maddog Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Cold chisels have always been the step children of my tool collection. I used them for the odd brutal job like shearing a rivet head but always considered them a very limited tool. Anyway today I needed to cut an arc out of a piece of 1/8" strap. I hogged the cut by hackswing a series of cuts down close to the line and then clamped the piece in the vise and sheared out the strips with a chisel which left a very ragged edge. At this point I usually reach for the grinder but I had been using it all day and was sick of it. So I decided to see how far I could go with the chisel. I quickly found I could pare out thin chips with surprisingly fine control. The photos show the piece after chiseling. It took only a couple of licks with the file after that. I dont think a grinder would have been much faster. I think I will clean up my cold chisels and learn to use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 I get tired of listening to grinders.. and other power tools, I know that my hand tools are not as fast as power tools... but they also lack most of the noise too.... I like using files .. chisels ... planes ... I work iron and wood.... over power tools.. it is just more satisfying... that is not to say I eschew them... I just enjoy using them when I have the time... just a thought... Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddog Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 I get tired of listening to grinders.. and other power tools, I know that my hand tools are not as fast as power tools... but they also lack most of the noise too.... I like using files .. chisels ... planes ... I work iron and wood.... over power tools.. it is just more satisfying... that is not to say I eschew them... I just enjoy using them when I have the time... just a thought... Cliff Cliff, I feel the same way. I much prefer using hand tools. I use my hacksaw and wood saws whenever reasonably possible. For a small job, if you factor in setup time it's often faster. I particularly hate the screamers: Angle grinders, chopsaws and routers. But it's not just the noise. There is a feeling of contact with the material that gets lost when a power tool is involved. But I couldn't manage without power tools. This morning I had to grind out some crummy welds on sheet metal. That would have been an awful job with a chisel and a file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Had a similar experience recently with my post vise. To fit the vise onto the new portable stand the mounting bracket had to slide down the post a bit. There was a ridge of soft wrought just below the bracket that kept the bracket from sliding down some. Couldn't really get at it with a grinder or a file. But sharpening up the smallest cold chisel in the tool box I was able to take little curls of iron off the ridge, right down to the surface metal. Worked great! The next piece of plate I have to smooth I'll start with the chisel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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