I know I talk a lot about hand tools on this blog. And honestly I use tools of the unplugged variety much more than the ones with those long tails and pointy plugs…a lot more. My bed time reading is comprised of old tomes of furniture collections and eclectic trade manuals of working styles long gone. I just like the way my forefathers used to work.
Reality check, it’s 2010. Aren’t we supposed to make contact with aliens this year in orbit around Jupiter or something? So when another 4x5x3″ mortise presents itself, I break out my router, pattern bit, and a template. Yes, I am very confident that I can chop that by hand and make it pretty and square and to depth with my lovely chisels. I have chopped enough mortises to say that I can do it, but I have also chopped enough to say that I don’t want to do it.
I’m putting the finishing touches on the sliding leg vise for my Roubo bench and it is time to inlay the vise nut into the sliding chop. I cut the nut down so it is only 5″ long but it is still a huge mortise and one that requires utmost precision so I don’t compromise the strength of the chop. Woo hoo for power tools!!! Turn on the dust collector, turn up the music, don the respirator and hearing protection and let’s chew up some wood.
10 minutes later and I have made a mortise that would make the Grand Canyon proud. I even used pocket holes and a powered drill to make the template. If it makes the galoots out there feel better, I squared up the corners with a beautiful 1.5″ paring chisel.
So before anyone starts calling me a purist, let me also say that I like my TiVo, read a fair amount of Science Fiction, and cannot live without my iPhone. Hooray 21st century conveniences!
…now where did I put my laser marking gauge…
3 responses so far ↓
1 Larry Marshall // Feb 9, 2010 at 8:33 pm
This is to warn you that there is discussion going on about revoking your galoot license, Shannon.
But I agree, that’s a mighty big hole to approach with a chisel when you have a router sitting on the shelf. The important part is that paring chisel work after hogging out most of the material in any case. Right tool for the task(s).
Personally I’d draw the line at the laser marking gauge, though.
Cheers — Larry
2 Adam King // Feb 9, 2010 at 10:30 pm
LOVE IT!
Nicely done. Yes the Galoots may scoff, but in the end the satisfaction is yours for the having.
Great job.
3 Bob Rozaieski // Feb 10, 2010 at 12:52 pm
TRAITOR!
Really, router=right tool for this job. That’s not woodworking, that’s timber framing. Unless you go out and get yourself a slick, a twibil and a couple of ship augers, you likely don’t have the “proper” hand tools to do that job efficiently by hand anyway. You can use a brace and bench chisels to chop it out just like you can use a dovetail saw to crosscut a 2×12, but would you want to? While bench chisels may resemble the “proper” tools for timber framing, they are different beasts entirely. Just like using power tools, there are hand tools that are the right tools for the job. For a mortise like this, which again is more like timber framing than joinery/cabinetmaking, joiners/cabinetmakers tools are not the right tool for the job. Fire up the router my friend.