# Poor mans corner chisel



## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I had an extra drill press mortise chisel laying in a drawer gathering dust. I decided to re-purpose this as a corner chisel.

I turned a handle from a piece of scrap hard maple. Not intending to be fancy, just functional.

Drilled 5/8in hole for the shaft and glue with 2 part epoxy.

For the new wood workers who may not be familiar with the term, a corner chisel is designed to create a square corner from a mortise which starts as one or more drilled holes.

For comparison I took a picture with my Sorby 3/8in corner chisel on the left, and the 1/2in mortise chisel on the right.

I did a test on a piece of scrap with a 1/2in hole. The poor mans chisel worked fine with a mallet, as does the "real" version.

I made this for a friend. Now I just need to find a use for the drill part. :icon_smile:


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Brilliant idea and nice work Dave.

I'll be looking for the parts at g-sales and the flee market.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Great idea. I hate spell correct on this phone!


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

I like it Dave. Ever thought of moving to Australia. Would love to have you as my neighbour. Handy to as many of my friends are Dave or David.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

That's a great idea. You should do one for me. Im a poor man. I have one of those laying around here. Nice handle. How does the chisel work?


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

DaveTTC said:


> I like it Dave. Ever thought of moving to Australia. Would love to have you as my neighbour. Handy to as many of my friends are Dave or David.
> 
> Dave The Turning Cowboy


As a Brit growing up there were times when the thought of emigrating to Australia crossed my mind. I just never followed through.

These days the thought of moving anywhere feels like a lot more energy than I would want to spend.

I recall my first job out of university, a group of about 30 people and 5 of them had first name of David. Two of them were David Smith. Very confusing when people called. Back then (mid 70's) we had an operator who had to patch the calls to our desks.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Dominick said:


> That's a great idea. You should do one for me. Im a poor man. I have one of those laying around here. Nice handle. How does the chisel work?


Thanks, I am glad you fellows like the idea. I was in two minds about posting. I felt it may be too simple.

The true corner chisel is like having two chisels affixed at right angles. For cleaning out the corners of a mortise, it is can be a small time saver and leave a better, tighter corner.

The mortise chisel is designed for use in a drill press mortise attachment or a mortise machine, so is intended to work without a mallet.

The shape of the chisel is intended to minimize the effort to slice through the wood due to the curved design of the cutting edge. 

In this case it is designed to cut on up to 4 sides. The first cut in a mortise is the most difficult due to trying to cut all 4 sides at once. In my small drill press I was not successful.

However, using a mallet can produce more than enough force to cut 2, 3 or 4 sides at once.

Since this is just the chisel, the hole must be drilled first.

The mortise chisel will not produce a flat cut, so some additional cleaning of the bottom of the mortise may be needed.

If you have the chisel laying around, and want a handle, just send me the shaft diameter and length and your address. I have plenty of scraps to make a handle. This does not take long, and is fun to make. Serious offer.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

That's quite generous of you Dave. Thanks for the offer. I'd like to take you up on your offer. 
Is there anything I could do for you. 
Here's pics, but I'll send to address in a PM. 
Thanks.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Dominick, based on the light rusting, I agree this was just laying around. I am happy if I can help someone get a new life out of a "redundant" tool. :thumbsup:

OK, I have the dimensions and so we are off and running.

I will post a picture of the finished handle.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Dave Paine said:


> Dominick, based on the light rusting, I agree this was just laying around. I am happy if I can help someone get a new life out of a "redundant" tool. :thumbsup:
> 
> OK, I have the dimensions and so we are off and running.
> 
> I will post a picture of the finished handle.


PM sent. Thanks.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

*For Dominick - the next mortise chisel handle*

I love a short project. :smile:

The left over piece of hard maple from the first mortise chisel handle was used for this next handle.









Mounting between centres on the lathe. This piece had a slight blemish, but I think this adds a little bit of rustic for Dominick.









The completed handle. :icon_smile:
Dominick asked for this to be a surprise.









The package has just been mailed. Look out for this Saturday or more likely on Monday.

I hope this fits. Fingers crossed.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

That's so awesome Dave. 
I was reading this thinking you we're going to show it. Lol. I so appreciate this Dave and my wife says your a sweet heart for doing this. 
Nice piece of maple. I can't wait to see it. 
Thanks a lot.
I better get in that garage and clean that chisel up for my new arrival. Lol


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> As a Brit growing up there were times when the thought of emigrating to Australia crossed my mind. I just never followed through.
> 
> These days the thought of moving anywhere feels like a lot more energy than I would want to spend.
> 
> I recall my first job out of university, a group of about 30 people and 5 of them had first name of David. Two of them were David Smith. Very confusing when people called. Back then (mid 70's) we had an operator who had to patch the calls to our desks.


I assumed you were from the US. If I ever end up in England again I'll have to look you up. Was there around 2002 I think it was

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

DaveTTC said:


> I assumed you were from the US. If I ever end up in England again I'll have to look you up. Was there around 2002 I think it was
> 
> Dave The Turning Cowboy


Sorry for the confusion. I was raised and educated in the UK.

I moved to the US in 1977, so to some I appear to be from the UK, to others I appear to be from the US.

You may smile to read that a number of people in the US hear my voice and say "You are not from around here, are you from Australia".

As we know, a British accent and Australian accent are lets just say "not the same".


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