1/2" Delta Benchtop Mortiser

[Dominic Carpenter]

Well my relatively new Delta Benchtop Mortimer just broke on me. Bought new in April last year. Something broke inside the arm mechanism while putting a 1 1/4" deep mortise in some walnut. I have always been mindful of taking light cuts, but none the less she gave out. Sending it to service next week, still under warranty. Got me thinking, I paid just over $300 for this machine. Maybe I should dig a little deeper and get something that is a little more industrial (floor model). I am a hobbyist, but a serious one and occasionally do commission work. Does anyone own the Grizzly floor model? What do you think? I am not a fan of the router for making mortises. I'll be cutting the rest by hand while I Wait.

[Dominic Carpenter]

Maybe a Festool Domino?

[Don Huffer]

I would suggest waiting on the replacement and looking into building a slot mortice machine. There are many plans on the net and once you have tried one you will be more than satisfied with the speed over the Delta or any other square type machine. Don't get me wrong though, The delta is a good machine but very limited.

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It's not a difficult build. The rails are made from 8020 parts. All found on EBay cheap.

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I used it to build 6 dining chairs with.

[Dave huber]

I went from a Delta to a Powermatic. HUGE difference in design and build.

That at being said, I got a Domino for my birthday. Wow, is it a big step forward. Faster, easier and really well designed and built.

Dave

[Dominic Carpenter]

What do yo think you use more, the domino or the mortiser? I'm somewhat of a traditionalist, but I currently have a project that has several angled mortises and am using wedges to 90 them to the mortiser fence. A little more time consuming. I'm always considering jigs for the router, but really hate fiddling with the it.

[Dave huber]

Now, I use the Domino almost all the time.

If I was making another Morris chair, I'd be back to the mortiser.

For the radiator covers I'm working on, now, the Domino is far easier and really fast.

I'm not selling my mortiser, in other words, but I am planning on selling my biscuit jointer stuff..

Dave

[eugene thomas]

Maybe a easy fix
My power magic 719 broke internally. Well was mortising hickory. Anyway was just keyway. 1.50 at fastenal for piece of bar stock and back at it.

[James Hicks]

Don, Do you have plans? This looks fairly simple to build (could be wrong)

[Gary Kman]

I have a Delta that I've used quite a bit. Curious what broke. Looks like there is nothing more than a handle turning a shaft and gear that engages a visible rack.

[Steve Kohn]

I just repaired my Delta mortising machine. The roll pin that connects the arm to the hub simply shattered. The replacement part is a .25 X 1.25 (check your machine) roll pin available at Ace Hardware for about $1. If I break this pin I'll need to go to a hardened solid steel shaft.

[Dave Zellers]

It's not a difficult build. The rails are made from 8020 parts.

Whoa. That's a lot of parts.

:D

Tip-toeing away....

[Dominic Carpenter]

Yep, I'm sure that's exactly what happened. I tried to free the role pin, but not having luck. Anyone know how to remove them more easily? It sure would save me some trouble. Honestly, don't have a lot of experience with role pins. This is a pretty tight fit.

[Ronald Blue]

It's probably around 1/8" diameter, it could be larger but I doubt it as that would weaken the shaft. The best method is a roll pin punch as they have a ball appearing tip which centers it in the pin. Is the handle off? It appears in the parts break down it is pinned to the shaft. If so that will simplify the process. Getting the old pin out individually will be easier than having them assembled. If everything is still together you have to have the holes aligned or you won't get the broken pin to budge. A roll pin will fit tightly. Getting it to move initially is sometimes the hardest thing. You might see if they have a spiral roll pin at the hardware store to replace it. They are closer to solid and stronger. It's hard to give more specific instructions because sometimes improvising is required and that is a judgement call made by the technician(you). lol Good luck

[Dominic Carpenter]

Thanks. Aligning the holes has been the problem. There is no way to see or feel if I am aligned when trying to drive the pin out. I've tried to pull the shaft off, but have been unable to budge it. Thanks again. I will work on it again tomorrow, if no luck I'll send it in.

[Ronald Blue]

If you have a pen light or something similar you might try putting it on the bottom side while looking down from the top. There should be at least a little light pass through unless it completely mashed the end shut when it sheared which is possible especially on a small pin. If the handle is rotating but not wanting to pull off you might try wedging it off. Just a thought and it will be much easier if you can somehow get it off the shaft.

[Dominic Carpenter]

Thanks everyone! Got the pin out. It was bent where it sheared off and that made it a little more difficult to remove. I replaced it this AM after a trip to Ace Hardware and I'm back in business.

[John TenEyck]

Here's an even simpler shop built router mortiser, complete with a SketchUp model with all the major parts.

https://sites.google.com/site/jteneyckwoodworker/current-projects/horizontal-router-mortiser

It is very simple and cheap to build, yet very fast, accurate, and versatile. Mortises, integral tenons if you want, sliding dovetails, dowel holes, raised panels, 90 deg or at about any angle you want, and stuff I (or you) haven't thought of yet.

John

[Don Huffer]

Don, Do you have plans? This looks fairly simple to build (could be wrong)

I got some plans on the net but then I just used them for reference and made it as I saw fit. The plan came from Greg Paolini. This is a great place to start. Watch his video and you can see how well and fast it works. Of course when I showed him my design he said "wow you built it very stout".
http://www.gregorypaolini.com/?page_id=96

[Don Huffer]

Whoa. That's a lot of parts.

:D

Tip-toeing away....

Actually it took two weekends and it will last a life time. The aluminum rails and bearings are better than ball bearing types. They have zero slop and never ware out. Most of it was made from scraps in my shop.

[Don Huffer]

Here's an even simpler shop built router mortiser, complete with a SketchUp model with all the major parts.

https://sites.google.com/site/jteneyckwoodworker/current-projects/horizontal-router-mortiser

It is very simple and cheap to build, yet very fast, accurate, and versatile. Mortises, integral tenons if you want, sliding dovetails, dowel holes, raised panels, 90 deg or at about any angle you want, and stuff I (or you) haven't thought of yet.

John

Sure is. Looks nice. Mine will hold a long board without coming out of the track. Also one turn of the height screw is 1/16" making easy assessments of how much to adjust or needed to return to a setting. How about yours?