On Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:05:38 -0400, Bill wrote:

Steve wrote:
On 2010-11-02 14:19:11 -0400, Bill said:


I bought a set of Irwin Marples (Blue Chip/Bevel edged) chisels a
while back. Supposedly, they can be used with mallet as well as by hand.

Assume I wish to do M & T joinery in soft wood.

It crushes too easily for my tastes. Sharpness of the chisel is key.


I just noticed some Norex "mortising chisels" on sale (5 for $45) and
was curious whether they would offer me something more that I need, or
whether they would be redundant for my current purposes.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Bill

Mortising chisels will make cutting mortises easier (but not necessarily
easy... take your time). A good set of waterstones are a great
investment for both your Marples and the prospective mortising chisels
-- and look at the Veritas honing guide for proper sharpening.
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/rev...oningguide.htm

Sharp chisels speed the work and improve the accuracy of the cuts.

Looks like a handy tool. In the meantime, I've got a granite block, a
simpler honing guide, and $40 or so worth of wet & dry. I'm looking
forward to getting on with it (which in my own way I sort of am). I plan
to install some fluorescent lights soon.

Atta Boy, Bill. ScarySharp(tm) is where it's at. Just about any
honing guide will work well...once you know what it's doing and figure
out how to make it do that. Simply pay attention to detail.

--
Experience is a good teacher, but she send in terrific bills.
-- Minna Thomas Antrim