1/8" & 3/16" Mortice Chisels

[Jacob]

Further to CC's post above, 1/8" mortice chisels are indeed useful for making Canterburys:

Er - what is a Cantebury? A stand for recorders or something?
PS It's OK I've googled https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_(furniture)
Good idea I need one myself!
PPS there's millions of the boogers! I'd never heard of them. https://www.google.com/search?q=Canterbury+(furniture) click on images

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I imagine that a 1/8" bevel edge chisel would do just as well as a 1/8" mortice chisel for grooves and other narrow work, however the bevel edge version would be more fragile and not last long. Bevel edge chisels in this size are therefore quite rare. Great for dovetailing, on the other hand.

I have used a true 1/8" mortice chisel several times (which is a lot for a weekend warrior such as myself). This was to make mortices for drawer handles. Here is an example ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Jacob]

I imagine that a 1/8" bevel edge chisel would do just as well as a 1/8" mortice chisel for grooves and other narrow work,.......

To a very limited extent. Mortice chisel is designed for depth, always used vertically, except for the little tweak of leverage to loosen it between strokes of the mallet. The deep narrow blade is self aligning, the bevel improves leverage and pushes waste away.
If you used a bevel edge in the same way you'd simply be hammering it in like a nail and having a job to pull it out again. You'd have to careful not to bend/break it whereas the mortice chisel is designed for heavy use and maximum force/speed/leverage

 

[Woody2Shoes]

I imagine that a 1/8" bevel edge chisel would do just as well as a 1/8" mortice chisel for grooves and other narrow work, however the bevel edge version would be more fragile and not last long. Bevel edge chisels in this size are therefore quite rare. Great for dovetailing, on the other hand.

Derek's re-making my point about the practical constraints in making a chisel 1-3mm'ish wide - it has to be 'tall' to compensate for being 'narrow', otherwise it just isn't strong enough - hence they all tend to look the same i.e. like a mortice chisel, at these widths. Would the old boys have called them mortice chisels - even if they used them for making, probably, amongst other things, mortices?

As to uses - besides inlay/stringing type stuff - I think Jacob's list sounds plausible. I also like the parting-tool idea.

My old car boot one came in very handy recently when I glued up a window frame having forgotten(!) to rout the (2.7mm?) slot for a weather strip on one component. I made a scratch stock with a thin 'finger' - which had a propensity to bend, but got me most of the way there, before the chisel finished the job. I don't call mine a 'mortice chisel' I call it a 'get out of jail free chisel'! To be fair, mine has a relatively dainty rosewood handle, not a chunky 'pig-sticker' handle but that would be overkill anyway.

Cheers, W2S

PS cleaning out London pattern dovetails??

 

[Droogs]

I have seen handles on the front of drawers in (funnily enough Derek) Apothecary type cabinets, where they are wooden tabs and have been M/T'd in and on a couple of the larger drawers even M/T and pegged with toothpick sized dowels. I would have thought this would be fairly common on general workplace/utility furniture that would see heavy use in areas where it would be relatively expensive to "import" metal handles etc pre 1850's

 

[Bluekingfisher]

I should image they were used primarily for cutting mortice in glazing bars.

 

[xy mosian]

Mortices for locks in desk drawers would seem to be that sort of scale. Similar occur in small cupboards.
xy

 

[Trevanion]

While I was doing a bit of hinge work today I remembered that I had seen boxes and some furniture where the hinges had the hinge leaves morticed into the timber rather than the usual housing and screw job. I imagine these chisels would be ideal for that.

 

[AndyT]

Here's my only contribution - twin mortice and tenon joints on my little walnut table. The tenons are 1/8" wide and 3/8" deep. Also the 1/8" chisel I used to cut them.

They are hidden away behind a much wider leg, so not obvious from the finished article.

(more here post1197147.html#p1197147)

 

[Jacob]

While I was doing a bit of hinge work today I remembered that I had seen boxes and some furniture where the hinges had the hinge leaves morticed into the timber rather than the usual housing and screw job. I imagine these chisels would be ideal for that.

Sounds likely. A rich tradition of wood and metal combined. Replaced mainly by plastic - starting with bakelite.
Not so long ago - we had stuff at school like chemical balances and physics lab kit which combined wood and metal- it wasn't just clocks.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I think .......... I repeat I think ........... I have a 1/16" Stanley 5001. I can't put my hand on it atm. but I seem to remember keeping it when I sold loads of others on.

 

[tomatwark]

When I was an apprentice the boss ground a 1/8 to 1/16, I seem to remember he was restoring a glazed cabinet.

 

[MusicMan]

Yes, the scientific instrument tradition up to about WW2 was very much mahogany casework and polished and lacquered brass fittings.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I'll have to look at the joints on my barograph case.

 

[Jacob]

You can tell if a deep bladed chisel is a mortice chisel by the handle. If it's an oval bolster with no neck and a fat handle, it's designed for hitting hard for mortices. There are less obvious ones like light sash morticers and they would be more multi use.