I don't know how many I have, but I'm sure it's more than one.
I don't know how many I have, but I'm sure it's more than one.
Mortise & Sash chisels.jpg
My little collection...skinny sash mortise chisels up to 12mm...
last project was a "Shaker" style table....and I used the 8mm one....a 6mm was used to scrape the mortise floor...and a 24mm Bench was used to clean the walls..
YMMV..
A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use
Jason, if you keep strictly to the 1/3 Rule, then you need a range of sizes. 5/16” might be closer to the ideal in a 1 1/2” leg. However, with wider legs, there are also ways to use narrower mortices, such as double mortices. This could give a 1/4” chisel a wider range. 1/4” tends to be a closer fit for medium sized work, especially frame-and-panels. Personally, I use a 1/4” more than any other.
It really comes down to the size of the work you mostly do.
Regards from Perth
Derek
I can't say why these people you cite say what they say. Only that, in their experience, that's what works for them.
If your woodworking takes you to a wider array of interests, beyond a single genre of furniture, a single mortise chisel, regardless of width my simply not be practical.
I suggest not to over think it too much, as there is no single correct answer.
Specific M&T sizing varies by application, region, culture and woodworker. As the M&T size changes, thin and deep or wide and shallow. it may require a different size chisel properly fit to the task.
Edward mentions a good truism by which to live and work.I suggest not to over think it too much, as there is no single correct answer.
It makes more sense to size the mortise to the tenon stock than the mortise stock. Imagine trying to make a tenon 1/3 of the size of a 4X4 on material that is only 3/4" thick.
If a tenon is on 1" thick material a 5/16" mortise and tenon will work fine.
There is also nothing wrong with using a heavy firmer chisel to cut a mortise. Some folks swear by cutting them with a bevel edged chisel.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Thank you everyone for your thoughtful replies. I have a much better understanding of this now.
Having used both methods, drilling and paring vs straight chopping a mortise including sizes up to one inch, they seem to take me about the same amount of time.
Chopping seems the less tedious.
As always, YMMV!!!.png
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
For anything smaller than 1/4” I use a bench chisel. I have 1/4, 5/16, and 3/8 mortise chisels. Anything larger, which is seldom, i drill and pare. I don’t think you need to split hairs over it. I do tend to use doubles on things like dining tables that are heavy and can get some rather severe twisting loads or on drawer blades that get heavy twisting from heavy drawers hanging on them.
Jim
Paul Sellers seems to prefer using a bench chisel, me I like a mortice chisel. I only have two, they are mm but I think equate to 1/2" and 1/4". Never felt a need to buy more but once the need arrives I will get more. I say as long as you get close to the 1/3 rule than that is close enough.
Chris Schwarz makes that recommendation in his Anarchist Tool Chest book, where he is trying to list what he considers to be the minimal toolkit. Basically, he describes a toolkit that would fit into the ATC that he later explains how to build.
As part of that, he is making the assumption that most people reading his recommendations are chopping most (not all) of their mortises in 4/4 stock, where either a 1/4" or 5/16" mortise chisel will be most useful. For cases where a wider or narrower mortise is needed, there are alternatives like using a standard bench chisel or boring with a brace-and-bit. But for most woodworkers he is targeting, such cases are less common, and so would not benefit from buying a whole set of 5 or 6 mortise chisels, most of which could easily go unused. Implicit in his suggestion is that if the hobbyist who has already mastered the 1/4" mortise does run into a situation where they are faced with chopping a bunch of 1/2" mortises, then that is probably the best time to purchase a 1/2" mortise chisel. Joel Moskowitz makes a similar suggestion in his blog at TFWW.
There are laws of nature you can't ignore with wood, but there are no laws in joinery or number of chisels you can have.
We'll find out....because I'll need to do Haunched Tenons next week....Have a Frame & Panel Chest to build.....Raised panels fitted into grooves, and the tenons not only fit into the grooves, but, they extend down about another 1/4" deeper than the groove. Should be loads of "FUN" by hand.....
A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use