is the unusual for a mortise chisel?

[Zach England]

I bought an old unmarked mortise chisel off of Ebay and am not suite sure what I am looking at. The sides of the chisel are parallel but there is a bit of a bevel running all each side of the front. I tried to photograph it but was having trouble getting my camera to focus.

I haven't used it yet because it needs a handle. Is it even worth my time to make one? It seems like a chisel like this would not leave very clean mortise sides. Would it be worth considering trying to grind the front of it to make it flat? Thoughts?

Thanks.214309214310214311

[Bryan Ericson]

I have a Keen Kutter mortise chisel (1/4 inch) that has the same shape. It works just fine for me.

[John Coloccia]

My guess is it's there to keep the front of the chisel from bruising the edges of the mortise if it's not exactly dead straight, especially when you're levering out material. It will also help keep the chisel from getting stuck by relieving that edge and preventing it from digging in.

[Matt Radtke]

Please don't grind it square. That really is a feature. It works better that way. The mortise chisels from Tools For Working Wood are ground like a trapezoid, as are the Narex ones. It helps the chisel from getting stuck on deeper, furniture mortises.

Frank Klaus goes as far to point this out as being desirable in his mortise and tenon video.

[Zach England]

Interesting. Why did Lie-Nielsen not adopt this feature?

[John Coloccia]

There are lots of people that think the parallel sided chisel is superior, just like there are lots that prefer the trapezoidal sides (or at least some relief like you have).

[Jim Koepke]

If it works the way it is, why change it?

After acquiring a few "pig stickers" I wonder about socket mortise chisels. They seem a little lighter duty than their heavier brethren.

My mortise chisels are all trapezoidal and work quite well.

Of course, one can cut a mortise with a paring chisel. It might not be good for a paring chisel to cut a few hundred mortises.

jtk

[Zach England]

I used to have some "pigsticker" chisels and found them hard to use because of their size. That is why I prefer the socket chisels--they are shorter. Is that unusual?

[Matt Radtke]

As far as length, not at all. Use what works best for you. I prefer a shorter chisel for my normal bench chisels. I do like a longer mortise chisel, just because it makes levering out waste (aka, prying) easier.

As far as why didn't Lie-Nielsen made their with tapered sides, we'd have to ask them. I suspect they modeled theirs after sash mortise chisels. As window sashes typically aren't as beefy as furniture, their mortises are similarly small. If you're not going very deep, it's harder to get stuck, the tapered sides have less value.

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0__5IukABc notice how rough he is with his chisel. This is why bigger might be better.

[john brenton]

I have a really old Jennings socket chisel with this shape and it's just fine.

[Zach England]

OK, tonight there is going to be a shootout between this chisel and the 3/16 Lie-Nielsen chisel.

[Jim Koepke]

OK, tonight there is going to be a shootout between this chisel and the 3/16 Lie-Nielsen chisel.

We want pictures or a Youtube video! :):D:eek:

jtk

[Russell Sansom]

My eye finds that profile attractive. Many of my old high-PSI chisels have something like it.

[Mike Brady]

I wish my L-N mortise chisels had a little taper to the sides. I think they are easier to use because the chisel doesn't stick in the mortise and the sides of the mortise don't get bruised when levering chips out. That chisel of yours is a beauty.

[Tony Shea]

I agree that it is part of its design and def do not grind it out.

But I disagree that a trapezoidal shape is an advantage in the small scale cabinet work some of use do. I love my LN mortise chisels as the are perfectly square. The front edges of the chisel actually help cut the mortise walls parallel to each other and creates a nice crisp mortise. My older mortise chisels are the huge Hirsch's that have a trapezoidal shape and are much more difficult for me to create a nice clean mortise. They tend to rotate inside the mortise due to this shape and are a bit harder to control.

[Zach England]

It turns out it is an excellent chisel and works very well. However, turning socket chisel handles is a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. It took me three tries to get the socket end right and I still don't like the handle much.

[Jim Koepke]

But I disagree that a trapezoidal shape is an advantage in the small scale cabinet work some of use do.

That is likely why there are different styles of mortise chisels.

Big mortises use pig stickers.

Small mortises use "registered" if those are the ones with the parallel sides.

Some mortises use something in between.


However, turning socket chisel handles is a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. It took me three tries to get the socket end right and I still don't like the handle much.

Darn, I am not a very good turner, but the socket end seems easier for me than the rest of the handle. I turned a couple over the last week and both of them fit the socket right off the lathe.

I use a small dowel to find the bottom and the depth and a caliper to set the big end. The slope is kind of eyeballed but usually with the depth and the small end and big end known, it falls right in.

jtk

[Zach England]

That is likely why there are different styles of mortise chisels.

Big mortises use pig stickers.

Small mortises use "registered" if those are the ones with the parallel sides.

Some mortises use something in between.



Darn, I am not a very good turner, but the socket end seems easier for me than the rest of the handle. I turned a couple over the last week and both of them fit the socket right off the lathe.

I use a small dowel to find the bottom and the depth and a caliper to set the big end. The slope is kind of eyeballed but usually with the depth and the small end and big end known, it falls right in.

jtk

That's what I did, too. The problem was it took me two failures to think of using the dowel. I was eyeballing it based on the outside of the socket.

[Joe Fabbri]

Zach, I picked up a 1/2 socket mortise chisel a few months back. It's trapezoidal as well, but I'm curious, does yours have any bow to it? In other words, is the back slighly convex along its length? Mine is, and from what I've heard it could be from use (prying forward) or designed that way, in order to have some relief when chopping down. I'm just curious if yours is that way also.