How to use a wood chisel?

What are the different types of chisels and their uses?

1. Woodworking chisels

Including a wide array of chisels made specifically for various woodworking applications, including carving, material removal, shaping, and many more.

Two cherries and Narex are the most popular brands.

2. Carving chisels

Carve shapes and patterns on wood even without power tools.

Also called ‘Gouges’, these are a distinct set of chisels that are primarily used to carve and create intricate shapes and patterns on wood.

3. Concrete chisels

Not used for wood, but the type of chisel used for chipping away at brick, masonry, stone, and concrete.

You can find out more about the different concrete chisels here.

Common parts of a chisel

1. Blade

The blade is essentially the chisel’s cutting edge. It can come in various shapes and sizes depending on the application.

A blade often includes sub-parts, mainly the bevel, bevel edge blade, cutting edge, and shoulder.

2. Handle

Where the chisel is held. Handles are usually made of hard timbers, such as oak or hickory, and sometimes even plastic.

The handle’s shape can add to its convenience, ergonomics, and grip.

3. Ferrule

Often a brass or iron extension from the blade that attaches to the handle.

The ferrule strengthens one end of the handle and prevents it from being worn and breaking when struck with force.

4. Head

The part of a chisel that regularly meets a hammer or mallet.

Specially cut to form right-angled edges and corners for added durability and resistance to wear and tear.

Where to use woodworking chisels?

If you want to know what do you use a wood chisel for, here we go:

1. Furniture. You’ll almost always see a chisel used when making furniture. This is because a chisel is a man’s best friend for shaping out various furniture components, such as bench legs and armrests, for assembly and/or joinery.
2. Cabinet making. Essentially counted as furniture, cabinets are easily made with the help of chisels. Mortising and beveled edge chisels effortlessly allow you to carve out corners, hollow storage spaces, and create strong joinery points.
3. Construction and home renovation. Chisels can cut and are basically used to chip off or remove controlled amounts of material. In construction and renovation, chisels are used to help streamline and refine materials to meet desired specifications.
4. Wood crafts. Making various kinds of trinkets out of wood includes carving, sculpting, and several other practices with artistic influences. The wide variety of chisel blades available allow for some seamless and precise detail work that’s perfect for making decorations and embellishments.

Where to use carving chisels?

1. Craft. Carving chisels are perfect for arts and crafts as they specialize in creating intricate and complex patterns. Common examples include engraving and embedding & embossing shapes.
2. Wood art. Creating artistic wooden pieces isn’t possible without a chisel. Wood sculptures, carvings, and paintings are all done with the help of a chisel. They’re used to shape out material and inlay details.
3. Furniture. Certain parts of furniture are carved out using a chisel. In addition, some furniture also features patterned components, with some wooden bed frames showcasing various designs that include french curves and victorian elements on either the headrest or along the legs.

How to pick the right wood working chisel?

There are numerous types of woodworking chisels. This section will go over the most common ones and highlights how and why you should pick the right one.

But before you get to know how to use a wood chisel, learn how to pick the right chisel first,

Beveled-edge chisel

A beveled-edge chisel is the most common type of woodworking chisel. It mainly has a blade with beveled edges which makes it ideal for reaching tight spaces [1] such as those encountered in joinery.

Find one with the particular bevels that you need, otherwise, they are the best choice for all-around work.

Butt chisel

Shorter, stumpy-looking chisels that are effective at doing butt hinge work.

Also sometimes called “American Pattern” chisels, these are basically smaller firmer chisels that are better for reaching tight and cramped spots. 

Paring chisel

Paring chisels have long, narrow blades and are surprisingly lightweight.

They have unorthodox handles because these are not meant to be struck with a mallet, but rather driven purely by a hand to shave off or ‘par’ material.

Ideal for more delicate and precise work.

Mortising chisel

One reason why use a wood mallet on the chisel.

These are chisels specifically designed to chop out deep mortises. These are more rigidly manufactured and sturdy as they’re meant to take on heavy blows with a mallet and can be used to directly cut across the grain.

The reinforced blade also prevents bending when levering out any waste material. Definitely go with these when you need to create mortises.

Firmer chisel

This chisel is meant to form and shape material, preferably wood faster than others.

Wider than a mortising chisel, these are a bit more flexible.

Since they can also be used, to a lesser degree, to chop out thick mortises while also being able to do fast removal work and shape various mating joints. Ideal for furniture making.

How to pick the right wood carving chisel?

You need to know the right chisels before you learn how to use them for wood carving.

Straight chisel

Standard wood carving chisels with beveled edges on both sides. Usually armed with a square cutting edge and comes in varying lengths.

For non-specific or general carving, go with these.

Skew chisel

Chisels with blades skewed typically at 45° that makes them perfect for woodturning operations. You can also make both plane and dovetail cuts with these.

Ideal for when you want to round corners or carve patterns with a lot of curves.

Fishtail chisel

A chisel with a thin shaft at the base then tapers out to form the shape of a fish’s tail. The thin shaft improves visibility and allows you to work deep.

Good for projects with larger workpieces or those intended to house something within.

Spoon gouge

Chisels that look like spoons due to their curved blades. Designed to scoop out material from otherwise inaccessible spaces. Has the following configurations: 

• Right corner
• Left corner
• Front bent
• Back bent

Configurations mainly have something to do with the way the blades are curved, so pick one that you think will allow you to work easier relative to your general position.

V-gouge

Belongs to a group of carving tools known as “Parting Tools”.

These basically cut from the main block during woodturning and allow you to do outlining and letter-work as well.

Fishtail gouge

Similar to a fishtail chisel, only that it has a curved blade and removes material from tight spaces in a broad curve.

Can be an alternative to a fishtail chisel if you primarily aim to remove more material.

Dog leg

A straight-edge chisel with an offset blade that forms the angle of a dog’s rear leg.

Works similar to regular straight-edge chisels only that these are better for when you need to get at awkward angles and irregularly tight corners. 

Straight U-gouge

The u-shaped cutting edge of this chisel allows you to easily scoop out material either by hand or with a mallet.

This comes in various radii which is what dictates the length of its sweep and what makes the scooped material correspond to the gouge’s shape. 

Curved U gouge

Basically a U-gouge with a curved blade instead of a straight one.

These allow you to cut in bowl-profile and are better at deep-cutting and roughing-out applications.

Why a chisel handle material matters?

The material of the handle matters because it is the part of the chisel that will receive the blow from a hammer or mallet. Most handles are made of wood, either dry or hardwood for added durability, while others are made of plastic and/or a compound material.

While plastic is easily replaceable, it’s also more easily damaged compared to wooden handles. To add handles treated with strengthening agents are less likely to get damaged even with overbearing strikes.

What type of hammer to use with what chisel blade?

For woodworking and wood carving chisels, it’s recommended to use a wooden or regular mallet.

A regular hammer is too stiff and is more likely to damage chisel handles as opposed to the more shock-absorbent mallet.

Basic techniques for using a chisel

Here are the different techniques on how to use a chisel on wood.

Mortise cut

1. Layout the dimensions of the mortise by choosing a width that corresponds to your chisel. 
2. Clamp down the piece then strike the chisel on a mark about ⅛” from the far end.
3. Following your layout lines, chip out material about ¼” depth. 
4. Nearing the end of the mortise, turn the bevel edge away and stay about ⅛” from the layout line.
5. Finish with a 90° at the end and repeat steps 1-4 until the desired mortise depth is reached.

Alternatively, you can use a wood router.

Paring cut

1. Clampdown your workpiece. This secures it and gives you more control as more force is directed towards the workpiece.
2. Mark and scribe where you wish to par. 
3. Lay down the chisel on the flat side of the blade and gently push it into your scribe lines.
4. Don’t be afraid of cutting against and across the grain.

Chopping cut

1. Clamp and secure your workpiece.
2. Mark/outline your cut. 
3. Hold the chisel by the handle and directly perpendicular to where you want to sever the fibers.
4. Strike and make sure it has a sharp cutting edge [2] and ‘digs’ into the material.
5. Trace along the outline and carve out the waste material if necessary.

Scraping

1. Identify spots on your workpiece that may need cleaning up, such as smoothing out rabbet joints.
2. Hold out your chisel perpendicular to the area with the flat part of the blade facing you.
3. Simply pull back, slide against the grain, and get some nice shavings until you reach the desired smoothness.

Chop and pare

1. Clampdown the piece.
2. Make an outline/layout of where you wish to cut.
3. Make an incision or scribe by 1st chopping (follow chopping cut steps). 
4. Pare (follow the paring cut steps) as needed. 
5. Rinse and repeat.

How to use a chisel to cut a groove?

You can use a chisel to make a groove in the wood.

Make this more convenient and efficient by using other tools too. Begin by laying out your groove. Once that’s done, use a saw to cut out the edges at the right depth.

Break the material with a chisel at a distance of about 1cm, depending on the size of your workpiece. Once hollowed out, use the flat side of the blade to scrape, par, and finish the groove details.

How to make square holes using a chisel?

There are lot of ways to make square holes, but you also do so using a wood chisel.

You can be more delicate and precise by actually chopping out small, outlined squares, or get square mortising chisels and simply line it up where you wish to make a hole and strike.

Drive the chisel all the way through to get perfectly square holes. It’ll help to lightly cut out or scribe the hole edges at least.

How to use a chisel to trim wood edges?

Depending on the size and thickness of what needs to be trimmed, you might either need to drive the chisel with a mallet along an area or simply use your hands and treat the chisel like a knife, taking off acute amounts of material via scraping or shaving.

One example is by using a chisel to chamfer the regularly flat corners of tendons and other joinery.

How to use wood chisel for a door hinge?

Creating a door hinge basically combines most of the previously mentioned cutting techniques and uses of a chisel. Begin by measuring the size of the hinged adapter and laying out the appropriate mortise to be cut.

Chop and par out the mortise until the hinge sit in perfectly flush. Smooth the mortise and trim accordingly before installing the hinge.

Tips when carving with chisels

Here are more tips on how to use a wood chisel correctly:

• Familiarize yourself and identify the various kinds of chisels; there’s a perfect one for each job. 
• Keep your chisels sharp.
• Do not allow them to rust or dull as it will greatly reduce their effectiveness.
• Strike the chisel perpendicularly to your piece, otherwise, strike them at an angle to trim and par.

Safety tips when using a chisel

Here are the safety measures when using a wood chisel:

Dos

• Do wear, as much as possible, safety gloves and long pants when working.
• Do be sure to have visibility of both the workpiece and the blade to avoid mistakes and accidents.
• Do use the appropriate striking tools.

Don’ts

• Don’t hold the blade at the sharp edges. You can, however, hold them at the flat and non-serrated faces.
• Don’t use a hammer or any other non-shock-absorbent material to strike the handle if there isn’t a  metal striking plate.

How to maintain your chisels?

• Consider getting protective caps to cover the cutting edge of your chisel/s.
• Regularly sharpen your chisels by using a honing guide and a decent sharpening stone and lubricant. 
• Properly store your chisels. Use storage cases and place them in cool, dry areas to avoid moisture build-up and rust formation.
• Clean after each use. 

When is it time to upgrade your set?

The only real-time you must upgrade your set is if they’re either too old or if you experience breakage.

A chisel is only useful if it’s able to retain its sharp edge for long.

Once edges become too dull or have warped and are beyond restoring, then it’s clearly time for an upgrade.

Conclusion

Woodworking, carving, and masonry all have their respective chisels. Simple as these tools may be, there’s no denying how efficient and convenient they are for removing material and smoothing out various surfaces.

In fact, some of the most impactful and vivid patterns known to man were made with a chisel. The straightforward chisel is indeed both an artistic and capable tool throughout man’s history.