I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

All I can say is thank Godyou never worked in a 19th century cabinet shop
with literally hundreds of edge tools


wrote in message
om...
I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

wrote:

I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

320 - 400 wet-dry on plate glass, wet, will be fastest. Shouldn't lap
a tool on a new diamond plate. The high crystals will scratch too deep
to easily repair.

My cheap set of blue handles from Lowes were lapped on Arkansas stones. I
don't recall it taking much time.
wrote in message
om...
I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

I lapped the back sides and sharpened the chisels using silicon carbide
paper on glass. It took 3 to 4 hours to do the entire set. Not a bad
job. My gripe is that it they need to be resharpened too frequently.

RB

wrote:
I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

guess you missed the thread I started recently about Marples chisels...

dave

wrote:

I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

I just picked up a set of Sears chisels and they are holding up very
well. (bear in mind I'm no Sears evangelist g )

dave

RB wrote:

I lapped the back sides and sharpened the chisels using silicon carbide
paper on glass. It took 3 to 4 hours to do the entire set. Not a bad
job. My gripe is that it they need to be resharpened too frequently.

RB

wrote:

I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

Sounds like you got a bad set of chisels. My first set of marples had an
1/8" chunk out of the middle of the bevel in the 1/2" chisel. Took it back
and had them open the packages for me until I found one that wasn't too bad.
Yeah, some of the machined jobs were crap but I found a set that finally was
acceptable.

FWIW -- I use ScarySharp and start at 100 and go up to .5 micron and finish
with the green honing compound from Lee Valley. I think I honed all the
backs on my chisel set (and a set of the skew chisels from LV) in about an
hour. So if you're having that much of a problem I'd swap the set for
another (and open them to check for flatness -- bring along a straight edge
too).

Good luck,
Mike

wrote in message
om...
I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

) wrote in message . com...
I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.


I bought a set a few years ago, and they seemed ready to go out of the
package. I bought one more size a couple weeks ago, and it was a real
POS: dull, nicked and a slanted bevel. It only took 10 minutes or so
the fix it, which tells me the steel must be softer than the ones I
bought before(?)

:(

Don,t know how Marples are, but I got a set from Sear`s about 4 yrs
ago.....holding up good. I,m not that much of a Sear`s fan any more, but
these chisels work well.
wrote in message
om...
I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

In article ,
says...
I got a set of Marples chisels based on word of mouth recommendation,
opened the set, and was disappointed in the inital machining. It's
taking forever to flatten the backs of these things, and I haven't
started on the first bevel yet. I'm using a pretty new coarse poly
diamond plate from Woodcraft, wet with a little water.

I guess my questions a are the Marples always this poor to start
with? And what can I do to speed up this flattening process? My hands
are cramping big time.

TIA.

I have a set of splitproofs (same blade different handle) 20+ years ago
and they where never ready to use out of the package.over the years I`ve
added and lost a couple but the last 1"1/4 was pretty crap compared to
the first one ...doesnt keep its edge for long but the 1" i got last
year is superb.They dont seem to have any kind of control over the
production but hey they`re cheap enough and still represent good value.I
have never lapped or polished my chisels in fact was never taught to do
that in my apprenticeship and still get them sharp enough to cut
anything put in front of me......or I do it subconciously when backing
the bur off.
Russell

You don't really have to go too nuts with lapping the back, you're
making it flat for the sake of edge geometry. Just an inch or so at the
end should be enough. You'll still be to hitting the bit at the end to
remove the bur every time you sharpen.
FWIW, I did lap mine over most of the back using sandpaper on glass, but
I don't remember how long it took. Of course, compared to how long
you'll be using them, it's not much time.

RB wrote:

I lapped the back sides and sharpened the chisels using silicon carbide
paper on glass. It took 3 to 4 hours to do the entire set. Not a bad
job. My gripe is that it they need to be resharpened too frequently.

Every other cut it seems like. They don't stay sharp for long.

As far as the OP's complaint, it took me forever to get my backs done too.
The up side is that you don't have to do it again. I used sandpaper on
granite to do the job. When I need to knock the burr off while sharpening,
I keep a piece of 2000 grit on a dedicated block just for that purpose, and
I always use 2000 grit, no matter what grit I'm using on the bevel end of
things at the time.

It works well for me. They all have a mirror shine, and they're extremely
sharp when I'm done. For a cut or two. Until they get dull again.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/