How to use a wood chisel correctly

Like sawing, using a chisel is an important carpentry skill. It is mostly a manual job and requires some skill which you will get the hang of after some practice. The hand chisel is used for chiseling, cutting, trimming, shaping and especially widely for removing waste when making carpentry joints.

Machine chiselling usually involves the use of a special slotting machine or attachment for a hand-held electric drill, which also makes rectangular sockets in wood. It combines the action of a drill and a chisel. In general, this method is more common in industry, and a slotting machine, of course, is not a necessary tool for an amateur carpenter. It is usually used to make nests.

The blades (rods) of chisels and chisels should always be sharpened. There are two sharpening bevels (angles): the main bevel, or bevel (approximately 25 degrees), with which the tool is sold to the consumer, and the finishing bevel (approximately 30 degrees).

The finishing of the sharpening bevel is carried out on an oil-wetted sharpening stone or something similar in your workshop. Chisels with shallower sharpening bevels cut wood more easily than with steeper ones, but in the latter case the tool will be stronger.

There are two main types of straight chisels: the flat chisel (with a flat, chamfered blade) and the regular chisel (with variable blade thickness and square edges). Chisels are designed for gouging out deep holes (they are thicker and can act as a lever when removing waste from sockets and grooves).

Working with a hand chisel or chisel requires some practice, but with skill it will produce excellent results.

Source: wood-petr.ru

Chisel. Types and device. Sharpening and work. Application

A chisel is a carpentry and joinery cutting tool designed for making cuts in wood. Its use is necessary to solve a wide range of problems. Chisels come in carpentry, carving and turning. Joiner's are used to adjust the size of a wooden workpiece, carved for artistic cutting, and turning is used in cases where it is necessary to turn wood on a lathe.

What can you do with a chisel?

This tool is almost universal for woodworking. With it you can:

Make a sample of the recess.
Clean the groove.
Remove the chamfer.
Apply relief or contour carving.

The capabilities of a chisel largely depend on the shape of the cutting edge of the working blade. According to the principle of operation, the tool is of manual and impact type. A hand chisel cuts into the wood from the pressure exerted on the handle by the master's hand. The impact type is immersed in the tree as a result of striking the handle, carried out using a mallet, mallet or rubber mallet.

Tool design

The chisel consists of two main elements - the blade and the handle. The blade itself has a sharp blade at the end, which cuts into the wood. The shank of the blade is pointed and looks like a nail. It is pressed directly onto the handle. The handle itself is made of wood or plastic.

In the classic wooden version, a metal cap is installed at the area where it connects to the canvas, preventing the end from being destroyed as a result of strong pressure. If the tool is intended for impact processing of workpieces, then on the back of the handle there is a metal headband in the form of a ring that prevents cracking.

Form and its purpose

There are several dozen popular forms of chisels, which differ in the ease of use of the handles, the size, width and curvature of the cutting blade, as well as the sharpness of the edge. The most common forms include:

Straight

The chisel has a flat cutting edge profile. Such a cutter can have different widths. Its purpose is to provide an even, neat cut to achieve a perfectly flat surface. The tool allows you to make a recess with a straight bottom, as well as remove excess wood surface on the outside of the workpiece.

Working with a straight cutting edge, even with sufficient sharpness, is quite difficult. For this reason, most of the proposed factory tools with such a surface are impact-type, which allows sampling without the use of one’s own muscular strength.

Oblique

The chisel, due to the presence of a beveled angle of attack of the cutting edge, ensures more efficient and easy cutting into wood. As a result, the sampling process is significantly accelerated. Often the tool is used for rough work, after which finishing work will be carried out. In most cases, this type is used to create recesses to

Radius or semicircular

The type is a tool whose cutting edge is curved in the shape of a semicircle. Its use allows for accurate deepening. The vast majority of cutters for figure processing are made in this form. The radius tool effectively penetrates the wood fibers without allowing the workpiece to crack. With the help of such a cutting edge, you can easily carve along an uneven contour without straight or sharp corners.

Bracket or box-shaped

The type of chisel is a straight cutting edge with sides of varying heights. They are used to make a narrow sample along a straight line, preventing cracks from spreading to the side. This tool is used much less frequently than round, oblique or straight blades. The angle between the cutting edge and the side edges is straight.

Corner

The chisel has a specific profile in the form of an angle. Its shape is V-shaped. The angle itself in various designs ranges from 60 to 90 degrees. A similar tool is used to assign a contour for a future sample. It can also be found in relief and contour carving. Sharpening a V-shaped cutting edge requires special skill because uneven chamfering of the profile results in differences in jaw height.

Klukarza

It is the most unusual instrument of this type. It has a longitudinal bend of the blade, located closer to the cutting edge. This type is used for manual removal of wood in recesses when a conventional flat profile is not able to provide sufficient grip for cutting.

Cranberry can have either a flat or rounded cutting edge, which significantly expands the possibilities of application. This type of chisel is necessary for cutting the lock into the door leaf. The beginning of the work is carried out with a conventional straight tool, and when sufficient deepening has already been made, the master switches to cranberries. The angle of attack of the curved profile is more suitable for contact with wood in deep depressions. This prevents the formation of chips on the upper layers of the workpiece, which happens when using a flat blade.

How to sharpen a chisel

In order for the tool to provide a high-quality cut with minimal effort, it is necessary to ensure its correct sharpening. Working with a dull chisel is dangerous because it significantly increases the risk of injury.

For comfortable work, the sharpening angle should be in the range from 20 to 35 degrees. A regular tool is usually sharpened at 25 degrees, while a cleaning tool is sharpened at 20 degrees. To achieve a high-quality result, it is important to use an even stone. A whetstone worn down over the years is of little use and will not allow you to achieve razor sharpness.

In order to achieve razor sharpness, you must use at least three types of whetstones. First, the work should be done on a coarse-grained stone, after which you will need to switch to a medium one, and it is better to finish on a velvet block with minimal grain size. This sequence allows you to achieve a mirror surface.

Hand sharpening gives a much better result than sanding. The use of an emery machine is acceptable only in cases where it is necessary to remove existing nicks on the blade in order to align its cutting edge, before directly starting manual editing.

While sharpening, you need to move the blade back and forth. In this case, it is advisable to lubricate the stone with special oil, or soak it in plain water for several minutes. The duration of sharpening depends on the quality of the chisel steel and the hardness of the stone. A regular sharpening stone will complete the task in 10-20 minutes, while a diamond one will do the job several times faster.

An excellent result can be achieved by using a special fixing machine, which allows you to fix the chisel profile at the correct angle. This eliminates the possibility of surface wobbling. Each reciprocating motion will ensure that the metal filings are removed correctly to achieve the desired sharpness.

Working on a lathe

Nowadays, wood lathes are often used to produce functional parts for furniture. In addition, this machine will help you make cute and unusual decorative elements, for example, candelabra, cups, toys, tops and more.

Lathes come in different sizes. Before all this, you need to choose the most suitable machine. These days, there is a fairly wide range of tabletop lathes that are perfectly suitable for a small project. The largest devices are used to create balusters, which are used for the production of furniture and railings.

Characteristics by which lathes differ:

bed length. It describes the longest length of the processed bar
the diameter of the turning above the bed is the largest diameter of the bar
horsepower - the power of the unit, which determines the mass of the block for turning without overloading the cutter and the machine
engine revolutions per minute. Most machines have a constant speed. Devices with a low high-speed mode can be used to process workpieces of irregular shape. And the highest speeds help polish the product.

When purchasing, pay attention to the weight and material from which the machine is made. Options with a cast iron bed and iron frame are quite strong, but not mobile. They cannot be rearranged to another work space.

Turning cutters are distinguished by a long, curved handle. It is designed to make it comfortable for the master to hold the tool. As a result of having such a handle, the master carefully controls the blade, but at the same time does not feel tired. Cutters for manual processing are not suitable for working on a machine, because they have a small handle.

How to use a wood chisel correctly

A carpenter's chisel is used for working with wood. Used for shaping wood, smoothing edges or thinly cutting the surface of wood.

Due to the similar operating principle of the tool, a chisel is often confused with a chisel. But the chisel is distinguished by a different sharpening angle of the blade, and the very size of the cutting part. The bit has a larger area.

Chisel models are divided according to the direction of work, how they move along the surface of the material, the type of handle and the size of the tool.

The processing of the material with a tool occurs as follows: the cutting edge rests against a wooden workpiece, and then with a special hammer - a mallet, methodical tapping is performed on the handle of the chisel. With each blow, the tool goes deeper into the wood and knocks out a groove in it.

Functional electronic chisel: personality and application

Most of us don’t even know about the existence of the electric chisel, which appeared on the Russian market relatively recently. This equipment, which is also known as an electric scraper, is familiar only to those home craftsmen who often have to do various household tasks and get the latest devices. The electric chisel is designed primarily for processing wood parts. But thanks to its features, it can easily cope with other materials, including aluminum and plastic.

A few words about the structure of the chisel

Where the metal part of the chisel enters the handle, a reinforcing metal ring is sometimes installed. This is done so that the metal part does not get driven into the handle over time and does not split it. This detail applies more to chisels with a wooden handle, and newer models do without a ring.

One of the tool models is designed for working with hard wood. It has a longer cutter and handle. For durable material, an electric chisel is also used.

When the cutter, on the contrary, is shortened and a long handle is used, the tool is optimized for soft wood. You can remove material using only your hands, sometimes resorting to a hammer with a rubber striker.

There is the most delicate area of chisel work associated with inlay and decorative carving. These instruments are made thin and short. Working with them involves solely hand movements, without the use of mallets.

Choosing chisels

Before purchasing, decide what the chisel will be used for. For rare use as a tool for primary wood processing, it will be enough to buy a basic set of inexpensive chisels. This option is suitable if, for example, you are planning to repair windows or install a door lock. By the way, an electric chisel is also used for similar purposes.

As your first chisel, we can recommend a tool from the VIRA line. This is the option when the tool has a sufficient margin of safety and is adapted for use at home.

the range allows you to choose a chisel in the range from 6 to 32 mm
two-component handle: a base made of impact-resistant plastic + a dense rubber coating that provides a secure grip. Such a handle, unlike a wooden one, does not dry out, does not get wet, and will not crack from blows from a mallet or hammer.
Diamond sharpening of the cutting edge is achieved using a diamond-coated abrasive. the edge remains stronger and more wear-resistant compared to other analogues
The handle ends with a special palm rest. this makes working with the tool safer.

In addition to a mallet, you will need a mallet for work - VIRA also has a well-designed one. The tool combines strength, light weight and low impact impact.

fiberglass handle with rubber coating - strength comparable to metal, yet light as wood
rubber coating improves the grip of the tool and dampens unpleasant feedback in the hand
striker made of dense rubber: clear blows, while the chisel handle does not experience damage.
the shape of the striker is semicircular, because it is more convenient to hit the handle of the chisel

In addition to working with wood, the mallet can be used for work on correcting warped sheet metal. The white rubber of the mallet does not leave any marks on it from impacts, which cannot be said about black rubber.

Another situation is when you are engaged in professional carpentry or perform artistic tasks. In this case, it is worth delving deeper into the chisel production technology itself.

So, here are the methods for making a chisel:

forging method
- tools made using this method have a thickened working part and are intended for processing hard wood;
cutting method
- chisels are designed for delicate processing on soft wood.
stamping method

We recommend the length of chisels in the range from 11 to 16 cm. After all, the longer the tool, the less load it can withstand.

Many people prefer wooden handles for work. Despite the fact that they appeared a very long time ago. The material fits snugly in the palm, it is pleasant and relatively light, but it can hardly be called very durable. Of course, this also depends on the method of use: a varnished handle in a workshop will not be damaged for many years, but in difficult conditions it can dry out and crack.

Plastic definitely wins in terms of durability: it does not dry out, does not rot, and can withstand significant impacts, but it may not be suitable for some for reasons of personal comfort.

Quality check

We determine the quality of a chisel by the duration of its service and the level of processing of the material. In fact, in addition to the handle, the main thing here is the hardness of the metal itself for the working part of the tool and its hardening.

The first step in choosing a good chisel is determining the appropriate type of steel.

The following types of materials are available on the market (sometimes only processing methods are indicated):

forged
- drop forged;
CrV
– made from chrome vanadium
CS
– tool steel

We offer a way to determine the type of steel of a tool if for some reason it is not indicated on the chisel.

Try sharpening a chisel on a stone. The point is that on well-hardened steel, burrs appear from sharpening; they are then easy to remove. Steel that does not produce burrs is overheated and too hard. There is a possibility that the steel will split during operation. This may cause injury. And the third case - the steel produces burrs, but they cannot be removed. This indicates that the steel is too soft. When cutting into wood, steel will crumple.

What methods of using the instrument exist?

Working with a wood chisel is distinguished by different positions of the tool towards the plane being processed.

There are the following methods of processing wood with a chisel:

The cutting method involves moving in the direction of the wood grain, the working surface without sharpening is facing the ceiling, you hold the handle and at the same time hold the blade, with your thumb facing the handle. This method of work gives good control over the work process, while movements are performed accurately.
Cutting with the side edge of the blade - for this, tools with a flat blade section are used. In this case, the cutting edge is not necessarily straight; it can also be beveled. In any case, the model has only one sharpened side. Instances with a cutting edge in the shape of a half circle are used for circular cuts.
Perpendicular cutting

How to hold a chisel correctly when working: the handle is held with one hand, the blade is held with the other hand, using the thumb and index finger.. You make small cutting movements, gradually selecting thin layers of wood. The method requires the greatest endurance and, accordingly, time.

Chisel techniques do not allow cutting thick layers of wood in one go. The layers of wood are removed gradually, one after another, following their own markings on the workpiece. If you remove a lot of material, you can start the work again, not to mention the fact that such an attitude ruins the instrument.

When working, use reinforcement with your hands and with a mallet/hammer. Impact tools are used for quick work and knocking out recesses and holes of various shapes. Of course, doing this manually would take a long time and would not be effective.

For decoration, only controlled manual effort is used; it eliminates strong impacts and haste.

We hope that this text will be useful to you and now it will be easier for you to navigate the variety of chisels.

Source: viratools.ru

Security measures

Bearing in mind that this device is equipped with an electronic drive, any home craftsman must follow the safety rules while working. One of them says that it is not allowed to start working with an electric chisel without working gloves and glasses.

Preparing for work

It is also important to properly prepare the tool for work - to do this, it must be firmly fixed in a special socket, and to carry out this activity correctly, you must adhere to the following method:

First you need to unlock the socket using a special locking switch located on the body of the tool.
After unlocking, the working tool itself is placed in the socket, and this is done in such a way that its cutting edge is oriented downward.
When the tool is installed, the socket will be blocked by pushing the locking switch forward.

After each work and removing the device from the socket, you need to carefully clean the electric scraper itself, as well as its rod.

The all-purpose chisel is turned on using a special toggle switch located on the body of the tool . It is also used to turn off the device. To set the required processing speed, you must first disable the tool, and then you can create its settings. This is done using a special switch located on the device body. All models of chisels equipped with an electronic drive allow you to set one of 3 high-speed modes:

low moving speed. Selected when the highest processing accuracy is required to effectively complete a task.
Average speed.
Highest speed. It is used when it is important to perform a certain operation very quickly.

Manufacturers do not give specific instructions on choosing a more suitable speed of movement of the working tool . This must be created by the master himself at his own discretion, also taking into account the characteristics of the surface being processed.

Mechanism of operation

The work process itself with the introduction of an electric chisel should follow the following method:

After switching on, the tool is moved to the surface being processed and positioned at a slight angle to it.
Applying slight pressure with the implement on the surface to be treated, it is carried along it in the direction “away from you”.
During processing, it is important to correctly select the force exerted by the equipment on the surface being processed, which does not have to be very enormous. Otherwise, the tool will quickly break.

Almost all models of electric chisels displayed in stores are intended for use in household conditions, so you should not work with them for a very long time in continuous mode and subject them to excessive overloads , due to which the tool can quickly fail. To extend the service life of the electric scraper, you need to avoid heavy loads, and after each working cycle, take a pause so that the device can cool down. Effective work with inventory is only possible if the working tool with which the products are processed is constantly sharpened accordingly.

How to properly use a chisel on wood?

A wood chisel is a special tool for manual woodworking, which is also used in working with other materials - leather, metal or plastic. Using a chisel, you can remove wood from hard-to-reach areas, trim the edges of wooden objects (such as furniture), or grind down an overly sharp edge.

The main difference between a chisel and a similar chisel is the different angle of the sharpened cutter and the size of the metal part itself - in a chisel it is much larger. A chisel is a hand-held tool for working wood.

The difference between a chisel and a chisel

The chisel is in demand where it is necessary to gouge out deep grooves and sockets. The device looks like an elongated metal bar mounted on a handle. The end of the chisel handle is looped with a crimping piece that protects the handle from splitting.

Cutting techniques with a chisel: a, b, c - trimming and cleaning tenons, sockets, grooves, d - cutting grooves, e, f - chamfering, g, h, i - processing curved surfaces.

The chisel, which is a hand-held device for woodworking, is represented by a sharpened plate-like steel element with a handle. In other words, the design of a chisel is a sharpened blade with a handle (wooden or metal).

A chisel with a chisel is distinguished by the angle of the sharpened cutter and the absence of a 2-sided chamfer in the length of the working element relative to the side being sharpened. Another difference is the significant d of the metal rod of the bit. Therefore, it is completely unrealistic to confuse these two carpenter’s tools.

What types of chisels are there?

Chisels are divided according to purpose, method of movement on a wood surface, handle shape and dimensions.

By purpose they are distinguished:

carpentry - perform the function of correcting the shape of an object or its parts;
for cutting - used to obtain decorative elements of an object or to create three-dimensional wood sculptures;
turning - needed when working with wood on lathes.

Principles and rules for working with chisels

The impact of the tool on the wood material is carried out by quickly tapping the handle of a hammer or mallet - impact devices that help the chisel move through the thickness of even the most durable wood.

At the junction of the handle and the blade, many chisels have a metal ring that prevents the iron rod from being driven into it.

An electric or manual woodworking tool with an elongated cutter and handle is used when working with durable wood species. This shape is convenient for tapping it with your hand or with a hammer (polyurethane or rubber).

Chisel models with a short cutter and a long handle are used for cutting soft wood. The handle with smooth contours fits well in a clenched hand, and if necessary, you can still resort to using a rubber hammer.

For completely manual inlay or carving work, types of chisels are produced that are much thinner and shorter than the above models. The convenience of their movement along the surface of the wood depends on the sharpening angle of the cutter and the processing area.

There are also such varieties of chisels as an electric chisel, a video about which will help to clearly show the advantages of working with it.

Classifications of chisels

All types of chisels are divided into:

carpentry;
wood carvings;
turning

Cutting pattern with a chisel: 1 – chips, 2 – workpiece, 3, 4 – cutters.

There is another division:

according to the variant of movement in the thickness of the material;
according to the shape of the handle;
to size.

The basis for dividing instruments into groups is also taken as follows:

Operating principle of devices

The movement of the chisel in the thickness of the material occurs due to short taps on the handle with a special percussion instrument: a mallet or a hammer.

This type of hand tool is popular when processing hard woods that require tremendous physical force.

The devices are equipped with an elongated handle and a cutting element. Using a chisel, hold it in your hand, and with the other you perform monotonous taps on the handle. The handle structure is strengthened by a loop. For greater effectiveness of the procedures, use a hammer made of rubber or polyurethane.

Another type of chisel is with a long handle, but a shortened cutter. Their purpose is for manipulation with both hands when moving the instrument.

Chisels (a), flat (b) and semicircular (c) chisels: 1 – blade, 2 – cap, 3 – handle, 4 – ring.

Work with such devices is carried out on soft types of wood. The smooth head of the rounded handle fits comfortably in your fist. It is possible to use a rubber hammer when the density of the wood is high and it is necessary to improve movement in the thickness of the rock.

How to choose a good chisel?

Before choosing chisels, check what you need them for. If you plan to use them once or twice and then put them away in a drawer, an inexpensive set of basic jig models will do the job. As a rule, this is how you buy a set of chisels or an electric wood chisel for repairing windows and similar simple tasks.

If you are engaged in wood carving and are going to continue your favorite activity in the future, it is better not to save money and choose the highest quality tools possible. Based on the production method, there are three types of models:

forged - with the thickest blade, due to which they can easily interact with hard wood;
cutting - convenient for precise and fine work on soft and medium-soft types of wood;
stamped - when working with them, you will need to install a thrust washer so that the impact of the mallet does not deform the device.

The best length for chisels is 10-15 cm. When the size is larger, the steel blade can withstand less load. The handle material can be wood, but according to many users, plastic is more durable and better able to withstand impacts.

Sharpening a chisel

One of the main parameters is the sharpening angle. For a chisel it is 20–35 degrees. The smaller the angle, the thinner the chips. For chisels used for cleaning edges, the angle is 20 degrees, for impact and selective ones - 25–30. For sharpening, a special machine and three types of whetstones are used, each subsequent one with a smaller abrasive grain. The ideal condition of the blade is razor sharp.

Depending on the intensity of work with the tool, you have to sharpen the chisel up to twice a year if the blade is made of good steel. In a home workshop, you need to sharpen a tool no more than once a year. When purchasing a tool, check the grade of steel it is made from. The best characteristics are for the brands HVG, 9ХС and 9ХФ, CrV; the blade may also be marked Drop Forged. If there are no inscriptions, then the quality of the material is questionable. Moreover, the information should not be written, but engraved. But for household use, you can also buy a tool with a painted inscription; as a rule, it is sold at a lower price than a professional one.

The size of the chisels is length from 125 to 280 mm with a blade width (depending on the type of blade) of 4–50 mm, weight from 100 to 400 grams. It is best to buy a medium-priced set of chisels, which should contain at least 5 tools. The problem with choosing a suitable chisel, in this case, for any job will automatically disappear.

How to check the quality of a tool?

The quality of the chisel determines its service life and quality of work. And the quality of the device is determined by the quality of the hardening of the metal part. Tool metals that are characterized by increased strength and durability are best suited for chisels. Typically these types of steels are designated by markings:

Please ensure that the manufacturer is indicated on the label. If there is no such mark, and the price of the set is surprisingly low, this is a Chinese fake.

If the type of steel is not specified, you can check its actual quality on a sharpening stone. On properly hardened steel, sharpening produces burrs that can be easily removed. If they are not there, then the steel is overheated, and a chisel with such steel is traumatically dangerous when working. If burrs appear, but it is impossible to remove them, the steel is too soft and will not withstand sharpening, and the sharpened edge will be deformed even with little effort.

Study in advance the most popular manufacturers and customer reviews of tools of different brands. A sign of a bona fide manufacturer is the presence of markings, a guarantee and an address where this chisel or wood chisel was created.

Basic wood carving techniques with a chisel

Techniques for using a chisel are characterized by different positions of the device in relation to the wooden surface.

There are three main ways to work on wood with a chisel:

Trimming - work is carried out along the side along the fibers; The tool is placed with the unsharpened side of the blade up, holding the handle with one hand and the blade with the other so that the thumb is pointed at the handle. Thanks to this method of holding the chisel, it is easier for the craftsman to set precise forces in order to ultimately obtain the most even and smooth surface of the wood product.
Side cutting or groove cutting - chisels with a flat blade section are used to produce rectangular grooves. The sharp edge can be oblique or straight. Typically, such a model has a sharpened edge on only one side. Models with a semicircular sharp edge (in the form of a quarter or half a circle) of the blade are used for cutting grooves in a circular manner.
Perpendicular cutting - the chisel is held by the handle with one hand, and the blade is held with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand. This method involves making single thin cuts of wood chips and will require the most effort compared to the others.

When working manually with this tool, it is better not to cut off a large layer of wood in one fell swoop, but to remove its excess gradually, adhering to the line planned in advance. Working on wood with a chisel requires precision and very precise distribution of effort - if you remove too much material, you will have to start all over again.

A distinction is made between manual strengthening and strengthening using an additional device - a mallet or hammer. They resort to percussion instruments made of wood or rubber in cases where they need to quickly make a depression or hole. But decorative parts with graceful contours require a lot of work and are cut out carefully, slowly, with a precisely calibrated calculation of each effort. After all, it is possible to make aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-use things from wood that will serve the owner for a long time and reliably.

Tool Application

An electric chisel is truly a versatile tool that has the capabilities of an ordinary chisel for woodworking and a woodworking machine designed for processing wood products. Thanks to this device, you can do very small jobs perfectly, and the electronic version allows you to do this even faster than a hand chisel. It has not only the highest performance, but also ease of use due to its low weight. Most often, an electric chisel is used for:

Cleaning the treated surface from old coating, glue residues and various fillers.
Wood carvings, including even very small operations.
Removing a narrow layer from the surface of wood products or fragmentary removal.

In stores you can buy a huge number of models of electric chisels from different manufacturers - Bosch (Bosch) PMF 180T, Skil 7720 MA, Dexter 250 W, etc. It is striking that the operation of any such device is based on a general principle: a device rigidly fixed in the front part of the device performs reciprocating movements with high frequency. During the working stroke, the device removes material from the surface being processed layer by layer, turning this device into a multi-cutter. Although all operations are carried out manually, this does not require much effort, since the electric chisel has very little weight and a comfortable handle for easy handling.

Content:

1. Master's hands and direction of wood fibers
2. If you take a hammer to help

Professional carpenters and carvers, as well as those for whom working with wood is more of a hobby, use chisels according to the same pattern. First, a pencil drawing is applied to a wooden blank or part—drawing. Then the outline is deepened using a wood carving knife. Only after all the contours have been cut, are clearly visible and are not erased, do they begin to work with a chisel.

The method of using the tool is chosen depending on what kind of processing needs to be performed. There are two most common:

Pressure by hand, when the tool is set in motion only by the force applied by a person, for example, as when trimming the edge of a piece of wood.
With a mallet blow when additional force is needed to gouge grooves or holes in wood.

It is worth noting that for all its apparent simplicity, this is a rather complex and time-consuming matter. Largely because you need to use the tools very carefully and with extreme precision. After all, in some places you don’t put enough pressure on the chisel, and in others you squeeze it too hard, it’s very easy to ruin the part. One awkward hand movement or a not-so-successful blow with a mallet - and all the work will go down the drain. We'll have to start everything from scratch.

If you want to avoid such failures, we recommend reading this article. Here you will find some useful tips for working with chisels and mallets.

Master's hands and direction of wood fibers

The correct position of the tool and the carving technique used by the master will depend on whether the wood fibers are cut along, across or along the wood fibers with a chisel. When a chisel is used along the grain, this is called trimming, at an angle to the surface - side threading, and across the grain - cutting ends. Let's look at this in more detail.

Trimming . When the need arises to quickly get rid of the uneven edge of a wooden part or workpiece, take a chisel. The tool is held with the unsharpened side up - it is controlled with both hands and if you grab the sharp edge, you can get serious injury. When performing trimming, one hand rests on the handle, and the other one grasps the tool blade so that the thumb is directed towards the handle. This hand position provides better control over the movements of the tool and allows you to apply more force. There is a little secret to the craft: to ensure that after processing the surface is perfectly flat and smooth, when the wood is cut along the grain, the chisel is slightly turned so that the flat side always points in the direction of the master’s movements.
Side thread . One of its varieties is the selection of grooves. To create a rectangular groove, use flat chisels. Their blade is straight with a flattened cross-section. A sharpened cutting edge can be either straight or oblique. Typically, flat chisels are sharpened on only one side, but it is said that a properly sharpened chisel blade should resemble a razor blade. To select round grooves, semicircular chisels are used. Their canvas has a cross section in the form of half or one of the segments of a circle. But no matter what kind of chisel you use for cutting grooves, you need to work with it across the wood fibers. Hold the chisel in the same way as when trimming. In this case, the cutting edge of the tool should be at an angle to the surface, so several cuts are made. After this, the groove is completely selected using the cuts. These steps can be repeated several times, gradually increasing the depth to the desired level.
Trimming ends or perpendicular threads requires a different hand position on the tool. The handle is grasped with one hand, and the chisel blade is clamped between the thumb and index finger of the other hand. This is necessary to enhance control over the movement of the tool and to give greater precision to each movement of the chisel. In this case, the part of the blade closest to the master will serve as a guide. Trimming the ends of a wooden part or workpiece begins from the far corner. In this case, the tool is directed so that it goes forward and down. If you press down on the chisel blade with your thumb and at the same time lower it down by the handle, you will get a very smooth sliding cut. This work requires a lot of force and very thin cuts of wood are made at a time.

Note! When using a chisel by hand, they do not try to remove a lot of material at once. It is necessary to remove excess wood gradually along the marked line.

Personalities and properties

Comparing solutions displayed in stores from different manufacturers, for example, products from Bosch and the Skil 7720 model, you can find that they all have a related system, in which the following components can be distinguished:

Frame. Made of durable plastic and has a comfortable handle.
Tool start key and speed control.
An informative indicator that helps you find out about the tool blocking and the operating speed set at any given time.
A special socket allows you to quickly change and install the working tool.

It’s not hard to figure out why an electric wood chisel is often called a multi-cutter. After all, this device has the capabilities of different types of working tools. For example, the equipment of one of the most needed functional models among Russian consumers, Skil 7720, provides:

iron violin blades for all purposes, 35 mm wide - 5 pieces;
iron flat cutters with a blade width of 15 mm - 2 pieces;
iron spatulas 60 mm wide - 3 pieces;
iron knives 60 mm wide - 5 pieces.

Having such a large set of working tools at hand, any home craftsman will be able to solve a variety of problems with the help of an electric chisel.

To get the most complete picture of the device’s capabilities, let’s return to the aforementioned functional electric chisel Skil 7720 and get acquainted with its technical features:

vibration level - 12.7 m/s 2 ;
acoustic power level - 92 dB (Decibel is a logarithmic unit of levels, attenuation and gain)
;
acoustic pressure level - 81 dB (Decibel is a logarithmic unit of levels, attenuation and gain)
;
three operating speeds with an oscillation frequency of 6500/8500/i9500 rpm;
platform working stroke - 2.2 mm;
operating power indicator - 250 W;
weight - 1.2 kg.

Interesting read: Homemade wood burner 12 volt

But it’s not just the performance characteristics listed above that make the Skil 7720 model a comfortable and efficient tool to use in the hands of a home craftsman. This is also facilitated by the presence of a special device in the design, with which you can quickly and without the help of additional solutions change the working tool. In this electric chisel, the manufacturer provides the possibility of additional feeding of the tool forward, which also has a positive effect on the convenience and efficiency of its use.