Holding a Chisel Vertically When Chopping (as in Dovetails)
flairwoodworks
| Posted in Hand Tools on
When I chop out the waste between tails, I hold the blade of my chisel between my thumb and first two fingers. I hold it as low as I can to maintain maximum agility in positioning the edge. However, my fingers soon get fatigued from balancing the top-heavy chisel with this low grip. So I bought some butt chisels and their lower center of gravity helps, but doesn’t aleviate the problem. I’ve considered removing the dense plastic handles (probably a lot of work) of my new custom-ground LV butt chisels and replacing them with a strong, light-weight wood but first would like to hear your thoughts. How do you hold your chisels for this type of work? And what length of chisel to you use and how is the balance?
Replies
I'm right-handed, so I now
I'm right-handed, so I now grip the handle in my left hand, but position the blade with my right hand (thumb, first two fingers) near the cutting edge. Once in position, I give it a whack (or, a polite series of taps) with the mallet. Before, my fingers would tire too quickly when holding onto the blade, as you describe.
As long as I stop before the 4th espresso in the morning, I'm OK holding it steady. ;-)
Chris,
I believe I have a solution to your problem of fatigues fingers, which I will refer to as FF. An easy way to eliminate FF is to make a jig which allows you to clamp your pieces of wood in a vertical position, Now you make a small platform that is horizontal. You can make it as a smaller version of a horizontal router table. Now your chisel lies on the horizontal table. If you are right handed, you can hold the chisel in place easily with two fingers on your left hand (you get to pick which two fingers you use), and you use a light mallet if necessary with your right hand.
Another approach would be to strengthen your fingers. Take a ten pound weight and attach a rope to it. the other end of the rope is attached to a one inch diameter dowel (I'd use a hardwood dowel). now take the dowel, which is about a foot long, with the rope attached in the middle of its length, and use your hands, especially your fingers to continueally roll the dowel, which causes the rope to wrap around the dowel and thus lift the weight off of the floor. Do about ten reps a day for the first two weeks, and then double it.
Or you can just go to any sports store and buy one of those V shaped devices that you put in your hand and squeeze. Those are great for strengthening fingers.
There are lots of fun exercises you can do to strengthen you fingers. For example, if the bites are large enough, just eating a large ice cream sunday can exercise your fingers. Try to hold on to the spoon longer when lifting it before you eat the spoonful of ice cream.
Hope that helps. I have never heard of your problem before. Possibly it is limited to people with Canadian genes. :-)
Have fun. That is a great carved bed that you made. Does holding the carving gouges hurt your fingers?
Mel
Mel,
Wrong, wrong, wrong!
Simply drill a small hole thru the center of the chisel hande, beginning exactly in the center of the end, and exiting outthe side. Thru this, you can thread and tie the string of a large helium filled balloon. Works like a plumb line, only up.
Ray
PS: Moxon, in his 1703, Mechanick Exercises, doth say, or is that sayeth:
"Of the Paring-Chiffel...It is not knockt upon with the mallet, but the Blade is clafped upon the out-fide of the hinder-moft Joints, of the fore and little Fingers, by the clutched infide of the middle and third Fingersof the right Hand, and fo its edge being fet upon the fcribed line, and the top of the Helve placed againft the hollow of the infide of the right fhoulder, with preffing the fhoulder hard upon the Helve, the edge cuts and pares away the irregularities.
This way of handling, may feem prepofterous Pofture to manage an Iron Tool in...fhould Workmen hold the blade ...in their whole hand, theu muft iether hold their hand pretty near the helve, where they cannot manage the Tool, or they muft hold it pretty near the edge, where the outfide of their fingers will hide the fribed line they are to pare in. But this pofture, which they are all taught, and Practice doth inure them to it, that if they would, they could not well leave it."
Ray,
Thankf for advifing me about Moxon'f wordf and thoughtf. I am thinking of building a fhrine to Moxon. I wonder if he was related to Moxie. Do they ftill fell Moxie in your neck of the woodf?
I waf furprifed by Chrif'f meffage. I am fure that the helium filled balloon will folve hif problemf.
Hope your are getting less fnow than I am.
Have fun.
Mel
Hiya Mel,
Interefting thing about the f's as s's. It feems the rule for their ufage (they are actually an f without its crossbar, if you look clofely at the old type style), is if the s occurs in the middle of the word, or if the s is a double s, you use the f. "Purfuit of paffable grammar", for inftance. But if the s occurs at the end, you would ufe the modern lower cafe s, in all cafes. "Purfuit of happinefs", for inftance. But, I may have it all wrong, I'm no Ben Franklin.
Moxon's book is a fascinating read. He has sections on blacksmithing, bricklaying, joinery (describing a machine to make ripple molding), house carpentry, (including a description of the new building codes enacted after the great fire of London), turnery ( how to turn a ball in a cage, or an oval object), and a description on how to make a sundial and set it up so that it is accurate for your latitude. Its all fun. His engraved plates illustrating planes were copied from a Dutch (or continental Euro, at least) source, not English (just ask Adam how HE found that out:). When reading, one must remember he is a PRINTER writing a book, not a woodworker, blacksmith, etc. So the "arts and mysteries" he discloses, may be open to question. Not unlike the Authorities who write answers to knots questions, no?
Ray
Ray,
The idea of Moxon being a writer, not a woodworker, who wrote about woodwork, is not foreign to folks here at Knots. :-)
Have you plowed out yet?
Mel
Mel,
I believe that Ol' Jos.
Mel,
I believe that Ol' Jos. would fit right in, around here.
Yup, all plowed out. My next door neighbor is a good guy, he has a snow blower, and isn't afraid to use it. There are also several tractors in the area with front end loaders, and/or blades. The dairy farm down the way has two huge tractors which he uses to push out the road so milk trucks can get to his place. We usually get plowed out by the farmer before VDOT comes thru.
Ray
Hi Guys,
Being of a vaguely medical/pharmashootical background,I spend some time delving around in medical journals and the like.
I came across a paper written by a surgeon wherein he refered to an old paper entitled 'Sucking injuries of the chest'.
It did look strange in such an august journal!.
Robin
Ray,
That would not be a good idea if your work outdoors. But that gives me another idea. If I tie that same string to the ceiling of my shop, my chisel with float. A cotton string would have enough elasticity in it to allow me to position it on the work piece and chop, while letting go would pull the chisel free of the work. Whaddya think?
Chris,
Cotton will not have the proper elasticity. Baler twine will stretch, but it has no springback. Nylon mason's string might work, but a rubber band, or a bungee, would be even better. Scary sharp bungee chopping--yeehaw!
Have you tried holding your chisels by that round wooden thing on its upper end, instead of the lower end of the blade?
Haha
Deliberately undercutting might be an alternative, too. I do that all the time.
Ray
I use an old-style screen-door spring for tool suspension. ;-)
Fel,
I fike yor horazontel tabel ide-a, but would be conferned about "bounce". I fguess that zee tabel would haf to be reely solid.
While not the solution I was expecting, strengthening might be the answer, and would be good for many tasks. It seems I've developed "golfer's elbow" from too much hand planing.
EDIT: no, my fingers do not get sore when carving because I usually have both hands on the tool, only use the mallet for large wasting cuts.
hey chris,
most of my chisel holding hand is resting on the workpiece. same goes for carving.
eef
I just finished making 7 drawers. I'm rather novice at dovetailing, but these were my best yet. When chopping, I clamped a piece of wood along the base line of the dovetails and was able to use it to aline the chisel with the cut line AND keep the tool verticle. Worked like a ding-dong. Tried a few without the piece of wood to see if I had the muscle memory yet, but was not as happy with the results.
Keep trying things until you find something that works, then you can post that it is the only way and best way to do it.
Chris:
Probably a stupid question, but how tightly are you gripping the chisel? I rest my chisel holding hand on the wood and don't find the chisel fatiguing to hold upright. If you are tightly gripping the chisel, that could cause muscle tiredness.
I use a version of butt chisel made I think by Ashley Isles that is short and light. I switched from tall chisels not because of the weight, but because I didn't like so much distance between my hands.
Don,
A fair question that doesn't take anything for granted. I hold the chisel tight enough just to keep it positioned right and that's it. If I am giving it a death grip, it's not consciously. I think Ralph has the answer for me, and that's to hold the chisel further up.
don,
many years ago a friend gave me several old socket chisels for which, i turned handles. it was many hours of fatiguing work later that the idea the handles might be too long finally dawned on me-sheesh!
eef
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