Squaring off inside routered curves?

[sealslayer]

After doing template work with the flush trimming bit it leaves a very slight curve on cornered inside edges, whats the best method for removing these?

I was looking at the little device that you use for mortise hinges, it sits on the edge and you hit with a hammer and it cuts both edges together, I'm not sure how this would work firstly with MDF as its very soft wood and whether it would be able to slice through 3/4 thick.

Only other thing I can think of is a chisel but a few of my edges are very close and getting a chisel in there could be tricky.

Advice please.....

[ChadTower]

Hand chisel... for really small things, sometimes I use a flathead screwdriver.

[BobA]

MDF will saw and plane well, but it chisels really poorly, it crumbles and smashes since it has no grain.  Use a hand saw or a band saw if you have access to one to square up those inside corners.

[sealslayer]

Yeah I just discovered that  I bought a chisel but it didn't do he best of jobs.
I really want to get a nice clean looking edge, problem is the curves are inside the piece and theres no way I can get a band saw in there as its solid (Inner curves of cocktail lid) I guess I'll have to try again with a hand saw

[Kaytrim]

Try using a razor or x-acto knife to score the corner.  Then use the knife to cut the corner piece flush with the rest of the recess.  If you are careful you will get a nice clean and sharp corner.

TTFN

[javeryh]

Score the corner like Kaytrim said to then it's all freehand with the jigsaw and sanding... at least that's how I did it.

[NightGod]

A coping saw or even just a hacksaw blade (you can get handles for them that allow you to use them without having to got a full hacksaw frame around the piece your working on-I suppose you could always just wrap the blade in duct tape or something, as well) did wonders for me.

[bfauska]

The "Shark" brand saws on this page which happen to be on sale will make a real clean cut in a tight corner like that.  I am not necessarily promoting that brand, but that style of "Pull" saw or detail saw, or "Japanese" saw is a very useful finish tool.  I have a "Bear" saw brand pull saw (so named because it cuts on the pull stroke) and have been really saved by it in the past, it can do a clean finish cut when you cut into a corner with a circular saw, flush cut a dowel, or trim off just that last little bit of something to make a piece fit, and all without tearing up the wood you are working on.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, a flush trim saw should be decent there.

[Dudeman]

The "Shark" brand saws on this page which happen to be on sale will make a real clean cut in a tight corner like that.  I am not necessarily promoting that brand, but that style of "Pull" saw or detail saw, or "Japanese" saw is a very useful finish tool.  I have a "Bear" saw brand pull saw (so named because it cuts on the pull stroke) and have been really saved by it in the past, it can do a clean finish cut when you cut into a corner with a circular saw, flush cut a dowel, or trim off just that last little bit of something to make a piece fit, and all without tearing up the wood you are working on.

Amen, brother. I've got one of those, and it's awesome. It'll make great cuts for you.

[ScottS]

MDF will saw and plane well, but it chisels really poorly, it crumbles and smashes since it has no grain.

Grain is actually what makes chiseling and planing difficult! I would expect that a sharp chisel should work well in MDF, though I admit that I haven't tried it. It sounds to me like you're working with dull chisels.

The thing many people don't realize is that a brand-new chisel, even from a high-end manufacturer like Lie-Nielsen, isn't ready to cut when you receive it. I always spend a few minutes flattening the back, sharpening, and honing the bevel before using a new chisel. With a high-quality chisel, the sharpening will only take a few minutes. With a cheap chisel (e.g. Stanley, Craftsman, Great Neck, etc.) it may take a long time to get the chisel ready to cut well. I spent 45 minutes working on the last Craftsman chisel I bought on my Norton waterstones before giving up in disgust...

[Malenko]

Im lazy I guess, if it were me I'd just dremel a nice rounded edge   

[Dervacumen]

The thing many people don't realize is that a brand-new chisel, even from a high-end manufacturer like Lie-Nielsen, isn't ready to cut when you receive it. I always spend a few minutes flattening the back, sharpening, and honing the bevel before using a new chisel. With a high-quality chisel, the sharpening will only take a few minutes. With a cheap chisel (e.g. Stanley, Craftsman, Great Neck, etc.) it may take a long time to get the chisel ready to cut well. I spent 45 minutes working on the last Craftsman chisel I bought on my Norton waterstones before giving up in disgust...

Good info!  More please.  How do you do this?  It's been 25 years since my Dad showed me those skills.  I recall smoothing the face and then turning it around and giving a really quick rub to pull the metal into a scraping edge but I was really young so I don't remember the nuances.

[ScottS]

Good info!  More please.  How do you do this?  It's been 25 years since my Dad showed me those skills.  I recall smoothing the face and then turning it around and giving a really quick rub to pull the metal into a scraping edge but I was really young so I don't remember the nuances.

Sharpening is one of those subjects that can easily occupy a two-hundred page book (e.g. The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee) or a decent length video. It's been written about extensively on the Internet, by people much more capable than myself. You might google around and see what you can find...

If you want to get started cheap and have a lot of spare time on your hands, look into sandpaper-based sharpening (which is often called "scary sharp").  I eventually gave it up because it's pretty slow and fairly expensive in the long-run; one sheet of sandpaper  is cheap, but you need at least six different grits and each sheet doesn't last very long. I switched over to Norton waterstones and couldn't be happier. The up-front cost is at least $100 and they're a bit messy, but sharpen very quickly. If you want to go with waterstones, I'd suggest looking for one of the Norton packages: a 220/1000 grit combo stone, a 4000/8000 combo stone, and a plate for flattening the stones. You can usually find these for around $100 at woodworking shows and occasionally on-line (e.g. at Peachtree Woodworking).

I'll also suggest the Veritas Mark II honing guide from Lee Valley. One of the keys to successful sharpening is being able to hold the tool being sharpened at a consistent angle. There are two ways to do this: practice for 5-10 years, or use a honing guide. The Veritas Mark II honing guide is brilliant, and well worth the $50 IMHO. Between the Veritas guide and the Norton stones, I can easily hone a chisel to a mirror finish and have it sharp enough to shave hairs off my arm. Don't waste your money on any other honing guide; I've tried a number of the cheap ones and they've all been crap. The type that comes with Peachtree's waterstone combo kit is particularly useless for chisels; it might be better with plane blades, but I haven't tried it.

[SavannahLion]

Good info!  More please.  How do you do this?  It's been 25 years since my Dad showed me those skills.  I recall smoothing the face and then turning it around and giving a really quick rub to pull the metal into a scraping edge but I was really young so I don't remember the nuances.

Sharpening is one of those subjects that can easily occupy a two-hundred page book (e.g. The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee) or a decent length video. It's been written about extensively on the Internet, by people much more capable than myself. You might google around and see what you can find...

If you want to get started cheap and have a lot of spare time on your hands, look into sandpaper-based sharpening (which is often called "scary sharp").  I eventually gave it up because it's pretty slow and fairly expensive in the long-run; one sheet of sandpaper  is cheap, but you need at least six different grits and each sheet doesn't last very long. I switched over to Norton waterstones and couldn't be happier. The up-front cost is at least $100 and they're a bit messy, but sharpen very quickly. If you want to go with waterstones, I'd suggest looking for one of the Norton packages: a 220/1000 grit combo stone, a 4000/8000 combo stone, and a plate for flattening the stones. You can usually find these for around $100 at woodworking shows and occasionally on-line (e.g. at Peachtree Woodworking).

I'll also suggest the Veritas Mark II honing guide from Lee Valley. One of the keys to successful sharpening is being able to hold the tool being sharpened at a consistent angle. There are two ways to do this: practice for 5-10 years, or use a honing guide. The Veritas Mark II honing guide is brilliant, and well worth the $50 IMHO. Between the Veritas guide and the Norton stones, I can easily hone a chisel to a mirror finish and have it sharp enough to shave hairs off my arm. Don't waste your money on any other honing guide; I've tried a number of the cheap ones and they've all been crap. The type that comes with Peachtree's waterstone combo kit is particularly useless for chisels; it might be better with plane blades, but I haven't tried it.

What perfect timing. My favorite chisel was ruined when the brat decided to use it to try and open a can of paint.

Normally, I would just ask my father to help sharpen it. My father was so skilled with sharpening stones that his ex-wife once cut herself with a knife he sharpened and she didn't even realize it until she saw the cut. She ended up with stitches. Unfortunately, he passed away and sharpening was a skill I was never able to pick up on.

[RecklessAbandon]

chisels work fine on mdf, as do planes

imo you wont get a shaper chisel apart from when new, its just the angle is wrong.

you want a honing angle 30* and the grinding angle at 25*. when you buy a new chisel it only comes with the grinding angle.

cheap stones are no good, waste of money. they hollow in the middle easily rounding your chisel when you use it, when you first get soak in oil for a few days, 3-1 will do tbh
always use all of the stone, and only rub the back of the chisel once down the stone.

then sharpening you have a few ways, the traditional, by hand way us carpenters use, or you can cheat using a couple of tools.
and good one imo is this by stanley
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A335480&ts=72255&id=80823


clamp your chisel in it at set angle, then just roll it backwards and forwards on the stone


or you have this by trend, called a "fasttrack" which is good, but oh so slow
you dont use a stone for that you buy little magnetic stones which sit in it
http://www.trendmachinery.co.uk/fasttrack/