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Thread: Need a Mortise Chisel

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
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    Need a Mortise Chisel

    My next project (small shaker table) needs a 1/4" mortise chisel. I had planned to get one of the Ray Iles pig stickers, but they seem to always be out of stock. I've thought about Japanese chisels off and on but I'd like to stay all imperial in sizes. Not sure about the steel or my 'restoration skills' with a vintage. So far as I know that leaves me with Lie-nielsen.

    Help me think this out more.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    I am very new to the Neanderthal way, but I have been practicing making mortises with a set of Sorby mortise chisels. I have the 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2". I bought them at the local Woodcraft store. I have always heard good things about Sorby lathe chisels, so I figured their other tools should be ok.

  3. #3
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    Hirsch and Narex would probably have the same problem as the Japanese chisels - nonimperial. I did just rehab a couple of chisels for a graduation present with the help of a turner friend. it was fun, so it is something to talk about. That said, I really like my Lie-Nielsen 1/4" mortise chisel. It should serve you well.
    Old age can be better than the alternative.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Wilkins View Post
    My next project (small shaker table) needs a 1/4" mortise chisel. I had planned to get one of the Ray Iles pig stickers, but they seem to always be out of stock. I've thought about Japanese chisels off and on but I'd like to stay all imperial in sizes. Not sure about the steel or my 'restoration skills' with a vintage. So far as I know that leaves me with Lie-nielsen.

    Help me think this out more.
    I'm not trying to discourage you here, but I have found my bench chisels to be quite adequate for mortises, particularly those 1/2" and under. I have a set of Narex mortise chisels, that I think are good for the money (but they are not Imperial), but they don't really get used.

    Paul Sellers demonstrates chopping a mortise with regular bench chisels here. In his demonstration, the mortise cut with the bench chisel actually comes out cleaner than the one with the mortise chisel (I know, there have been many people that take issue with the bulk of the chisel he uses, and argue that a "real" mortise chisel would perform better, so take it for what its worth - , but bench chisels have worked fine for me since watching this video). And I have been encouraged that as I learn to use the tools I have, I don't necessarily need to spend money on others. Outside of this, I haven't used any mortise chisels besides the Narex, so I can't really make recommendations.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
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    Puget Sound, USA
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    In practice, it really doesn't matter whether a mortise chisel is a metric or imperial size. You set your mortise gauge to the chisel(if you are using the mortise directly from the chisel).

    I have some of these chisels, which are quite good; http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...oducts_id=1771

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2013
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    The Narex mortise chisels from Lee Valley are imperial whilst the ones from Highland Woodworking are metric.

    Patrick Leach has a couple of pig stickers (2nd hand) but I think he's away at the moment.
    "If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"

  7. #7
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    I cant see why it would matter if a mortise chisel was metric or imperial.

  8. #8
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    Jan 2013
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    While not common, or cheap, I have found the workmanship and steel to be superb with Barr chisels- handmade here in the USA barrtools.com
    Peter

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    Perth, Australia
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    I posted this on WC where Tony asked the same question. Someone here may be interested in the same issue.

    It is a simple matter to make a mortice chisel, although I would redefine this to refer to sash mortice chisels, which are lighter versions. Think LN mortice chisels versus Ray Isles.


    I have a bunch of vintage oval bolstered mortice chisels (such as Ward) that I rehandled. These have nearly full length steel, and I think they were a steal, even though they came from eBay as they did over the years. If you look out for the ones with bust handles - that no one else wants - you can do very well. I also have two Ray Isles and, frankly, although the edge does last longer, there is no big advantage over the vintage ones unless you are chopping a lot of mortices.


    Anyway, I wanted something smaller for delicate work, a mortice chisel with a shorter and lighter blade, and decided to make my own. For this I used tempered HSS, which is very cheap. The advantage of HSS is that you can grind it without fearing it burning and losing its temper.


    These two are 1/4" and 5/16". The blades are 2 3/4" long ....





    The pictorial is here:
    http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...ngChisels.html


    They work very well, and for shallower mortices the parallel sides are not a disadvantage (the vintage oval bolstered versions are tapered).


    The other alternative is the Narex from Lee Valley, which I have seen but not used. They are cheap but I have heard good reports.


    Regards from Perth


    Derek

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Wilkins View Post
    My next project (small shaker table) needs a 1/4" mortise chisel. I had planned to get one of the Ray Iles pig stickers, but they seem to always be out of stock. I've thought about Japanese chisels off and on but I'd like to stay all imperial in sizes. Not sure about the steel or my 'restoration skills' with a vintage. So far as I know that leaves me with Lie-nielsen.

    Help me think this out more.
    Here is to thinking it out:

    Any 1/4" chisel could be used to do this job.

    If you are already sold on doing a lot of mortise work in this size a dedicated chisel for the job may be in order.

    If you listed your location, it has slipped my memory at present. You may live near another member who wouldn't mind letting you take a test drive of their set up.

    I do not have a 1/4" mortise chisel. I have an old Buck Brothers straight sided chisel in that size that works well for occasional mortise work.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #11
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    Jul 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by peter gagliardi View Post
    While not common, or cheap, I have found the workmanship and steel to be superb with Barr chisels- handmade here in the USA barrtools.com
    Peter
    I heartily agree! Very good chisels indeed.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Copenhagen, Denmark
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    +1 on what Roy Lindberry writes. No need, in my opinion, to get a mortise chisel. In my own experimenting in european oak (hard) I tried with the same size vintage mortise chisel and my regular beveled bench chisel... And I really preferred to use the bench chisel. I felt I had more control. And with the right technique, you don't have to blast and smash your way through. So I have no interest in mortise chisels anymore... They are pretty though.

    My two cents

  13. #13
    The Narex chisels are surprisingly good for the price, and they will stay sharp for a more than reasonable time in use. When I needed to chop my first mortise, I opted for the Narex and was not disappointed. I usually spend "high" so I only spend once, but I found the Narex to be more than good enough to chop mortises for a long long time. They are not so pleasing on the eye like many of my tools, but seem to do a very good job for an obscenely low price.

  14. Antique tool dealer Jim Bode always has mortise chisels of all kinds for sale. Most are under $40. Take a look at his website, if you don't see what you are looking for, just give him a call. He has a lot of tools that are not listed yet. http://www.jimbodetools.com/cart.php...=asc&viewAll=1

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    Silicon Valley, CA
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    Tony,


    Paul Sellers has a nice demonstration to show the procedure with both a pigsticker and a bevel-edged chisel:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_NXq7_TILA


    And some other mortising videos of his:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPBkO2chZxk
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYpxhYHMNmI


    I do like the AI pigsticker, but other chisels can work fine.
    I don't especially like the drill&pare approach (I find the chisel work to be pretty fiddly unless I use some sort of guide to avoid twisting )


    In the comparison video, Paul had made a quick evaluation of the smoothness of the sidewalls. For me, this depends on how well I placed the chisel blade before each chop, and less on the chisel type. This is a bit awkward during chopping operations (note the grip with left hand at the handle, rather than guiding the edge). Paul has cut many more of these than I...


    Matt

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