Re: chisel side bevels
Adam Cherubini, NJ
>Is there a bevel edge chisel with a narrower edge?
I can�t answer your question, but I find it interesting.
Dovetailed carcasses took over as the dominant furniture joinery style about 300 years ago. By the close of the 18th century (approx 100 years after its introduction) carcass joinery had evolved into a high art form. Workers quickly produced cabinets and drawers of all shapes and sizes. As markets changed, the super high quality furniture waned, but workmen continued to use dovetailed carcasses as their preferred joinery. The dovetailed carcass disappeared with the widespread use of plywood and other wood by-product building materials in the early 20th century.
(interestingly the state of the art of joinery reverted to the medieval boarded style- That�s where we are today. Making furniture with fasteners!)
For 150 of the 200 years that carcass joinery dominated furniture construction, workmen used square-sided chisels. The bevel edged chisel first appeared in the late 19th century. Arguably the finest dovetail workmanship, on the finest pieces was executed using square sided chisels.
Today, workmen regard the use of a bevel edged chisel for dovetailing de rigueur. What is it we�re missing?
Hoping to solve this mystery, I put aside my set of Hirsch bevel edged chisels for square-sided antiques two years ago. Over that time, I changed handles several times until finally arriving at the tapering octagonal pattern I use today. In the past two years I�ve cut maybe 1000 dovetails or so, maybe more. Made several large carcasses 4, 5?
I never much noticed the loss of the beveled edge. Sometimes there is a little stuff left in the corner. I take that out, by angling the chisel or with a smaller chisel. When you say pare, not sure if that�s what you mean. I pretty much never pare. I chop out the waste and that�s that. Time to beat is one hour per drawer. (I can�t do it with half blind fronts). But there�s no time for paring. As for multiple sizes, I use the chisel to layout the dovetail spacing. One chisel chops the waste. You do have to leave a little extra like you said, to avoid marring the tail�s side. The narrow back of the dove�s tail is another chisel, needed for the pin side.
In conclusion, I�m not sure that the bevel edged chisel is all that advantageous. Guys got by without them for 150 years. The sharper that bevel, the weaker the corner, so really sharp bevels wouldn�t make great firmers. You might find with some careful planning that you can get by with what you�ve got.
Adam
