Stupid Chisel Question

[Dave C. Brown]

Can a 1/4" Chisel cut a 1/4" mortise?

Okay, let me be honest. I'm not really a Neanderthal, though I want to be.

I am trying to cut mortises by using a router and squaring the result with a chisel. But my 1/4" Lee Valley chisel doesn't fit the hole. To be more specific, it does at the tip of the chisel, but about 1" up the chisel blade, it gets wider by just over 1/64" of an inch, so it doesn't easily go to the bottom of the mortise.

Is this normal for a 1/4" chisel, or should I get a new one?

Thanks for any help. I posted here because I thought hand tool experts whould know better about chisels.

--Dave

[Wilbur Pan]

I'm pretty sure that mortise chisels are supposed to narrow just slightly as you go from the tip of the chisel towards the handle to avoid exactly the problem you are describing.

Of course, there's nothing preventing you from grinding down the side of the chisel that's causing the problem. But make sure you grind as little as possible to fix this issue.

You might want to take a look at this article by Christopher Schwarz on the Ray Iles mortise chisels (http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/cSchwarz/mortChisel/mortChis1.asp), which will explain things way better than I can.

[Bob Smalser]

Can a 1/4" Chisel cut a 1/4" mortise?

--Dave

Sure you can, and no chisel should widen from edge to shank. No need to buy anything new....use the grinder.

[Geoff Harris]

Instead of squaring the mortise why not round the tenon?

Geoff.

[Bob Smalser]

Instead of squaring the mortise why not round the tenon?

Geoff.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/2594265/216362645.jpg

You can do the entire joint using a straight-shank bit to mill the mortise and a roundover bit to shape the tenons.

Slip tenons are a fast method to cut large M/T joints like for these thick french doors of 2X cedar.