Hollow mortising chisel and bit A mortiser or morticer is a specialized woodworking machine used to cut square or rectangular holes in a piece of lumber (timber), such as a mortise in a mortise and tenon joint.
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Square chisel mortising bits can also be fitted to normal drill presses using a mortising attachment. The Greenlee Company still manufactures mortisers, as do a large number of other power tool manufacturers. It is a common tool in the woodshop of professional woodworkers, but because of its specialized nature, many amateur woodworkers would not make enough use of it to justify the moderately high cost and space this tool takes up in the woodshop. Some smaller and less expensive models, suitable for cutting only narrow mortises are available.
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It was built with log planks of full dovetail notching. The loft area in the cabin was evidenced by mortising of the second-story joists. The once tin roof was covered with wood shingles. The cabin was constructed in 1850 to 1899 by James N. Williams.
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Illustration of carpentry (charpente) in the French Encyclopédie showing hewing, mortising, pit sawing on trestles. Tools include dividers, axes, chisel and mallet, beam cart, pit saw, trestles, and bisaigue . The men talking may be holding a story pole and rule (or walking cane). Shear legs are hoisting a timber.
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A third method was to nail planks either side of the wall plates to form a channel to hold the slabs, instead of mortising. This was a much quicker method of construction, but it required the use of sawn and dressed timber, and nails.Cox, pp. 47-48 Slabs were sometimes chamfered at one or both ends to fit into the mortises.
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Manufacturing became well established during the mid 19th century. Labor in the U.S. was expensive and industry made every effort to economize by using machinery. Woodworking machinery such as circular saws, high speed lathes, planers and mortising machines and various other machines amazed the British, as was reported by Joseph Whitworth.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); and by Lindsay Publications, Inc., Bradley, Illinois, ().
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The heartwood varies from yellowish pink through reddish brown while sapwood is generally lighter in color. The grain is usually interlocked, and the specific gravity ranges from 0.51 to 0.57. The wood is fairly easy to work, rating above average in shaping, sanding, and mortising, and below average in planing, turning, and boring. It is moderately difficult to air-season and shows moderate to severe warp.
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This appearance is deceptive, as they are actually derived from a large double-ended chisel with a side handle added for better control. The geometry of a twybil, particularly the long straight blades, makes it unworkable as an axe. Unfortunately many old examples have been damaged by such misuse. The related mortising axe or 'Bec d'ane' (donkey's nose) is similar, but single-sided and is forged and tempered to survive the shock loads of swinging as an axe.
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Turning his attention to transportation, Blanchard invented a "steam wagon" before the introduction of railroads in the United States,. and in 1831 created a powerful upriver steamboat that was used on the Connecticut River and the West, both of which he invented and patented in Springfield, Massachusetts... In 1851, he designed and created a machine that could bend dense and strong wood. Blanchard also constructed machines for cutting and folding envelopes at a single operation, and several mortising machines.
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100 Only large, or high- quality work required the square ends and smoothed sides of a precise mortise, trimmed by this variety of chisels. The apprentice will often use all three mortising tools interchangeably and randomly, making much effort of removing the waste as small chips. The skilled framer uses each appropriately in turn, working faster, with less effort and not bothering to tear a large block of waste into fragments. They are also less likely to damage a precise edge by levering with a sharp, brittle chisel edge.
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In 1990, an unnamed amateur diver from Louisiana found the wreck of the New York using a fish-finding sonar machine, a LORAN navigational device, and data gathered from a wide network of Gulf shrimpers. A team of divers found a large part of the hull and a few artifacts. These included an 1827 gold coin, two 1843 U.S. fifty-cent pieces, and a mortising machine from an 1836 patent. Archaeological dives sponsored by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) in 1997 and 1998 brought scientific expertise to bear on the site.
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Bentham's 1793 patent for woodworking machinery has been called "one of the most remarkable patents ever issued by the British Patent Office". Fifty years later in a woodworking machinery patent case the Crown Judges said "the specification of his patent of 1793 is a perfect treatise on the subject; indeed the only one worth quoting that has to this day been written on the subject". Marc Isambard Brunel had independently conceived designs for mortising and boring machines, which he showed to Bentham, who recognized the superiority of Brunel's designs. Henry Maudslay, the mechanic who built the machines, became a prominent machine tool builder.
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At least since the late Neolithic, elaborate axes (battle-axes, T-axes, etc.) had a religious significance and probably indicated the exalted status of their owner. Certain types almost never show traces of wear; deposits of unshafted axe blades from the middle Neolithic (such as at the Somerset Levels in Britain) may have been gifts to the deities. A collection of old Australian cutting tools including broad axes, broad hatchets, mortising axes, carpenter's and felling axes. Also five adzes, a corner chisel, two froes, and a twybil In Minoan Crete, the double axe (labrys) had a special significance, used by priestesses in religious ceremonies.
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Lever mortising machine, now disused and placed as a monument The square chisel mortiser (also called hollow chisel mortiser), similar to a drill press in many respects, combines the cutting of a four- sided chisel with the action of a drill bit in the center. The bit clears out most of the material to be removed, and the chisel ensures the edges are straight and clean. This device was invented in 1874 by Robert and Ralph Greenlee (founders of the Greenlee Company). The first square chisel lever mortisers were purely manual and relied on the operator pulling down on a large lever to push the chisel through the timber.
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The installation of a mortise lock can be undertaken by the average homeowner with a working knowledge of basic woodworking tools and methods. Many installation specialists use a mortising jig which makes precise cutting of the pocket a simple operation, but the subsequent installation of the external trim can still prove problematic if the installer is inexperienced. Although the installation of a mortise lock actually weakens the structure of the typical timber door, it is stronger and more versatile than a bored cylindrical lock, both in external trim, and functionality. Whereas the latter mechanism lacks the architecture required for ornate and solid-cast knobs and levers, the mortise lock can accommodate a heavier return spring and a more solid internal mechanism, making its use possible.
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Thomas Rowlandson: Naval carpenter, 1799 The bush carpenter historically possessed few tools, and rarely any specialized tools. Mann's Emigrant's Guide of 1849 suggests that those heading for Australia's unsettled areas take with them a plentiful supply of a wide variety of tools and fasteners, but he lists as the very minimum, 'A hand saw; Axe; Adze; Mortising chisel; Two augers, 1 and 11/4 inch; Two maul rings;Iron collars that prevent damage to a maul's handle Set of wedges; 1 Spade; Pick-axe; Two-foot rule; Chalk line; Square; A Plumb Bob.'Mann, cited in Cox, Rude Timber Buildings p. 42 A majority of early settlers had formerly been manual labourers, or servicemen, and brought with them a sound practical ability and aptitude for 'making do'; others observed or helped and copied their techniques.
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