Chisels and wood species

Re: Chisels and wood species

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Maybe this question and the one below should have been combined, they're probably related. Have you tried paring rather than chopping? Do you chop from one side about half way through, then turn the board and chop from the other side?

If your chisels are as sharp as you can get them and this is still happening, maybe you do need different chisels. The Japanese also use softwoods, so you may have better luck with Japanese chisels; but they still have to be very sharp.

Pam

Re: Chisels and wood species

Bob Dodge

>Hi Steve, when you say "crushing", do you mean that the end gain, at the bottom of the tail cut-out, is being crushed downward as you chop, or more likely, backward, into the board. The steep bevel you're using, will drive the chisel's back against the end-grain of the cutout, and unless you account for this by starting just proud of the line, you'll end up with what I take it, you described. It's my understanding, that general purpose chisel sets are sold, ground to a comprimise 25 degree bevel. From what I gather, 20 degrees for softwood , is recommended, and 30 degrees for hardwood. In your case, you already have a fairly steep bevel, PLUS a micro-bevel. This might be incorrect, there are far more astute commentators than I , here. Just a different perspective on what you meant by crushing. Bob PS, Steve, I e-mailed Ed Sirotich last night, An Adria DT saw, and a few Primus Woodies should be headed east,soon.Tks.

Re: Chisels and wood species

Jonathan Ronnow, Sweden

>Perhaps lighter cuts would help? I had the same problem, very sharp chisels but cheesy surface. What happened was that the softer wood between the annular rings would tear out rather than cut, but the harder rings would cut. So, I took a narrower chisel and chopped at an angle sideways, more like paralell with the rings than right across them. A slicing cut. But the corners can get banged up if you dont watch where that chisel leans...

Jonathan

I've been chopping my DT's

Steve Kubien

>and you're right, maybe that's the problem. As I said below, I will try to pare more than chop and see what happens as I sneak up to the scribe line. Hopefully that works and I don't need to buy more chisels.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I LOVE buying more tools. It's just that I prefer not to have to replace ones I already have. :~)

Thanks,

Steve Kubien

Hmmm,

Steve Kubien

>Maybe I'll regrind a couple of chisels to 20�, put a small micro-bevel on them and try them out. Worst case scenario is time wasted and a slightly shorter chisel. Thanks, I'll try that. Maybe I need a set of chisels for light paring cuts (and a low bevel angle) and something with an angle like I'm using for chopping.

Nice little drive-by on the Adria. I am throughly jealous!

Steve Kubien

Re: I've been chopping my DT's

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Replacing/refining tools is about all I'm doing right now vis a vis tools, pretty much have all the tools I need (vs want/would like to have) plus a few mistakes for my working methods. It's a process.

Just remembered that a good test for whether you've a hump in your dt baseds is to hold the board vertical, place a chisel back side down in the dt cutout, and try to rock it.

Pam

Re: I've been chopping my DT's

joel

>If you place the back of a chisel on a scribe line and give it a whack the bevel on the chisel will always drive the chisel back past the scribe line.

The solution is to place the chisel a fraction of an inch before the scribe line and give it a whack - driving it to the scribe line. Then you stop. THe amount the chisel will move back depends on the hardness of the wood. (see diagram)

Then you chip off one chip - defining the scribe line. With the line defined it is easy to chisel and chip out to the middle of the wood, flip it over and do the other side (There is a photo essay on my site on cutting dovetails using an anglemag which illustrates this - the anglemag is just a shortcut for sawing the chopping is the same)

Anyway - that's the way I was taught and I never pare to a baseline - takes way too much time.

IF you saw the waste first - and I only recommend this on wide waste - you can start at the scribe linve because there is no resistance of the bevel and the chisel won't move.

Re: I've been chopping my DT's

Steve Kubien

>Lucky me, I have a 2" engineers square which allows me to this task very nicely.

I am almost to the point of having everything I need, at least as far as the basics go. I'm still missing a router plane and any sort of dado/grooving plane. For those tasks I still reach for the 2-1/2hp screaming beast. There a couple of tools I really want to replace: #7 Bailey with a woodie, DT saw with an Adria or LV or STW but nothing really significant.

Thanks for the advice,

Steve Kubien

in Ajax Ontario, where I anxiously await a D8 with thumbhole for ripping to arrive! Giggle, giggle giggle!

Re: Chisels and wood species

Roger

>I just did a case out of pine; with lots of hand cut dovetails; I forgot how soft that stuff was and mashed the first two sets.

I used MArples chisels and a butt chisels, wooden mallet etc.

What worked for me was a light hand on the marking knife and a light hand on the initial cut with the chisel.

Dovetails cameout ok after that.