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Blue Spruce Home Woodworking Tools
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Introduction Blue Spruce Toolworks precision hand tools are designed for the woodworking craftsman who desires tools as finely crafted as the furniture he makes. They are designed and produced by a woodworker and have a balance and feel that can only come with years of experience and attention to detail.
Marking Knives
Marking knives are used in
place of a pencil to cut very precise layout lines into the work piece.
The lines are very easy to see and help ensure accurate saw cuts when
sawing precision joinery. The incised mark also works as an excellent
reference for making final paring cuts. A Blue Spruce Marking Knife will
become an indispensable and treasured addition to your tool cabinet.
The large Marking Knife is designed for larger stock and larger scale casework involving mortise and tenon joinery and larger dovetails in thicker stock. It is also nice for those woodworkers with larger hands and who want a more substantial handle and heft to the marking knife. The double bevel blade is 1/16" thick by 1/2" wide by 2-3/4” long. The overall length of the large marking is about 9 inches with the standard handle and 7-1/2" with the optional chisel-style handle.
Scratch Awls Scratch awls are also used in place of a pencil to scribe lines into end grain, trace curves or mark other general layout lines. They are also very useful for making starter holes for small screws. Two sizes are available.
The small Scratch Awl has an overall length of about 6 inches. It is designed for detail work and for starting holes for hinge screws in small projects such as jewelry boxes. The point is conical which makes a nice clean hole and separates the fibers allowing the maximum holding power for small screws.
The large Scratch Awl is great for heavier duty jobs and can even be tapped with a mallet. The overall length of the large Scratch Awl is 8-1/2 inches overall with a 2-1/2 inch high carbon steel, hardened point. The standard point is conical but can be sharpened with flats to convert it to a "birdcage" style awl if desired. This style will cut fibers and give a clean, drilled or reamed hole very quickly and effectively.
Chisels, General Discussion Blue Spruce Toolworks offers several styles of chisels to help you produce your finest work. A set of high quality, heavy duty bench chisels should be your first set of chisels. These will be your daily users and perform the majority of your chiseling tasks. Dovetail Paring Chisels are light weight, superbly balanced and highly tuned. They are used for your most intricate and finest joinery needs. They are available in both short and long blade versions. Specialty chisels include Skew Chisels and Fishtail Chisels to help in refining and cleaning up your fine joinery, where regular chisels will not reach, or are awkward to use.
Bench Chisels
Blue Spruce Toolworks Bench
Chisels are some of the finest quality chisels available today. They are
specifically designed for heavy duty use and should be your first set of
chisels. Made with both a strong socket and a deep tang construction, they
are stronger
Dovetail Paring Chisels, Long and Short Blades Blue Spruce Toolworks Dovetail Paring Chisels are specialty chisels designed for the paring and precision fitting of your finest joinery. Blue Spruce Toolworks dovetail chisels have a refinement, balance and feel that is unmatched. They are available with two blade lengths and a choice of handles to meet your exacting requirements. The short blade Dovetail Paring Chisel comes standard with a beautifully shaped small handle. The handle nestles comfortably into the palm of your hand and allows for very controlled horizontal paring cuts. The thin blade is just the right length for close-up intimate work, while still allowing clear visibility to the work piece. The unique concave side bevels allow the chisel to pare right into the corners of dovetail joints and give a refined, elegant look to the chisels. They will become your favorite “go to” chisels when only the finest work will do. The chisels are also available in a long blade version similar to the “pattern makers” chisels of yesteryear. The thin, long blades allow for very controlled paring while giving excellent reference to level and plumb. The paring handle is a longer version of the standard handle and is an excellent match to the longer paring chisel blades. They are a favorite of instrument makers and should be included in every fine craftsman’s tool cabinet.
Detail
Skew and Fishtail Chisels
Mallets
The Blue Spruce Toolworks Mallet is designed to be very
Carbide Burnishers
A Blue Spruce Toolworks
Carbide Burnisher is used to put the finished edge on a card
Draw Bore Pins
Blue Spruce Draw Bore Pins
are used for the test fitting and assembly of pegged mortise and tenon
joinery. They are available in three sizes for all of your draw boring
needs. The pins are finely machined from high strength steel, and fitted
with beautifully turned handles for comfort and ease of use.
A Discussion About Wood
Selection
The wood most often used for Blue Spruce Toolworks handles is cocobolo or Dalbergia retusa. It is a member of the rosewood family and is primarily found in Mexico and Central America. This wood can come in many colors from orange to red to purple, often with black streaks and mild to wild grain patterns. No two handles are alike. I try to match handles in a set as much as possible. If you desire dalbergia retusa for your handles, please specify "cocobolo" when ordering. Another popular wood is African Blackwood or Dalbergia melanoxylon. This is a very dark brown and often deep black wood that is actually another type of rosewood. Most pieces of the wood have some chocolate brown colored stripes or grain patterns and are not pure black. The wood is very dense and takes a beautiful polish. Figured, or curly hard maple, Acer saccharum, makes very beautiful and durable tool handles; only the very best, highly figured stock is used. A hand-rubbed oil/varnish finish is used on the handles to bring out the figure and provide protection for the wood. As an option, a special dye made from cocobolo shavings can be used to give the handle more of of an aged or antique look. See the tool gallery page for sample pictures. If you desire this treatment, please specify in the comment section upon checkout or email. A variety of "rosewoods" may be used for handles depending upon what is available from suppliers. Other rosewoods which may be used include Honduras Rosewood, Dalbergia stevensonii, East Indian Rosewood, Dalbergia latifolia, or Bois de Rose, Dalbergia maritima. Please e-mail if you would like a specific type of rosewood. All types may not be available and costs will vary. Most any wood may be used and customers may supply their own special wood for handles. Again, supply is sometimes limited so please email before ordering anything other than what is offered on the checkout page. I will discuss prices for special woods and how to order with you.
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than most traditional bench chisels and are nicely balanced. The handles
are designed to provide a comfortable, secure grip for precision,
fatigue-free work. The handles are hard, figured maple that has been
infused with acrylic to fill every cell. This makes an extremely dense and
tough handle that can take pounding from a mallet. The finely machined
blades are 5 inches long and 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) thick at the bolster and
taper down to the bevel. The side bevels terminate with a very small side
edge land which allows use in the sharpest dovetail corners. The blades
are made from A2 tool steel which is some of the finest steel available
for edge tools today. It is hardened and tempered in a computer controlled
vacuum furnace to a hardness of Rc61. The cutting edge is ground and honed
at a 30 degree angle. 
There are very few butt chisels available on the current market and even
fewer quality ones. These are designed similar to Blue Spruce Toolworks’
bench chisels and are some of the highest quality available today, for
your finest work. They excel when you like to hold a blade close to your
work like chopping to a baseline and fitting into tight places. Butt
chisels are also ideal for shallow mortising tasks such as installing
hinges. They are quite short with an overall length of only 6-1/2 inches
(165 mm). The picture shows one in comparison to a bench chisel and
mallet. The blades are 2-1/2 inches (63.5 mm) long from the front of the
ferrule and are available in 1/8 to 1-1/2 inch (3.2 to 38.1 mm) widths.
The handles are available standard with tough but beautiful, infused
maple. Other woods available as a special order option at this time. They
will become a “go-to” chisel for many operations.
taper ratio. These are exceptional at
cleaning out the sockets of half-blind dovetail joints. The sides of both
the Skew and Fishtail Chisels are concave, similar to the Dovetail
Chisels, to allow maximum visibility of your work and to allow paring into
acute angles. The blades are made from the same A-2 tool steel
as the dovetail chisels and hardened to 60 Rc for superior edge retention
and sharpness. They will be a great addition to your collection of fine
woodworking chisels and are essential for your finest work.
work.
Blue Spruce Toolworks is excited to announce the availability of a range
of precision chisels for doing your finest detail work. They are precision
ground, straight sided chisels available in four widths, .024, .032, .046
and .062 inches (.61, .81, 1.17 and 1.57 mm). Standard metric widths of
1.00 and 1.50 mm wide are also available by special order. The blades are
ground from M2 alloy steel and hardened to 60 Rc. With careful use, these
chisels can also be used for delicate grooving work on a lathe. The
handles are appropriately sized to fit snug in your hand and allow working
close to your workpiece. The standard wood choices include cocobolo,
figured maple and African Blackwood however most any wood can be ordered
as a custom choice.
well
balanced and durable, to give a lifetime of service. The head of the
mallet is made from beautiful quilted maple that has been totally
infused with an acrylic to fill every wood cell. This makes a very
dense and durable head. The handle is turned from African Blackwood
and attached to the mallet head with a stainless steel tenon. A small
brass bead lends just a touch of elegance. The 1 lb. mallet will
quickly become a favorite for all but your heaviest striking needs.
scraper or scraper plane blade. It is important to use the hardest,
smoothest burnisher to get the finest edge possible on your scrapers.
Polished carbide is one of the hardest known substances and is the best
possible material for a burnisher. The 1/4 inch diameter solid carbide
burnishing rod is fixed into a finely turned handle for the ultimate in
control, comfort and looks. This tool will be a joy to use and last a
lifetime.
asked
me to make a marking gauge for them, unfortunately, I have not had the
time to bring one into production. However, Jeff Hamilton of Hamilton
Woodworks has developed a very high quality marking gauge that I am proud
to offer to you. It comes in two sizes, 4 inch and 6 inch; this refers to
the length of the beam. Both gauges use a precision cutting blade with a
radius, thumbnail grind resulting in a smooth, precise and clean mark. The
unique shape results in comfortable options for gripping. The wide fence
gives great stability resulting in almost effortless marking. The 4 inch
size is ideal for small scale work like marking baselines for dovetailed
drawers. The 6 inch gauge is a nice size for larger scale work like
marking panels or if you have larger hands. The gauges are offered in
Cocobolo, Curly Maple and African Blackwood exclusively through Blue
Spruce Toolworks. Cherry, locally harvested by Jeff, is also available as
an option.