Ok, a couple of questions.
First of do any of you use a chisel roll and if so (or if not) why (or why not) what are the ups and downs of this. I was thinking that this may be a good way of protectiing these tools.
At this point I dont have any really good chisels (well I have a set of Blues but I don’t like the feel of the handles) but I am thinking of building a tool chest and how to keep the chisels will effect the design.
In that light the secound question is. if you have a set of chisels in a leather roll, about how big of a drawer would you need to keep them in?
Doug Meyer
Replies
Doug
I recently purchased a bunch of leather tool rolls from Lee Valley. They are excellent quality and quite cheap.
I need them as I shall be building an office above my garage (aka the workshop), and need to move and store my tools while this is done.
There are concerns about the use of leather as some are associated with rust. It seems that this is more likely when the air is humid or if the roll gets wet. I live in a very dry climate and I trust LV to use nothing but the best materials. About two months down the track now and all is well.
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Regards from Perth
Derek
I use a canvas chisel roll - but what I feel more important than the material is the overall 'height' of the roll. By that I mean that there is enough flap so that the chisels don't slip out if the roll is turned upside down.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Doug, I have kept a bunch of carving tools in a roll for years but a variety of other types in the drawers of a Kennedy style felt lined chest and a big (red type) tool chest with rubber lining. I always wipe them with camellia oil and used to collect the desiccant bags from the tech support folks where I worked. I would bake them twice a year until they started to break up-a real mess- and now use the canned type from LV.
Going forward, as I move from Long Island NY(read several feet below sea level) to East Tenn I will make a change in a larger shop. All edged hand tools will go into wall hung cases with plexi doors and a Golden Rod heater like they use in gun safes mounted in a false void at the bottom with vents near the top. The $20 rod is a good investment for only one good plane not to mention all your bench, block, specialty or combination planes and the same for a set of auger bits and all the chisels-carving,mortise, bench and utility. Just as important for me, the ultimate sloppy shop guy, there will now be a "PLACE" to but them all back and to find them quickly rather than rooting in drawers not to find the size you need NOW. Just another solution. Peace, Paddy
You need a roll or edge protector to carry edge tools to a job site in a tool box, but storing them in a roll isn't a good idea for the reasons already mentioned. Moreover, most leather is tanned using chromium salts, so canvas may be a better choice if you don't want to hunt down vegetable-tanned leather. Speedy Stitchers, #10 canvas and other supplies are easily available on eBay.
You can also easily custom make other items to improve your efficiency.
Although I get negative comments from the TSHOF crowd, I much prefer pegboard hangers to drawers to hold tools. They are out in the air where you can see when they need a wipe with an oily rag. They are close at hand and faster to get at and put back. You can arrange them for maximum efficiency and change that arrangement to suit a specific job. With every wall in the shop lined with pegboard, the amount of time I aste rummaging around for something is kept to a minimum.
“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.
Doug,
Like Derek I have a leather chisel roll (from the British firm Axminster rather than from Lee Valley). I keep lesser-used chisels (some large gouges and wide boys) in there whilst the daily users (most of those I have) live on a long magnetic tool rail above the far edge of my bench. They are handy there and I would not like to be getting them in and out of a tool roll all the time. But neither do I want them rolling about on the bench.
I keep my handsaws in a similar leather thang (shaped for saws) and my spare plane blades in yet another. Neither of these type of things are used as frequently as the chisels.
All the leather rolls and such are sprayed inside with camelia oil, which is said to displace moisture and keep the rust out whilst still being a very light oil, so not goo-ing up the tools or the wood they work on. So far (after 18 months usage) no rust. The various edges and surfaces are well-protected from dings, knocks, scratches and splashes.
Of course my shed is kept warm and dry at all times, which must help. The tools clagged on the magnetic rail don't rust either. They are rubbed over with camelia oil from time to time, is all.
Lataxe
Doug,
I have a leather roll from Lee Valley. One of my students heard me say I wanted one, and she bought it for me for Christmas. Nice..
The reason I wanted it was to protect a pretty fine set of chisels. I bought them one at a time from antique shops, and turned new handles for them. I wasn't worried about them getting dull through contact with one an other. I was trying to keep them from rolling off my bench, and hitting the cement floor. Now I have a safe place for them when they're on my bench. Not one has hit the floor since I got this roll.
Thanks to those who posted photos of their chisels in the roll. I have such a leather roll. It came with my set of chisels. The trouble is they slipped down in the pockets and being sharp little devils, they had no trouble cutting the stitching. I was going to send the roll back to the maker but a pal asked if the chisels shouldn't have been put in handle first. Then the flap protects the edges and offers a less vulnerable surface than mere thread. The other advantage is that each size can be easily seen without removing them from the pockets. Anyway, based on these photos, I'm going to send the roll back for repair or replacement. Or better, maybe they'll give me a sum off on another chisel for the set. (I keep the chisels in my tool chest.)
Doug,
you asked if people use leather chisel rolls, and if so, why.
I do, because I bought the Lie Nielsen chisel set and the leather roll came with it. It is quite strong and handy and stores easily.
I have a nice set of carving gouges and I use canvass rolls with them. Canvas rolls were a good buy and they serve the purpose very well.
In the past, I made boxes which held my set of 6 Hirsch chisels, but I sold them to a friend on Knots, and I sent him the "custom" box along with the chisels. That box served me well. When the number of my carving gouges grew, the idea of making custom boxes for them became unworkable. So now I use rolls.
Have fun.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
doug- i have 2 rolls----
A) a newer canvass roll where my better chisles are
B) an old leather roll--actually from my father in law---in which i keep some older beater chisels.
Actually I should reverse this arrangement as the older leather roll works MUCH better than the canvas roll--things do slide out of the canvas roll.
I keep them in rolls, because they live in my truck traveling from place to place, job to job.
If I worked entirely indoors in a single shop--almost certainley I would not have them in rolls--but rather some type of ,presumably, wall mounted case.
Stephen
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