snichols Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I'm new to dovetailing (i.e. I've never done it). I'm looking to do it on my next project. I'm making a chest of drawers so the ones I'm making will be half blind. I was perusing the LN website and saw the fishtail chisels and a youtube click about them. So, Galoots, should I buy one or put my $75 toward something else? All opinions are welcome. -Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kesac Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I'm new to dovetailing (i.e. I've never done it). I'm looking to do it on my next project. I'm making a chest of drawers so the ones I'm making will be half blind. I was perusing the LN website and saw the fishtail chisels and a youtube click about them. So, Galoots, should I buy one or put my $75 toward something else? All opinions are welcome. -Shawn People have been dovetailing for 3000 years without any $75 chisels. A skew chisel will do the same, and you can grind them out of any $10 chisel. You are going to find out that a lot of that stuff you buy with the greatest sales pitch will get used about twice and then get lost in the bottom of your drawers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I think the fishtails look pretty Skew chisels like Stemberg said are the bomb in utility. Love mine since I got them. In a way, a fishtail is a double-skew. If you made a lot of half-blind (also called lapped) dovetails, they might be more convenient (again, double skew all in one tool) but for through-dovetails, regular chisels work great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlingenfelter Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I've tried Fishtail chisels, and really didn't like them. Because Fishtail chisels are straight across like "regular" chisels, you really can't get back in that corner like you would think. I agree Skew chisels are much more useful and cheaper. The skewed tip really lets you "poke" back in that corner, much more effectively. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I've been planning on grinding out a couple of cheap skews. It's normally a 16 degree angle or so right? 1/2" or would y'all recommend narrower to start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I agree that a pair of dedicated left and right skew chisels is better than having a single fishtail chisel, even though the fishtail chisel looks cool. But for this purpose, do you really need to make the inside corner of a half-blind dovetail socket perfectly clean and square? That part of the joint won't be seen, and if the back corner doesn't perfectly mate with the tail board, the joint won't be significantly weaker because of that. I would just get in there with a regular narrow chisel to make sure there was enough clearance to allow the tail board to seat completely. Of course, I'd keep as much of the tail socket as straight and clean as possible, but I wouldn't worry too much about the very back corner of the socket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snichols Posted January 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Sounds good fellas. I think I'm gonna go with Wilbur's suggestion first, which was my original intent. Just to keep the thread going, has anyone had success with them? -Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceWW Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 I'll speak up on the side of the fishtail chisel. I have one and I do use it consistently for half blinds. Now I do not have a skew chisel however so I can't speak to everyone else's statements. I can certainly see the point being made so I may have to give a skew a try sometime. It could be that my fishtail is a Blue Spruce and such an outstanding chisel to beghin with, but I find it very useful for getting back into those pesky corners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike M Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 I blew myself to a pair of Narex 10mm chisels from Highland WW and ground them into a pair of skews. The chisels were about $7 each and I find that I use them as often as my regular bench chisels for a variety of tasks including cutting 1/2 blind dovetail sockets. The skew angle isn't really critical, as long as you have the sharp point to get into the corners. My chisels are about 25 degrees of skew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rozaieski Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 I agree with Wilbur. I just go at the corner of half blinds with an 1/8" straight chisel. A couple taps drives it in deep enough that it gets all the crumbs out of the corner. Anything left can usually be scraped away with my straight chisel, marking knife, awl, or whatever else happens to be in my hand. I've never had any need for a fishtail chisel, and the only place I've ever wished for skew chisels was carving tombstone shaped raised panels. It's really tough to carve the sharp inside corners of those with straight chisels without working against the grain and causing tearout or dinging up the edges of the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon003 Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I went for left and right skew pair, 3/8th I asked myself, how many times can I resharpen the fishtail before I run out of fishy tail? Then I asked myself, should I drop or nick or otherwise make a mistake and have to clean/regrind a bevel, how long will the fishy tail last then? Then I bought the skews =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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