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Hand Tool Techniques: Precision Preparation of
Chisels for Accurate Joinery.
Review By Chris
Schwarz,
Popular Woodworking.
The opening sequence
of David Charlesworth's latest DVD shows him
securing a chisel in a honing guide and putting the
tool to the stone for four strokes. He adjusts the
tool in the jig, cleans the jig's wheel and takes
four more strokes on a polishing stone. Two more
strokes polish the unbeveled side of the chisel and
then he shaves his left wrist for the camera.
Total elapsed time: 1:21.
It's a compelling series of shots because it shows
how quickly a chisel can be honed and put back to
work if the tool is properly prepared and maintained
from the get-go. And so, for the next 60 minutes,
Charlesworth explains in detail how he takes a new
chisel and turns it into a precision instrument that
can be easily maintained at that high level of
performance.
For woodworkers who have watched his DVD on
preparing plane blades, "Hand Tool Techniques Part
1: Plane Sharpening," this new DVD will feel like an
extension of the lessons on that disc. That's an
important point. Charlesworth's sharpening
techniques are a fully realized and evolved system.
The system is consistent throughout and operates on
pure logic – nothing in his regimen is there because
of mere tradition or idiosyncratic training.
Charlesworth starts with the simple fact that a
sharp edge is nothing more than two intersecting
planes of steel that have been highly polished. And
so everything he does – from the way he flattens his
waterstones to the angle that the tool is held in
the jig – follows from that.
If you've ever sharpened a chisel, you know that the
biggest challenge with a new tool is in preparing
the unbeveled side. If the tool is going to be used
for precision work then this surface must be true
because it is used as a guide when paring.
Charlesworth walks you through this process with
excellent attention to detail. He explains how your
waterstones will respond to your hand pressure, and
how you can use those wear patterns to your
advantage when preparing your chisels.
The medium of video really shines when explaining
operations such as this because you can see body
mechanics and motion; this transmits as much
information as thousands of words will. Plus with
video you can see exactly how much effort and
elapsed time is required to produce a desired
result, and what the desired result looks like. It
is the next best thing to learning sharpening
face-to-face, which is the best way to learn this
skill.
After discussing the preparation of the flat side of
the tool, preparing the bevel is simple.
Charlesworth explains why he uses a bevel that has
three angles on it. It's a compelling argument
because it greatly speeds sharpening. I've prepared
a few chisels this way (plus many plane blades), and
I can personally attest that it works as advertised.
The most shocking thing about the DVD for many
woodworkers will be to see how few strokes
Charlesworth uses when honing. Four or five on each
grit, maybe. I watch some woodworkers do 50 to 100
strokes on a single grit. I've always thought this
is an enormous waste of effort, so it's good to see
this lesson reinforced.
If there is one weakness to the DVD it's the fact
that grinding the primary bevel is only discussed
and not shown. Many woodworkers are wary of the
power grinder but when they are shown how
straightforward it is they take right to it. They
may mess up the first tool but they are old pros
once they fix their first tool and pick up the
second tool.
What's also good to know is that this DVD is not for
people who want to breathe new life into nasty old
and damaged chisels. Charlesworth shows the defects
of a vintage chisel that has been mis-sharpened
typically, but he offers no solutions for how to fix
it. Perhaps there are no easy solutions, except to
use that tool for rough work and to purchase a
high-quality tool for your high-tolerance work.
Charlesworth is – above all – a patient teacher. And
his pace is slow and measured. Experienced
sharpeners may kick up the playback speed on their
DVD player a notch, but I found the pace to be
perfectly correct for new sharpeners. There is a lot
of information (visual and verbal) that has to be
absorbed and understood, and the pace ensures that
you will be able to digest each point before moving
onto the next one.
Many woodworkers, both new and experienced, have
been frustrated by their chisels. Perhaps the tool
performs unpredictably in their work. Or the
sharpening never goes as planned. These two problems
are linked, and with the excellent instruction on
this DVD, you will begin to unravel they mystery of
this simple and versatile tool. The DVD is available
from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks for $25.
– Christopher Schwarz
Editor's note: In the interest of full
disclosure, Christopher also has two DVDs that were
produced by Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, which produced
this new DVD from David Charlesworth. Christopher
receives no income from his DVDs. All his proceeds
are donated to the Early American Industries
Association.
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