Keeping Chisels Sharp with White Oak

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  • poolhound
    Veteran Member
    • Mar 2006
    • 3195
    • Phoenix, AZ
    • BT3100

    Keeping Chisels Sharp with White Oak

    I am in the process of making a new table for my patio. It is a trestle design with the trestles being white oak. My design uses a total of 8 large 1 inch wide mortises. I am using a router to cut the mortises but it of course leaves round corners.

    In chiseling the corners square it the white oak seems to be blunting my chisels very quickly. Not sure if I have just done a bad sharpening job or if the white oak is just very hard. Anybody else have any experience with chisels and white oak?
    Jon

    Phoenix AZ - It's a dry heat
    ________________________________

    We all make mistakes and I should know I've made enough of them
    techzibits.com
  • radhak
    Veteran Member
    • Apr 2006
    • 3058
    • Miramar, FL
    • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

    #2
    No question about it : white is very hard, and takes a toll on blades. I used white oak some time ago, and had to hand-plane it, and was not happy doing it. Recently I used white maple, and it made me remember that time - both are equally tough to cut and shape.

    Mahogany, on the other hand, is so nice and soft, comparatively. But I am sure that's a useless observation to you currently
    It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
    - Aristotle

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    • cwsmith
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2005
      • 2737
      • NY Southern Tier, USA.
      • BT3100-1

      #3
      White oak is definitely hard and I have only worked with it a few times, mostly on furniture refinishes where sanding was the biggest task.

      It is going to be hard on any cutting edge I think, but the problem will be amplified on cheaper steel. I've got some Marples (not Chinese, but the Sheffield, England ones) that need sharpening a lot quicker than my Narex chisels. Both have been used only on pine and red oak so far though.

      CWS
      Think it Through Before You Do!

      Comment

      • poolhound
        Veteran Member
        • Mar 2006
        • 3195
        • Phoenix, AZ
        • BT3100

        #4
        Originally posted by cwsmith
        White oak is definitely hard and I have only worked with it a few times, mostly on furniture refinishes where sanding was the biggest task.

        It is going to be hard on any cutting edge I think, but the problem will be amplified on cheaper steel. I've got some Marples (not Chinese, but the Sheffield, England ones) that need sharpening a lot quicker than my Narex chisels. Both have been used only on pine and red oak so far though.

        CWS
        I have a set of Narex and a few odd Sorbys I will give them an extra special sharpen tomorrow before I try and attack these mortises.
        Jon

        Phoenix AZ - It's a dry heat
        ________________________________

        We all make mistakes and I should know I've made enough of them
        techzibits.com

        Comment

        • poolhound
          Veteran Member
          • Mar 2006
          • 3195
          • Phoenix, AZ
          • BT3100

          #5
          Sharpened up my 1" and 3/4" chisels real nice and set to to clean out these mortises yesterday. Went pretty well but man this white oak is really hard. two of the pieces had through mortises in walnut and that was way easier. I Kept the Worksharp sitting on the bench next to me and gave them a quick touch up every now and again and that really helped.
          Jon

          Phoenix AZ - It's a dry heat
          ________________________________

          We all make mistakes and I should know I've made enough of them
          techzibits.com

          Comment

          • atgcpaul
            Veteran Member
            • Aug 2003
            • 4055
            • Maryland
            • Grizzly 1023SLX

            #6
            Are you using a dedicated mortising chisel or your regular bench chisels? A mortising chisel will not need as frequent sharpenings as the thinner bench chisels.

            Comment

            • poolhound
              Veteran Member
              • Mar 2006
              • 3195
              • Phoenix, AZ
              • BT3100

              #7
              Originally posted by atgcpaul
              Are you using a dedicated mortising chisel or your regular bench chisels? A mortising chisel will not need as frequent sharpenings as the thinner bench chisels.
              In this case I was using bench chisels. I did try a mortising chisel but as this was for cleaning up the mortise after routing out the waste I found it a bit too bulky and the straight sides dont go into the corners.
              Jon

              Phoenix AZ - It's a dry heat
              ________________________________

              We all make mistakes and I should know I've made enough of them
              techzibits.com

              Comment

              • Carpenter96
                Established Member
                • Aug 2011
                • 178
                • Barrie ON Canada
                • BT 3000

                #8
                I used to work on antique wooden boats and we used a lot of white oak. It will definitely test your ability to get and keep a sharp edge. I wish that I would have had my Worksharp back then, it would have save quite a bit of time. My translucent Arkansas stone was great but the Worksharp would have helped. That said white oak is beautiful wood to work with.

                Regards Bob

                Comment

                • trungdok
                  Established Member
                  • Oct 2012
                  • 235
                  • MA

                  #9
                  Originally posted by poolhound
                  I have a set of Narex and a few odd Sorbys I will give them an extra special sharpen tomorrow before I try and attack these mortises.
                  Why not just cut or shape the corners of the tenons instead? Should be easier.

                  Comment

                  • jrnewhall
                    Forum Newbie
                    • Oct 2005
                    • 57
                    • Rochester, NY.
                    • Ryobi 3100

                    #10
                    Shaping the tenon is the answer. I bought a roll of 1" coarse emery cloth that I keep near my bench. I tear off about 18", with and end in each hand, sand the corners off one edge of the tenon, flip the piece around in the vise and sand the other edge. It takes a lot less time and is usually easier to fit than squaring everything up.

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