Steel woodworking chisel.

A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving and/or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal. A broader definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other The grind of a blade refers to the shape of the cross-section of the blade Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs In Geology, rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of Minerals and/or Mineraloids The Earth's outer solid layer the ‘ Lithosphere Metalworking is craft and practice of working with Metals to create individual parts assemblies or large scale structures The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it.

In use, the chisel is forced into the material to cut the material. The driving force may be manually applied or applied using a mallet or hammer. A mallet is a type of hammer with a head made of softer materials than the Steel normally used in hammerheads so as to avoid damaging a delicate surface A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object The most common uses are for driving nails fitting parts and breaking up objects In industrial use, a hydraulic ram or falling weight ('trip hammer') drives the chisel into the material to be cut. A hydraulic ram is a cyclic water pump powered by Hydropower. A trip hammer (alt helve hammer) is a massive powered Hammer, usually raised by a Cam and then released to fall under the force of gravity.

A gouge, one type of chisel, is used, particularly in woodworking, woodturning and sculpture, to carve small pieces from the material. For the unconsolidated sediment formed by rock shearing in fault zones see Fault gouge and Shale Gouge Ratio. Woodworking is the process of building making or carving something using Wood. Woodturning is a form of Woodworking that is used to create wooden objects on a lathe. Gouges are most often used in creating concave surfaces. A gouge typically 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

A sharp wood chisel in combination with a forstner wood drill bit is used to form this mortise for a half-lap joint in a timber frame.

Woodworking chisels range from quite small hand tools for tiny details, to large chisels used 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 progresses to smaller tools to finish the detail. One of the largest types of chisel is the slick, used in timber frame construction and wooden shipbuilding. A slick is a large Chisel, characterized by a wide (2-4 inches 5-10 cm heavy blade and a long frequently slender socketed handle Timber framing (Fachwerk or Half-timbering, is the method of creating framed structures of heavy timber jointed together with pegged Mortise and tenon joints In the fields of Architecture and Civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the Building or assembling of Infrastructure According to their function there are many names given to woodworking chisels, such as:

• butt chisel: short chisel with beveled sides and straight edge for creating joints.
• carving chisels: used for intricate designs and sculpting; cutting edges are many; such as gouge, skew, parting, straight, paring, and V-groove. For the unconsolidated sediment formed by rock shearing in fault zones see Fault gouge and Shale Gouge Ratio.
• corner chisel: resembles a punch and has an L-shaped cutting edge. Cleans out square holes, mortises and corners with 90 degree angles.
• flooring chisel: cuts and lifts flooring materials for removal and repair; ideal for tongue-and-groove flooring.
• framing chisel: usually used with mallet; similar to a butt chisel, except it has a longer, slightly flexible blade. A mallet is a type of hammer with a head made of softer materials than the Steel normally used in hammerheads so as to avoid damaging a delicate surface
• slick: a large chisel driven by manual pressure, never struck. A slick is a large Chisel, characterized by a wide (2-4 inches 5-10 cm heavy blade and a long frequently slender socketed handle
• mortise chisel: thick, rigid blade with straight cutting edge and square sides to make mortises and similar joints. Simple and strong the mortise and tenon joint has been used for millennia by Woodworkers around the world to join pieces of Wood, usually when the pieces
• paring chisel: has a long blade which is ideal for cleaning grooves and accessing tight spaces.
• skew chisel: has a 60 degree cutting angle and is used for trimming and finishing.

Lathe tools

A lathe tool can be a woodworking chisel designed to cut wood as it is spun on a lathe. A lathe (ˈleɪð is a Machine tool which spins a block of material to perform various operations such as Cutting, Sanding, Knurling 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. In addition, the angle and method of sharpening is different, a secondary bevel would not be ground on the tool. Woodworking chisels range from quite small hand tools for tiny details, to large chisels used 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 progresses to smaller tools to finish the detail. One of the largest types of chisel is the slick, used in timber frame construction and wooden shipbuilding. According to their function there are many names given to woodworking chisels, such as:

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 forge is the workplace of a smith or a Blacksmith. A forge is sometimes referred to as a smithy.

Cold chisel

Bull Point & Cold Chisel

A cold chisel is a tool made of tempered steel used for cutting 'cold' metals, meaning that they are not used in conjunction with heating torches, forges, etc. Carbon steel, also called plain carbon steel, is Steel where the main alloying constituent is Carbon. Cold chisels are used to remove waste metal when a very smooth finish is not required or when the work cannot be done easily with other tools, such as a hacksaw, file, bench shears or power tools.

The name cold chisel comes from its use by blacksmiths to cut metal while it was cold as compared to other tools they used to cut hot metal. This tool is also commonly referred to by the misnomer 'coal chisel'. A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue Because cold chisels are used to form metal, they have a less-acute angle to the sharp portion of the blade than a woodworking chisel. This gives the cutting edge greater strength at the expense of sharpness.

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 sledgehammers. A sledgehammer is a Tool consisting of a large flat head attached to a Lever (or handle Cold chisles are forged to shape and hardened and tempered (to a brown colour) at the cutting edge.

The head of the chisel is chamfered to slow down the formation of the mushroom shape caused by hammering and is left soft to withstand hammer blows.

The are four common types of cold chisel. These are the flat chisel, the most widely known type, which is used to cut bars and rods to reduce surfaces and to cut sheet metal which is too thick or difficult to cut with snips. The cross cut chisel is used for cutting grooves and slots. The blade narrows behind the cutting edge to provide clearance. The round nose chisel is used for cutting semi-circular grooves for oil ways in bearings. The diamond point chisel is used for cleaning out corners or difficult places and pulling over centre punch marks wrongly placed for drilling. Although the vast majority of cold chisels are made of steel, a few are manufactured from beryllium copper, for use in special situations where non-sparking tools are required. Beryllium copper, also known as copper beryllium, BeCu or beryllium bronze, is a metal Alloy of Copper and 0

Hardy chisel

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. An anvil is a manufacturing tool made of a hard and massive block of stone or metal used as a support for Chiseling and Hammering other objects such as in A hardy hole is a square hole in an Anvil, suitable for holding Hardy tools in place 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. Tongs are gripping and lifting Tools of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use

Stone chisels

bolster chisel

Stone chisels are used to carve or cut stone, bricks or concrete slabs. To cut, as opposed to carve, a brick bolster is used; this has a wide, flat blade that is tapped along the cut line to produce a groove, then hit hard in the centre to crack the stone. To increase the force, stone chisels are often hit with club hammers, a heavier type of hammer. A lump hammer or club hammer is a heavy one-handed Hammer with a double-faced head

Masonry chisels

Masonry chisels are typically heavy, with a relatively dull head that wedges and breaks, rather than cuts. Normally used as a demolition tool, they may be mounted on a hammer drill, jack hammer, or hammered manually, usually with a heavy hammer of three pounds or more. A Hammer drill, also known as a "rotary hammer" or "roto-hammer" (see also rotary hammer drill) is a rotary Drill with a hammering action A pneumatic drill or jackhammer is a portable percussive Drill powered by Compressed air. A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object The most common uses are for driving nails fitting parts and breaking up objects

Plugging chisel

A Plugging chisel has a tapered edge for cleaning out hardened mortar. Mortar is a workable paste formed by mixture of Cement, Water and fine aggregate Masonry to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between The chisel is held with one hand and struck with a hammer. The direction of the taper in the blade determines if the chisel cuts deep or runs shallow along the joint.

See also

• Broach
• Burin
• Spud bar