Chisel

Steel woodworking chisel.

A chisel is a tool for carving and/or cutting a hard material such as wood or stone or metals. A chisel, typically made of hardened or tempered steel or more rarely, common steel, consists of a sharpened end (called the blade) attached to a straight handle. The handle and blade of some types of chisels are made in one piece.

In use, a worker forces the chisel, into the material to cut the material. The driving force may be manually applied, or in some cases using a mallet or hammer. In industrial use, a hydraulic ram or falling weight ('triphammer') drives the chisel into the material to be cut.

A gouge, one type of chisel, is used, particularly in woodworking and sculpture, to carve small pieces from the material. Gouges are most often used in creating concave surfaces. A gouge has a 'U'-shaped cross-section.

Types

Chisels have a wide variety of uses. Many types of chisels have been devised, each specially suited to its intended use. Different types of chisels may be constructed quite differently, in terms of blade width or length, as well as shape and hardness of blade. They may have wooden handles attached or may be made entirely of one piece of metal.

Woodworking chisels

Woodworking chisels range from quite small hand tools for tiny detail, to large chisels used to remove big sections of wood, in 'roughing out' the shape of a pattern or design. Typically, in woodcarving, one starts with a larger tool, and gradually progressing to smaller tools to finish the detail. One of the largest types of chisel is the framing slick, used in timber frame construction.

Lathe tools

A lathe tool can be a woodworking chisel designed to cut wood as it is spun on a lathe. These tools have longer handles for more leverage, needed to counteract the tendency of the tool to react to the downward force of the spinning wood being cut or carved.

Metalworking Chisels

Chisels used in metal work can be divided into two main categories, hot chisels, and cold chisels. A hot chisel is used to cut metal that has been heated in a forge to soften the metal.

A Hardy Chisel is a type of hot chisel with a square shank, which is held in place with the cutting edge facing upwards by placing it in an anvil's Hardy hole. The hot workpiece cut is then placed over the hardy, and struck with a hammer. The hammer drives the chisel into the hot metal, allowing it to be snapped off with a pair of tongs.

Cold chisels come in a variety of sizes, from fine engraving tools that are tapped with very light hammers, to massive tools that are driven with sledge hammers.

External links

• Sharpening Chisels and Planes provides detailed instructions on how to properly sharpen chisels.