chisels: plugging and scutch

[Stephen]

Hello,

I looked at the FAQ and the chisel section has yet to be written. I had someone do some pointing for me and I watched to see how it was done. It was a father and son team and I noticed one used a scutch chisel to remove the old mortar from around the bricks, whereas the other used a plugging chisel. Is this because they only owned one of each type?!

Is one type of chisel better suited to this purpose than the other? If so what are the two types used for?

I read on the internet about the plugging chisel being angled but I don't quite understand why. What is the point of this? Can it be resharpened on a bench grinder? Do you have to be careful to put the same angle back?

I suppose the advantage of a scutch chisel is the scutch is replaced when it is worn out, saving the hassle of having to resharpen?

Thanks, Stephen.

[NT]

Write it :) If you post it here, people normally offer suggestions and pick up on any issues. It can be quite a learning process.

NT

[The Medway Handyman]

Angle grinder & a diamond blade. Really fast & can achieve surprising high degree of precision. Dust & face mask essencial.

[Stephen]

But if I knew what to write, I wouldn't be asking the question unfortunately.

[Stephen]

That's interesting. They mentioned the other type of angle grinder attachment when they came to quote, yet when they came to do the work, they did it by hand; perhaps because it was only a small area?

I understand it is like a drill bit that fits the angle grinder spindle. IIRC these have been discussed on this group before but the consensus was that they were difficult to steer in a straight line, leading to damage to the bricks.

So you recommend a disc instead? I'll remember that for future use. Is the disc exactly the right size or do you have to make multiple passes? OTOH I guess it depends how thick your mortar was to begin with?