Best part about being a blacksmith and a woodworker is I'm starting to make my own tools. I have actually already made my own 1/4" mortise chisel and it works great. Great video bud.
@@WoodByWright you bet...got my compound today...thank you very much. I will be making planes and chisels the most starting soonest I can get other little projects done first.
I love how you got both the English spelling and the American all into one word at the beginning, now to sit back and watch all the people who don’t get the joke. I bought two Marples morticing chisels off eBay, when they arrived they were beautifully sharpened and it showed me the difference between my sharpening at the time and proper sharpening. As always I asked the seller if they know the history of the tools and they were the lady who was selling them's father's. So I could assure her they would be respected. I never used the 1/2 inch to protect the sharpening and so I could use it as reference. Now I’ve got some decent bench chisels I’m really into all chisels at the moment. I’ve even finally got my carving chisels sharp thanks to you. I love tools that slice wood, planes, chisels, spokeshaves and I think scrapers can sneak in, only because they’re a tool I like using. I need to buy a drawknife though I'm not too sure if the movement might be too much. I’ll try restricting movement like I do planes. I don’t like saws as I find the sawing action too painful because of my difficulties and I can’t really adapt that movement. That’s where power tools come in. A great video as always James, thank you.
My Stepdad (who loves nothing more than trading old knives and weird fishing gear...lolz) very recently brought in a cute little draw-knife from Germany... straight handles sticking out from teh double beveled blade made it look... well... weird. BUT I took it in and cleaned it up and tested it out... There's only about three inches or so (70 mm ish?) of blade exposed, so there's little or no real space for sideways motion... but on most project stock, you can "cock" the thing at an angle and get a fairly clean slicing/shaving motion going. It rides the "applied" (downward) bevel beautifully, and has a bit thinner blade than my others (all antiques, all the big clunky types you see "everywhere") which makes some of the work an absolute breeze... If there's a downside to it, I'd say it's around dealing with knots and curly grain... It just lacks "substance" for that kind of thing and you really can't sharpen a blade to compensate... SO you may still find places where you'll want something else... since on "substance" issues with drawknives, you can only really... just "yank and pray" (or that's my experience anyway).. Not sure where you'd exactly look for this kind of thing, but I thought you'd like to know they are "out there" and a reasonably tenable utensil. ;o)
gnarth d'arkanen Thank you very much. I like the sound of your step-dad, I buy weird photography stuff whenever I get the chance. I think because of some upper body difficulties a smaller drawknife would suit me better.
@@markharris5771 You're quite welcome. Just know those smaller drawknives (and some reasonable facsimiles) are out there, and at least in my opinion, worth looking into. ...AND I hope this isn't too personal, but I noticed you mention trouble with the repeated motions of a saw... and restricting motions with planes and spokeshaves... SO I thought it worth pointing out that there are planes made more specifically to be PULLED rather than PUSHED by convention. I know they're fairly common in Chinese and Japanese Planes, and you can pop over to Rex Krueger's channel where he even talks about one that he found cheap, see if that might help... so you might just look into that. There's more than a couple ways to feed a cat a mattock. ;o)
gnarth d'arkanen Far from too personal, I put the information out there as you never know who might have knowledge of similar difficulties and there’s always work around. I genuinely appreciate the information, thank you.
I do like these videos I always learn something new. I made a mistake and bought a set of 3 mortise chisels and the half inch has been collecting dust for past 4 yrs.lol
Mortising Chisels cost more than twice as much. If you take your time with a mortise it can be accomplished with a bench chisel. My bench chisels are all Stanley and in excellent condition. I have had them for 55+ years. They were a gift from a cabinet maker "mentor" on my 15th birthday. I have cherished them and used then with careful precision over all of my life. I turned 70 this past May. I do have a couple mortising chisels that were hand forged by me while learning blacksmithing.
I almost never leave comments since English is not my mother tongue but I must confess that I envy your collection of planes and the way they are display on the background. Also, very informative video. I use both. Usually whatever is closer to my bench 😁
I haven’t done mortises yet but I watched this to decide if I needed to get a mortise chisel or if I could do it with what I have. You have helped me a lot
Seen a few of your videos today. And meet a devoted hand plane collector who was checking out my 1938 14 hand plane I picked up before I got set up today. You're not big on power tools I can respect that how do you feel about using power to burn wood? The electrocuted wood? After doing that kinda work a hand plane really get a dead flat side quick. So thank you. You have some very helpful advice
Thanks. I have no problems with power tools and I have many of them. I just happened to teach him to woodworking. Every now and then you'll see a power to a pop-up in a video. I have done a bit of wood burning in the past but haven't done it in a few years.
I use both, mortise chisels to get the bulk done and clean up with beveled chisels, except for very wide or long mortises as my biggest chisels are all mortice chisels!
nicely done on this video sir. i was looking for the difference between butt, bench, and socket chisels, for common woodworkers just starting to dabble in mortise and tenon joints on small boxes etc. thanks for sharing this video and have a blessed week dale
Ultimately, I tend to end up buying whatever makes a given job easiest. It’s a slow acquisition process, over the course of years....but look at it this way. You end up with more fun tools to nerd out with and easier jobs. Plus, for me, I can just write all of it off anyway. That’s the benefit of doing stuff like this for a living...
As a guy who's been growing the hobby organically on a shoestring budget... AND thus, got all his mileage out of bench chisels (almost never in a set more organized than a bucket of rusted "huh?")... I can honestly say, "Alright... You've sold me. I'll fire up the forge and see about making a few of those." It might even be worth pointing out, since we ARE talking about the Hobby, here... If one did buy those mortising chisels in a set, rather than the consequence being "spending money on a couple sizes of chisel you're never going to use"... MAYBE it could be "You'll find yourself making any excuse to chop out a bigger mortise sooner than later... just to see if you can!" ;o)
Thanks for the sober explanation, you rescued me from buying another damned tool, which as I’m sure you know is the first refuge of the flummoxed woodworker.
The place to buy vintage chisels, planes, screwdrivers etc is a UK company called Tooltique. They ship worldwide and you will pay less than you would on eBay
Their prices seems okay, not really cheap by any means. A few bucks more, you can just hit up the new mid range decent stuff at Lee Valley. As long as they come serviced and ready to go I suppose.
Thank you James. I was waiting for this one. Now I can make a better informed choice buying a mortising chisel. Shannon says that new Narex chisels are fine. PS: I like the educational talking videos so I will be visiting WBW2.
@@WoodByWright Jim Bode sells single antique 'pig stickers' for about $36. I love all old tools but one Narex 1/4" is only $20.00. As you said, buy them individually for each project of specific size of the mortise. The Narex chisels got excellent reviews. If I use it once a month, that would be a lot.
Forgive me if I've posted this before, but according to the London School of Furniture, you should always sharpen chisels and planes using a sharpening gauge because that way you get consistency. I like Veritas gauges, I especially like the one that holds narrow bladed chisels. I haven't used it yet to sharpen my mortice chisel ( I rarely use it) but I will, and let you know how I get on if you like. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us mere mortals. Cheers, Gwyn
I hawe looked for a set of old moticing chisels for a realy long time, but the does not exctly grow on trees (well, not the blade at least... ;) ) where i live so i guess i hawe to make my own (wich i will as soon as i can get a suitable building to put up my old balcksmith here) it would be divine to hawe a heavy duty set made with laminated steel..
@@WoodByWright It is! I don't know if You are interested but personaly i absolute love making my own tools from scratch exactly as i want them, if i can't find them.
I just came across a Stanley no. 200 sharpening jig. Never saw one before and it was too cheap to pass up even if it’s just for collections sake. Have you seen these before?
Anyone in Uk, near Cockermouth in the north of England who is looking for old tools should visit a hardware shop called JB Banks. Great collection of old tools for sale though you may have to fettle them yourself. It needs a personal visit and a couple of hours to browse. They have a website but don't list many items on it.
James before I heard your advice to buy a set I went on ebay and got a motley crew of old but usa made chisels including a greenlee witherby ward etc. I'm new at this but these have two bevels on the side instead of one. Should I sharpen the same as a single bevel chisel or differently? Also any recommendation to address pitting without affecting the etches? Between you and Paul Sellers learning a ton thank you.
Weather to do it double bevel or one that is up to you. each to their own. as to the etch that is up to you. it does not affect the use. then again does the pitting affect the use?
I think you’re talking about the side bevels, those on the shaft not the point. If you’re using a honing jig you might find it difficult to clamp your chisel square in the jig, but essentially you sharpen them the same. You probably won’t be able to get rid of pitting without removing a lot of metal (including the maker’s etch). But as long as you get rid of any active rust a bit of pitting doesn’t matter; it adds character (look at the 1/4” mortise chisel in the video here). What you should do is flatten the belly of the chisel and polish it to a mirror finish. In my experience, makers don’t put their marks on the belly precisely because they know they’ll be polished out before long.
Something I've never ever seen mentioned regarding chisels, ever: Some chisels - new cheap ones and old abused ones - are poorly ground or have been used/"cleaned up" wrong and damaged, leaving the back narrower than the top. This makes them impossible to use properly as they get stuck when chopping or constantly miss the corners when paring because of the cutting edge being narrower than the full width. The only cheap, hand method I can think of to square the sides up accurately is maybe kludging together a hand/foot powered disc sander or cup wheel. But that probably won't remove hardened steel fast enough compared to a powered one.
Aubreykun Are you sure that narrowing isn’t intentional? I have a couple of Ray Iles mortising chisels, and they are deliberately narrowed at the back. Here’s what Ray’s US stockist has to say about this feature: “The sides of the chisel form a slight trapezoid, so that if your chisel isn't perfectly aligned with the cut you won't damage the sides of the mortise, and more importantly, there is a lot less of a chance for the chisel to get stuck. You just push the chisel in the mortise a little and it loosens up. Lighter sash mortise chisels are ground parallel but that's because they are designed for shallower mortises in window sashes which are usually in soft wood. Some manufacturers say that that parallel sides make it easier to guide and align the chisel with the mortise but in fact the alignment of the mortise is determined by the first stroke of the blade into the wood, long before the sides of the chisel can have any effect.” www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/MS-MORT.XX/English_Mortise_Chisels_by_Ray_Iles
@@WoodByWright No, not in the long way, in the short way. If you were checking it, you'd place a square against the back of the blade and side. The defect makes it so the bevel flares out sideways from the edge, and the overly-wide chisel sides unintentionally act as a side-stop.
I find that bench chisels tend to twist as you're chopping the mortise whereas mortise chisels don't because wider sides help keep the chisel "aligned" in the mortise.
LacrosseMan0428 hi, go for a basic set of stanley chisels, cost may be a bit higher than the cheapies but you will hand them down to to your grandchildren. Good quality tools without the bells and whistles!
If you are in the US, I've had a good time with my Harbor Freight chisels. They aren't great, but the metal isn't bad after some flattening and honing. The handles are really the only issue I have with them. Poorly attached. And they are cheap. I'm thinking about going with a Narex set in the future.
Luke K australian, but try the Irwin maples chisels, maples were originally Canadian I believe and were excellent tools in their day. I buy basic Irwin chisel
Sets for my students and under instruction they can usually get a good edge on all three in an hour. Not bad, but not a tool that will last generations!
More useful training for us ! Thank you ! We do have some very good tool stores in Leominster, Herefordshire, England so I will get the details of those and send them on to you. So I suppose that I had better stop using flat-bladed screwdrivers as chisels now ??? :-) Only joking...really...
I do that if they are wider then 1/2 usually, but for smaller ones I find strait chisel to be faster. but each tot heir own. that is what makes the sport so much fun!
I built Paul Sellers original bench with a 5" thick top and 7' long using a set of modern Stanley Sweethearts. They worked great but I did have to mind my manners on levering. All of those mortises were 3/4 if I recall correctly, so a lot of levering. Paul believe in getting the super-cheap chisels akin to the Harbor Freight ones. I'm too much of a toolie to go with that.
Mortising chisel is easier to keep vertical (you don’t want a slanted mortise that is magnified over the rail) when mortising, but the bench chisel is easier to leaver out the waste - as long as your walls are already properly vertically registered. The smaller the cut, the more useful a mortising chisel seems to be IMO. They are just straight and aggressive. But with larger mortises, the bench chisel is easier.
Would a firmer chisel be another option? No side bevel, so a bit more metal than a bench chisel. I come across used firmer chisels more often than mortise chisels
The difference between the bench and mortissing chisel does not depend on the capacity for cutting. The design difference depends on the hardness of the wood and the force required to break it out.
Do you purposely spell things wrong in your titles? Not trying to be rude, just curious because it bothers me sometimes how you spell wrong in the video, but the title is write.
If you allow the spelling oopsies to bother you you miss out on the woodwork. Yes, I notice them all the time and I would have gotten them red pencilled when I learned English but I 'm here for the tools and their use. Now if James was a written word crafter I would be on his case with a double bit axe.
Best part about being a blacksmith and a woodworker is I'm starting to make my own tools. I have actually already made my own 1/4" mortise chisel and it works great. Great video bud.
Sweet. Love making my own tools.
@@WoodByWright you bet...got my compound today...thank you very much. I will be making planes and chisels the most starting soonest I can get other little projects done first.
Personally, I use morticians chisels. They're bad to the bone. You're right, though. Each will do the other's jobs to a point (sorry, had to do it).
LOL I like it. I use both but that is because I like to show both.
i have to read your comments few time nicely done 👏👏👏👏
I love how you got both the English spelling and the American all into one word at the beginning, now to sit back and watch all the people who don’t get the joke.
I bought two Marples morticing chisels off eBay, when they arrived they were beautifully sharpened and it showed me the difference between my sharpening at the time and proper sharpening. As always I asked the seller if they know the history of the tools and they were the lady who was selling them's father's. So I could assure her they would be respected. I never used the 1/2 inch to protect the sharpening and so I could use it as reference.
Now I’ve got some decent bench chisels I’m really into all chisels at the moment. I’ve even finally got my carving chisels sharp thanks to you. I love tools that slice wood, planes, chisels, spokeshaves and I think scrapers can sneak in, only because they’re a tool I like using. I need to buy a drawknife though I'm not too sure if the movement might be too much. I’ll try restricting movement like I do planes. I don’t like saws as I find the sawing action too painful because of my difficulties and I can’t really adapt that movement. That’s where power tools come in.
A great video as always James, thank you.
sounds like a fun time. Thanks Mark!
My Stepdad (who loves nothing more than trading old knives and weird fishing gear...lolz) very recently brought in a cute little draw-knife from Germany... straight handles sticking out from teh double beveled blade made it look... well... weird. BUT I took it in and cleaned it up and tested it out... There's only about three inches or so (70 mm ish?) of blade exposed, so there's little or no real space for sideways motion... but on most project stock, you can "cock" the thing at an angle and get a fairly clean slicing/shaving motion going. It rides the "applied" (downward) bevel beautifully, and has a bit thinner blade than my others (all antiques, all the big clunky types you see "everywhere") which makes some of the work an absolute breeze...
If there's a downside to it, I'd say it's around dealing with knots and curly grain... It just lacks "substance" for that kind of thing and you really can't sharpen a blade to compensate... SO you may still find places where you'll want something else... since on "substance" issues with drawknives, you can only really... just "yank and pray" (or that's my experience anyway)..
Not sure where you'd exactly look for this kind of thing, but I thought you'd like to know they are "out there" and a reasonably tenable utensil. ;o)
gnarth d'arkanen Thank you very much. I like the sound of your step-dad, I buy weird photography stuff whenever I get the chance. I think because of some upper body difficulties a smaller drawknife would suit me better.
@@markharris5771 You're quite welcome. Just know those smaller drawknives (and some reasonable facsimiles) are out there, and at least in my opinion, worth looking into.
...AND I hope this isn't too personal, but I noticed you mention trouble with the repeated motions of a saw... and restricting motions with planes and spokeshaves... SO I thought it worth pointing out that there are planes made more specifically to be PULLED rather than PUSHED by convention.
I know they're fairly common in Chinese and Japanese Planes, and you can pop over to Rex Krueger's channel where he even talks about one that he found cheap, see if that might help... so you might just look into that.
There's more than a couple ways to feed a cat a mattock. ;o)
gnarth d'arkanen Far from too personal, I put the information out there as you never know who might have knowledge of similar difficulties and there’s always work around. I genuinely appreciate the information, thank you.
8mm mortise chisel is my most used. Good video
right on!
I do like these videos I always learn something new. I made a mistake and bought a set of 3 mortise chisels and the half inch has been collecting dust for past 4 yrs.lol
LOL yup. a lot of people do the same thing!
Mortising Chisels cost more than twice as much. If you take your time with a mortise it can be accomplished with a bench chisel. My bench chisels are all Stanley and in excellent condition. I have had them for 55+ years. They were a gift from a cabinet maker "mentor" on my 15th birthday. I have cherished them and used then with careful precision over all of my life. I turned 70 this past May. I do have a couple mortising chisels that were hand forged by me while learning blacksmithing.
SO true!
I almost never leave comments since English is not my mother tongue but I must confess that I envy your collection of planes and the way they are display on the background.
Also, very informative video. I use both. Usually whatever is closer to my bench 😁
Thanks! this is a fun little topic!
I haven’t done mortises yet but I watched this to decide if I needed to get a mortise chisel or if I could do it with what I have. You have helped me a lot
Thanks. Glad I could help out.
Seen a few of your videos today. And meet a devoted hand plane collector who was checking out my 1938 14 hand plane I picked up before I got set up today. You're not big on power tools I can respect that how do you feel about using power to burn wood? The electrocuted wood? After doing that kinda work a hand plane really get a dead flat side quick. So thank you. You have some very helpful advice
Thanks. I have no problems with power tools and I have many of them. I just happened to teach him to woodworking. Every now and then you'll see a power to a pop-up in a video. I have done a bit of wood burning in the past but haven't done it in a few years.
I use both, mortise chisels to get the bulk done and clean up with beveled chisels, except for very wide or long mortises as my biggest chisels are all mortice chisels!
Nice thanks. Love my set from Lee valley, but yeah I tend to use 1/8,1/4 and 5/16 most. Rest are waiting for when needed
right on. those are good!
nicely done on this video sir. i was looking for the difference between butt, bench, and socket chisels, for common woodworkers just starting to dabble in mortise and tenon joints on small boxes etc.
thanks for sharing this video and have a blessed week
dale
Ultimately, I tend to end up buying whatever makes a given job easiest. It’s a slow acquisition process, over the course of years....but look at it this way. You end up with more fun tools to nerd out with and easier jobs. Plus, for me, I can just write all of it off anyway. That’s the benefit of doing stuff like this for a living...
As a guy who's been growing the hobby organically on a shoestring budget... AND thus, got all his mileage out of bench chisels (almost never in a set more organized than a bucket of rusted "huh?")...
I can honestly say, "Alright... You've sold me. I'll fire up the forge and see about making a few of those."
It might even be worth pointing out, since we ARE talking about the Hobby, here... If one did buy those mortising chisels in a set, rather than the consequence being "spending money on a couple sizes of chisel you're never going to use"... MAYBE it could be "You'll find yourself making any excuse to chop out a bigger mortise sooner than later... just to see if you can!" ;o)
Great show and good commentary on the pig stickers!!
LOL thanks Alan!
Thanks for the sober explanation, you rescued me from buying another damned tool, which as I’m sure you know is the first refuge of the flummoxed woodworker.
Yup. Been there done that.
The place to buy vintage chisels, planes, screwdrivers etc is a UK company called Tooltique. They ship worldwide and you will pay less than you would on eBay
they are a good one!
Pfft, just looked. Saw a 1980's Stanley no5 for £52. No thanks
Their prices seems okay, not really cheap by any means. A few bucks more, you can just hit up the new mid range decent stuff at Lee Valley. As long as they come serviced and ready to go I suppose.
Thank you James. I was waiting for this one. Now I can make a better informed choice buying a mortising chisel. Shannon says that new Narex chisels are fine. PS: I like the educational talking videos so I will be visiting WBW2.
Thanks Bruce. I agree with Shannon. I do not see any reason to spend more money then Narex. they are great chisels.
@@WoodByWright Jim Bode sells single antique 'pig stickers' for about $36. I love all old tools but one Narex 1/4" is only $20.00. As you said, buy them individually for each project of specific size of the mortise. The Narex chisels got excellent reviews. If I use it once a month, that would be a lot.
Forgive me if I've posted this before, but according to the London School of Furniture, you should always sharpen chisels and planes using a sharpening gauge because that way you get consistency. I like Veritas gauges, I especially like the one that holds narrow bladed chisels. I haven't used it yet to sharpen my mortice chisel ( I rarely use it) but I will, and let you know how I get on if you like. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us mere mortals. Cheers, Gwyn
This was tremendously helpful, thanks!
Thanks. My pleasure
this is a great topic, for along time I didnt know the distinction
Glad I could help!
Great explanation! Thank you for showing and tell.
I hawe looked for a set of old moticing chisels for a realy long time, but the does not exctly grow on trees (well, not the blade at least... ;) ) where i live so i guess i hawe to make my own (wich i will as soon as i can get a suitable building to put up my old balcksmith here) it would be divine to hawe a heavy duty set made with laminated steel..
that sounds like fun!
@@WoodByWright It is!
I don't know if You are interested but personaly i absolute love making my own tools from scratch exactly as i want them, if i can't find them.
Thanks for the info James! 😃👍🏻👊🏻
thanks Fred!
I just came across a Stanley no. 200 sharpening jig. Never saw one before and it was too cheap to pass up even if it’s just for collections sake. Have you seen these before?
ya those a re fun. meant for large grinding wheels.
thanks for sharing that
my pleasure
thank you
my pleasure!
Anyone in Uk, near Cockermouth in the north of England who is looking for old tools should visit a hardware shop called JB Banks. Great collection of old tools for sale though you may have to fettle them yourself. It needs a personal visit and a couple of hours to browse. They have a website but don't list many items on it.
Thanks! I just added it to the map!
The big old pigstickers were used lots on big old doors pre machine. Not used so much today as most people will. Have a set of ben
The mortise chisels are trapezoidal so do make the job easier.
LOL them is fighting words on a hand tool forum!
Is that mortising gauge (4:52) a DIY? Can you share the details?
that will be coming out Saturday.
James before I heard your advice to buy a set I went on ebay and got a motley crew of old but usa made chisels including a greenlee witherby ward etc. I'm new at this but these have two bevels on the side instead of one. Should I sharpen the same as a single bevel chisel or differently? Also any recommendation to address pitting without affecting the etches? Between you and Paul Sellers learning a ton thank you.
Weather to do it double bevel or one that is up to you. each to their own. as to the etch that is up to you. it does not affect the use. then again does the pitting affect the use?
I think you’re talking about the side bevels, those on the shaft not the point. If you’re using a honing jig you might find it difficult to clamp your chisel square in the jig, but essentially you sharpen them the same. You probably won’t be able to get rid of pitting without removing a lot of metal (including the maker’s etch). But as long as you get rid of any active rust a bit of pitting doesn’t matter; it adds character (look at the 1/4” mortise chisel in the video here). What you should do is flatten the belly of the chisel and polish it to a mirror finish. In my experience, makers don’t put their marks on the belly precisely because they know they’ll be polished out before long.
Something I've never ever seen mentioned regarding chisels, ever: Some chisels - new cheap ones and old abused ones - are poorly ground or have been used/"cleaned up" wrong and damaged, leaving the back narrower than the top. This makes them impossible to use properly as they get stuck when chopping or constantly miss the corners when paring because of the cutting edge being narrower than the full width.
The only cheap, hand method I can think of to square the sides up accurately is maybe kludging together a hand/foot powered disc sander or cup wheel. But that probably won't remove hardened steel fast enough compared to a powered one.
Aubreykun Are you sure that narrowing isn’t intentional? I have a couple of Ray Iles mortising chisels, and they are deliberately narrowed at the back. Here’s what Ray’s US stockist has to say about this feature:
“The sides of the chisel form a slight trapezoid, so that if your chisel isn't perfectly aligned with the cut you won't damage the sides of the mortise, and more importantly, there is a lot less of a chance for the chisel to get stuck. You just push the chisel in the mortise a little and it loosens up. Lighter sash mortise chisels are ground parallel but that's because they are designed for shallower mortises in window sashes which are usually in soft wood. Some manufacturers say that that parallel sides make it easier to guide and align the chisel with the mortise but in fact the alignment of the mortise is determined by the first stroke of the blade into the wood, long before the sides of the chisel can have any effect.”
www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/MS-MORT.XX/English_Mortise_Chisels_by_Ray_Iles
ya most of the old mortising chisels the back is broader then the top side making it easier to remove them from the mortise.
@@WoodByWright No, not in the long way, in the short way. If you were checking it, you'd place a square against the back of the blade and side. The defect makes it so the bevel flares out sideways from the edge, and the overly-wide chisel sides unintentionally act as a side-stop.
@@hel1copter See my reply to James above, I meant the other dimension - not a design feature but a manufacturing flaw or botched restoration.
That old mortesing chisel of yourse (as shown in the video) does it taper in width or are the sides acucuratey ground parralel?
Mine is parallel.
I find that bench chisels tend to twist as you're chopping the mortise whereas mortise chisels don't because wider sides help keep the chisel "aligned" in the mortise.
Yup that can be a benefit.
What are your recommendations for a good set of bench chisels that's affordable?
LacrosseMan0428 hi, go for a basic set of stanley chisels, cost may be a bit higher than the cheapies but you will hand them down to to your grandchildren. Good quality tools without the bells and whistles!
If you are in the US, I've had a good time with my Harbor Freight chisels. They aren't great, but the metal isn't bad after some flattening and honing. The handles are really the only issue I have with them. Poorly attached. And they are cheap. I'm thinking about going with a Narex set in the future.
I use Narex bench and mortice chisels, you'll not find any better for the money.
Luke K australian, but try the Irwin maples chisels, maples were originally Canadian I believe and were excellent tools in their day. I buy basic Irwin chisel
Sets for my students and under instruction they can usually get a good edge on all three in an hour. Not bad, but not a tool that will last generations!
More useful training for us ! Thank you ! We do have some very good tool stores in Leominster, Herefordshire, England so I will get the details of those and send them on to you. So I suppose that I had better stop using flat-bladed screwdrivers as chisels now ??? :-) Only joking...really...
LOL nice Phil. depends on how you sharpen your screwdriver!
Paul Sellers is the very best.
He is a fun guy to rub shoulders with!
I have so much better luck drilling out the mortise and using the chisels to clean it up.
I do that if they are wider then 1/2 usually, but for smaller ones I find strait chisel to be faster. but each tot heir own. that is what makes the sport so much fun!
Love ❤️ it!
Thanks!
Three millimeters is about 1/8 inch (not 1/4 inch). Six mm is about 1/4 inch (one inch is about 25 millimeters).
I do all my hand mortising with a pig sticker.
I built Paul Sellers original bench with a 5" thick top and 7' long using a set of modern Stanley Sweethearts. They worked great but I did have to mind my manners on levering. All of those mortises were 3/4 if I recall correctly, so a lot of levering. Paul believe in getting the super-cheap chisels akin to the Harbor Freight ones. I'm too much of a toolie to go with that.
LOL sounds liek fun. I am much the same. my go to chisels were $7 for the set.
Good meat and potato video!
thanks! my pleasure!
Mortising chisel is easier to keep vertical (you don’t want a slanted mortise that is magnified over the rail) when mortising, but the bench chisel is easier to leaver out the waste - as long as your walls are already properly vertically registered. The smaller the cut, the more useful a mortising chisel seems to be IMO. They are just straight and aggressive. But with larger mortises, the bench chisel is easier.
If I EVER see you describe one of your tools with it being "fun," I'll eat my baseball hat James!
cheers...rr
LOL glad I could help!
Would a firmer chisel be another option? No side bevel, so a bit more metal than a bench chisel. I come across used firmer chisels more often than mortise chisels
yes. those work great. and feel good too.
Comment down below
The difference between the bench and mortissing chisel does not depend on the capacity for cutting. The design difference depends on the hardness of the wood and the force required to break it out.
I prefer to buy and use antique hand tools.
@8:35 Shhh,, just hit it with the bench grinder and move on.
LOL nice!
T
Do you purposely spell things wrong in your titles? Not trying to be rude, just curious because it bothers me sometimes how you spell wrong in the video, but the title is write.
rong
Thes seams idoitik.
If you allow the spelling oopsies to bother you you miss out on the woodwork.
Yes, I notice them all the time and I would have gotten them red pencilled when I learned English but I 'm here for the tools and their use. Now if James was a written word crafter I would be on his case with a double bit axe.
it is a fun game with the core audience. I try to keep those cards fun!
Jan-Reinier Voute I love the videos, it's just that I hate when people spell things wrong, it is kind of a pet peeve of mine.