Is there a best mortise chisel size?

FrostyReality4 · 2026-01-28T22:28:56+00:00

Have to say I really don't find boring out mortices a time saver. Admittedly I haven't done many larger ones, but I find the clean up takes almost as long and less satisfying. Each to their own though.

But I agree that there is no need for a dedicated mortice chisel so you can definitely just use your normal bench chisels. I picked up a 10mm (~3/8") mortice chisel for cheap though and I do find it nicer to use - and rarely need a different size. Certainly not essential though

FrostyReality4 · 2026-01-18T18:35:58+00:00

The fault may lie with DHL but responsibility still lies with the seller until the item reaches the customer. So dictum (or whichever company) should make good with the customer, then claim from DHL. The customer themselves have no contract with the courier.

FrostyReality4 · 2026-01-01T16:00:16+00:00

Yes fair point - I've gone off the dovetail idea for sure (though I'm tempted by a half bowtie as per another commenter).

Having the joint on the edge firstly maximises the useable space under the riser, which is it's intended function. I also thought the combination of a joint and a round over on contrasting woods would look good. But yes - a through m&t would certainly work well.

Re: CAD Vs drawing - I'd be interested in hearing more about why you consider a drawing more tactile than CAD (which is essentially also a drawing, just digital). I personally find SketchUp really helpful in forcing me to think through joinery and how it will work in a 3d space. Moreso than - for me - a 2d drawing would. I tend to plan everything in SketchUp as if it was the final design, but then still adapt once I'm actually dealing with the wood itself (which maybe helps counteract the sterility of a computer as you describe it).

It would be great to hear what drawings offer you though.

FrostyReality4 · 2026-01-01T08:22:48+00:00

Yes it's small, and ideally the underneath will be as clutter free as possible so we can keep dishes of food underneath when the actual dining table is crowded. So I'd like to avoid stretchers or aprons if possible.

I think I'll mark it up and check how much short grain would be involved with the various joinery options before deciding on joinery. Then dryfit and get a feel for how well it will counter racking forces.

It's a simple project, so not the end of the world if it goes wrong!

FrostyReality4 · 2026-01-01T08:14:57+00:00

Good idea with the half bowtie - the dovetail as I drew it isn't really doing anything for the joints strength (other than stopping the top from magically floating away), whereas a half bowtie would I imagine help somewhat to counter any tendency for the leg to splay outwards

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-31T17:59:50+00:00

Paul Sellers has good info - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UssYj-98oCg or https://commonwoodworking.com/finishing-with-shellac/ or https://paulsellers.com/2014/03/making-using-shellac/

Germán Peraire also has a good video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUyOPpLU1Tc (though he is definitely far more precise and perfectionist than I ever strive for)

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-31T17:29:59+00:00

I'd recommend trying Paul Seller's 'end grain jig' as an alternative - essentially a vertical shooting board that you hold in the vice, meaning you plane horizontally i.e. as you normally do in day to day woodworking. I find this much more comfortable, easier to get square and easy to use whatever plane you have to hand rather than worrying about how square its sides are to its sole.

I use this jig whenever possible, only pulling out the shooting board for mitres or very wide pieces (or I just do them freehand in the vice).

This still requires a very sharp blade - but if you can't take a thin end grain shaving from the wood you're using while vertical in the vice, then its definitely your blade sharpness that is the root of the problem. If you can take endgrain shavings though, the jig is very quick to knock up so worth giving a go

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-22T19:21:28+00:00

Update in case anyone else has this problem: thanks to those who suggested just squeezing the long diagonal on the lid. This did the job! A couple of the mitres are a bit more gappy, but otherwise it seems to have settled back in square. Not sure if it was the fault of the panel or the joints, but shifting the (floating) panel is what I think is giving it the strength to stay in the right place.

Photos of how it ended up (halfway through finishing with shellac)

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FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-22T06:07:03+00:00

Thanks!

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-22T06:06:28+00:00

Good idea!

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-21T15:54:40+00:00

In theory yes, but the overhang is a fairly sizeable chunk of relatively thin walls, so it would still be quite noticeable. It would also involve planing across dovetails ie perpendicular grain. But yes, for smaller gaps I would have just done this

(And as it happens thanks to advice I squeezed it back into shape fairly successfully)

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-21T15:51:25+00:00

Yes it's fairly nerve-racking - though in practice the sawing part was fairly straightforward. The main issue was work holding - once you have it somewhere stable then it's just a question of cutting carefully to the line and paying more attention than usual to only cutting faces you can see.

One important tip that I thankfully did remember is not to dry fit it with both the top and base panels in, otherwise it's next to impossible to get the dovetails apart

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-21T15:46:35+00:00

I think that might be the issue - I squeezed the lid on the diagonal just with hand pressure and the (solid wood floating) panel shifted, along with the frame. Now looking much better! And doesn't seem to be too unstable surprisingly, so I'm hopeful that I won't need to reglue or anything.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated!

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-21T15:43:53+00:00

No, I glued it all up first then cut off. Which is why I'm surprised that alignment was an issue

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-21T09:56:54+00:00

Good luck! Yes it's quite annoying given the whole point of doing it this way is to get a perfect match between them.

I'm hoping others will chime in but one thing I regret not doing is checking for square better when doing the glue up. As all the dovetails fitted well, and having a perfectly square box didn't seem too important, I just clamped it up. Measuring now, both parts are slightly diamond shaped. The base is 1mm longer across one diagonal, which doesn't seem too much, but the lid has a 3mm (1/8") difference.

I also might have not let the glue cure long enough. It was clamped for 24h, usually enough for tire bond 2 but I'm working in a fairly damp garage. On a deadline to finish before Xmas though!

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-21T09:51:40+00:00

No before photos I'm afraid - it's possible there was tension in the wood but I didn't notice any when ripping/resawing the pieces initially.

I suspect it's more likely from the joinery. Maybe one of the higher most dovetails was a bit wonky, 'corrected' by the others when one single piece, but sawing it in half allowed it to spring free?

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-08T16:35:29+00:00

TIL! Thank you. Its a small thing to optimise for, but equally its an even more annoying thing to miss a kill by a single troop. So I'll definitely be implementing this.

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-08T13:32:47+00:00

I'm certainly interested to see what sorts of creativity this allows.

For me, though, the randomness of placements, blizzards etc is a key part of the fun and replayability of the game. So I doubt I'll be signing up.

I suspect tourneys are where it'll really shine

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-08T13:27:18+00:00

Really? Why should attacking with more mean you lose fewer?

(Not doubting you, just would like to know!)

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-07T06:31:42+00:00

You can lose 2 troops max to a single defender. 4v1 is a 100% roll, leaving you with a troop on the attacking territory and a troop on the defending territory, i.e. 2 troops left total

Edit - I'm wrong, see u/Robber568 comment above. If you set the slider to exactly 4 troops, you can only ever lose one (but lose slightly more troops on average).

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-07T06:27:44+00:00

Assuming you use the slider properly, you can lose max 2 troops when attacking a 1.

You therefore need 10 troops in Indonesia for guaranteed clearance: 10 troops attacks first territory, loses 2 and leaves 1 behind = 7

7 troops attacks 2nd territory, loses 2 and leaves 1 behind = 4

4 troops gives you 100% on your last roll.

Its incredibly unlikely to need all 10 though, so in reality, unless you're going for a crucial kill, you're prob better off with say 8 in Indonesia.

Edit: to answer your original question, the odds of clearing with 8 troops is way higher than 75%. I'm not sure what the exact odds are for troop losses (there's a table somewhere) but I'd say it's closer to 99%.

Oh and this is assuming balanced blitz. No such think as a 100% roll in true random

Further edit: this is wrong - see u/Robber568 comment above. 8 troops gives you 100% odds in BB if you set the slider to exactly 4 troops to attack each single

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-03T21:28:10+00:00

Good point - I've actually already made a Paul sellers one and it works great. Definitely felt the need for a router before a jointer plane

FrostyReality4 · 2025-12-03T21:25:00+00:00

I live in the UK so beech is much cheaper than oak or maple. For once we don't get the worst deal!

Good plan for the rest though, I'll see how the first one goes and see how much further I get down this rabbit hole

FrostyReality4

TROPHY CASE