Any recommendations on hollow mortising chisels?

[Greg Hawthorne]

I recently upgraded my mortiser (Delta benchtop to Jet), but the shanks on the chisels I used on the Delta are too short for the Jet. I bought a basic set (around $30 for 5 - they're cheap and nasty, but they'll probably get me through the job I'm doing at the moment), but for the long-term, I would prefer something that doesn't clog and ignite the wood. Any recommendations?

[Joe Angrisani]

Did you sharpen the new chisels, or is that what they are doing out of the box?

[Ron Kellison]

These are top-notch! http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=53252&cat=1,180,42240,53317



regards,

Ron

[Greg Hawthorne]

Did you sharpen the new chisels, or is that what they are doing out of the box?

No, I didn't sharpen them, but I'm pretty sure that the bit design is the problem - just not clearing the chips properly. I never had any problems with the Delta mortiser, so I mated the new bits with the old chisel, and it clogged again.

[Paul Gatti]

These are top-notch! http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=53252&cat=1,180,42240,53317

The Lee Valley are great bits. You should definitely spend some time sharpening whatever bits you buy. It makes a difference.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It's important to note that the bits can be sharpened and the chisels should be sharpened and honed inside and out.

Setup is important too...the amount of depth the bit extends beyond the sides of the chisels.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

[QUOTE=Greg Hawthorne; , I would prefer something that doesn't clog and ignite the wood. Any recommendations?[/QUOTE]
Greg Sorry could not stop laughing. Maybe some more clearance between drill bit and chisel. On my low cost chisels (Jet) I need a little more then nickel offset to keep them from starting a fire. Tom

[Cody Colston]

These are top-notch! http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=53252&cat=1,180,42240,53317
regards,

Ron

Another vote for those Lee Valley hollow mortise chisels. There was a night and day difference between them and the stock chisels that came with my Delta benchtop mortiser. I also got a couple of those cone-shaped sharpeners to keep them honed.

Note that I also had to hacksaw about an inch off the shank before they would fit in my mortiser. It isn't difficult and doesn't affect the chisel performance.

[Jerome Hanby]

Yet another vote for the LV premium chisels.

[Dave Lehnert]

I am not familiar with the JET or Delta (I own a Grizzly bench top) Is it possible the Delta motor ran at 3200 rpm vs Jet at 1700 rpm? That would make a difference in chip ejecting from the bit ,but should notice less burning on the slower RPM unit.

[Jerome Hanby]

I researched myself to death before I bought my Mortiser and the only one that didn't run 1700 that I recall is the Shopfox that ran about 2x that speed.


I am not familiar with the JET or Delta (I own a Grizzly bench top) Is it possible the Delta motor ran at 3200 rpm vs Jet at 1700 rpm? That would make a difference in chip ejecting from the bit ,but should notice less burning on the slower RPM unit.

[Greg Hawthorne]

Thanks for the advice - a Lee Valley bit is on the way. The 5/8 bit in the cheap set actually wasn't too bad after I filed off the dag on the side of the spur.