mortising chisels

[jared herbert]

Hello I hope that I have attached a ;picture of my mortising machine. I bought it a couple of years ago and have never used it. My original plan was to convert it to a foot operated or assisted drill press but never got to it. Now I am building some furniture and would actually like to use it for its intended purpose. It is a Delta and quite old, I would guess from the 50s. I bought it from the estated of an old local cabinet maker who had died for $100. Anyway the chisels that came with it have been well used. The bits are very dull and the chisel itself needs some work and both are a little blue.. There are 2 Delta chisels and one greenlee. I was wondering where to buy some new ones, what brand, etc and what kinds work the best. Also where can I learn how to regrind them if need be to keep them from turning blue like the ones I now have. I seem to remember a long ago article in Fine Woodworking I think that tells how to do it but I cant find it now. Thanks in advance. Jared

[jared herbert]

I forgot to add that it has a very nice adjustable fence setup. It just came with it and I had never tried using it until yesterday and it works good and is easy to adjust.The old guy used to use it to make storm windows for peoples houses. Jared

[Stephen Cherry]

looks like a robust machine.

As far as chisels go, I think that life for these things is pretty tough. I just use the el cheapos from Woodcraft:

http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage.aspx?prodid=1536&ss=d151ab1d-edbc-4d45-8687-8b284ae08ef8

You can spend more, but these work fine, considering the cost. To be perfectly honest, I can cut a lot of 5/16 square holes for the price of one of these, and do not feel bad about buying another after it's reached it's expiration date. The problem with them is that heat builds up between the bit and chisel. One thing you can do is to work in tow steps (or more for big mortises). If you want a 5/16 slot, start with a 7/32, or 1/4 round bit, or a 1/4 square. Cut these first, then life is very easy on the final 5/16 bit and chisel. To use these chisels, or maybe others, you may need to use a bushing between the mortiser and chisel. For this, you may consider a bronze shouldered bushing of appropriate inside and outside diameter, and length. You probably need to drill a hole in the side to tighten up the bit, and you may need to use a shouldered and non shouldered to get the length.

If you are doing angles (chairs) you may want to consider some sort of x-y sliding table, where the work is clamped in tight. With that, it's easy to insert wedges for the angle cuts. Although my mortiser does not tilt, I would rather use the wedges because they require zero thought, once made.

[Alan Schwabacher]

Fine Woodworking #185 (July/Aug 2006) had an article by Roland Johnson called "Master the Mortiser" that was good. There is a companion video on the FWW website "Sharpen a Mortiser Bit" showing in detail how to tune up and sharpen the hollow chisels and auger bits.

[James Benson]

Check Grizley for mortis chisels. They carry two brands. One a good Japan made steel that stays sharper longer. Also check Rockler for there diamond mortis chisel file for sharpening. Works good and keeps the life up and sharp. We also used parafin wax in our wood shop at college for lube. Some used drycoat also. Make sure that the space between the drill bit and the chisel is correct( about a dime thickness away from each one).;)

[Lee Schierer]

I found that honing the outside of the chisels with sand paper mounted on plate glass works wonders for making morticies. The chisels go in and pull out much easier when their exterior surfaces are polished. Unless you were to get really carried away, you won't alter the outside dimensions noticeably.

[Steve Hollar]

Somewhat related, but I have a 4 piece boxed set of mortising chisels made by Fisch that I'm selling (1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 1/2 inch - 5/8ths shank). They are essentially new, I think I may have used one chisel one time years ago. I sold my machine but kept the chisels, thinking I may get another machine at some point, however my hobby has gone in a different direction. $45 if you're interested, PM and I'll send some pictures.