Object number
51/354
Collection
Creator
Description
The forming chisel is used to make initial rought cuts to a piece of wood with the aid of a mallet. The blade of this chisel is stamped 'Isaac Greaves' and the end of the octagonal handle is flattened from constant hammering. It was used at R. Middleton & Sons' wheelwrights workshop in Eddington, Hungerford.
Physical description
1 chisel: steel blade; wooden handle
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'This tool was used at the Middletons’ wheelwrights shop at Eddington (Berks). // The forming chisel is the first one used by the carpenter to roughly side cut a piece of wood. The instrument grasped vertically by its shank in the left hand is struck by a mallet with the right hand. A line has already been drawn to a point where the cut is to be made and when the chisel has been driven as far as this line the craftsman tilts the tool slightly outwards to prevent undercutting. // The paring chisel on the other hand, although exactly the same as the forming chisel is designed to smooth the first rough cuts of the latter and is operated by pressure rather than by hammering with a mallet. The blade of the paring chisel is therefore kept extra sharp. // This forming chisel was used in the wheelwright’s workshop at Hungerford and measures 14 inches in length. The blade, the end of which is sharpened, is 1.35 inches wide and 4.8 inches long. The blade becomes rounded and narrower in the shank of the tool, into this hollowed shank, 4.2 inches long, is fitted the 8 sided wooden handle. This is flattened at the top with the constant hammering. The blade is stamped ‘Isaac Greaves’.'
Production date
1800-01-01 - 1899-12-31
Production period
Nineteenth century
Object name
Material
Associated subject
