Mortise

[onedash]

Well Im not sure if uts considered a mortise but I got some rail hangers for the bed im making and I used my mortiser for the footboard since I am attaching them to seperate pieces of wood on the inside of the footboard. The head board I had to do by hand with a chisel. Holy Cow. It took like an hour for each one. Just to get them flush and make a deeper pocket for the little peg parts that go inside.
I should have made a jog for the router. Probablyt would have been faster and definately cleaner.
I am no good with a chisel.

[cabinetman]

You found out the term "chiseler" has different meanings. If you have sharp chisels, learning to use them is much easier in that you don't have to "fight" or "force" the work. Your initial evaluation of the procedure is what makes the determination of how you will do it. Think of what you went through in making your decision. Your choices of router/jig, or hand chisel, mortiser, is a learning process in itself just thinking of the best way to do something. That's half the battle. Evaluating all the possibilities and determining the steps to be taken are as much part of WW'ing as actually doing the work.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[onedash]

I think the one chisel out of three is kinda sharp but I don't know if its sharpened correctly for a chisel. Its a cheap craftsman set. And me and a grinder aint so good. Sure can eat metal pretty fast with that thing.
Should you have to use a hammer when making such a small mortise?
I need to go to one of woodcrafts demo's when they do sharpening I guess.

[cabinetman]

If your chisel is sharp you should not need a hammer. Chisel strokes should be short and light, without pushing. It should be like shearing off a thin piece of paper. At times you may need to tap, then using a mallet, or a light hammer works good. It goes back to sharp. Hand chiseling should incorporate both hands and one is guiding the chisel and the other is controlling the movement.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[JR]

Well, I was going to lead you to the King of the Hand-Made mortise, Ryan F, but his pics don't link.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...t=crib+mortise

Is anyone in contact with Ryan? I forget, is there some magic sauce for recovering old pics, other than getting the OP to re-spost?

JR

[JimD]

I cut the basic mortise for the bed rail fasteners with a router. I think it is definitely worth spending the time because even for one bed, you have 8 fittings to install. For the recesses within the basic mortise, I use chisels for the male piece and the router with an edge guide for the female piece. These do not show so a real precise fit is unnecessary.

Jim