swan neck chisel sharpening

clarification: swan neck mortise chisel  *LINK*

frank_shic (walnut ck, ca)

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http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=3026

You need two....

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Don't even need one IMHO. Their pretty much useless, I mean there plenty of other very expensive or free ways to clean the bottom on a mortise.

Tape around the chisel at the depth you want to be at. Drill a hole or two to the proper depth and use them as a guide. There are a few more ways described on others web pages. I can look up for you if necessary, but you�ll think get what I�m talk about.

That said, there a lot of us here who don�t bother cleaning out the bottom of a mortise at all. An archival search on mortises will lead you to some interesting thoughts on the matter.

OK, OK�So you got to have one eh?

Yes you do need to sharpen it. Do it just like a chisel, flatter the short flat end of it and micro bevel the tip. This is pretty much a freehand sharpening task to me. I guess you could rig it to a jig of some sorts�

Doh! Should say: You don't need two....

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

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but it looked CUTE

frank_shic (walnut creek, ca)

>thanks for the advice. i know that cleaning out the bottom is probably overkill but... it'll go well with the other chisels i got!

Please enlighten us, Scott

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>What are suitable ways to flatter a swan neck chisel's short flat end? I can see flattering the overall chisel - "My, how graceful the curve of your neck is." "Every other swan looks like an ugly duckling next to you." - but the end? "Your short flat end looks like Yosemite Sam after the drawbridge fell on him" - ? I just can't make it work.

Bill, not famous for his silver tongue

Re: but it looked CUTE

Frank D. in Montreal

>This might be considered cheating on this side of the board but I'd do it with a grinder on the side of the wheel. Don't press too hard so as not to damage the wheel, it should take only a few seconds.