Mortise pairing by hand
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Hello! I’m training on doing mortises using chisel and mallet. How to pair the bottom of the mortise by hand? I have no room to use a router plane… And, last question , how to square mortise face to the bottom? i want to use only hand tools..
Hey Carlo,
See if this helps……….http://paulsellers.com/2012/07/chopping-mortises-bevel-edged-or-mortise-chisels-video/
Hi Ken and Florian!
I use standard chisel to chop mortise, like Paul does in the video linked above. I have to work on really small mortises and they must be stright and squared because i have to glue in a patch of good oak. Mortise sizes are : 1,5 cm length for 1 cm width or 1 cm depth in the wood. Too short, to use a plane and a router.
Probably a liuthery plane… Or i have to become skilled on using the chisel..any tricks?
Carlo, you could use a forstner bit to drill out the bulk, this would give you a nice flat bottom, Then finnish with a chisel. Or you could use a chisel, and a small router plane.
Or i have to become skilled on using the chisel..any tricks?
Carlo @bow … Use a knife wall to establish the walls of the mortise. Chop the mortise half way thru from the top, and then flip the piece over and chop the other half from the bottom. Every so often, check to see that your chesil is straight up and down, so that the top and bottom half of the mortise meet in the middle. You can also make a jig to keep the chisel straight.
If the mortise is not all the way thru, the bottom of the mortus does not have to perfectly flat. The strength of the joint comes from the sides of the tenon in contact with the sides of the mortise. A little space between the end of the tenon and the bottom of the mortise is not a bad thing.
Watch Pauls videos on chopping a mortus.
Robin ... Richmond, Virginia, USA
HaHa Robin, did you even read Carlo’s post. He wants to glue in a patch of good oak, not chop a through mortice buddy. 😉
Could you use the chisel and some smaller chisels in a poor mans router setup to square the mortise?
Dallas, Texas
Umm, I think a swan neck chisel is supposed to help out smoothing the bottom of a mortise. like this http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=30266&cat=1,41504,41533&ap=1
I’ve never really worried about the bottom of a mortise so long as its deep enough to let the tenon seat properly.
-Canada
Above is depicted the starting condition.. Next photo regards the mortise i have to do…with wood chopped away:
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