How To Use Wood Chisels For Carving

Mortise Cut

Paring Cut

Pare thin wooden slices to flatten the edge of an exposed recess. Hold the chisel flat on the wood below. Pivot the chisel as you cut and push the blade in an arc for faster slicing.

When the gap is open, straighten the bottom by cutting off thin slices with the rear. Use the unbeveled hand of the chisel pressed parallel to the wood. As you rasp into a slice of wood, face down the slope. While flattening a cut and allowing exposure from the ground, face the bevel upwards and keep the chisel back close to the top.

Chopping Cut

Chop out vast quantities of wood by chopping with limited split quantities. Thrust a hammer on the chisel and cut off about ½-in. Then chisel from the end before moving, to extract the object. For this cut, the chisel has to be sharp. Place the tool next to one side of the cut and hit it firmly with a hammer to detach wood from the notches. It isn’t a great piece of work; another board will cover the break.

Cut a groove, or dado, by first spotting at the appropriate depth at both sides. Smash the wood off with your chisel in the center, and it slices through space around ½-inches.

Chisel out dadoes and other more detailed joints with little cuts at a time, rather than pressing the chisel too hard. Using a hammer or mallet for laborious jobs, or push for easier grinding duties or delicate cuts with the heel of your palm.

The edge of the dice is smooth and flatten. Hold the chisel flat down to the groove edge. Function at both sides towards the middle to keep the tip at splintering.

Scraping

Scrape glue joints or other wood tasks imperfections by pressing the edge to the wood at the correct angle, with the back of the chisel approaching you. Help the blade with your fingertips to extract thin shavings. You may push down when pulling the chisel toward you. Scraping needs a smooth, straight edge to excellence. The tip of the chisel will cut cleanly with no rough marks remaining in the wood.

Safety Tips

A strong chisel allows you incredible power and lets you cut paper-thin pieces of wood, but if you’re not cautious, it can be risky.

• If you strike with a hammer, wear protective lenses unless it’s Thor’s Mjolnir. Never push a chisel or drive it towards you. Hold them beyond children’s control.
• You will get complete control, and there is less chance of breaking a chunk too deep.
• It’s best to use both hands. One to direct the chisel, the other to move the chisel, or to swing a hammer or a mace.
• Never curl up your body or put your hand in a chisel’s direction.
• Protect the tip of the chisel while not still in service.
• Hold chisels in a secure spot, away from children.
• Hold the workbench tightly clamped onto your platform. Place them on a firm surface while operating on large items, such as doors.
• Create many shallow passes instead of only one large hit.

Tips for Sharpening Chisels

A dull chisel is a precarious chisel — it lunges and skips. It’s hard to manage and needs more energy to use. It’s simple math, after learning how to use wood chisels for carving, you should sharpen your tools. Sharp chisels go wherever you guide them and keep the surface slicker.

Here’s an overview of how to sharpen chisels:

• Shaping
  You may need to reshape chisels with nicked or rounded tips. You can use a belt sander or grinder to chip out nicks at an angle of 25 degrees. Dip the chisel in water after two to three seconds while using a grinder to keep the tip from overheating. When this occurs, the chisel does not long carry a point.
  
• Polishing
  You should clean the chisel base by rolling it back and forth over slowly finer wet/dry sandpaper. A sandpaper polishing should have 120, 220, 400, and 600 grit.
  
• Honing
  Set the honing guide to keeping the chisel at an angle of 30 degrees to build a “secondary bevel,” beginning at 220 grits. You can run the chisel over the sandpaper back and forth until a burr is developed on the back of the edge. Flip the sandpaper over the chisel and rub it smooth to clear the burr.