60 – Gadget Station (4 of 12)

Video - August 13, 2008

In this video, I focus on cutting the joinery for the case sides, as well as cutting the square holes for the ebony plugs. I discuss at length, various ways of doing both operations and I cover some basic chisel techniques, including how to deal with a very dense wood like bubinga. And you won’t want to miss the public service announcement at the beginning!

Discussion

Denis Rezendes August 13, 2008 12:56 pm

Marc for President!
that was an inspiring speech marc! i think i am going to pull and all night-er in my shop and wake up everyone in the neighborhood tonight! who cares we’re no longer under the oppression of society! lol

great episode! i liked seeing how to make the green and green box joint! and i love that pneumatic chisel thing you have there! just makes chiseling a whole lot easier! thanks for the episode!

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Alexander August 13, 2008 2:53 pm

Nice vid, the best part of the whole vid was you drawing on yourself!
Keep up the great work!

Lates

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Graham Hughes August 13, 2008 4:10 pm

OK, Marc? I gotta ask. You have two 26″ hand saws hanging on the wall. Surely one of them is crosscut. That has to be faster and easier than the jigsaw.

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thewoodwhisperer August 13, 2008 4:56 pm

Hey Graham. I am going to respectfully disagree. On my slowest day with a jigsaw, I am still faster than my fastest day with a handsaw. I had several boards to cut down (rips and cross-cuts). Keep in mind we are talking about Bubinga here too. So trying to saw all that stuff by hand when I have a perfectly good jigsaw definitely goes against my “work smarter, not harder” mindset. :)
I was using a relatively fine-tooth blade to keep tearout at a minimum, so that may be why you got the impression that it was slow?

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David (runningwood) August 13, 2008 5:55 pm

Dude, do you know how dangerous a necktie can be in a woodshop ! Man how we forget safety week so quickly.

You know I am kidding, another great video. Do we see a cable or PBS gig on the not too distant horizon………..

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Jim Jones August 13, 2008 6:16 pm

Marc, questions on making the square holes without the mortising tool.

Q1: I understand making the outline with the mortising bit. Instead of chiseling out the hole, why not drill the hole out with a round bit to remove excess then chisel it square?

Q2: Can’t you just use the mortising bit in a drill press and do the whole thing that way?

Jim

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Michael D August 13, 2008 8:14 pm

After seeing that video it confirmed to me that I need to upgrade my jigsaw. I can’t get very good results with it — no matter what I do. I’ve got to the point I avoid it almost all the time. At times the blade seems to cut at an angle, the base isn’t steady enough, etc.

Is there any reason why you didn’t gang up the initial cuts for the modified G&G box joints? I think I might have done that to speed things up (after taking twice as long in triple checking the measurements so I don’t ruin too much wood!).

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thewoodwhisperer August 13, 2008 9:12 pm

I can’t see any reason not to gang the boards together as it would effectively result is half as many kerf cuts. Good idea!

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Sal G August 13, 2008 11:55 pm

Hey Marc,

It’s nice to see you making some sawdust. And the timing couldn’t be better, since I am just starting on my first real project as well – a Greene & Greene side table in a Pop Woodworking Arts & Crafts furniture book. The plans for the side table I am using calls for dowel joinery with plugs disguised to look like pins in a mortise/tenon joint, but since I don’t care for dowels, I am modifying my project to use real mortise and loose tenon joints, and real pins.

Oh, BTW, in the video (Ep. #60), you forgot to mention how one might go about setting the marking gauge for scribing the line across the base of the joint (i.e. across the width of the workpiece) . . . a crucial step if you want the best fit.

For the benefit of those reading this blog who might like to know . . . the distance on a marking gauge is set using a dimension of the adjoining workpiece – in this case, the gauge would be set using the thickness dimension of the adjoing stock. Simply hold the gauge up to the matching workpiece and adjust the marking pin or wheel blade to match. Then scribe your line on the board to be marked.

Great show as always Marc – your silly humor is just a bonus. :)

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Sal G August 14, 2008 12:09 am

Best performance from a hollow-chisel mortiser can be achieved by sharpening the drill bit and the chisel and smoothing out the inside walls of the chisel for smooth chip evacuation. Lubrication for the cut helps too. Hollow chisel sharpening cuts are available wherever fine woodworking products are sold. A video describing the process can be viewed at FineWoodworking.com, but I think you have to subscribe to the videos (it’s cheap) to view it.

I don’t use my mortising machine much because I haven’t tuned it yet, so it sucks for now.

Sorry about the ads, it’s not my intention to sell anything here, just trying to be helpful.

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thewoodwhisperer August 14, 2008 8:47 am

Thanks for the tips Sal. Much appreciated!

One clarification though. You mentioned using the adjoining piece to set the marking gauge. That would be correct if we were cutting dovetails or some other joint that we wanted to be a flush fit. But remember, these are meant to protrude 1/4″. So all you need to do is set the gauge to the line and go. It actually makes little/no difference if you are dead on accurate to your line either. What’s important is making sure that once you set the gauge, you keep it in that setting and all pieces get marked so they are all exactly the same.
If anyone is interested in seeing how you set the gauge for a flush fit, like Sal mentioned, you can check out Episode 27 where I did the exact operation he describes. http://www.thewoodwhisperer.co.....tails-cry/

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Quiglag August 14, 2008 1:00 pm

If you are going to buy one of those mortising bits, why not use it to start the square cut, then while it is in place, run a drill bit through it to remove the center? Than you could again hit it deeper, or follow up with a chisel.

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thewoodwhisperer August 14, 2008 1:05 pm

Hey Quiglag. Great idea. I forgot to answer Jim’s question above and he basically said the same thing. You already have the bit because it came with the chisel, so thats a pretty good idea.

To answer Jim’s second question, no you can’t just use the bit set in a drill press. At least not without a conversion kit. On a standard drill press, only the bit is held in place. The chisel would have no where to go. That’s really what makes a mortising machine different from a drill press is the fact that it has a means of holding the chisel in place while allowing the bit to spin inside the chisel.

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BarryO August 14, 2008 2:22 pm

Hey Marc,

What brand are those Japanese chisels in the video? How do you like them?

I have an older Marples set and some newer Crown Tool chisels; I can get them real sharp but they don’t stay that way very long. ‘looking for a set that will stay sharp longer.

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Richard hicks August 14, 2008 3:03 pm

Marc,
I have a Shop Fox mortising machine and was trying to make square holes for pegs and noticed that the drill bit cuts on the outer edges of the square giving me a less desirable looking square. I checked and repositioned the bit several times and still had the same result. I looked at the drill bit cutting edge closely and found that the cutting edge cuts outside the edge. After drilling a hole and then the chisel was used without the drill bit. I found that the downward pressure crushes the edges of the piece of walnut that I am using. Is there a company that actually makes precision mortising machine sharp chisel sets?
On a daily basis I make several squares (approx 20) and would rather use the machine than the hand method. Any suggestions? Thanks Marc!
Rick

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smrk August 14, 2008 5:54 pm

For the square plugs, If you don’t have a mortising machine, I saw a tip in one of the woodworking magazines.

Instead of trying to make square hole go ahead an make a round one and force the square plug in.

With the drill press drill the hole with a bit just smaller than the size of your plug.

Next with a utility knife whittle the end of the square plug round (kind of like a pencil, but not to a point leave the end flat) to the size of the hole you just drilled. This is easiest when you have a long piece of plug material. Whittle the end, cut off a plug, whittle another plug, cut it off, etc…

Now add some glue to the hole, line up the plug, and hammer it in.
Use a flush cut saw, and sand smooth.

This works if the wood your plug is made of is harder than the wood you are plugging, as the plug is forced in it will push the surrounding wood fibers out of the way making it look like a square hole.

Just one more way, out of many to get the same result.

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Steve Carter August 14, 2008 5:58 pm

When Delila cut Samsonâ

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Darryl August 14, 2008 6:29 pm

love the intro.
excellant episode overall!

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thewoodwhisperer August 14, 2008 7:54 pm

Awesome idea smrk!

Richard, I noticed this on a few chisels in the past. Unfortunately it just seems like some of these bits are either not running true, or they are simply too wide at their tip. In fact, I just had an email conversation with someone about this exact issue. Here’s was what Neal suggested:
“To fix the problem of the protruding mortise bit, I chucked the drill bit in my drill press and adjusted it so the spur just penetrated my wooden table to stabilize the tip. I then carefully held a file against the edge of the bit. I followed this up with some sandpaper. Success! I don’t have enough experience with the tool to tell if it’s harder to press the chisel into the wood, but the sides of the mortise are much cleaner.”

It goes without saying that you should be very careful with this procedure. But with some caution and a light touch, it seems reasonably safe. To make it a bit safer, you might want to clamp a block of wood to the table and pivot the file from the piece of wood, kind of like the pin on a router table. Just something to consider.

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thewoodwhisperer August 14, 2008 8:02 pm

Oh and the chisels are Fujihiro. I get them from Hida Tool: http://www.hidatool.com/shop/shop.html

I really do like them though. The blade is awesome and holds an edge forever. But you have to like the feel of Japanese chisels, and they are basically all the same. So you either like them or you don’t.

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muddler mike August 15, 2008 9:46 am

I’m a full bearded guy, but I have to say, stay with the soul patch Brother….

Great episode. Even funnier than “….let’s get ready to make a cutting board!”, or the laugh track on the jointer’s jumpin’ episode!

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Alex August 15, 2008 9:58 am

Hey Marc, I just checked out those chisels you mentioned above, and I especially noticed in your episode with Kaleo (a particular camera angle) that the chisels have a double hollow-ground back. Now, I’m thinking in the long-term here, but won’t your chisel be useless after it’s resharpened enough times?

I mean a good edge is the intersection of two flat planes–the back and the bevel–so once you grind the chisel down to this hollow-ground area, the back is no longer flat and you will have an M-shaped cutting edge. I can’t personally justify the $50+ per chisel to know that after several years at best, I’ll have to buy new ones, or at least grind the fool out of the back to re-flatten it…

Just my 28.5 cents worth!! ;-D
Give me a shout (or an open-handed slap) at my email & let me know what’s up…

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smrk August 15, 2008 12:28 pm

I don’t have any Japanese chisels, but from my understanding they are a lamination of a very very hard steel on a cast iron body.

The idea is that they are so hard, and keep such a fine edge, you don’t need to sharpen them as often equalling longer life.

The backs are actually hollowed out to help sharpen them. Too sharpen them you first sharpen the bevel and then lap the back. the steel is so hard that if they did not hollow the back lapping the back would take forever.
The hollow grindings are actually shaped so as you lap the back the hollows ‘move back’ from the bevel edge, giving you the two flat planes you want.

Now remember I don’t have any Japanese chisels so my understanding may be incorrect.

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Doug Arnold August 16, 2008 12:08 pm

I hope you had fun with Leo! I’m sure glad you were on there. It’s getting me back to woodworking!I didn’t know you were around.
Now I have to draw up plans for my charging cabinet. My main wood will be some walnut I purchased from a retiring professional woodworker. It is 1×12 and 10-feet long.
From the desert

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Dan August 25, 2008 10:25 am

I thought I heard in your podcast you were going to post some pics of cabinets other people had made. If you have I cant find them I was looking for some inspiration :-)

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thewoodwhisperer August 25, 2008 12:38 pm

Hi Dan. I have posted a couple things. But I also made a point to post those items in our forum. Check it out here:
http://www.thewoodwhisperer.co.....?topic=7.0

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Shawn H November 28, 2009 10:03 am

I just started watching this series. Again, another great project. I want to build something about this size only as a jewelry box for my wife. How do you clean up the squeeze out? Even when I wipe it off there is residue left behind.

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- thewoodwhisperer November 28, 2009 11:03 am
  
  I usually just let the glue dry for about 20-30 minutes, just so it skins over. Then I scrape it away. Any remaining residue gets wiped with a damp rag and sanded once it dries.
  
  Reply
Peter G November 26, 2010 10:15 am

Hi.

Thanks for a great set of videos. On thing puzzels me. I use chisels a lot, but for rough cutting square holes, i love the Fein Multimaster (no – i don’t work for them). It is great for releaving the wood, and makes the subsequent chiseling mush easier, because the Fein isn’t as restricted by the orientation of the grain, as the chisel.

Hope this makes sense.

The Fein is like a very rough powered chisel, so i would think it would be right up your alley :).

Cheaper systems can be found, if it’s just to try it out.

Best
Peter
Denmark
(soory for any mis spelling – english isn’t close to my first language)

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Peter G November 26, 2010 10:27 am

Sorry – just a quick link. Here is Woodcrafts presentation of the tool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....r_embedded

You probably allready know it, but now i’ve made sure.

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Danielmatic February 6, 2011 10:56 am

Jesus! You almost hit your comp.

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60 – Gadget Station (4 of 12)

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