Spruce

[Kyle Foster]

So just a general question here, but is working with spruce always a pain or did I just happen to get dull chisels, or maybe I just dont know what I'm doing?

[Kory Cassel]

Spruce crushes and tears more easily than most woods.

[Andrew Seemann]

If you are used to soft pine with an even grain, yes it is a pain. Even though it looks similar, it often is much less easy to work and requires everything to be sharp. The alternating hard and soft rings can be challenging. And it can be quite splintery.

[Dave Cav]

Head over to the Neander forum and all your questions will be answered. They'll even answer questions you didn't know you had. Before too long, you'll have more answers than you'll know what to do with, but you'll have $5000 in Japanese chisels and sharpening stones. (Shaptons are the way to go, BTW.)

[David Bassett]

... (Shaptons are the way to go, BTW.)

Nah! Sigma waterstones or diamond plates and Spyderco ceramic bench stones!

[Andrew Seemann]

Don't Fear the Neander. There are some of us over there who are cheapskates and only have Baileys we got at flea markets and garage sales, and sharpen on inexpensive combo waterstones. Although full disclosure, I do have a set of Two Cherries and a Tormek.

That said, for spruce you want to keep as sharp as you can, use a low angle on your chisels, and preferably vintage or O1 steel. A2 isn't ideal but would probably work if you keep it sharp; it will still need a higher angle to keep the edge from chipping. Avoid planing against the grain; skewing may help. Pull the slivers you get as soon as you get them, they are almost as bad as Douglas Fir slivers. There, that was the Neanderthal in me, although similar holds true for power tools.

Give yourself 10 bonus points if you caught the BOC reference.

[Kim Gibbens]

Reaper. +10 for me

[Robert Hazelwood]

Very soft woods really favor a low cutting angle. If you can sharpen at 25 or even 20 degrees you should notice a reduction in tearing compared to the more typical sharpening angle of 30-35 degrees. Rob Cosman keeps a dedicated softwood chisel sharpened at 17 degrees for this reason.

Someone mentioned that it alternating soft and hard rings. I'm not that familiar with spruce, but if that's true then it will always be a bear to work with a chisel, because the hard rings will tend to destroy a very low angle edge. I've worked with a lot of yellow pine this year and there is a huge difference in hardness between rings. I swear it is harder on my chisel edges than white oak. If you increase the angle to keep the edge intact, then the soft rings tear badly. The best compromise I found is to keep a moderate angle on the chisel and sharpen very frequently, and always take small bites. You will have to keep it extremely sharp to get clean results, much more so than with a typical hardwood.

[Kyle Foster]

Very soft woods really favor a low cutting angle. If you can sharpen at 25 or even 20 degrees you should notice a reduction in tearing compared to the more typical sharpening angle of 30-35 degrees. Rob Cosman keeps a dedicated softwood chisel sharpened at 17 degrees for this reason.

Someone mentioned that it alternating soft and hard rings. I'm not that familiar with spruce, but if that's true then it will always be a bear to work with a chisel, because the hard rings will tend to destroy a very low angle edge. I've worked with a lot of yellow pine this year and there is a huge difference in hardness between rings. I swear it is harder on my chisel edges than white oak. If you increase the angle to keep the edge intact, then the soft rings tear badly. The best compromise I found is to keep a moderate angle on the chisel and sharpen very frequently, and always take small bites. You will have to keep it extremely sharp to get clean results, much more so than with a typical hardwood.

I wonder if drilling it our and then paring it would be a better solution?

[Jim Morgan]

I wonder if drilling it our and then paring it would be a better solution?

Drilling what out? What are you trying to do? If cutting mortises - yes, drill out most of the waste & pare to your layout lines.

[Andrew Joiner]

Head over to the Neander forum and all your questions will be answered. They'll even answer questions you didn't know you had. Before too long, you'll have more answers than you'll know what to do with, but you'll have $5000 in Japanese chisels and sharpening stones. (Shaptons are the way to go, BTW.)

That's funny Dave. I think the neander forum could easily tease the power tool woodworkers too. I laugh when a discussion goes from " is brand x power tool good for" to "I have a garage full of Martin machines and my spouse thinks"

[Kyle Foster]

That's funny Dave. I think the neander forum could easily tease the power tool woodworkers too. I laugh when a discussion goes from " is brand x power tool good for" to "I have a garage full of Martin machines and my spouse thinks"

I am planning on going full neanderthal, but I felt that the question would be better answered by a broader audience. I also wanted to see if the power tool guys had the same issues that I did.

[Kyle Foster]

I started this thread over in the general section and I was told over here would be a better spot. So just a general question here, but is working with spruce always a pain or did I just happen to get dull chisels, or maybe I just dont know what I'm doing?

Pictures of my mortise will be loaded tonight

[William Fretwell]

Very old heart wood could be hard to work but I doubt you have that. Usually a pleasure to work. Chisels ground at 25 degrees? Yes they need to be sharp.
Spruce can be tricky as you can bruise the edges of mortices more easily so work up to the edge very carefully. It is easier to practice with mahogany!

[Kyle Foster]

Very old heart wood could be hard to work but I doubt you have that. Usually a pleasure to work. Chisels ground at 25 degrees? Yes they need to be sharp.
Spruce can be tricky as you can bruise the edges of mortices more easily so work up to the edge very carefully. It is easier to practice with mahogany!

I'm working with construction grade 2x4s. KD spruce so I highly doubt that it is old heartwood.

As for sharpening, I dont have a sharpening station yet so out of the box will have to do until I can get a bench built.

What seems to be happening is that the internal fibers of the 2x4 seem to be ripping apart. I cant get a nice smooth cut