This year I am returning to hand-cut mortise-and-tenon joinery for my new book “The American Peasant” (I have a whole substack going about the book). All the parts for the projects in this book are processed, joined and finished by hand (using split stock when possible).
Why? Because now I can.
When I left Popular Woodworking in 2011, Lost Art Press (LAP) was just me and John. The company didn’t provide much income, so I built furniture on commission for eight years (I now only build on spec). That meant I needed to use machines to process stock, and the joinery was a mixed bag. Lots of hand-cut dovetails. But also lots of Domino joinery (after I got rid of my hollow-chisel mortiser).
Today Megan Fitzpatrick is the editor here at LAP, and I have a little breathing room. I still need to sell furniture to make ends meet, but I’m going to fill any extra time with work I enjoy.
This week I’ve been banging out a lot of mortises with my Ray Iles English Mortising Chisels and my Blue Spruce Rectangular Mallet (24 oz. head). It was like catching up with old friends I haven’t seen in a while.
The Ray Iles, which I have written about many times, are perfect things. Their oval handles allow you to orient the tool properly and steer the cut. The shape of the blade allows you to scrape the walls of the mortise without getting stuck. They are tough mothers. (My only quibble is the steel. The D2 really needs diamond media to sharpen it right. Good thing we have a couple diamond stones.)
You don’t really need to buy a whole set of the mortisers (I know Joel, who sells them, disagrees – wink). I do about 90 percent of my work with the 1/4″ and 5/16″.
Anyway, these chisels still have my highest recommendation. I’ve used a lot of other mortising chisels, and they pale in comparison to the Ray Iles.
What I like about the Blue Spruce mallet in particular is the resin-infused head. The resin makes it nearly indestructible. I also love its leather-covered face, which helps prevent dents in nearly finished work. I’ve had this mallet for at least 12 years and use it every day. In fact, today I decided to be nice to it, and I scraped 12 years of glue and grime off the handle.
And let me repeat myself once more: I paid full retail for all these tools. No one asked me to write this review. If they did ask, I would probably tell them to “get bent” and refuse to write anything. (That’s the kind of weirdo I am.)
— Christopher Schwarz
A while back I got to spend some time with one of the country’s top experts on 18th century furniture. He said the vast majority of mortises and tenons were 5/16ths. Internet experts favor 3/8ths. I think I’ll go with the furniture that’s been around a few hundred years.
The only pigsticker I own is the 5/16 Ray Iles. Round over the top of the bevel and it’s as perfect a tool as you can get.
I ordered the 24 Oz Blue Spruce about 5 or 6 weeks ago. Thank God I didn’t wait. I’ve never used a rectangular joiners mallet. I’ve always preferred round. It’s just really hard to get a round mallet to have the same weight as the big Blue Spruce.
I’ll join the choir of praise for these tools, for precisely the same reasons!
In addition to the D2 steel quibble, I’d add not so much a further quibble, but just a heads-up to potential buyers that there can be some variance in how much initial work the edge on those pigstickers may need out of the box. I have four of them, all of which required a fair bit more of fettling than the average new high-end chisel. A job not made easier by the D2, but absolutely worth the effort!
Just to be absolutely clear, I do not mean to say caveat emptor, only be prepared. And, as Chris says, you don’t need a full set (nor even four, I dare say), so you can save yourself both money and effort by getting just the size(s) needed to fit your work.
The handle on my 5/16″ Ray Isles chisel split on the first mortise I put it to. Obviously it still works fine after I remanded it but not the auspicious start I would have liked.
Did you talk to TFWW? They take good care of their customers. And sometimes a handle with short grain gets through (I’ve seen it in students).
They told me to rehandle it. I wasn’t thrilled at first but after I thought about it, it seemed like a reasonable thing for a woodworker to do.
“They told me to rehandle it”. Now that’s treating a customer right 🤦♂️
My 1/4” Ray Iles split also. TFWW said they would send me a new handle but they never did and it’s been a year ago.
I got tired of the back and forth with emails.
It’s what makes your opinion on the tools you use so valuable. Thanks.
Pure, simple truth. So rare in these times, it can’t be bought…..
It looks like your workpiece is resting on the workbench while clamped to a piece of plywood that is held in the leg vise. If correct, I like that workholding solution and will try it next time chopping mortises.
Yup. Also, the mortise is directly over the leg of my workbench.
This setup is from Charles Hayward, the dean of handwork.
Out of curiosity, why 5/16 mortise over the 3/8 mortise? Thanks
Because it’s the right thickness for a tenon going through the angled mortise in the leg or stile of a cabinetmaker’s chair. And then easier to just use that measurement everywhere else. Blame the chair makers, always.
Chopping mortises is fun for me too as long as they are this size. But man, I can’t bring myself to pay 180 dollars for one set up for what I do. But still having fun with the old homemade mallet and less costly chisels. Sometimes it is just fun to knock out a little plant stand for a present to stay in shape.
An antique English mortise chisel will work just as well as one of the new ones, at about 1/3rd the price, and the steel is easier to sharpen. Check with antique tool dealers for them. A worn out beech bodied jack or jointer plane is perfect for harvesting the wood needed for a new handle, if you should need one on a new or old mortise chisel.
It’s easier to sharpen because it doesn’t hold an edge nearly as well.
I rehabbed a bunch of old tools over the years. Most of them were before modern tools were available. If you enjoy that sort of thing, great. But it can be more expensive, going through some crappy tools if you buy them off the internet. The one Iles chisel I needed ended up costing me less money than the few antiques I bought trying to get it right. And it cost me nothing in time to get it working.
To each their own, but I’m happy to not be in the business of fixing up antiques.
Ditto.
I truly enjoy your honesty and integrity!! Blends well with your humor. Thanks!!
Coincidentally, I am making stair rail in a timber frame house right now. It is made of heavy beams with pegged mortise and tenons. Lots of mortises 1” by 3” by 2 1/2” deep in white oak. I am less sanguine about the activity.
I can’t thank you enough for unbiased tool recommendations. It’s so refreshing . THANKS
Who owns Blue Spruce now? Back when it was Dale making the things directly and interacting with him directly, I didn’t mind the wait: now i’m just hoping that he doesn’t/didn’t get screwed the same way that the chap who made the carbide turning tools did 🙁
(Speaking as someone who has several Blue Spruce items, mostly with Chris to blame 🙂 )
And yes, that rectangular mallet is a joy: personally however, I almost always reach for the round one first.
Dave… not Dale. I swear I typed in Dave 🙁
Blue Spruce is owned by Woodpeckers.