Twybil

**Philip Davies** · Jan 13, 2018, 07:35 AM

I have made this for a demonstration of medieval Woodworking. It is often called a bisaigue.

**Jon** · Jan 13, 2018, 10:58 AM

Interesting. More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twybil

**Toolmaker51** · Jan 13, 2018, 01:48 PM

As usual, Wikipedia to the rescue. I enjoy researching unknown tools and processes. Of the entire page, the following copy/ paste is my favorite. It illustrates an untold number of situations, and probably why we enjoy what we do...I've added emphasis in bold, along with a slight change to the paragraph structure. It may have been written concerning the twybil, but ANY instrument could be inserted without altering 'the message' found there.

In the heyday of the twybil, mortises in small work were often round-ended and so could be cut very quickly by brace and twybil alone, the tenon being rounded to fit.[9] Only large, or high-quality work required the square ends and smoothed sides of a precise mortise, trimmed by this variety of chisels.
The apprentice will often use all three mortising tools interchangeably and randomly, making much effort of removing the waste as small chips.
The skilled framer uses each appropriately in turn, working faster, with less effort and not bothering to tear a large block of waste into fragments. They are also less likely to damage a precise edge by levering with a sharp, brittle chisel edge.

**mwmkravchenko** · Feb 20, 2020, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by Philip Davies

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I have made this for a demonstration of medieval Woodworking. It is often called a bisaigue.

You are looking to be making either some really deep mortises or the tool is not really that large. No sense of scale other than the weld beads. Judging from them this is still a very large tool for cleaning out mortises.

I to am a cabinetmaker trained in using hand tools. I didn't know what this tool was until I read the Wikipedia article. Thanks Jon!

Thanks for sharing it Philip!

**Philip Davies** · Feb 22, 2020, 01:35 AM

It was remiss of me not to include a ruler in the picture. The length is about 5 feet. Normally, the mortising chisel would not be in the same plane as the slick. The slick is usually in the same plane as the handle. It was traditionally used by timber-framers. Thanks for your interest!