Getting Started with a Chisel | Ask This Old House

[Music] Tommy I know how much you love using a chisel and to be honest I think people love watching you use a chisel well using the chisel is very relaxing I get in a zone it's like don't hear anything they are not all made equally if I'm looking for a good quality chisel what's the first thing I'm looking for I want high quality steel that's important because it will hold the edge longer a hard steel hard steel and you want to be able to hold the edge like I say but you also want to make sure you can sharpen it well two different kinds of tool this is a wooden handle chisel alright and then there's also a chisel that has a metal end on it metal means you can attack and use a metal hammer on it that you have to use a wooden mallet are you here alright so there's a little bit more of a finer instrument something like this you're gonna have on the jobsite you're gonna do a whole bunch of things with it there is a technique to it there is a technique first of all you also want to make sure you always have it protected so you've gotta think about the chisel and think about the bevel on the chisel right side and a bevel side flat sides bevel edge so now if I want to take the chisel and I want it I've got a little more to see here but I want to dig this mortise out but I don't want it to go I don't want it to run from me I want it to go where I want it to go I'm gonna take my hammer I'm gonna hold the chisel at a slight angle just like that just a little bit get it started then I'm gonna straighten it out give it a little tap this is using the flat side and you're making a straight cut which means you're setting the depth right so now I'm gonna take that I know how much I just hit that I know how hard I hit it I also watch the chisel move a little bit so now I'm gonna travel on down tap it again all the way down and I'm gonna do a series all around the same depth the reason is is been when I take the chisel and now turn the chisel and cut into the wood I don't want the wood to run so in other words if the grains running the wrong way I can actually lose it a big chunk come out I also want to make sure I hold the chisel in the right way if I hold it this way the chisel can dive on me and I can really break out too much so pebble side down in this case bevel side down and now I can control the way the chisel goes so if I tap it gently I want to pick it up a little bit drive it down now I can use the bevel as a fulcrum push down push my piece out and make a level cut right across and I know that takes a little bit getting used to but right there the trick is that you're taking a little bit of material off at a time never too much never too much go easy it's a lot easier in the long run okay sometimes they get damaged you end up hitting a nail a little nicking them and they always end up getting dull with use right I mean depending on the species of the wood did you use just by taking the chisel in and doing what I was just doing eventually that edge will get a little dull so in terms of sharpening an undamaged shovel chisel where do you start the first thing I would do is and I do it a lot is I would keep a honing stone nearby this is a diamond honing stone and put a little water on it and I would take the chisel and and I hold it and I feel the bevel so now it's sitting flat on the bevel yeah I take the chisel and I would drag it back three or four times that way keeping it flat on that keeping that edge in the bevel right there three or four times that way then flip the chisel over and I would work it this way forward lock keeping it flat now I've just created a nice edge diamond here stone here with oil if you've got a bigger sort of divot or ding in the chisel and need a bigger repairs that why you're reaching something for this right if you look at this already you can see there's actually a dividend I I might have hit a nail or something with it so what have you got here so this is actually a grinder that's going to remove a lot more material and I want to make sure that it's set at the right bevel which in this case would be about 25 degrees say it on there and now the water does two things it lubricates the chisel so it can float across the wheel but it also keeps that steel from being overheated you don't want to overheat it right now I'd go back and forth with this and it might take me 15 and 20 minutes to get it where I want to be and then after its sharpened I would use this honing wheel right here which is a piece of leather put some honing cream on it and then just polish it all right well great tips as always and I guess I now know where I'm dropping my chisels off for a little tune-up Thank You Tommy my pleasure thanks for watching this whole house has got a video for just about every home-improvement project be sure to check out the others and if you like we can see click on the subscribe button make sure that you get our newest videos writing your feed

Channel: This Old House

Views: 147,198

Rating: 4.9204869 out of 5

Keywords: tom silva, chisel, 4-6 minutes, This Old House, Ask This Old House, DIY, Home Improvement, DIY Ideas, Renovation, Renovation Ideas, How To Fix, How To Install, How To Build, Kevin o’connor, kevin o'connor house, kevin o'connor this old house, kevin o'connor ask this old house, kevin o'connor interview, tom silva this old house, tom silva house, tom silva construction, tom silva tools, tommy silva

Id: R_3iow62bq4

Length: 4min 30sec (270 seconds)

Published: Sun May 13 2018