot while you sharpen. Also, no white paint yet, will look for white paint next time I shop about.
There is something about the sound of a sharp tool cutting wood that is so satisfying to me! It's like a beautiful piece of music... (Jump to about 10:40 in the video to hear what I mean)
Have you considered contacting Alec Steele to possibly forging a set chisels for you? A nice set of 1 of a kind chisels. Perhaps y’all could do a collab RUclips video making them together….
Hey Ben, check out Wood By Wright for his chisel tests if you are looking for some of the most accurate scientific testing on chisels. There's a spreadsheet where you can pick and choose what's important for you in a chisel to change how they are ranked.
Ok Ben, this is not a build, so it will be allowed. But I'm really excited to see the finished product of the hand tool only build. Love your content, but sometimes getting hooked on one of your builds and not getting the next installment of said build is dang near painful... lol
Great stuff, loving your work! Can I just ask, you seem to have put one bevel on the end of the chisels. Other videos I have seen add a primary bevel, and then a secondary bevel at a steeper angle. What are your thoughts on this?
From what I've seen, the secondary bevel is mostly there to have less metal to take away when sharpening (you sharpen the secondary bevel, not the primary, so it's less metal removed, possibly less time). Doing just 1 bevel just means you have to sharpen the entire surface of the bevel, which is fine too and gives you more surface to register on the stone. If you wanted a 25 deg secondary, you'd just have to sharpen the primary to something less than that. Every woodworker is different and has different methods that work for them. Like Paul Sellers puts a bit more pressure on the strop and does it like 50 times, but nothing wrong with being gentle if you have high grit stones to start with (I don't lol).
I use mostly vintage tools I restore myself. IMHE they just feel a whole lot etter than anything new, and it's a joy to use them. Do you know, Ben, what maker those chisels are?
I inherited two chisels like those: a hollow socket and a leather-ended handle. I cannot for the life of me figure out what the leather end of the handle is good for. A few taps, even with a rawhide leatherworking mallet, and the leather starts to shred. The chisels just don't feel like a good size that I should be pushing them by hand. I'm obviously missing something, and would appreciate a hint. Thank you.
From the glimpses of the branding it looked like O3 Adhesives. They're UK, so slightly more convenient for Europeans than shipping Starbond from the US. He's been trialing it versus Starbond for a couple of months. I don't know whether the thumb over the label and putting it down reverse side to camera is deliberate or complete coincidence. It could be he's waiting to reach a conclusion before openly endorsing it, or it could just be the way the bottle was facing anyway lol.
I'm on the hunt for some incannel (inside bevel) gouges. 6mm and 12mm (1/4" and 1/5"). These seem to be hard to find but handy when you are in need of a curved corner. Standard corner chisels don't work because they're a sharp 90 degree corner. I'm looking to round corners without the scooping you get from ordinary gouges. Thoughts?
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Yes, and could only find one in 1". That's a possibility but one in half inch and one in quarter inch would be ideal. Two Cherries is the only brand I've found that makes them new. Just had my heart set on vintage. 😊😊
If you were sharpening an old cut throat razor what stones would you buy? If you weren’t going to do this sort of job very often? I’ve seen a few videos but they’re all different and I trust you.
Any good set of stones would work, a strop would also be essential. Personally I would use my Shapton stones but a nice Washstand natural oil stone would also be a good starting place. Much harder wearing than water stones too. That paired with a very hard Arkansas stone and a strop would be spot on imo. Ben
I've found some Finnish and Swedish made chiesels from the flea market and they seem to be made of great steel. Only problem is, that the handles would have to be replaced. Where could I find nice ones? Tha tangs go inside the handle. I dont own a lathe, so they should be ready to use. Just add the blade and some white paint onto it.
That off-angle one may be done like that deliberately. Maybe the original owner needed a skew chisel and just decided to modify a regular one to fit their needs. To me when something is THAT far from square then it's probably on purpose, provided the tool is otherwise well-cared for.
About the super glue: why not use an animal glue? (I mean.. I would personally do the same: get the job done quickly and efficiently. But the 'period correct' glue would be something like rabbit skin glue probably?) I guess when you ultimately would replace the handle.. Any and all glue comes apart with heat.. I was just wondering about the considerations; I know a lot of people care about doing things 'correctly'. I mostly care about doing things efficiently. It's not often I encounter someone who appreciates old tools like I do, that also solves issues in the most practical and sturdy way like I (like to think I) do. If it's 'sacrilege' but it works... Is it truly sacrilege, or just smart? (:
It's actually the other way around. The white paint was here from the beginning of times (right after Keith Richards - possibly his creation). Therefore, vintage tools don't have spots of white paint. The white paint ALWAYS seems to have vintage toolmarks...
Ben has said he's banned from quoting prices (habit of underestimating everything). But I think if you email Crimson, the office staff will work out a price for you.
You should talk to Alex Steel, he could make you tool steel you’ll be happy with. It would be a good you tube collaboration. Enjoy your day Ben.
He made a slick for the Samurai Carpenter. Plus he’s in the UK at present.
I just posted about him contacting Alec….
Ben! Do this! I never comment but am a heavy, heavy... consumer! Alex Steele. Please? Carry on with your greatness sire!
I've recently restored a tool of my grandfather's. An old hammer that my father replaced the handle on many years ago. While using it a few years ago the claw snapped and I finally got around to replacing the head with a head I found in an antique/curio shop. All fixed now but it's still my grandfather's hammer.
That was so satisfying to watch.
Can't wait to see these Chisels being used in future builds.
Thanks.
I've been binge watching all your videos you've made over the past 7 years, aside from your obvious love for woodwork, respective tools, vintage guitars, etc...you kind of lost your calling in life, could have easily been in showbusiness (theatre, standup comedy, talk show host...) So eloquent, witty and cool you are, thanks a ton for your knowledge AND persona
I love old tools about as much as Ben, I have a drawer full of socket chisels like that, mostly old Stanley with a couple early Greenlee mixed in. I just love the way the old stuff is made, and I totally agree, building and repairing guitars is almost just an excuse to use them.
That’s the most chisels I have ever seen in one place. You win.
I love these tool restoration videos, btw. Would be great to see some 'instructional' videos about specific tools.
Not 'best practices' persé,
but how YOU use the tools;
what YOU look out for;
how YOU do things;
How YOU approach certain tasks within a project (and perhaps your considerations for which tool you reach for).
I always find it very interesting to know about the process in detail. (Not just "these are the steps I took to make this guitar look pretty", if you know what I mean)
How do you measure out a pattern (like you did with the cyberpunk guitar, and your daughter's guitar), preferably including the times it went wrong (and explaining why you thought it was 'wrong', even though it might look good to someone else)
Everyone in my life that was really into tools has passed.
This is the kind of information I can't ask of anyone, you see..
I know you can build guitars (Very, very well).. But a glimpse into the actual physical (and mental) process of sketching, correcting, and using the tools to achieve your goal.. that's infinitely valuable.
There are a lot of 'scraps' already within your regular videos (which I truly appreciate),
but it would be very cool to have some dedicated videos on 'chisels', 'planes', 'carving a certain shape hole', etc.
Anyway - thanks for this insightful video. (I need to make an adjustable table for my bench grinder / belt grinder to make fixed degree bevels, it seems (: )
Makes the heart sing….!🥰🥰😊😊
It always gives me a heap of smiley pleasure to see craftsmen tools of old lovingly restored and given new life. Going on to create further treasures in the hands of yet more craftsmen. CNCs and all the gadgets have their place, but the forged beasts of wood wrangling really are something special.
Aye Captain! I've just opened a drawer with some Sheffield made Sorby's, Marples, Warriors and plenty of anonymous (mostly because of the age) beauties. It's a challenge to pick one... or five only that deserve immediate restoration. We're the same age Ben and I think I'm going through similar symptoms of midlife crisis LOL. Have a great day!
There’s a RUclips channel called the torque test channel I think. And they just did a video on the difference between a stamped/CNC cut set of wrenches versus a set of forged wrenches. And they really show the difference in the steel. The way that the molecules align is really different. And it causes the strength to be vastly different.
"I've got the beginnings of a collection..." ~Ben Crowe
They go as big as 2 inch and all the sizes in between I have a 6 piece set love them to bits
Your love of tools is infectious I picked up a 50s 60s Stanley 5 1/2 and it needs this bit of love. A future project for me I think 🤔
Really nice restoration of a great set of chisels. I'd love to be able to compare these to my favourite chisels, which are Ward and Payne Aristocrat full tang socket chisels (which I use with a urethane mallet). The Aristocrat chisels were game changing, award winning, and still are excellent chisels, I was lucky enough to find a set to restore.
Ward and Payne 👌👌👌 I've not heard of these Aristocrat chisels. Sound great. Ward and Payne were wonderful. Just not seen many around in the last 20 years. I will search now. Thank you 👍
Looking great. I think the pockets on the back should be the same shape as the guitar. Jonathan
I got a set of similar chisels from you a few years ago, they are very nice
I love a Tormek T-8 for the reason of the tools just never get hot while you sharpen.
Also, no white paint yet, will look for white paint next time I shop about.
White paint on chisel handles means the screwdrivers were too far away when that can of gloss needed opening :D
Very nice.
Recently restored an old brace drill out of my father's tools.
Marvelous!
Really good video Ben,as I believe in not waisting tools .
Good morning from Oklahoma USA . Kenneth
Good morning 👋
There is something about the sound of a sharp tool cutting wood that is so satisfying to me! It's like a beautiful piece of music... (Jump to about 10:40 in the video to hear what I mean)
Have you considered contacting Alec Steele to possibly forging a set chisels for you? A nice set of 1 of a kind chisels. Perhaps y’all could do a collab RUclips video making them together….
Hey Ben, check out Wood By Wright for his chisel tests if you are looking for some of the most accurate scientific testing on chisels. There's a spreadsheet where you can pick and choose what's important for you in a chisel to change how they are ranked.
Well done Ben - what grit belt were you using on the Sorby ?
It's not in this video, but what is that gorgeous little hacksaw you have?
Ok Ben, this is not a build, so it will be allowed. But I'm really excited to see the finished product of the hand tool only build. Love your content, but sometimes getting hooked on one of your builds and not getting the next installment of said build is dang near painful... lol
Great stuff, loving your work! Can I just ask, you seem to have put one bevel on the end of the chisels. Other videos I have seen add a primary bevel, and then a secondary bevel at a steeper angle. What are your thoughts on this?
From what I've seen, the secondary bevel is mostly there to have less metal to take away when sharpening (you sharpen the secondary bevel, not the primary, so it's less metal removed, possibly less time). Doing just 1 bevel just means you have to sharpen the entire surface of the bevel, which is fine too and gives you more surface to register on the stone. If you wanted a 25 deg secondary, you'd just have to sharpen the primary to something less than that. Every woodworker is different and has different methods that work for them. Like Paul Sellers puts a bit more pressure on the strop and does it like 50 times, but nothing wrong with being gentle if you have high grit stones to start with (I don't lol).
I don't use micro bevels. They have their place but I don't use honing guides which are needed to do that accurately. Ben
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars ah fair point. Thanks for the reply.
New work shop but still same woobly work bench 😉
Lol. For now
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Me noticing that just might say more about me than you… :-s Nice restauration!
Still Shapton's instead of scary sharp?
Where to find the little square at 1:50? Whats its name in english? Thx!
I get it!
I never knew that watching a bald Englishman restore tools was what I wanted to watch but damn I do!
I use mostly vintage tools I restore myself. IMHE they just feel a whole lot etter than anything new, and it's a joy to use them.
Do you know, Ben, what maker those chisels are?
they are made by IRWIN MARPLES sheffield england.
I inherited two chisels like those: a hollow socket and a leather-ended handle. I cannot for the life of me figure out what the leather end of the handle is good for. A few taps, even with a rawhide leatherworking mallet, and the leather starts to shred. The chisels just don't feel like a good size that I should be pushing them by hand. I'm obviously missing something, and would appreciate a hint. Thank you.
Your leather needs to be fed, it is too dry. With oil etc, like a fingerboard, it will become durable. Ben
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Much thanks!
Hi, what is that black coloured, gap filling, superglue that you used Ben?
From the glimpses of the branding it looked like O3 Adhesives. They're UK, so slightly more convenient for Europeans than shipping Starbond from the US.
He's been trialing it versus Starbond for a couple of months. I don't know whether the thumb over the label and putting it down reverse side to camera is deliberate or complete coincidence. It could be he's waiting to reach a conclusion before openly endorsing it, or it could just be the way the bottle was facing anyway lol.
@@PaulCooksStuff Thanks Paul, I appreciate the reply and the insight.👍
I'm on the hunt for some incannel (inside bevel) gouges. 6mm and 12mm (1/4" and 1/5"). These seem to be hard to find but handy when you are in need of a curved corner. Standard corner chisels don't work because they're a sharp 90 degree corner. I'm looking to round corners without the scooping you get from ordinary gouges. Thoughts?
Have you checked out Vintage Tool Shop. Sale now on. DC
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Yes, and could only find one in 1". That's a possibility but one in half inch and one in quarter inch would be ideal. Two Cherries is the only brand I've found that makes them new. Just had my heart set on vintage. 😊😊
If you were sharpening an old cut throat razor what stones would you buy? If you weren’t going to do this sort of job very often? I’ve seen a few videos but they’re all different and I trust you.
Any good set of stones would work, a strop would also be essential. Personally I would use my Shapton stones but a nice Washstand natural oil stone would also be a good starting place. Much harder wearing than water stones too. That paired with a very hard Arkansas stone and a strop would be spot on imo. Ben
Thank you so much. That is very kind of you!
Hi, quick question I know that you can get scallops on a electric guitar but has anybody done it to a bass guitar 🎸
I've found some Finnish and Swedish made chiesels from the flea market and they seem to be made of great steel. Only problem is, that the handles would have to be replaced. Where could I find nice ones? Tha tangs go inside the handle.
I dont own a lathe, so they should be ready to use. Just add the blade and some white paint onto it.
That off-angle one may be done like that deliberately. Maybe the original owner needed a skew chisel and just decided to modify a regular one to fit their needs. To me when something is THAT far from square then it's probably on purpose, provided the tool is otherwise well-cared for.
How old are these chisels?
About the super glue: why not use an animal glue?
(I mean.. I would personally do the same: get the job done quickly and efficiently.
But the 'period correct' glue would be something like rabbit skin glue probably?)
I guess when you ultimately would replace the handle.. Any and all glue comes apart with heat..
I was just wondering about the considerations;
I know a lot of people care about doing things 'correctly'.
I mostly care about doing things efficiently.
It's not often I encounter someone who appreciates old tools like I do, that also solves issues in the most practical and sturdy way like I (like to think I) do.
If it's 'sacrilege' but it works... Is it truly sacrilege, or just smart? (:
Dunno man. Typically first step in sharpening chisels is to make sure the back is flat.....
I didn't pick up the name of the stones. Can someone help out?
Shapton
Why do vintage tools ALWAYS seem to have spots of white paint? 😆wrong answers only...
Because it's the LAW!! I bought a lovely Marples mortice gauge at a boot sale at the weekend. Even that had white paint spots on it lol
Adjusting plans without an eraser, could'nt find the tippex so used white gloss instead...that stuff takes ages to dry.
It's actually the other way around. The white paint was here from the beginning of times (right after Keith Richards - possibly his creation). Therefore, vintage tools don't have spots of white paint. The white paint ALWAYS seems to have vintage toolmarks...
If you leave shelves unfinished, the elves will use the unused paint for mischief.
Spider poo
How much would it cost to have you make me a custom SG.
Ben has said he's banned from quoting prices (habit of underestimating everything). But I think if you email Crimson, the office staff will work out a price for you.
Email Tom and office@crimsonguitars.com and let them know what you are looking for. They will give you a quotation. DC
Thank you, I've been looking all over for someone who could make the SG I'm looking for.
I wonder how many cheasels do Ben already got in his workshop ??? Too many ? Oh no never !
Still don't know who Bernard is.
There's no such thing as a blunt tool. If it's blunt, it's no longer a tool.
There are only sharp tools; everything else in not, lol.