How to Chisel a Mortise

A mortise is the hole part of a mortise-and-tenon joint. It's also the best way to sink a hinge onto the side of a door.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Chisels
• Rubber Mallets
• Rubber mallets

1. Use the hardware (if appropriate) to mark a pencil outline of the mortise.

2. Choose a chisel that is the width of the mortise, if at all possible. If the mortise will be wider than your chisel, you'll have to make two passes.

3. Hold the chisel with the bevel side toward the center of the mortise and follow the pencil outline, tapping a groove with a mallet. Go over the groove until it's the depth that you want the mortise to be.

4. Start at the top of the outline of the mortise and make a series of parallel horizontal cuts about 1/4 inch apart by tapping the chisel bevel-side up at a 45-degree angle. The pattern of the cuts should resemble a shutter when you're done, with evenly spaced horizontal slats. This is to ease chipping out the wood.

5. Hold the chisel with the bevel side down and chip the sections out by hand. Don't use the mallet.

Tips & Warnings

• Watch the demo video at the Sierra Home Web site. (See Related Sites.)