ian maybury
08-05-2009, 10:19 AM
Here's hoping for some feedback. I've no significant experience of hollow chisel mortisers, and want something fairly substantial that's not going to be a pain due to unreliability, inability to hold or get back to settings, or do accurate work.
The Jet/Powermatic 720HD caught my eye. It's expensive (near to $2000), but has some nice features for handling long vertical and angled workpieces.
I've on the other hand been looking at a non tilting Jet 719A/JFM-5 too at around $800, and wondering if i can get by by making packing pieces for angled work and save myself a lot of money.
Does anybody have views on (a) the 'how to/what works' of angled mortising, and (b) the 720HD or 719A?
The 720HD is a 1 1/2 HP mortiser http://www.powermatic.com/Products.aspx?Part=1791309 (http://www.powermatic.com/Products.aspx?Part=1791309) with a 90 deg tilting table and the ability to handle a vertically mounted component up to 41 inches long which is attractive - i want to use a 3 way mitre with keys in a design i'm looking at as a basis for several pieces of furniture.
It'd be a pity not to bite the bullet on cost and do it right when
setting up - if the 720 actually does the business. That said there's few around, so clearly most get by by other means.
Over here Jet is only starting to make inroads, and the 720HD is actually not a stock item which makes any decision more awkward. Most of the non production professional shops here seem to go for the non tilting
Sedgwick 571 and the like: http://www.dbkeighley.co.uk/masters/holchismort571.htm (http://www.dbkeighley.co.uk/masters/holchismort571.htm) These machines are very strong, pretty basic and quite a bit more expensive than the likes of the smaller JET. They are regarded as very reliable.
I guess in the case of the better Jets (719 and upwards) they offer some
features over the UK machines. The question is whether they are robust, and especially whether or not they hold alignments and settings, and can be returned reliably to these without the need for test cuts or other screwing around .....
The Jet/Powermatic 720HD caught my eye. It's expensive (near to $2000), but has some nice features for handling long vertical and angled workpieces.
I've on the other hand been looking at a non tilting Jet 719A/JFM-5 too at around $800, and wondering if i can get by by making packing pieces for angled work and save myself a lot of money.
Does anybody have views on (a) the 'how to/what works' of angled mortising, and (b) the 720HD or 719A?
The 720HD is a 1 1/2 HP mortiser http://www.powermatic.com/Products.aspx?Part=1791309 (http://www.powermatic.com/Products.aspx?Part=1791309) with a 90 deg tilting table and the ability to handle a vertically mounted component up to 41 inches long which is attractive - i want to use a 3 way mitre with keys in a design i'm looking at as a basis for several pieces of furniture.
It'd be a pity not to bite the bullet on cost and do it right when
setting up - if the 720 actually does the business. That said there's few around, so clearly most get by by other means.
Over here Jet is only starting to make inroads, and the 720HD is actually not a stock item which makes any decision more awkward. Most of the non production professional shops here seem to go for the non tilting
Sedgwick 571 and the like: http://www.dbkeighley.co.uk/masters/holchismort571.htm (http://www.dbkeighley.co.uk/masters/holchismort571.htm) These machines are very strong, pretty basic and quite a bit more expensive than the likes of the smaller JET. They are regarded as very reliable.
I guess in the case of the better Jets (719 and upwards) they offer some
features over the UK machines. The question is whether they are robust, and especially whether or not they hold alignments and settings, and can be returned reliably to these without the need for test cuts or other screwing around .....