Old timer told me I was using my chisel wrong on a deck job

I was building a deck last summer over in Oakwood, and this retired carpenter named Hank walked by while I was chiseling out a notch for a post. He stopped and said I was holding the bevel the wrong way, that I was making it harder on myself. I got defensive at first, but he showed me how angling the flat side down gave me better control and less splitting. I tried his way on the next notch and it cut my time in half. Has anyone else had an old school carpenter change how you do something basic?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubyk268d ago

Wait, are you sure about that? I've been doing carpentry for about 8 years and I've always held the bevel facing up, not down. That way the flat side rides along the cut line and gives you a clean reference. If you angle the flat side down, you're basically using the bevel as a wedge which can actually cause more splitting on softer woods like pine. I think that old timer might have been showing you a trick for a specific type of cut, not a general rule. He probably meant for rough notching where control matters less, but on finish work I've had way better luck keeping the bevel up.

william_garcia8d ago

Dude yes, "basically using the bevel as a wedge" hits the nail on the head. I had the same problem for years on my first few workbenches, kept getting these weird chips on the back side of my cuts. Switched to bevel up maybe 5 years ago and it fixed everything, especially on douglas fir where that wedge effect was tearing out the grain something awful. I've heard the old timers argue both ways but for me, flat side against the line is the only way to get a clean edge on finish cuts.

piperbailey6d agoTop Commenter

Huh, I think you've got it backwards actually. Bevel down is standard for most bench work.