Only one mortise chisel?

[Tom M King]

I don't know how many I have, but I'm sure it's more than one.

[steven c newman]

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..

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks for replies, everyone. There are lots of other threads answering “what mortise chisels do you use” so I want to be clear that I’m not asking that.

I’ll try and rephrase it: “Why do woodworkers like Chris Schwarz say that all you need is a 5/16 mortise chisel when table legs 1 1/2 inch are common, and you should size to 1/3 the width of the leg, I.e., 1/2?”

One person said that the mortise should be sized to the TENON stock, so in that case, it would make sense that you could get by with 5/16.

Another person said that in Shaker furniture, they would use a 5/16 in a 1 1/2 leg. So that makes sense too.

If both of those people are correct, the. In that case, I understand why Chris Schwarz would say that all you need is a 5/16, but please correct me if either of the above are wrongÂ…

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

[Edward Weber]

Thanks for replies, everyone. There are lots of other threads answering “what mortise chisels do you use” so I want to be clear that I’m not asking that.

I’ll try and rephrase it: “Why do woodworkers like Chris Schwarz say that all you need is a 5/16 mortise chisel when table legs 1 1/2 inch are common, and you should size to 1/3 the width of the leg, I.e., 1/2?”

One person said that the mortise should be sized to the TENON stock, so in that case, it would make sense that you could get by with 5/16.

Another person said that in Shaker furniture, they would use a 5/16 in a 1 1/2 leg. So that makes sense too.

If both of those people are correct, the. In that case, I understand why Chris Schwarz would say that all you need is a 5/16, but please correct me if either of the above are wrongÂ…

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.

[Jason Sellers]

When people drag a piece of furniture across the floor when they move it, and they will, the shoulders at the top and bottom of your rail tenons become crucial as the legs are frankly being put through hell. Happily, these shoulders don't depend on rail thickness per se.

Interesting. I couldn’t understand why shoulder thickness would matter before, but this makes sense. Thank you.

[Jim Koepke]

I suggest not to over think it too much, as there is no single correct answer.

Edward mentions a good truism by which to live and work.

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

[Jason Sellers]

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful replies. I have a much better understanding of this now.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

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

Or you can drill out the mortise and pare the sides with a bevel edged chisel. There are many solutions. You don’t have to buy a tool to cover every possibility.

[Ben Ellenberger]

Or you can drill out the mortise and pare the sides with a bevel edged chisel. There are many solutions. You don’t have to buy a tool to cover every possibility.

Especially as you get to larger mortises, this makes more and more sense. Anything up to 1/2” I would just chop. If I was making a mortise larger than that I would probably drill out most of the waste and use a bench chisel to remove the rest.

[Jim Koepke]

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

[James Pallas]

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

[Scott Clausen]

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.

[George Wall]

Thanks for replies, everyone. There are lots of other threads answering “what mortise chisels do you use” so I want to be clear that I’m asking something slightly different.

I’ll try and rephrase it: Why do woodworkers like Chris Schwarz say that all you need is a 5/16 mortise chisel when table legs 1 1/2 inch are common, and you should size to 1/3 the width of the leg, I.e., 1/2?

One person said that the mortise should be sized to the TENON stock, so in that case, it would make sense that you could get by with 5/16.

Another person said that in Shaker furniture, they would use a 5/16 in a 1 1/2 leg. So that makes sense too.

If both of those people are correct, then I understand why Chris Schwarz would say that all you need is a 5/16, but please correct me if I’m wrong…

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.

[Richard Coers]

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.

[steven c newman]

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.....