ART
BEAUTY & WELLNESS
CRAFT
CULTURE & HISTORY
ENTERTAINMENT
ENVIRONMENT
FOOD & DRINKS
REVERSE ENGINEERING
SCIENCES
SPORTS
TECHNOLOGY
WEARABLES
Stone Carving Chisels: Mallet-Headed Plain and Tooth Chisels and Points for Soft Stone (Holford, 1907)
H. Holford · Public domain
Forge

Created by

Forge

4. November 2026NO
2
0
0
0
0

Stone Carving Chisels: Mallet-Headed Plain and Tooth Chisels and Points for Soft Stone (Holford, 1907)

Soft stone such as limestone and sandstone is cut with chisels struck by a wooden mallet, so their heads are broad and a little rounded. H. Holford's 20th Century Toolsmith and Steelworker (1907) shows a set: plain chisels, tooth chisels with a row of sharp teeth, and points, forged from 3/4 inch octagon steel of 75 points carbon and tempered a very pale blue. He gives no lengths, widths or tooth spacing; those are unknown here. The brine bath is from his chapter on the hardening bath. Source: H. Holford (1907), pp. 21, 131-133, 140-141. Picture: his Fig. 71.
Intermediate
A day for a set

Instructions

1

Read Holford

"In cutting soft stone of any description wooden mallets are used, consequently the heads of the tools are made broad and a little rounding, so as not to cut or bruise the mallet."
2

Forge the mallet heads

Use 3/4 inch octagon steel of 75 points carbon. For each tool, upset the head end a little, fuller it in, draw it out, then swage it to its broad, slightly rounded shape between top and bottom swages (Fig. 78). For a narrow chisel, forge the head first; for a wide one, forge the cutting end first. Sizes are not given (unknown).

Materials for this step:

Octagonal Tool Steel BarOctagonal Tool Steel Bar1 3/4 in octagon

Tools needed:

ForgeForge
AnvilAnvil
Blacksmith HammerBlacksmith Hammer
SledgeSledge
FullerFuller
Top and Bottom SwagesTop and Bottom Swages
Blacksmith TongsBlacksmith Tongs
Unknown DimensionsUnknown Dimensions
Safety GlassesSafety Glasses
Heat-Resistant GlovesHeat-Resistant Gloves
3

Forge the chisels and points

For a wide chisel, upset the end to the width of the chisel before drawing it down to a thin cutting edge. Hammer the flat surfaces. Draw the points down to almost a square point (Fig. 72). For tooth chisels, punch the teeth into the edge in a punch machine after the flat surfaces have been hammered, then file each tooth to an extremely sharp point.

Tools needed:

ForgeForge
AnvilAnvil
Blacksmith HammerBlacksmith Hammer
Blacksmith TongsBlacksmith Tongs
Punch PressPunch Press
Fine FileFine File
4

Harden the chisels

Heat the cutting edge very evenly along its whole length and dip it at least one inch into the hardening bath (clean water, best as a strong brine, kept large and cold). Polish it bright by rubbing it across a board spread with fine clean sand near the forge, and draw the temper to a very pale blue, the right temper for all limestone tools.

Tools needed:

ForgeForge
Brine Solution (Saturated Salt Water)Brine Solution (Saturated Salt Water)
BoardBoard
Fine SandFine Sand
Blacksmith TongsBlacksmith Tongs
Heat-Resistant GlovesHeat-Resistant Gloves
5

Harden the points

Dip the points deep into the bath. Draw the temper so it shows at least 5/8 inch back from the point; if it runs so fast that only the very tip is tempered, the point bends and breaks easily.

Tools needed:

ForgeForge
Brine Solution (Saturated Salt Water)Brine Solution (Saturated Salt Water)
BoardBoard
Fine SandFine Sand
Blacksmith TongsBlacksmith Tongs
Heat-Resistant GlovesHeat-Resistant Gloves
6

History and honest limits

Holford sets the soft-stone tools apart from those for granite and marble: soft stone takes wooden mallets, hence the broad heads, and a very pale blue temper. The finest stone carvers' tools, struck only lightly, he hardens without drawing any temper at all. He gives no lengths, widths or tooth spacing; the tools used to make them are ours.

Materials

1

Tools Required

15

This blueprint makes

Thumbnail
Placeholder

Stone Carving Chisels

Free

34
0
1

Related Blueprints

These blueprints share knowledge with this one — techniques, materials, or principles that connect them in the learning graph.

Stone Carving Hammer: a Granite Cutters' Mash Hammer (Holford, 1907)

Stone Carving Hammer: a Granite Cutters' Mash Hammer (Holford, 1907)

by ForgeNO

Metalworking

1
0
0
0
0
0

CC0 Public Domain

This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.

Support the Maker by purchasing products through their Blueprint where they earn a Maker Commission set by Vendors, or create a new iteration of this Blueprint and include it as a connection in your own Blueprint to share revenue.

Discussion

(0)

Log in to join the discussion

Loading comments...