General Int'l Moritiser.....75-050T M1 ..Any owners?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I'm in the market for a mortiser. I called the nearest Woodcraft. I wanted a PM benchtop but they don't have it in stock. They do, however, have a GI 75-050T M1.

Anybody have this mortiser? If so, what's you opinion on it please!

Thanks in advance.

[Dan Mitchell]

I have one, though I have only used it twice so far. When I got mine (a couple months back) it was ~$50 less than it is today, on the Woodcraft site. I ended up ordering it online, because to my surprise, the local Woodcraft would not meet the lower price. It still ended up being less, even with the added freight, as I paid no tax.

I'd say it is a very well made machine in terms of fit & finish. Quite heavy. I had no problem cutting mortises with the supplied chisels (after cleaning up their cutting edges a bit) in some very hard maple. In its last use, I had to mortise a fairly wide (tall, as it sits on the machine's table) board, and made use of the fact that the head can be raised on its column about 6" to accommodate such a piece. It can also be rotated 180 degrees to mortise off the table for really long pieces, and of course can tilt, which few others can, though I have not used these functions yet. FWW named it "Best Overall" in an 8/2005 comparison test. I can email you a PDF of this article, if you haven't already seen it.

Dan

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dan,

Thanks for the offer. I have the article though the one they tested wasn't the tilting model.

I'm glad to hear it works as advertised.

I have to go to Spokane next Friday and I will probably buy one at Woodcraft while there.

[Dan Mitchell]

Dan,

Thanks for the offer. I have the article though the one they tested wasn't the tilting model.

I'm glad to hear it works as advertised.

I have to go to Spokane next Friday and I will probably buy one at Woodcraft while there.

Actually, it was the tilting model. Under "Comments" they say "Post tilts to make angled cuts".

It's pricey, but I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

Dan

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dan,

My apologies.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Ken, I've owned the non tilting model for 7 or 8 years, great machine, I would reccomend it.........Regards, Rod.

[Brian Penning]

I have the non-tilting model also and am quite satisfied with it. Bought it based on plenty of good reviews.

One thing I just remembered is that one 1 side of the base there's no tapped hole for the Stop rod to be screwed in. The raised boss is there but there's no tapped hole. Simple fix.

[Neal Clayton]

i have it, build doors and windows and such. no accuracy issues, table and clamp are rigid enough to hold a 80" heart pine door stile from either end without flex.

it is quite heavy, and comes fully assembled. have help ready to pick it up ;).

the only complaint about mine i can think of is they didn't smooth the cover that goes over the chuck, it had a couple of nasty burrs on the corners and i cut my finger on one the first time i used it. other than that, works perfect.

note that it does not come with a stand, so you'll either need to build one or buy it separately. in my case i just added a leg under the bench built into my wall and put it there.

[Michael N Taylor]

I bought mine from Woodcraft in Franklin, TN. when they marked it down $100.00 becasue they were not going to carry them anymore and I can say it is a very good machine. I have used it for 2 pieces of furniture and it worked great after tuning the chiesels. I tried the tilt to see how it works and it seemed to work very easily but I have not put it to use yet.
It is a heavy machine but I can pick it up and carry it without any problems. I also go the base on sale and it is very good especially after I put it on a mobile base and raised it about 3" for a better height for me.