Grizzly G8620 chisel mortiser or Jet/Powermatic 719

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone here has used, owns, or has knowledge of, these two chisel mortisers.

The Grizzly seems to be sold under many brands and is available here (Australia) under another name. The Jet seems to be identical to the Powermatic 719T.

https://www.carbatec.com.au/joinery-...-skid-1-carton

In Australia these seem like the two best available options. The Jet sells for $2099au or approx. $1700us after a price hike, and the Grizzly clone is on sale for $1595au or approx $1250US in one store and approx $1900us in another.

The Grizzly clone is heavier and looks more rugged on paper and is out of stock so I can't take a look at it before ordering to get the sale price.

The Jet seems nice but is lighter 125kg vs 160kg and a fair bit more expensive. Is the Jet a better machine in terms of overall quality? Do people find the Jet to be rugged enough for large mortises?

Also, do people find they actually use their mortisers, or did you buy one and find it wasn't as useful as you expected? It seems that no one on the Australian forum recommends them.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

Cheers, Dom

Hello Dom, I have a benchtop hollow chisel mortise which I use frequently.

All of this style have the same issue, they work very well if you sharpen the auger bit, hone the chisels and set them up with enough clearance between the bottom of the bit and the bottom of the chisel.

Some have lower quality chisels and bits and replacing those with a better set can improve the operation.

I like them because they make square mortises, which match the tenons I make, and they can mortise fairly deeply, depending upon bit size.

regards, Rod.

I have a General International mortiser.

As Rod said, they work well if you keep the chisel and the bit sharp. Getting the bit aligned properly with respect to the chisel tip is important too!

Thanks guys. I put a holding deposit on the larger mortiser with the caveat that I needed to see a display model first. Once they have stock I'll decide between that and the Jet.

Cheers, Dom

Well I picked up a Jet 719AS chisel mortiser this afternoon. 20% off sale; couldn't say no as it made my decision an easier one, given I could chalk it up to fate or some such.

Got home, made a mobile base from some left over formply (2 layers of 18mm) and blackbutt scraps, plus a hardware kit from Carbatec. I quite like the 700lb bases they sell, although I never use the rails and build the corner brackets onto plywood bases instead.

Attachment 373336

The machine looks good. Packaged well, base is quite nice (before I scraped it getting the mortiser on at least!), and everthing appears square and functions smoothly, if a little tight.
Attachment 373337

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In case there was doubt these are powermatic's painted white.

Attachment 373342

Now I just have to wait for my Lee Valley mortise chisel bits... :( I also need to figure out where it will live in the shop.


Cheers, Dom

Nice clean and orderly shop ... I'm impressed! I had wondered how much WM actually differentiated the tools sold under the various brands.

I had an earlier model Jet without the tilt. Worked well but check the gib screws routinely as they seemed to loosen for some reason.

Sometimes a work piece would slip in the clamp. I contact glued a piece of sandpaper to baltic birch that I bolted to the clamp face. Problem solved.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill Adamsen

Nice clean and orderly shop ... I'm impressed! I had wondered how much WM actually differentiated the tools sold under the various brands.

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Thanks! I do try to keep it relatively clean. At least between projects. I can't start something new if there is still a mess from the previous job. I am going to build a single car timber frame garage next to this one, which aside from fitting an actual car, will hopefully allow me to move a lot of the non-woodworking/metalworking bits and pieces out of the shop, as well as provide some timber storage. Just need to actually build it first! Haha. Always too many projects.

Yep it seems that this machine is the same as the Powermatic 719T.

Cheers, Dom