Well, I found out what was wrong with my mortising set up – the drill bit inside the mortise chisel was bent and causing the chisel to jam. I tried another chisel that had never been used and it worked, so I went old-school. I started and ended the mortising with those whatchamacallits, chisels! Thats it!
I marked out the mortises with a pencil, then went around the perimeter with a chisel. I only went deep enough to cut the surface fibers, maybe 1/16”+, and got a nice outline. Then I inserted the next smaller chisel into my mortise attachment in the drill press and used it to remove the majority of the material. After that I just cleaned up with the chisels and it came out fine.
Onward!
4 comments so far
John Gray
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1753 posts in 781 days
posted 327 days ago
NICE JOB!!!!
-- Only the Shadow knows....................
ChicoWoodnut
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895 posts in 711 days
posted 327 days ago
Perfect!
Where’s the ebony?
-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net
Kate
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95 posts in 770 days
posted 326 days ago
Anyone else see this video on cutting mortises?
Pretty cool.
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/mortising_under_glass/
-- Kate, http://www.wooden-box-maker.com
TheCaver
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292 posts in 735 days
posted 326 days ago
The cutting fibers tip I learned from Tommy MacDonald, and I tell you, its one of the best things I’ve learned that has dramatically improved the aesthetics of my joinery. I find myself using it anywhere there is exposed chisel work….so easy, so effective…..
Very nice clean lines…..
JC
-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan