Square holes for balusters

[Dave Flagg]

What's the best way to "perfect" 1/2" square holes for 1/2" square iron balusters? Here (http://www.contractortalk.com/f13/barefoot-metal-balusters-57674/) is one method but I wasn't sure how a mortise chisel really works without some sort of mortise attachment and/or jig for the drill so I wanted to double check here. I have never used a mortise chisel/bit: would the hammer drill act on the chisel portion of the bit? It looks like a pretty clean joint from the pics. Lastly, will any old 1/2" mortise chisel/bit work or would you recommend a specific type over another?

Thanks in advance!
Dave

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I assume that you need to cut a 1/2" mortise by hand and you do NOT own a mortise machine. When you say "mortise chisel", I think of two possibilities.

You need a mortise machine to use these:
www.amazon.com/Woodstock-D2845-1-2-Inch-Mortising-4-Piece/dp/B0000DD32N

These, they expect you to do it by hand:
http://www.amazon.com/Narex-Czech-Republic-Mortise-Chisels/dp/B00IXTFBY0

Based on your question, I will assume that you know little to nothing about this, so, at the risk of boring you....

The difference between a hand mortise chisel and some other kind of chisel is that a mortise chisel is much thicker and there is an assumption that you will cut the entire mortise and dig it out by hand. For what you are doing, however, I would be more inclined to drill a 1/2" hole where you want your mortise, and then use a regular chisel to square up the sides.

When I have usually seen this done, the hole will be rectangular rather than square, so, a series of wholes are drilled using a special bit (Forstner) that is able to drill overlapping holes, then the sides are very easy to clean out and the ends require a bit more work. I am sure that others can suggest a better video to watch than this, but, this is the first one I found when I used google and I did not watch the entire video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--4qvI2S0pc

Now, if you opt to do this, you should practice a few holes first to make sure you are happy with the results.

If you drill first, then you don't really need the hand mortise chisels and you can probably even get away with the Stanley black handle chisels that cost about $12 for a set of three. The steel is pretty cheap and you probably need to sharpen them before and while you are cutting your holes... I don't suppose you have the ability to do that?

I don't remember noticing where you are located... I can probably help you with some of that if you are sufficiently close to Columbus Ohio.

[Jamie Buxton]

I haven't seen that approach before. I've used hollow-chisel mortising chisels in a mortising machine, but not the way that guy is doing it -- nearly freehand with a hammer-drill. The drill's chuck grips the bit to spin it, and the front of the chuck bangs on the top of the square chisel. The top of the square chisel is not designed for this service, so maybe over time it gets peened over. And the front of the hammer-drill's chuck is not designed to hammer anything either. So maybe you have to replace the square chisel or the hammer-drill every once and a while, but that's okay.

I'd probably make a thing to hold the chisel to prevent it from rotating or walking around on the floor. The thing would be a 2x4 with a square hole bored through it. You'd put a foot on the non-hold end of the 2x4 while you bore the floor at the other end. This jig would also hold the chisel upright, so you get vertical holes in the floor.

[John TenEyck]

Lay out your holes, then clamp or nail a straight edge along one edge, parallel to the work piece. Now take a 1/2" mortising chisel, line it up with a hole, and give it a good whack with a rubber mallet. Repeat until you've defined all the holes. Now drill out the center of the holes with the largest brad point drill that fits (not the mortising bit). Finally, go back with the chisel and square out the rest of the hole.

John

[Brett Luna]

What kind of iron baluster are you using? I'm in the middle of a staircase remodel and I'll be using L.J. Smith iron balusters with matching shoes and collars. Besides eliminating the need to mortise square holes, I think it gives the baluster a more integrated, finished look. Just a thought.

ETA: Never mind! I should've read the link. It looks like you've considered it and know what look you're after.