Grizzly horizontal boring machine for slots?

[Jim Andrew]

Wondered if anyone is using their Grizzly GO540 or G4185 horizontal boring machine for making slot mortises? Loose tenons look interesting for face frames in furniture pieces, can think of other uses as well. Grizzly lists them as horizontal boring machines, does not mention mortises. Not really interested in using dowels, see too many failures. When someone needs something repaired, usually the dowels are loose.

[Don Huffer]

This is what I came up with for mortises, tenons, slots and anything else I can think of.

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Works well. Dirt cheap to build.

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Cuts all this in a heart beat. Tenons, through tenons and wedge tenons.

[Loren Woirhaye]

I think I have read of people adapting them.

While a boring machine spindle is not really designed for side loads, they are robust anyway and can probably handle it... if you have a chuck. My boring machine takes threaded bits. I cut slot mortises in other ways.

[Loren Woirhaye]

I should note as well that pneumatic-plunging boring machines plunge whole-hog to drill a hole pretty quick. With a slot mortiser you'd use an end mill and you want incremental depth control which means either having a depth stop turret or a joystick and no pneumatic plunge.

[Roderick Gentry]

I cut them on a horizontal milling machine. Those things show up for a few hundred, can be tough to move. I don't mean tons tough, but several pieces at several hundred pounds. I have a Burke. Nichols is a nice one, but there are lot of nice ones. You will not loose money on one if it is any good. Plus you can mill metal, which is really handy.

[Jim Andrew]

Don, that is an interesting setup. Did you find a plan for it somewhere? Or just invent it yourself? Do you have rollers in the T slots? And how do you adjust your workpiece up and down?

[Mike Wilkins]

Go to Pat Warner's site routerwoodworking for a great mortise and tenon cutting jig/fixture. I don't have one myself, but it looks like a great set-up; and a lot less money than the Grizz.

[John TenEyck]

Don, that is surprisingly similar to mine. I'll bet mine's cheaper.

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People often don't realize that you can cut intergral tenons with these things just as well as loose tenons, although I prefer loose tenons for most applications.

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You also can cut sliding dovetails.

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A lot of versatility for not much money.

John