Which mortising machine? PM 719t or Griz G0448

[Eric D Matson]

Hey guys. I have read these forums for quite a while. I thought I would ask you guys your opinion on these machines. i had a benchtop mortiser and know it is not going to be big enough for the future. I am eyeballing the floor standing models. The Powermatic 719T and the Grizzly G0448 have caught my eye. Woodcraft is also having their 15% off sale for Black Friday. That would put the prices at PM $1100 and Griz $1600 after fuel not counting taxes. These are the main differences I see. The PM has a smaller motor 1HP vs. 1.5HP. The PM has more table travel 16 x 4.5 vs. 14.5 x 3. The PM has 1" shorter spindle travel 8" vs. 9". The PM has the tilting table and Griz has the tilting head.

My thoughts are the Grizzly is a better machine, but is it worth the extra $500? I don't have to be in a hurry. Grizzly should be sending out a % off coupon shortly I would think. What are your opinions?

Thank you in advance.

[Stephen Cherry]

i had a benchtop mortiser and know it is not going to be big enough for the future.

What are you planning to do? I've had a pm 719 (non tilting), which was OK, but it's really no brute. Do you need it to tilt? I'd rather use wedges than have the machine tilt because if the machine is square, the wedges can be recycled in the future with just the right angle.. I was able to get a bridgewood version of the Grizzler g4814 on the cheap. It's an OK machine, but if I had to do it again I would hold out for a foot operated machine.

[Eric D Matson]

I plan on making a bunch of furniture. A lot of repetitive mortises. I am also relatively young so am looking for a one time purchase. I personally am not a big fan of the tilting feature but figure if I get it locked down good and check every once in a while should be fine.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

I personally have had bad (really bad) experiences with Grizzly, so they will never be in consideration set again. But, I have been thinking a lot about mortising machines…and just went the option of a slot mortiser today. In consideration of the options I looked at floor standing hollow chisel machines, slot mortising machines, and the festool domino systems. If you are committed to the hollow chisel route…say doing a lot of through mortises… =the i also recommend you check out the General machines. Canadians make a nice mortiser. The power of the motor is really not crucial in a hollow chisel model…its basically a fancy drill press…turning the internal auger. Resistance in the cut is really overcome by really sharp chisels and a smooth, leveraged action on the machine. Its the cast iron x, y, z table, fence and clamping mechanism that you are really paying for.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Zero experience with the Grizz.

I have the PM 719A - the non-tilt precursor to the 719T.

Mine is - golly gee whiz - must be 15 years old.

A champ. A horse. Rock solid.

Would not trade it in for anything less than a floor-mount, industrial-class, starcruiser, with either foot-pedal or powered action.

I have built an untold number of pieces - Arts & Crafts, blind and thru mortises, small tables to complete dining rooms.

Extremely rare need for tilt, which mine does not have - some math and some wedges, and I was good to go for them.

Paul McGaha also has one, but I think his is the "T".

Plus - he is certainly spending all week replaying highlights of the Saints last game, and drinking those beers he missed during the live game, so I don't know if he will jump in here or not. :p :p

[Ralph Butts]

Hoping to avoid the pros and cons sides of the fence but if the Grizz machine is your preference and the $500 price difference is a point of hesitation then take a look at the Xmas catalog and you will see the Shop Fox version of the Grizzly hollow chisel mortiser is on clearance for $995.

[Glenn Kramer]

I agree with Matt on the Grizz machines....never again. I had the PM floor model for several years....for me it worked well but took up lots of space. Next was the PM bench top mortised which I still have and is quite ample for my needs. I also have the JDS machine which I love. Now I use FT 500 & 700 dominos for virtually all applications. If I were to choose one it would be the Dominos. Portable, accurate minimal set up. Better to take the mortiser to the work than the work to the mortiser. Good luck with your purchase.

[Jim Barstow]

I think if you search the site, you'll find far more people who have had a great experience with grizzly. I have a grizzly 12" jointer, 15" planner, a 17" bandsaw. All have been great.

When I decided to upgrade from a delta bench top mortiser to a floor model, the final choice was between a general and a grizzly. I did a bunch of research on the powermatic and
came to the conclusion that they are coasting on their prior reputation; their new machines aren't of the quality of the old machines.

The general machine got top ratings from fine woodworking but availability, parts, and customer service doesn't even come close to the grizzly. (They also reviewed an older model
of the grizzly and the one I got addresses most of their issues with the machine.) I decided to go with the grizzly and have no regrets. It is rock solid and the first project I used it for was
to cut a ton of mortises for a greene and greene style crib. Worth every penny.

[Frank Martin]

I am in the no Grizzly camp too. I had only one machine from them (jointer planer combo) which was not up to the quality and reliability level I was expecting over the long term and sold it early this year and upgraded to a Minimax combo machine.

I also suggest you look into Router Boss (newer, made in USA) and WoodRat (original, made in England). These are multi purpose joinery machines that do not only do mortises, but dovetails and all kinds of other joinery. Since I got a Domino, I have been using that for mortising, but before that WoodRat was the sole joinery machine I was using, which I have been very happy with. The only limitation with this is the size of the router bit, so if you have really large mortises you need to cut, these may not be appropriate, but I personally have not hit the limit yet with the general furniture joinery.

[Thomas L. Miller]

Eric,
I have the PM 719T. I've built a lot of Arts and Craft/Mission furniture with it. I've also built a Roubo Bench using the Benchcrafted design and vises. I've made mortises from 1/4 inch up to 1 inch wide and as deep as 4" that were both through mortises and regular mortises. I've used woods ranging from poplar to cherry to ash in hardness and toughness. The mortiser performed very well and the XY table was really very nice when compared to a bench top mortiser. It does take up some space but I think it's worth it. All that said, I think the most important part of any mortiser is sharp, sharp, sharp chisels. As far as making the mortises quickly and having them square and exactly where you want them, the machine works very well. I haven't really used the tilting function, but I was able to get the 719T on sale with free shipping and the 719A was unavailable. I also have a grizzly band saw and a jointer, both of which I like. So no bias there. It is really nice to have a big machine if you are going to make deep/wide mortises in large pieces of wood; such as a bench leg. Also, the work holding on a floor machine is far superior to a bench machine. It is a specialized machine that does only one thing, but does it very well. It sure beats chopping mortises by hand! :)
Tom

[Keith Hankins]

Ok first let me state I've got a good bit of Griz. I have the 10" cabinet saw, 17" BS, and 12" jointer, and slot mortiser. Never had a problem with any. I own the Powermatic 719T. At the time it was a heck of a deal. Powermatic was offering cash back and they had a 10% sale at the time. One thing to remember is you buy the chisels seperately. I bought the full set of powermatic chisels and used my woodcraft birthday discount to get them and saved a good bit. I've had it for a couple years and only complaint was a shear pin broke in the handle gear, but i think that was my fault. I put way to much pressure on the 1" bit and it was not set up right and I had not honed the bit. Since that pin replacement, not a hitch. I know how to use it now and love it. It's a beast. I had to get the neighbor to help lift it onto the base weighs a lot. I strongly recommend you buy lockable casters to put under it , so you can move it easily. After all was said and done I had 1100 in both the machine/casters/chisels/sharpening cone.

I'd buy it again. I sold my festool domino to pay for it. I need it for a pencil post bed project. Use it often and its a great tool. You will definately tell the difference between it and the table top version. I've used the tilt only once and no issues, but it was a bonus feature not a requirement. Is cool. I've not owned the Griz so I can't say anything. I considered the Griz, but in the end went with the PM. Like I said, I've got both brands of tools. If the griz has some feature that the PM does not and you think the extra $$ is worth it, then get the Griz. For me the PM made sense. TM2CW

[Loren Woirhaye]

If your work is restricted to the style that requires squared through mortises, I suppose a floor model chisel mortiser is a good investment. For a great deal of other work however the slot mortiser is more versatile.

[eugene thomas]

I have 719t and am currently making hickory doors for house. Using 3/4" Lee valley Morris chisel and cuts really well. Have lots of grizzly tools also. I bought mine 3 years ago on Black Friday for 900. Crazy how fast prices going up.

[Eric D Matson]

Thank you for all the information guys. I really appreciate it. I too have several Grizzly tools and they seem decent to good for me, atleast right now. I do use through mortises a lot. I like the looks of those. I am thinking about giving the PM a second look. The WoodRat is interesting. I am going to look into that as well but I think I will end up sticking with a hollow chisel mortiser.