This is my first post on this forum so let me start out by saying that I am mostly a power tool guy. I build, what I would consider, nice custom furniture for my house and friends. I have seen some truly amazing pieces of art on this and other sites that are amazing and I hope someday to be able to craft such things. My current project is a Mission Style Sofa Table. I decided to use this as an oppertunity to work on some of my hand tool skills. So I sharpened up my chisels, treated myself to a new corner chisel, and built a chisel mallet. (I was going to buy one but when I looked at it, I realized I could build the same thing for half the price)

To my question: One of the joints I'm using is a Through Mortise and Tusk Tennon. I cheated alittle by using a router to plow out a majority of the waste material but then I used my chisels to shape the corners and trim the mortise to final size. My problem is the front side of the joint fits well but the back side looks sloppy and uneven. What is the best technique to keep this from happening? I sure this is a result from me not holding the chisel at a 90 angle when cutting. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

John