Cutting the first leg mortise

With the leg mortise layout complete, it’s time to start cutting them.

I love this part of a joinery project. Cutting a mortise by hand is hard work, but it’s very rewarding to see the mortise take shape with each chop of the chisel.

The leg mortises are 18mm wide, and after one complete pass down the length of the mortise, I’m down to a depth of about 25-30mm, just over a quarter of the total depth I need to get through.

In the picture you can see the wood slices that come out of the mortise from chopping with the chisel. Nice neat little rectangular slices, no dust.