The result is an injured tool, and unsatisfactory results. The rule holds good in this respect as with every other tool in the kit. _Use a tool for the purpose it was made for_, and for no other. Acquire that habit.
COLD CHISELS.--A cold chisel should never be ground to a long, tapering point, like a wood chisel. The proper taper for a wood chisel is 15 degrees, whereas a cold chisel should be 45 degrees. A drifting chisel may have a longer taper than one used for chipping.
It is a good habit, particularly as there are so few tools which require grinding, to commence the day's work by grinding the chisels, and arranging them for business.
SYSTEM IN WORK.--Then see to it that the drills are in good shape; and while you are about it, look over the lathe tools. You will find that it is better to do this work at one time, than to go to the emery wheel a dozen times a day while you are engaged on the job.
Adopt a system in your work. Don't take things just as they come along, but form your plans in an orderly way, and you will always know how to take up and finish the work in the most profitable and satisfactory way.
WRONG USE OF TOOLS.--Never use the vise as an anvil. Ordinary and proper use of this tool will insure it for a lifetime, aside from its natural wear. It may be said with safety that a vise will never break if used for the purpose for which it was intended. One blow of a hammer may ruin it.
Furthermore, never use an auxiliary lever to screw up the jaws. If the lever which comes with it is not large enough to set the jaws, you may be sure that the vise is not large enough for your work.
Some simple directions in the holding and setting of tools may be of service to the novice. Practice has shown the most effective way of treating different materials, so that the tools will do the most efficient work.
A tool ground in a certain way and set at a particular angle might do the work admirably on a piece of steel, but would not possibly work on aluminum or brass.
LATHE SPEED.--If the lathe should run at the same speed on a piece of cast iron as with a brass casting, the result would not be very satisfactory, either with the tool or on the work itself.
Some compositions of metal require a high speed, and some a hooked tool. These are things which each must determine as the articles come to the shop; but there are certain well-defined rules with respect to the ordinary metals that should be observed.