Chisel Demo: How To Cut Mortises • Complete Sharpening Series Video 34

[Arachnalicious]

Ouch @2:50, did you do that during this video? I find this small cuts made with a chisel sting way more than any amount of hammer and thumb beatings! Great vid, cheers. I never considered that first point of giving a bit of lee way, but it makes sense now I think about it!

[missionron]

Ive seen the way theyre done with a router and guide and ill tell ya, as romantic as it is chopping your mortices, the novelty is wearing off! i just usually figure that , because i work on one project at a time that its just as well to do it by hand. i sorta feel that im giving up by going the easy route. i can reason that i use a tablesaw,a resaw big jointer and a planer so why not a bloody morticer!! lol im sure it will come. concidering a dowelmax right now.. :)

[missionron]

sorry, i forgot to mention, i cut my mortices 100% with mortice chisels. I dont use a router or drill to hog the bulk of it out. (im not aginst that method) i simply do not own a mortice machine or set up my router table. So i spend ALOT of time mortising!  lol im familiar with a fair amount of woods and how they are under tha mallot. Ipe and purpleheart have been the worst for me so its a real treat when using the softer woods...

[missionron]

Ipe....no kidding that stuff is HARD i do not like the dust (powder) it makes on the tablesaw either! Yes the oak, crumbling has been an issue with me most times i work in it, except so far this desk's mortices has cut very nicely...just really hard. Im using some 8/4 and 5/4 Oregon w oak for the rails and stiles. real nice tight grain :) thank you for replying, i have been watching your videos today..id like to know who makes that real wide diamond plate you use for sharlening. Ron.

[askwoodman]

@missionron I use the double sided DMT diamond stones. They are do a great job and last a long time and are priced right. I am with you, I do not like ipe either. Have you seen the method on cutting perfect mortices super fast with the router and guide fence? An old timer showed it to me 25 years ago and it changed my life.

[missionron]

what wood are you chopping? seems like its just sliding through. Try this in TG 1/4 sawn white oak.... not so easy as mahogany. But great video

[askwoodman]

@missionron This is sipo or African Mahogany. I work a lot of white oak too. I find it easy to work and not all that hard compared to lyptus or ipe. For me the problem working white

oak is the extreme ring porous nature of the wood that can lead to crumble unless the knife is at peak sharpness. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[MrRichot]

Hi Al, Brilliant ,give me time to practice this one and you,ll be paying my fair over to employ me.! The sound of the chisel doin its job send shivers down my spine. Have spent 40 yrs as a psychiatric nurse,just wish i had discovered all this many moons ago. Another ole saying "ur never too old to learn" Trouble is Al I,m runnin out of time !! Anyway see u in 15 years or so, you can put ur feet up I,ll make all ur mortises

[ShutTFup]

thanks for the tips, helped me understand why my glue gushes out of the mortises everytime.

[askwoodman]

@ShutTFup Another thing you can do to let the glue have a channel to escape is to cut a few shallow kerf cuts in the end of the tenon. But I always err on the side of too much glue or epoxy rather than too little. Banging mortise and tenons together with a mallet causes trouble. I always press them together with clamps. I find it just allows the glue to migrate under better control without risking busting through the sides. Thanks for watching and keep in touch.

[leozadarguide]

Great video, I also like to work with old good hand tools, and learned lot from you about sharpening. Thanks

[wdworking]

Good video. Really get a lot from the actual work being done on video.

[askwoodman]

@wdworking Thanks Craig. I know this sharpening series has been extremely long and detailed, because there is just so much information to cover. There will plenty more videos like this in the future, I assure you. I always appreciate your comments. Have a great day.

p.s. only 9 - 10 more videos to go and the series will be complete!

[attainableapex]

why don't you invest in a roubo style work bench. i see you could use a nice face vise and tail vise a lot.

[askwoodman]

@attainableapex I have one but don't care to work on it. I prefer working on tables.

[deleetmeeh]

Where can I pick up chisels like that? If you could let me know the brand. That looks like a mortise chisel to me but if its not that works really good.

[askwoodman]

@deleetmeeh They are Bahco Ergo chisels. I bought mine in approx 1986 but they were unfortunately discontinued shortly afterward. They were ahead of their time. During the sharpening series I had a bit of a panic attack when I notice how short mine were getting after 25+ years of being my everything chisel. I have decide I have to save what is left of them for those situations were their shape and style is needed. I am shopping for some backup chisels now. I would buy them again if I could.

[ericallandale]

Nice explanation, normally there is a guy making a mortise with a 1" chisel and a 10# sledge hammer........................