Tips on Chiseling

[CarlC]

Hiall
Sorry i haven`t been on for ages been busy, anyway i`m struggling on Corner Bridle, Mortise & Tenon etc can someone please give me some tips on how to chisel out the Mortice Joint bit neatly i can`t do it and it`s p****** me off.And also the Cheek bit that`s on the Tenon part of the M&T joint i can`t do neatly i tyr to make the Cheek bit neater but it get`s uneven and thinner and it`s so annoying.
Any tips on how to do these would be really, really appreciated.

Thanks alot

CarlC

 

[CarlC]

I need to get these perfect soon as i`ve got a test and each MM i`m out i lose that many points e.g say i`m 20mm out i`ll lose 20 points.
I need to pass this test to get my ceritificate and to stand a chance of being a Quailfied Caprenter/Joiner/Woodworker

 

[Colin C]

Hi Carl

Try here for a start and look near the end for some help with cutting them.

 

[ByronBlack]

Aye, thats a good link colin.

Carl, I had the very same problems, but after following the advice during that thread, my joints turned out excellently.

How sharp are your chisels? I made sure my mortice chisel was very sharp and this helped with clear clean sides.

 

[CarlC]

Look sharp to me but could that be the problem?Cause when i scrap the chisel along the tenon cheek bit i`ve cut out to clean it up (because it`s rough),It turns out worser cause there`s more wood all over the cheek bit.

 

[ByronBlack]

Are you cutting across the grain when cleaning up or parring down the long grain towards the shoulder? If going across the grain, and depending on what wood it is, you can end up with rough fibres if the chisel isn't sharp enough.

The other route to take in cleaning up the tenon would be a hand-router, but not sure you would have access to one..

If you've not read the 'tweak your tenons' thread yet, I would advise you to do so before anything else, as there is some seriously good advice for hand cutting M&T's.

 

[CarlC]

I think i`m parring down it.Cause i`m cutting it so the cheek is facing me and the hole joint is north if that makes sense. :lol:

Thanks alot for your help though.

Carl

 

[mr]

If the cheek is facing you and the tenon is heading north, you're paring away from yourself towards the end of the shoulder? If so I would have thought that the tenon shoulders are getting in the way for starters and you're not really paring but gouging lumps out. I pare intowards the shoulder which isn't to say that I'm doing it right at all cos I can still end up with a mess but at least that allows me to lie the chisel flat on the tenon cheek. Next tenons for me are going to be cleaned up with a meat powered router to see if that's an improvement.
Cheers Mike

 

[Anonymous]

How sharp are your chisels? I made sure my mortice chisel was very sharp and this helped with clear clean sides.

Thats the key. Also did they give you a proper mortice chisel to use? A proper sharp mortice chisel almost does the work by itself. If the timber they gave you is poor quality fast grown softwood that wont help either as it will tend to crumble out from in betwen the groweth ring's and be more difficult to get a crisp clean result. How careful are you when you place the chisel on your guage line's? One chip a mil to the left, another chip a mil to the right, that will make the mortice 2 mil too wide in parts giving you a sloppy fit and a messy apearance. When you strike the chisel is it plumb above the guage lines, not leaning over to the left or the right? Are your mortice ends rounded over? Try chopping the mortice 2 or 3 mil too short at either end, when you lever out your chip's it will round over the wood just inside the mortice edge, which you can clean up last with 1 or 2 vertical hand paring cut's nice and crisp to the line. Have you burst the timber yet when your doing a through mortice? We've all done it at some stage!! I go about 1/3 the way down, then turn the work over and continue from the other side. Good luck, keep practising it will get better

Hope this helps Mr S

 

[CarlC]

We just use Bevel type cisels.Thank you all for your help i`ve finnally got the hang of it was doing it wrong,just need to practice more.