Hello Good People,
I’m hoping to make some thin mortises. They’ll be about 1/4″ deep, but only 1/8″ wide, at most.
I see chisels down to 1/8″, and one of those might work. That’s about the smallest I see, though.
The thing is, I see dovetails with really thin pins, they must be less than 1/8″, and those require a chisel, don’t they?
What do people use when working with dimensions less than 1/8″? An X-Acto maybe?
Nothing against routers, but I’d like to avoid using one in this instance.
–jonnieboy
Replies
What do people use when working with dimensions less than 1/8"? An X-Acto maybe?
You got it or another knife of their choice.
Dan,
Okay, I give it a try. Should be interesting.
Have a great weekend.
--jonnieboy
Lie-Nielsen makes a 1/10" mortise chisel:http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=mc_set
Hi jonnieboy
Vintage oval bolstered mortice chisels are available in 1/8". I use them fairly regularly when morticing for drawer grips ..
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You could try The Best Things. They often have these for sale.
Their profile is quite different to a bevel edge dovetail chisel, which would be too fragile for this use. On the other hand, there are some 1/8" firmer chisels (flat sided) that may do the job. They look like smaller versions of the mortice chisel.
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Regards from Perth
Derek
Cool grip!
Derek,
Great pictures (as usual). Thanks for the reference sites on the chisels.
Thanks!
--jonnieboy
Derek,
Sorby mortice chisel. 1/16". Three days. Best Things. Suh-weet!
--jonnieboy
Well lets see here . . . I have a Two Cherries that is narrower ( actual measure is .082" ) and an Iyoroi that is marked on the chisel 3 mm. Guess that is only a skosh wider. I thought so . . . actual measure is .114 ( 2.8 mm ) and 1/8 = .125 so is significantly narrower than 1/8.
Iyoroi is a dovetail chisel from The Japan Woodworker. The Two Cherries is a mortis chisel and I think I got it from Tools For Working Wood. The on line catalogs for some of these companies is frustrating. I could not find much to give links to. I will look further after dinner and maybe come up with more info.
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 12/5/2009 10:47 pm by roc <!-- ROC2013 -->
Edited 12/5/2009 10:54 pm by roc <!-- ROC2013 -->
Edited 12/5/2009 10:56 pm by roc
Roc,
Roc, thanks for the go-to's.
Since we mentioned the word 'online,' does anyone else get weird graphics in the Japan Woodworker website? It's a column along the right, an order form or something, that should wrap beneath the page or scrunch over to the right side more. It bothers the heck out of me, I love their stuff.
When I e-mailed them they said it was probably on my end. It doesn't do it on any other web page I've encountered before or since.
--jonnieboy
The answer to your question is "No" in my case. I attach a screenshot of the top part. Could you be missing some fonts?What OS and browser are you using?
Dave,
Hey, thanks for checking that out. The part you screen-shot is exactly the one that gets in my way.
I'm pretty sure this computer was before electrons were invented.
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium
Browser: Explorer (Can't find version number)
-Jon
jonnieB,
If you click on Help for your browser it should show a selection called About Internet Explorer - you will find the version number there.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Poor man!You could try improving your PC 10-fold by installing the Firefox browser. That screenshot was taken from Firefox. Mind you, I don't have the rest of MS's rubbish either.
Dave,
Firefox, yes. I have that on the computer that's in storage. That computer is totally hot-rodded. Pimp my computer! I love Firefox.
I'm afraid to make any changes to this computer since me old gray-haired mum would be thrown into confusion and panic.
If I might ask, are you running Mac OSX? Or open-source?
Actually, I'm going to send you an e-mail offline. Ignore those last questions.
Thanks, Dave!
>I have that on the computer that's in storage. That computer is totally hot-rodded<We may need to take up a collection here to bail your smooth internet ride out of the slammer. An Airport express from Apple will get you both on wireless WiFi from anywhere in the house and you will be back in the real world.Vista ?!?!? The sacrifices Knot heads will endure to make it back to the halls of the faithful !rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 12/6/2009 3:44 pm by roc
Ha ha! Okay, you shamed me into it. I'll make some calls to higher-ups and see if I can't get clemency for my computer.
-jonnieboy
Those tiny pins don't need the tiny chisel, it's the tail board that needs the small space, but you don't have to chisel at that end, just at the base where the cut out for the pin to fit is the widest.
Edited 12/5/2009 11:39 pm ET by SteveSchoene
Steve,
I thought perhaps I had the two reversed. Still, that's good about the thin dovetails, for future reference. Some day.
--jonnieboy
If you are talking about the pin waste between adjacent dovetails....Cutting that waste is a matter of two saw cuts, then remove the majority 0f the waste with a very thin bladed coping saw or even better a jeweler's saw. With most of the waste gone, you can easily chop to the baseline with a narrow chisel. You can find 1/8" chisles no problem at a flea market. I would grind the last inch of the chisel to the width that I wanted, then regrind the two side bevels so that they will clear the shoulders of the dovetails you are cutting. This will be a dedicated chisel, not meant for any heavy duty mallet work, but just fine for that last creep-up to the scribed baseline.
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