Folks, I wanted to report on a couple of tools that I, a neophyte woodworker, have found to be really outstanding. Hopefully, someone may find this useful. Several months ago I needed to buy my first set of chisels. My research led me to the usual suspects--Two Cherries, Barr, etc... However, my budget didn't really support those prices and I looked around for cheap alternatives that would still offer reasonable quality. Well, there were a few good reports on the Lee Valley Bevel Edge Chisels, and nothing negative, so I decided to take the plunge. I purchased the 1/4 inch to 1 inch set of
5, no box, for $39.95. I put an edge on them as soon as they arrived and, while I'm just a weekend warrior, they have held up extremely well for my purposes--chopping and cleaning mortises and other joinery cleanup on hardwoods. In truth, I no longer yearn for new "upscale" chisels and feel like I'll get years of good service from these chisels. Also, I recently found myself in need of some decent files and a rasp. I have only a smooth cut mill file inherited from my fathers tool chest. Again, research generally leads to the Nicholson #49 and 50 Patternmaker's rasps and the W. L. Fuller Company, which was mostly OK in terms of pricing and my budget, but I wanted to try something different. I ended up buying a hand cut "Ultra smooth" 8 inch Patternmakers rasp from Traditional Woodworker,'Nuff said,
Kevin B.