PORTER-CABLE Corner Chisel (42234)

I am a professional handyman and I find using a hand chisel to square the router made radius type corners to be a minor annoyance. Simply put; this tool does what it is designed to do and it does it well. I've only used it on a few doors but I think it is built to last and has a little more design to it that one would think at first glance or even after using it a couple of times. I actually found myself turning the thing up side down and looking at how it works; it's cool, it works, it's built to last and the price is right...buy it; I think you will like it.

This is an amazingly simple tool that performs its intended task almost flawlessly. It the best corner chisel I've used, mainly because it's about 1/4" smaller than the aluminum versions you see at rockler and online. So you are able to use it to square up smaller mortises found on the door side of lock hardware. Made in Taiwan, which is good in my book. Get one, you won't regret it.

After reading mixed reviews of the corner chisel I ordered one anyway. I am a contractor specializing in finish work and it seems like most of the door hardware I use lately is square cornered. The tool works good at cutting and it usually removes the chips at the same time. Sometimes you just have to lift the chips out of the corner after they are cut. The only drawback that I found was the striking surface is rounded and can cause the hammer so slip off after hitting it. But the corner gets chipped out anyway, (I just hit it with the flat side of my hammer). If I was doing production work I would probably modify it to give it a little bigger footprint for more stability, and a longer body for better grip, and a longer stike to keep the hammer away from your hand. Overall, for a pocket tool, it is well worth the cost. I wish that I had ordered one years ago.

Tool was very sharp. Even so, it still took a firm hit for a clean cut line.

I don't know what other reviewers are talking about. This came pretty dang sharp. I was using it in a 3/8" deep grove in oak and it made a perfect corner in just a couple whacks. I do want to mention that the base of this is wider than it appears. My groove was 3/4" wide with a 90 degree turn made with a router. I couldn't fit the chisel in that corner space. You would need at least 1 inch of space to fit this properly. I was still able to cut a corner but it was at a slight angle. Not a big deal for my project but something to keep in mind.

It has amazing function, and yes, it accurate, but it does not ready to use out of the box. It needs some adjustment in order to function well. The spring is too strong, so, it bounch back hardly. Just cut the spring a little bit to reduce the bounch back force, and it will be ok. The sharp edge, it is not really sharp, because it sharpen in the wrong way, I think. It sharpen from outside in. The result is not so smooth cutting, and we have to smoothen it with chisel. We can fix the problem by re-sharpen it with diamond files. Just draw it from inside out following the angle of the square chisel. The bottom line is: this product is not ready to use out of the box, needs some adjustment, and it will perform as promised. Almost fair enough for the price. Although leaving a question: why Porter and Cable not just make the right product?

I used a short cut mortise router bit to recess a mirror into a wooden table-top. This device was quite necessary to chisel out the corner for a perfect fit of the mirror. One tap of the hammer an I had perfect square corner. Worked great and the table project was a wonderful success.

I suppose compared to a chisel, this is a dream but it could be built a little better. It works okay. Spend more and you'll get a better tool but it works fine for the price. It's certainly worth the money regardless. I use it to finish out hinge slots that I've routed and need to make square. It gets the job done. I think the older versions were built more heavy duty, but works fine for the purpose. In some ways a chisel works better, but this is fairly fool proof. I'm kind of a perfectionist so I still may finish cleaning with a chisel as well.