The firmer-chisel is meant for light hand-work, for paring off wood and trimming to shape, and can be used for light mortising, though the mortise-chisel is intended for that purpose.

It is often an advantage to have the long edges of such a chisel bevelled on the same side as the cutting basil, as it can be used more conveniently in some places. Taking off the corner of the basil when grinding, often answers the purpose.

The framing-chisel is stouter than the firmer, has a stronger handle to stand heavy blows of the mallet, and is meant, as the name indicates, for framing, mortising, and other heavy work.1 See Mortising. The straight-bent chisel is shaped as shown in Fig. 487, and is very useful for cleaning out corners, grooves, and other places where the common firmer-chisel cannot be used to advantage.

A skew-chisel is simply ground slanting, instead of squarely across, and is useful for corners and odd work. See Carving Tools.

There are other forms, seldom needed by the amateur, as the corner-chisel, which is used for cutting or paring angles and corners.

Those chisels and gouges which have the handles fitted into sockets at the upper end of the iron, instead of the iron being stuck into the handle, and with ferrules at the upper end where they are struck by the mallet are, of course, the strongest for heavy work, although the lighter handles are just as good for light work.

Do not let your left hand get in front of the edge of the chisel while working, for the tool may slip and give you a bad cut, and in most cases the left hand should be kept on the lower part of the chisel to help control it, which is not easily done with one hand. In some cases, as in paring the edge of a piece directly downward towards the bench, it may be proper to hold the work with the left hand and use the chisel with the right; but as a rule, particularly for beginners, first see that the work is securely fastened or held from slipping by vise, clamp, or other expedient, and then keep the left hand on the chisel, which will steady and guide the tool, and, incidentally, prevent the hand from being cut. See Paring and Sharpening.

Fig. 486.

Fig. 487.

1 Mortise-chisels with great thickness of blade (Fig. 486) are not likely to break, and the width of the sides bearing against the sides of the mortise tends to make the cutting more accurate,