For over a year, Darin Lawrence, Woodcraft director of product development, and his staff have worked on the design and production of a brand-new product in the company’s WoodRiver® line of hand tools. Woodworkers will now find the WoodRiver Bevel Edge Socket Chisels in stock at Woodcraft and featured on the cover of the September Woodcraft catalog.
PHOTO: WoodRiver Bevel Edge Socket Chisels come in eight widths: 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 1", and 1-1/4". Blade length is 4", and overall chisel lengths are 9-5/8" to 9-7/8".
“Our new WoodRiver chisels fill a gap in our hand tool lineup,” Lawrence said. “Bevel edge chisels are necessary for detailed dovetail or other work in tight areas because the geometry of the grind sweeps back and out of the way when cutting in corners.
Lawrence and his staff considered details of classic chisels by Stanley, Keen, Cutter, Buck Brothers, Swan and Witherby, along with options of modern materials and processes.
“We paid attention to specific areas to design a chisel optimized for detailed woodworking,” Lawrence said.
“For example, flatness of the back is quality controlled to specific tolerances for less preparation to sharpen ‘out of the box,’ and the gradual slope of the ‘flat’ of the back to the socket prevents the back from abruptly lifting during longer paring operations. To allow the chisel access to tight corners, the side bevels sweep back towards the centerline. And the resulting flat area or ‘land’ is a consistent 0.7mm – narrow enough for tight access but wide enough to prevent an uncomfortable sharp edge.”
Chisel features include:
•Forged from 100 CR-V steel, an alloy that holds an edge that is also impact resistant
•Factory-ground to a 25° bevel
•Tempered in a salt bath to HRC58-63
Socket construction of the handle is another differentiating feature of the new chisels. The durable tropical hardwood handle’s tapered cone is wedge fit into the corresponding cone at the base of the chisel. This design allows the handle to be removed easily.
“If the handle is damaged,” Lawrence said, “you can easily replace it, and you are good to go. You can’t do that with a chisel that has the tang embedded in the handle.”
The WoodRiver 8-Pocket Chisel Roll was designed to accommodate the new socket chisels.
To learn more about the new socket chisels, visit your local Woodcraft store or browse online.
PHOTO: Woodcraft product development manager Kent Harpool uses a new WoodRiver Bevel Edge Socket Chisel for dovetail joinery.
