Favorite mortising techniques?

M

Michael Bennett

Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
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How do you folks cut mortises for stick tangs? Say you wanted a 3/4" x 1/8" x 4 1/2" deep. Do you use a drill press, files, chisels or what? Let's say the material is walnut.

I typically use a drill press to rough it out, then files or saw blades to finish it. My problem is my bits are too short. Is there a source for long bits?

Thanks!

Mike
 
Michael,

Go to your local hardware store and get 6" drill bits , I know you can get them in 3/16" and up, I don't know about 1/8" that long.
Also get a 6" sawzall blade in the narrowest width and the coarsest
teeth, make a handle for it, and you can really remove the material with it in tight places.
One word of caution, when drilling deep holes remove the bit and clean out the hole often, because on hard and oily material like dymondwood and cocobolo the bit will create a lot of heat and split the material.

Hope this helps :)

Bill
 
I use a milling machine but I think a drill press with an end mill bit would work fine on woods. A cross vice could be purchased innexpensively to hold and move the scales.
 
I have a 1/8 bit that is 12 in long, you should be able to get them at ace hdwr. I also have a couple of 1/8 wood chisels (mine are both antiques, but Marples still makes one.)

you are using a 3/4 wide tang. about an inch below the ricasso let it taper down to about 3/8 inch. Draw the temper at the ricasso dark blue, and light blue below that. It should be plenty strong enough to hold a handle. If the blade is small you can safely tak the tang down to 1/4 or even 3/16.

I always cut the mortice first. then shape the handle If the end of the mortice is ugly add a butt plate and a bolster, and assemble it with epoxy. You won't have eny problem. If I am building up a handle out of many layers, I actualy cut a sloppy hole and assemble with epoxy. I shape the handle after glueing. I've been doing this for years, and never had a problem. (the only problem is getting one off if I screw it up :eek: )

If you must have a mortice that size, that has a good fit at both ends. I recomend that you shape after you cut the mortice. (it is much easier to clamp a square block. drill through first then lay out your mortice, in case the drill wanders. cut from the top down half way. then turn over and go at it from the bottom up. If the inside gets a little sloppy, well there's always epoxy. when cutting a mortice you should have 2 chisels, in this case one 1/8 in. and one 3/4. the problem is a 3/4 in. chisel that will fit in a 1/8 wide mortice that is 4 inches long. you will have to improvise something from 1/16 inch stock.

An acurate mortice that size is no easy thing, especialy into woods like rosewood, and then intoend grain at that. I know a lot of good cabinet makers that would refuse to do it.

have fun:D EE
(the cabinet maker in the crew)
 
I forget where I read about the procedure I use but it works pretty quickly. Get a dry wall saw(the small type used to cut out the electrical outlets). Grind the back off of the saw until it is about 1/8-3/16" thick. Then drill your hole and use the saw to remove the excess material in the hole. The saw is real aggresive and will remove material very quickly and efficiently.
As I say, I read about this technique somewhere but I can't remember where.

Craig
 
I HAVE PURCHASED SOME OF THE NEW SIDE CUTTING DRILLBITS. I ADDED AN XTRA 3 INCHES TO THE SHANKS, MADE THEM LONGER. IF YOU WORK SLOW AND LET THE BITS DO THE WORK, CAN REALLY GET A GOOD HOLE TO SIZE.
KEN (WWJD)
 
Mike, Home Depot also has long drills, not sure how small they go. Did get a 1/4" one about 12" long there. :D :D
 
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