Hi all. I'm a licenced general carpenter, trying to make the switch to timberframing, and am feeling these days like I'm missing something important in understanding the way that wood works. I can cut accurately with the mortice machine, and all the saws, but when it comes to chisel work, the results are sometimes less than spectacular. Can anyone recommend "the" book that will help me understand how to work the wood? Use the grain to my advantage? Deal with nasty knots?
Thanks
dave

I am not sure you can find what you are looking for in a book. Time will reveal all. As for those pesky knots, allow a tad more time in lay out mode to avoid joinery in the tough spots.

What exactly is the issue with the chisel work?

Have you hand planed much? Notice how the grain will rip out when you push the plane the "wrong" way. At times you will see this from one side of the timber to the other, you have to push it on the left and pull it on the right. I find cleaning the sides of mortices the grain can be off from one side to the other. Just change angle and proceed, I can see it some times with out putting the edge into the wood, more frequently I dig in and test then work with what I am dealt. I call it pat the cat.

Tim

Do you have the right chisel? Is it dangerously sharp? It should be. And remember, this is skilled work, and takes practice. CB.

Pat the Cat or Pet the Cat? I like that, good metaphor.

Tim, summed it up Dave. Another idea that might help is to think of you chisel like a skew chisel. Most of the time you don't want your chisel edge to be perfectly parallel to the grain. In this case the fibers are rolled instead of cut. For example if you are cleaning a tenon face, If you start near the shoulder and change the angle so your only the corner of your chisel hits the grain first instead of the edge hitting the fiber all at once, then work away from the shoulder, you might have some better results. You can feel it when it is right, there will be constant little or no resistance. Your tool will move across the face nicely.

The drawknife can be a big teaching tool with your situation. If you take a square timber and put an organic chamfer on an arris (corner) it will teach you quickly to pay attention to grain. You simply can't pull in one direction all the way down the timber. Most of the time you will have to pull one direction, then the other, then back the other way, etc. The grain movement will not allow any other way, if you want it to be consistent.

As for knots, bear in mind that the grain is not just swirling around them, but they also approach the surface directionally and like most wood grain, always works best if you cooperate with what the grain is telling you.

Hewing is I think, a fasttrack to understanding how to work wood grain.

+1

along with using a slick on the face of a timber, and hand planing wide faces

think fish scales. 1 way you can slide your hand. the other way - not so much.

I wonder if you are trying to learn this craft using dried wood.
Working with "green" wood is waaaay easier. Knots when green, pare off quite nicely. You still need to follow grain directions when paring but the fibers cut much easier. Also, I will use a Carpenters Axe to score the surface down to my line. This breaks up the fiber direction and makes paring easier. If you look at an old squared timber, you will often see a lot of Axe score marks.
And yes, I leave some score marks on my work. After all, we're not making Victorian furniture here.

If I'm teaching someone how to use their chisel, the first lesson with it is almost always sharpening. After that its about a combination of referencing and working the wood. Usually it just takes time.

To : Everyone!
Thanks. And yes,, I use sharp chisels. I've just had a little spell of work that didn't turn out as pristine as it should of. Getting down on myself a little. Thanks for your words of wisdom. I've acutally been watching Roy Underhill vids,, and he seems to help me understand. Hope tomorrow brings a new day!

cheers to all! Esp. Gumphri,thane, BMike,will, mo, daiku,and timbeal~!

Then again, maybe I've let my tools get too steep? I know I've been steepening their angle over time,, what is everyone running low angle block planes,, framing chisel's and slicks at? Maybe I need to be more scientific about it?