Thoughts on BIG mortisers.........

[Terry Hatfield]

Howdy,

I'm contemplating replacing my puny old style Delta bench top mortiser with a "real" mortiser. Anyone have one of these mortisers???

<IMG SRC="http://www.terryhatfield.com/719a2.GIF">

OR

<IMG SRC="http://www.terryhatfield.com/75-075.jpg">

OR

<IMG SRC="http://www.terryhatfield.com/MS-25T.jpg">

I like the tilting head on the General/Bridewood (which look like nearly identical machines) but I'm not really sure what I would ever use it for. Neither of those come with the stand. Both would be about $950 including the stand.The PM would be cheaper for sure. Genreal Ind. has it for $664 for a scratch and dent. Opinions, experiences with any of these machines??? Are there others I should be considering??

Thanks,

t

[Mark Singer]

In the small to medium shop...its too much. I have a litle Jet and I don't even use it very much!

[Wes Billups]

Terry, I have a small shop and recently bought a used PM mortiser and really like it. I still have the small Delta and will eventually sell it. The PM has been a major step up. Having the x-y axis table is great. I recently cut about 40 mortises in under 20 minutes with only 5 minutes of setup. If the tilting function is important I belive PM just came out with the 719T which offers this feature.

Keep us updated on what you decide.

Wes Billups

[Mark Blumer]

Terry,

I was lucky enough to find a WW equipment shop (in Grand Rapids, Mich) that had the two you are looking at side by side. I really preferred the PM. The tilting head is a cute feature but I cannot conceive of when I would use it. (And now PM has a tilting model). I much preferred the clamping device in the PM. The one on the General kept binding up and was difficult to screw in and out. The PM also comes standard with its base cabinet. Both have great leverage that takes the strength contest out of using the machines and the mobile tables (X and Y axes) are so far superior to the fixed tables of the small table top units that there is really no comparison.

I bought the PM and have not been sorry. For the same money, you might at least consider the Leigh jig. It is more versatile but I have the impression that it is not as robust as these "industrial" machines.

Mark Blumer (East Lansing, MI)

[Brian Buckley]

Terry,
I have had the PM for about a year. It works very well with good bits. It is easy to set up with the X/y axis table.
I will be selling it soon, as my MM 410 will have a mortise attachment on it. Not sure if I will like it as well as the PM.

Brian

[Terry Hatfield]

Wes, Mark , Bryan.......

Thanks for the input. I think the "regular" non tilting PM is probably the way I will go.

What bits are you guy's using in your PM?

t

[Jamie Buxton]

If I were shopping in this class, I'd look for a machine whose quill is driven by foot pressure. That is, you step on a big lever to drive the bit into the workpiece. This leaves you two hands to hold the workpiece, or whatever else you want.

[Mark Blumer]

Terry,

The bit sets that came with my mortiser are actually pretty good. I don't think they are Taiwanese. I think they are Austrian. I also have two Fisch bit sets that I use that are very good. I have a couple of Clico bits that are good but over hyped and way overpriced now that I have seen how good the Fisch sets are at about 1/2 the price. Different companies use different diameter shanks on the chisel units but the mortiser comes with some shim rings to adjust for different diameter shanks.

Have fun with it.

Mark

[Terry Hatfield]

Mark,


Thanks again. I didn't realize that any bits came with the machine.

t

[Ted Shrader]

Terry -

I have had my eye on the General for quite some time. The one from Wilke is new and has also made the list. Now that Powermatic has added a tilt table, I will consider it.

Have not had the luxury of touching any but the Powermatic ("A" model, not the "T" model). Having the base with the Powermatic is NOT an advantage for me. The machine table is way too low for me. I am 6'2" and would have to bend over. So with any machine, building a base is a requirement - that removed the PM (non-tilt) from the initial equation (the new tilt feature brought it back in).

How much would a tilt mechanism be used? I'm guessing about 10% of the time for me. It does open additional possibilities without having to build a wedge to angle the work piece.

Right now I am still leaning toward the General with the Wilke a close second.

Regards,
Ted

[Paul B. Cresti]

Terry,
I have had the PM for about 4 years. When I bought it the stand was an option. It has been a joy to use. The tilting head feature does not really apeal to me at all, plus more moving parts..... They really are all the same machines coming from the same factory (at least I believe) from Tiawan. Just make sure the rpm is in the 1700 range not the 4k range as was the case when the PM first came out. The bits would burn the wood. I have used both Clico and generic chisels and they both work. The key is to keep the chisel as sharp as possible, have the correct space between the bit and chisel and keep the chisel somewhat cool (I use the Scary sharp method and it works like a charm).

[Brian Buckley]

Terry,

I have been useing the Clico bits with goog success. Clico makes a sharpener for mortise bits that is not only easy to use, but very affective.

Brian

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

Bits did NOT come with my PM...which rather irritated me. I always had good results with the JET chisels, so that's what I bought.

KC

[Steve Swinton]

I have had the General 75-075 for about a year and a half now. It's a great machine. The adjustable table is great and it's powerful enough to cut 1" mortises easily. I'm working on my second crib now (grandchildren starting to come along). I just used the tilting head to put mortises in stair railings for my daughter's front porch. Worked like a charm. It is expensive but I would do it again. I didn't buy the stand and will build my own as soon as I have time. It's setting on an old workmate right now.
Good luck,
Steve