How To Use a Chisel (The Correct Method)

In this video, I teach you the principles and fundamentals of accurate, efficient and safe chiselling. Following this simple guidance will skyrocket your skills overnight, with only a few simple changes to your processes here and there.
______

RECOMMENDED VIDEOS:
👉How To Sharpen a Chisel
👉Bevel Up or Bevel Down (Paul Sellers)
______

PRODUCTS RECOMMENDED IN THIS VIDEO:
🔸 My Chisels
🔸 My Mallets
🔸 Workbench Plans
____________________________________________

CHAPTERS:
😤 Getting Impatient? Skip to the good stuff below: ⬇️
00:00 Intro
00:37 Don't Be an Idiot
01:27 Postitioning, Stance & Grip
02:00 Stance
02:52 Grip when Paring
04:27 Grip when Chopping
07:02 Line of Sight
09:40 Power Transfer
12:29 Efficiency and Accuracy
12:57 Halving Waste Material
14:56 Chisel Sizing
17:54 Understanding Grain
18:41 Severing Fibres
22:00 Splitting Grain
24:53 Bevel Up vs. Bevel Down
25:12 Outtro
______

MY FREE ONLINE COURSES:
🚀 Purchasing and Using Tools Correctly
🎁 How To Make a Dovetailed Box:
🛠 How To Make a Cabinet:
🧰 How To Make a Toolbox:
✏️ How To Design Furniture
______

HOW TO SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:
💪 Become a Patron - Donate a Regular Amount of Your Choice
👕 Purchase Merchandise - Premium Materials, Quality Design.
🎁 Wishlist - Help us Purchase New Equipment & Resources!
🍺 Send a Tip - Quick, Easy, and Massively Appreciated!
______

WOODWORKING BOOKS I RECOMMEND:
📘 Collins Complete Woodworkers Manual
📖 Workbenches: Design & Theory to Construction & Use
📚 The Overstory - My Favourite Fiction Books about Trees
______

MY FAVOURITE TOOLS:
🛠️ Knew Concepts Fret Saw
⬜️ Faithfull Engineers Squares
⚙️ Veritas Wheel Marking Gauge
🗡 Precision Marking Knife
🎥 Lumix S1H Mirrorless Camera

🔍 See EVERYTHING I Recommend HERE:

______

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ME:

______

🕵️‍♂️ WHO AM I?:
My name is Matt Estlea and I’m a Woodworker from Basingstoke, England. My aim is to make your woodworking less s***.

I come from 5 years of TRAINING at Rycotewood Furniture Centre in Oxford, 5 years of experience WORKING at Axminster Tools and Machinery in Basingstoke, and 3 years TEACHING both day classes and evening classes at Rycotewood Furniture Centre. All while trying to get this YouTube thing off the ground.

By September 2021, I packed it all in to focus on YouTube and my business full-time.

Want to know more about how I crammed all this experience into such a short period of time? See my experience and qualifications here:

______

GET IN TOUCH:
While I take time to read every single message I receive whether it's emailed, DMed or asked publicly on social media, sadly I do not have time to reply to everything. If you have a short message you’d like to send, it’s best to send me a message on Twitter.

For longer messages, please drop me a message via the contact page on my website.

______

PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I get a lil’ commission from recommending at no extra cost to you. If you’d like to know more about how this works, and what businesses I work with, please read my affiliate disclaimer here:

[eoinoneill]

Just starting the video now, ready to gain 1000 woodworker exp.

[mikescott]

Hey Matt - good to see you putting up regular vids again. I only started woodworking a few years ago and yours was one of my go to channels for understanding techniques / tips. Learned a lot and really enjoy the focussed woodworking videos - although I also loved the workshop renovation series. You're a fantastic teacher - a big talent. Keep it up.

[ticovogt]

I’ve watched several of your videos. After forty plus years involved in woodworking as a self-taught professional furniture/cabinetmaker and a tool maker, I still enjoy learning the different approaches to the craft and how folks go about presenting their ways of work. It’s been fun to see how closely the fundamentals and basics processes presented in your series align with the ones I’ve settled into: body positioning in relation to the workpiece, ergonomics, stance, grips, tool sharpening, chisel techniques, halving the waste, etc.

It seems, based on your occasional asides, a fair number of responders challenge different aspects of your lessons. It’s regrettable that you have to “defend” anything because all your material is freely offered, knowledge that is well considered and presented in a lively way. I would recommend your video series to anyone wanting to learn solid benchwork skills. Tico Vogt

[saramulry]

My favorite part is how you talk about what to do with your body while using a chisel. Demystify woodworking for the masses! 🙌🏼✨

[thierrylerinckx]

It's clear, it makes a lot of sense, it's easy to understand and to remember. What a great teacher! I wish all my teachers had been as good as you. Thank you for this "how2"

[robertborberg]

Thank you so much for diving in to the intricate details of what should be learned first. You truly have the heart of a teacher

[jamesbrosnahan]

So nice to see a fellow left hander teach something and not have to flip it in my head 😂

[JB-yrbh]

Seriously, I appreciate how extremely in depth your two videos I watched were. I’m glad I stumbled across your channel. I dropped 5k on woodworking tools and supplies and I’m 6 months into my new hobby. I look forward to watching more of your videos. So much to learn but I love it! Again, thank you!

[kirokcarnahan]

As a beginning woodworker, these videos are perfect. Simple and extensive explanations of how to do the craft with no assumptions of prior knowledge. I've watched so many other videos that assume I already have some expertise. I don't; yet. Matt, your videos are helping me learn. Thanks!

[JamesKelly]

I've already cut my finger a couple of times with a chisel not while doing work but while just handling them and not paying attention. I've sharpened them so sharp even the slightest touch against skin will cause a really bad bleed. My current project is covered in blood from just such an incident.

[conorlavery]

Don't care what the content haven't even read the can't wait to sit back with a coffee and

[robohippy]

Well, age has it benefits, I knew all of this first, but getting my 'discoveries' confirmed helped reinforce the knowledge I already have. Most of what I have done wood wise is on the lathe, but have made some furniture. Getting ready to delve into hand

[Secretsofsushi]

This video is SO well done. Thank you for putting in the extra details!

[JamesFunkify]

Consistent quality, good sir! You're a natural teacher. Keep going. I find your ideas work well because of your ability to break down concepts into workable chunks. Have a great day!

[pjhalchemy]

Well Done Matt! Always a treat to see someone explain really well, the ideas of body mechanics and tool use. Common sense for some and yet we all compromise at times to get it done. Also enjoyed the grain processes and referring to Paul Sellers vid on bevel positioning! Thank You! Love to see more of this from you.

[rayfischer]

Matt - really good video. Your teaching style is wonderful. Not only are you imparting knowledge you're doing it in an easy understandable manner. Thanks for the content!

[andabien]

Excellent information. Excellent presentation: clear and concise.

[samtheman]

Great tutorial Matt. I'm really loving the new series of tutorials and I can't wait for more. The principles of reading the grain and choosing the method so helpful, it should help reduce mistakes in the future, thanks Matt

[bradleytuckwell]

Man am I so glad your back to dropping videos again.I don’t think you can get a better Tutorial than that it was well covered and so helpful.thanks for sharing and like I said before so glad your back

[pemtax]

As always Matt, very informative, well demonstrated and above all entertaining to the point that the 25 minutes flew by. Your videos were the foundation of my chisel skills that I've been employing for a couple of years now and because of it, I'm pretty confident in my chisel skill set. Thanks for the time and effort you put into these videos, there are a lot of us that have benefited greatly because of it. Cheers Mate!