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Jim Wilson is back in business! A couple of weeks ago Jim sent me an email indicating that he was opening up shop again. Whether you are reading this for the first time, or revisiting the page, you may be interested to know that the link in the following text to Jim's website will take you to more information on pricing and ordering these fine mortise chisels. Happy woodworking! Howard
July 15, 2003
I am a machine tool user usually when it comes to mortises and tenons. Before I acquired a Jet mortiser I always drilled out mortises with a forstner bit chucked in my drill press and cleaned them up with a chisel. Tenons have nearly always been cut on the table saw. However, with a trip to Ernie Conover's Conover Workshops in my future, I needed to get myself a 1/4 inch mortise chisel.
Mortise chisels are usually a pretty pricy item in tool catologs amd online stores. Try and find one in a retail shop. I dare you! My local Woodworker's Warehouse just looked at me and said, "duh, what?" What else is new. They may say that neanderdudes drag their knuckles on the ground but the brain trust they have working in my local Woodworker's Warehouse has their lower jaw dragging on the ground - complete with drool.
I considered buying an antique and found a set for $50 at a hereafter unnamed online antique tool dealer. They were a little ratty looking and two of the four were really odd sizes and probably of no use. Of course I called up and the answer was, "uh... uh... that's $150. Are you sure it says $50? That must be a typo." Oh well. They sure didn't look like they were worth $150.
Somewhere in my search I turned up the name of Jim Wilson who makes exquisite mortising chisels and sells them at a steal of a price. They don't come with a handle, in case you want to make your own, but for a very competetive price he will supply you the complete chisel - handle as well. I chose to make my own. Now, don't rush out and inundate Jim with a load of email. I was fortunate enough to get one of the last ones made. He is going to take a break from making them. Watch his web site though. If he ever starts up production again, they are worth every penny. Not only are they inexpensive, they are the sturdiest, most accurately machined chisels I have seen. And they come ready to use!
Upon receipt of the chisel, I decided upon a wood for the handle. If you have ever seen Frank Klausz's video on mortise and tenon joinery, you know he uses a handle where the sides are planed flat in the same plane as the sides of the chisel. That was my original intention. I would turn the handle on the lathe, then use a hand plane to flatten the sides. Thus I needed a rather thick blank from which to turn the handle. I didn't have one.
I did, however, have a nice piece of rosewood backer board that I purchased a few years ago. I was at my local hardwood supplier and it was just leaning up against a stack and I had to have it. It was originally marked out to become parts for a rosewood box, which is why there are lines all over it. The piece is only slightly under an inch thick so I had to glue up a turning blank to get the desired size of handle.
I marked out the raw pieces on the piece of backer board. Oh, what is backer board? It is the slab left over that the saw mill was gripping while sawing off the other slices. it is usually odd sized and can have marks and dents where the saw mill gripped it. I used to find it cheap though, probably for 10% to 15% of what premium wood cost. There is a large waste factor unfortunately, and you have to learn to work around it.
Once marked out I used a jigsaw and bandsaw to cut out the rough pieces. They were then flattened on the jointer. I didn't worry about the faces being parallel as the piece was going to end up mostly round anyway. That left me with three parts to be glued up. I spread some newsprint out on the bench and proceeded to wipe the wood down with water. I added water to both mating surfaces as that was recommended for non-porous hardwoods by the manufacturer. It was my first attempt at using Gorilla Glue and I thought that it would be a good, strong glue for this purpose. My inexperience with rosewood has taught me that the water stains it so I would probably use epoxy if I did this again.
I glued up the pieces and clamped them for several hours. When finished I used the bandsaw to clean up one edge, then jointed a square side and edge so I could true up the ends on the compound miter saw. I ended up with a relatively clean turning blank about 3 inches square and 8 inches long. I marked center on the ends and placed it in the lathe. Using a roughing out gouge I turned it round. At this point I would like to add pictures but I seem to be getting more forgetful as I get older because I sort of became immersed in the project and forgot about the camera. Oh well.
I was using a brass ferrule purchased from Lee Valley with an inside diamerter of 1.125 inches, so I marked off the length of the blank needed to fit under the ferrule and turned it to its finished diameter using a 1 and 1/8 inch wrench as a sizing tool. Then I shaped the rest of the handle with the roughing out gouge and smoothed with a skew chisel. I took the blank off of the lathe to test the ferrule and it fit perfectly. It was at this time that I noticed that I liked the heft and feel of the handle and decided I would like to leave it as is and not flatten the sides. So back on the lathe to sand with some 80, 120 and 150 grit paper. Then I used a small cotton ball dampened with orange shellac and shellacked the handle, burnishing it afterward with a handful of chips from the turning. This is a quick French polish technique I learned from Ernie Conover. Lastly, with the lathe still turning at high speed, I rubbed on some beeswax and burnished it too with a handful of chips leaving a satin smooth, lustrous finish.
The ferrules come unpolished so I charged up my hard felt wheel on the grinder with some green buffing compound and polished it nicely, then slid it into place. I used the drill press to drill out the hole for the tang of the chisel, slightly larger than 3/8 of an inch I think, then I cut off the button left from turning that was on the end of the handle. (I had previously been using it to help me position the handle while boring out the tang hole.) I filed the end of the handle smooth then sanded it to 150 grit. I finished off the chisel with some shellac and wax where the button on the end had been. Insert the chisel and it's done! Here is one shot of the finished product. Here is another in slightly different lighting. This chisel is a joy to use and gives a satisfying, substantial feel of craftsmanship in your hands.
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