Comments on: Working to a Line

By: leonardcreel

leonardcreel — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:02:16 +0000

Great Article. The art and mysteries of woodworking are as deep as those of life. It’s great to find this blog.

By: sawyeredu

sawyeredu — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:15:34 +0000

I believe the “chopping” aspect is complete when the majority of the waste is removed. I’m thinking dovetails or mortices here. Inlay for hinges doesn’t really require chopping, but light tapping. After that, pairing to the line begins. Whole new chisel, no mallet (chopping) and muscle the chisel edge down into the work. Even a slight blow with a mallet can sway the chisel back, compressing the line: resulting in a poor joint. A very sharp pairing chisel is much safer and more accurate for the finer details.

By: Jerry.Bass@lsi.com

Jerry.Bass@lsi.com — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:23:45 +0000

If you do chop to the line you will get a great fitting joint. But you really need to sneek-up on it by first removing all but a tiny (apx. 1/32″) of waste alongside the line. Then you can place the chisel in the line and chop to it.

It’s the bevel of the chisel pressing against the waste that will push the chisel and cross the line. You will still notice it occuring, but only a small amount, and it will result in a slight amount of undercut well below the surface – just what you want for a dovetail.

By: corgicoupe

corgicoupe — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:30:33 +0000

I’ve been cutting dovetails for only a few months and have begun to notice the need to “leave the line” when chopping out the waste. I’m getting better, but have been using liquid hide glue [successfully] to avoid the swelling associated with the “yellow” glues, although I will use them on other parts of the project. That way a tight fit won’t get too tight.

By: zdillinger

zdillinger — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 19:46:05 +0000

Well said. Scribe lines are like the double yellow center line. Under no circumstances should you cross it, and its usually best to leave plenty of room between them and you.

By: Adam Cherubini

Adam Cherubini — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:22:28 +0000

Hi Zach,
I guess my fascination (not entirey clear in the post) is that someone asked me how I made the bread board end and I responded: “I just marked what I wanted and cut everything else away.” But that isn’t exactly the truth is it. In actuality, learning to perform the simplest task, cutting to a line, is deceptively complicated. It requires skill and judgement and the experience to know what risks are involved with each chisel placement.

By: zdillinger

zdillinger — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:02:02 +0000

I’m with you on this one Adam. Working to a line, even a knife line, can give you sloppy, gap-filled work. Leaving the scribed-line is the way to go, and you can always pare back if necessary. It’s a bit more difficult to put the wood back on.

By: JFH

JFH — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:29:19 +0000

I think the situation of removing material to inlay a pull or a hinge is quite different from cutting dovetails. For inlays, the sideways fit is mostly for appearances sake, and the hinge or pull is held by screws. So no matter how hard your wood is, you alwys have to remove some waste on the bevel side of the chisel before putting it in the knife line and giving it that first light tap. For dovetails, on the other hand, I think you have to take into consideration how hard the wood is – If you rely on compression with a really hard wood, you’re gonna have a bad time fitting the two pieces together. With soft(er) wood, however, I would think that (for a functional joint) you’d have to make it a very tight fit, because otherwise it might compress over time and become loose – mind you that’s just an assumption on my part, I’ve never really tested that…