Mortise Tooling

[Tim Bridge]

I have a couple of projects that will require a lot of mortise and tendons.
I am in the market for a mortise jig or mortiser, but I see there are several options.

I also need to replace my small drill press with a larger floor mounted one.

I am weighing the options between a mortising jig like the Leigh or a dedicated mortiser or a mortising attachment for the drill press.

Any opinions or recommendations?

[Charles Taylor]

Of the myriad ways to make mortises, there are three I have most often used:

1: Drill out the majority of the waste with a Forstner bit in the drill press, square up and clean up with chisels.
2: Use a plunge router, straight bit, and edge guide, square up with chisels.
3: Hollow chisel mortiser

Of those three, the mortiser is probably the fastest, followed by the router.

I'm not big on mortising attachments for the drill press, because most drill presses aren't built for the kind of load a hollow chisel mortiser sees. But I guess they work well for many woodworkers.

Owners of the Festool Domino say once you try it, you'll never look back.

[Frederick Skelly]

I bought a PM mortiser 6 mos ago. It was an excellent investment. Like Chuck, I'd avoid a drill press mounted mortiser (and did), but I can certainly see the attraction.

Here are some questions to consider that might help:
* Can you live without upgrading your drill press right now and spend that money on a mortiser?
* Can you live without those projects that require M&T joinery for a while, and just upgrade your drill press?
* Can you build other projects you like by designing them to use other types of joinery, for which you have the equipment? (Again, allowing you to upgrade that DP.)

Personally, I'd give priority to getting a floor model drill press over a mortiser. I use my DP on almost every project.

Fred

[Tim Bridge]

I think I may get the new drill press and give a try to drill out the mortises then finish with my chisels.
If that doesn't work out I may try to get the drill press attachment, but from what I read the bits that come with them aren't very good.

I want to end up with the PM 701 but I can't do both right now.
I think I will get more use out of the drill press, so that is first on the list.

Thanks guys

[John TenEyck]

Please take a look at my horizontal router mortiser:

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

You can build it from the free plans provided for about $150.

Or there is an improved one, like this, complete with a Tilting X-Table which is the bee's knees if you want to mortise chair parts:


336432

You can find more photos and captions here: https://picasaweb.google.com/110467763477797452963/NewHorizontalRouterMortiser?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKCY8NuN7Y7KjgE&feat=directlink

Both will cut mortises faster and more accurately than any mortiser and no clean up is required. No chisel sharpening is required either. You can cut mortises at just about any angle in any grain orientation. The machine also cuts integral tenons, sliding dovetails, and dovetails and finger joints on the ends of narrow stretchers. You also can use it to drill dowel and hinge holes.

If you want to build one from the plans I'm happy to answer any questions. If you want to know more about the improved version, please send me a PM. There are nearly a dozen folks now who are happy they did.

John
(https://picasaweb.google.com/110467763477797452963/NewHorizontalRouterMortiser?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKCY8NuN7Y7KjgE&feat=directlink)

[Frederick Skelly]

Yeah man, I forgot about yours John. I'd have built one like it instead of buying the PM701. Tim, if you're into building tools, John's got a nice alternative when you're ready....

[Tim Bridge]

I think I will give John's plan a try before I start my garden bench.
Thanks

[Bruce Wrenn]

For mortising bits for router, check out HF. They sell a set of three, either 1/4" or 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 for about ten bucks. Yes they are HSS, but at this price they are disposables. Another HF gem!

[Tim Bridge]

For mortising bits for router, check out HF. They sell a set of three, either 1/4" or 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 for about ten bucks. Yes they are HSS, but at this price they are disposables. Another HF gem!

You get what you pay for at HF. Thanks but, I won't buy anything from them, all of their junk is disposable.

[Warren Lake]

didnt look at the built one above but before I got an 1,800 lbs mortise machine I did it on a general Drill press, I had their attachment which was a bit mickey mouse in terms of clamping and would have been easy to modify with some air clamps or something better than they had, My only concern was that I worked it pretty hard in hard maple and birdseye and ultimately I think its a bit hard on the drill press,. Still it was the cheapest was at the time and overall it worked very well. I have a bufallo 18 Drill press sitting aside now and will see if the attachment works on that just out of curiosity as its big solid and heavy compared to the general. .

[Charles Lent]

I've been the whole route. I've made many mortises by hand with a mallet and chisel, then roughed out the mortises with Forstner bits and the drill press and squared them up with chisels and a mallet, then used the drill press and mortise attachment, then got a true mortising machine, then started using a router to make the mortises for floating tenons. For making tenons, I had the tenon jig for my Unisaw, then cut them laying down on the table saw with a dado blade, then used a router table, etc.

Mortises that were cut using a Mortise Pal and floating tenons worked best for me until I decided to find a way to make both the mortise and a real non-floating tenon using only the router. I first bought a Trend Mortise and Tenon Jig, but wasn't happy with it because there was no adjustment capability in the jig for joint fit. I then bought a Leigh FMT because the FMT jig has this capability, and because I took on a job that required over 1650 M&T joints That jig paid for itself on that first job. Other than doing occasional floating tenon joints with the Mortise Pal, I now do all of my M&T joints with the FMT jig. An easy adjustment on the jig lets me dial in the exact tightness of fit of the joint that I want and it cuts both the mortise and the tenon with just one set up and the joints made with it are very repeatable.

But if you are on a tight budget, the FMT jig is very hard to justify. My best suggestion is to try making the mortises with a plunge router and use floating tenons to join them. Plunge cut the mortises like you would when using a drill press and Forstner bit (many adjacent holes), and then clean out the mortise by moving the router side ways at the full mortise depth. You will need a good guide to keep the router from widening the mortise as you cut it length wise. The Mortise Pal does this very well, but sadly they are no longer in production. Before getting the Mortise Pal I just used a template made from 1/4" plywood or MDF scraps and cut a rectangular hole in it wide enough to fit a router bushing that was large enough to fit around the router bit that I was using. I then made this template hole long enough to make the mortise that I wanted to cut. With the bushing in the router base it was easy to keep the router from widening the mortise as I cleared it out. Double sided tape, pin nails, or brads kept the template positioned correctly while I cut the mortise with the router.

I use my planer to make floating tenon stock the right thickness because I can get both surfaces very smooth and a very accurate thickness, but a good table saw and fence can make them the right thickness too. I then cut the stock to size as needed on the table saw and miter saw. Careful thickness cutting of this stock will produce perfect fitting joints. You don't need to round the ends of the resulting tenons. Just make them the length of the flat sides of the mortise that they will go into. It's the quality of the side fit of the mortise and tenon that produces the joint strength. Leave the 1/2 round routed ends of the mortise open to catch the excess glue. I've never had a joint made this way fail in over 40 years of making them this way.

There is another way to make floating M&T joints using only a drill and drill bit, with ready made floating tenon stock that you just cut to length as needed. For those first attempts at M&T joints, this method works very well, is easy to get good results with it, and it is relatively inexpensive to get started. It is called a Beadlock Jig. The Beadlock Pro jig kit is likely the best choice for someone just getting started, but the original basic Beadlock jig http://www.rockler.com/3-8-beadlock-basic-starter-kit will let you make 3/8" mortises using just a 3/8" drill bit and hand drill and can be purchased for about $30. A piece of the tenon stock comes with the jig and they sell more wherever they sell the jig. Special router bits are also available if you want to make your own tenon stock on a router table too. I've used these jigs and found that they were very easy to use and made very good floating tenon joints. They are a great choice for someone just getting started in M&T joinery.

Charley

[Mike Ontko]

I recently made the jump from doing mortises using the Forstner bit and chisel method to using a router with an edge guide and an upcutting spiral bit. What a huge difference--faster, cleaner, repeatable, and more accurate (a testament to my drill press setup and chisel use, I guess)!

Unless you're planning to start a production line of G&G or A&C furniture, I don't know how much sense it would make to shell out the $$$ for a dedicated mortiser, a set of bits, and sharpening tools, if you're only planning to use it for one or two projects. But a good router and edge guide with fine adjustment is something you can use in a number of different applications.

[John TenEyck]

There are now about 12 people using my horizontal router mortiser. One is a professional wood worker who used to use a floor model chisel mortiser. For nearly all his mortising work it now sits collecting dust. He makes hundreds of mortises a week with my machine. Two others have FMT's. One is going to sell his and the other no longer uses his. I'm not aware of any mortising machine that does it's job so efficiently or has so much versatility. It looks very simple, and it is. That's why it works so well. And the newer tilting X-table model takes it to a new level for those needing to make mortises in angled parts.

For anyone frustrated with making mortises please take a look at the links I posted. It doesn't have to be hard to make accurate, smooth walled mortises of any size, accurately and quickly.

John

[Greg Hines, MD]

I use a jig and plunge router to do all my mortises, and I am very pleased with the results. Mine was from one of the magazines and is similar to this one:

336489

[Art Mann]

I know several people who went the drill press adapter route including me, the guy I got the tool from, and the one I sold it to. It was a Delta from back in the days when they built high quality equipment. I don't know anyone who used it for more than one project. I wouldn't even call it a "get by" tool.

[Jim Dwight]

I don't buy router bits at HF but I buy lots of other things there. Their oscillating saw works fine as does my big hammer drill and cordless impact wrench. The trick is buying their "gems" and not their "Junk". They sell both.

But back on topic, if you have a plunge router, I would use that and either a straight bit with a bottom cutter or an upcut spiral bit. A simple jig and you can make lots of good mortises. The mortises I made with my router looked nicer than the ones I make with my Jet mortiser. The next tool I would get is a shoulder plane to trim the tenons. With those, you could go indefinitely making all the mortises you need.

I have a hollow chisel mortiser but if I was starting over I would have a Domino. They are pricey but are a much quicker way to make mortises. Buy putting mortises in both pieces you have a strong and quick tenon joint. You have to plan your projects to work with their sizes but by doubling or tripling dominos, I believe you can do anything you need to do (including doors, tables, and certainly chairs).

[Tim Bridge]

I looked at the domino, but it's an expensive investment. I want to make sure I will be doing projects that would use it so it doesn't sit on the shelf. It's an option that I'm looking at though.

[John Sanford]

You don't mention what TYPE of mortises you need, nor the size. The answer to both questions can have a big impact on which tools you use.

I've built two plantstands using a DP mortising attachment. Each plantstand has 44 mortise & tenon joints. Most of them are 3/8" square, and probably about that deep as well. Worked like a charm. I have also used a plunge router with simple shop made stops, drill and cleanup, and chopped by hand.

Do you need through mortises? If so, then a Hollow Chisel Mortiser, DP Mortising Attachment or doing it by hand is the best approach. If the mortises are all hidden, then you can use any method. It's just old tradeoffs between cost, time, and ease.

[Brian W Smith]

We used a Jet 17(I think that was the size),with the same co. mortising attachment for 5 or so years.Got it free from a commercial shop,who basically gutted the rack gears.Also destroyed the return spring and buggered the threads making it's replacement a nightmare.We Tigged up the rack and fixed most of the other issues.

Cpl months ago traded the whole machine,along with a spot of cash for a Wallace,round base,dedicated mortiser.Like most vintage equipment,it is shear pleasure using.Good luck with your decision.

[Frank Drew]

Do you need through mortises? If so, then a Hollow Chisel Mortiser, DP Mortising Attachment or doing it by hand is the best approach.

Why so? A slot mortiser makes quick work of any kind of mortise, including through (with accurately prepared stock, of course.

For anyone jumping into slot mortising, whether with a plunge router, John's setup, a dedicated machine, whatever, I found that it much quicker to round the corners of integral tenons with a rasp and/or chisel than to chop the mortise ends square. Or use loose tenons that you can make by the yard if you know what widths you'll need, rounding the corners with a router or shaper.

[Ben Rivel]

There are now about 12 people using my horizontal router mortiser. One is a professional wood worker who used to use a floor model chisel mortiser. For nearly all his mortising work it now sits collecting dust. He makes hundreds of mortises a week with my machine. Two others have FMT's. One is going to sell his and the other no longer uses his. I'm not aware of any mortising machine that does it's job so efficiently or has so much versatility. It looks very simple, and it is. That's why it works so well. And the newer tilting X-table model takes it to a new level for those needing to make mortises in angled parts.

For anyone frustrated with making mortises please take a look at the links I posted. It doesn't have to be hard to make accurate, smooth walled mortises of any size, accurately and quickly.

John
Think either of those two would let those unwanted FMTs go cheap? I might be interested in one if the price it low. PM their contact info if theyre ready to sell.

[Tim Bridge]

I picked up an old Delta 14-650 off CL for short money. It is in good condition and has all the parts and bits. I will be replacing the chisels and bits as soon as I can find some quality ones that don't cost a fortune.

[John TenEyck]

Same here. The only thing a router mortiser can't do is cut square mortises, but I almost never use them so it's not an issue. But if you want to make A&C style through tenons you can still use the router mortiser to cut the mortises. Then you have at least two choices. You can either cut the ends of the mortises square with a chisel all the way through, or just a short depth on the face the tenon exits, say 1/4" deep. If you square up the full mortise depth you would use a standard square ended mortise in the normal manner. If you choose to only chop the last 1/4" or so square then you could use a loose tenon to make the structural portion of the joint (or an integral tenon with the edges rounded to fit the mortise) and a separate show piece of square ended tenon stock fit into the part you chopped square and projecting out as far as needed for the design. It looks like a square ended through tenon in every way but is far easier to machine and with no danger of messing it up.

John

[paul cottingham]

I'm a mostly hand tool guy, I even do most of my cross cuts and a lot of my rips by hand. But, I do have a mortiser, and it would be one of the last power tools I would sell. I can chop mortises by hand, but it's gruelling, ugly work, that's hard on my hands.

[Cody Colston]

I have a hollow chisel mortiser but intend to build a horizontal mortising machine using a router. I'll use it with slip tenons.

I'd love to have the Leigh FMT but can't justify the expense as a hobbyist.

[John TenEyck]

Cody, you will find a horizontal router mortiser to be far easier and faster to use than the FMT, to say nothing of cheaper. And handling long parts is easy with the horizontal router mortiser; just add outboard support when needed. How would you mortise the end of a bed rail, for example, on the FMT? With the horizontal router mortiser there is no limitation in the dimensions of the mortises you can make. You can customize them to fit your application needs. And there are no extra cost templates required for anything the machine can do.

And you can do a lot more with the horizontal router mortiser than just mill mortises for loose tenons. You can make integral tenons, sliding dovetails, dowel holes, dovetails and finger joints in the ends of narrow parts like a stretcher, and raised panels using vertical panel raising bits or straight bits if you have a tilting X-table version.

Ergonomically, you will find a horizontal router mortiser to be far easier to use than a jig where you have to handhold the router. The mass of the tables the work piece is clamped to eliminates the vibration and herky-jerky behavior you often get with a hand held router especially as it encounters a change in grain or direction. It's just a more comfortable process and you can easily mill dozens of parts without tiring.

John

[paul cottingham]

I was able to get one at a reasonable price. It was too fiddly for me, and I hate routers with every fibre of my being. So, I sold it, and I don't miss it at all.

I suspect if if you are very anal retentive and love fiddling with something til it's perfect, then the FMT is definitely for you. It's a great piece of kit. I am not that guy. I prefer to cut my tenons by hand, use a mortiser, and coax em together. And be able to feel my hands at the end of the day.

[Frank Drew]

And you can do a lot more with the horizontal router mortiser than just mill mortises for loose tenons.

I even occasionally used my horizontal slot mortiser for light metal work, like enlarging a hinge screw hole into a slotted screw hole.

FWIW, De-Sta-Co clamps are great for all these kind of mortisers.

[Prashun Patel]

More and more I've been using my Domino for real mortise and tenon joints. It was a mistake to call it the Domino because people think all you can use it for is floating tenons. It's really just a convenient mortising machine.

You do require chisels to clean up the corners, or to knock of the corners of your tenon. Neither are difficult.

The Domino also makes through tenons quite simple. You can use the same reference mark for registering on opposite faces and the machine will line up the two mortises perfectly.

The only 'downside' is that you have to get comfortable working in metric increments.

I heard a recent podcast (TDL? Woodtalk) where they said the Domino isn't appropriate for big things like a workbench. That's not true. The XL model has good depth and the mortises can be overlapped to produce as wide or thick a mortise as you please.

The oscillating bit of the Domino makes for a pretty stable plunge, so it's not as critical to capture the base as it is with a router.

I don't mean to sound like a Domino fanboy, but it really *is* everything people say it is.

[John Sanford]

Why so? A slot mortiser makes quick work of any kind of mortise, including through (with accurately prepared stock, of course.

For anyone jumping into slot mortising, whether with a plunge router, John's setup, a dedicated machine, whatever, I found that it much quicker to round the corners of integral tenons with a rasp and/or chisel than to chop the mortise ends square. Or use loose tenons that you can make by the yard if you know what widths you'll need, rounding the corners with a router or shaper.

Because usually a through mortise as a DESIGN element is square/rectangular. If one's design incorporates rounded through mortises, then a slot mortiser or router is just the trick. If it's actual ROUND mortises, then just use a drill. I've got no problem with slot mortisers, heck, if I could add/convert my FS30 to take one, I'd seriously consider it. They don't, however, make square mortises, and if square is what ya need, then it's simplest to start from square. That's why I asked the question, "What TYPE of mortise does the OP need?"

[Jim Andrew]

Grizzly makes a horizontal boring machine you can use as a slot mortiser. It has a xy table and a lever to pivot the piece back and forth to make the slot.

[John TenEyck]

No doubt the Domino is a great machine, but it's expensive and really only does one thing. It does that very well, but that's all it does. Fine if you are a production shop, or really well heeled, but it's simply too expensive for many people to justify. That's what makes a shop built horizontal router mortiser so attractive. It's very low cost to build, like less than $100 if you are really frugal, and cuts mortises of any size. It also does a lot more than that, like make sliding dovetails, integral tenons, dowel holes, angled mortises, moldings, raised panels and more.

I used mine this weekend to make some raised door panels and mold the edges of the doors.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_s8ZvCYgXBWXlnEUuZ7thcgeaP1KFLgeBuCMDD5f-D45FMqi7zrnjYHlYSW3SkB2h0RI80T0Lg23jwcUlUgpweLWxre vNyFAxJFuDySZYtqWpPv4sMYLW0OyvLWDy9PbGRtnsLLqjSOhR T9AIZX81ubnfsiuIOdevubtziCsZln3UhqvVy8qJmEyouodBC5 _rSRrnZE09xVxtvFbBpdPoTaMNYtR_wl0gP2TkpRHwnX5Wsy9t 7QcwIo76nLrO9odclS8krGBhCBXiIMT5Ktg2KOBXPxPgQEvbdA WJclM3RSONhBxYPj8RbjmuwU4AnlhgNzzvgJXGWGtZqmhLAF7y 4zj8FKZa7QNvcwUYOy5yITMPRNChTo09yHVBUuHlQyW8ED9bIZ G8faHLjGBKOYniMstk1peycmKSI88o7lkj9RNmh5sXG9BwZu4j KNkf2S9Uxmq3eDpNZbItftYzpGcj50hS188bG6_yZkle0CywC_ mIgrJjBavRfTqm9JobbsEI924EitjrbIuy7QRcQocItTD-PlY7fATwez-_Q4xUd59Meysp0hbQKG0DBsIKiLcu8p7QF4Phhx6o8W6MjkJs2 qr5X8vIK5r=w640-h480-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/G9yxeqwNmcxuXgBZkuDZpJ2B_iyKj3zZCocm-zf31ZnOGyq92fUQ2NDMVo1_Ah8QM7YW5cvfXPRJpb0QAEjWirn oLlfwKFRjmuzxanZwF7_4mPnDbi0oZrQZGH_IGtssPXSi1wb4Q N_kbXGhtmWEQDzzwoG7OEL0Nqr7NqasOXd7tsheN9d3m_MVC56 S7zN65zaUYqoZ1SLQiIgvg51v2H1KfPHNfbmUD05utijNXipoh kHrs-qxhiNx0cpUjHiyOEPk_WTDxE1OmRK3bkUup8wFYGAwzrDe1Yop IpIjkpHSo7BWTeJeGBnikJ8wYUnF9xBtcvmhIML0zOSeeI4Suj XWHR9pZ9wo6C8SfBOAWz2gwAy2aFOGWaljxXfvJ-iv8jOfysJ1kQ6qRzioOUdanpG4a8YA0LazjSJtl0j9hlZ2O4ML hhoj37vQbH6GHpp8_DCGUCjFOO93yW2oTMj2f_50ZxK9QrN0iK GfLnD8Uc9WoO110WgjrfDfr8evDN3F4kXZzzml5xOw7jQLMTm-FKgi3h_1ZOm-wlFqDs575Eldtf2BaWM-5ervPMwsQrAJ5D7il9rT0-CSt6RxJgvWQLoeyh6Y2kAT=w640-h480-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WwbmhIgNxAQP20WYMSVFFRtPTTl3LwD88RglkB2_kGrFSt9BJu ofnLl7IKNflVmlNDmd5dECiq-I7gIFp2QLWeYmwamEQwKOgg_aesDiZWazmKfURpOsfYRfCB1_q zU-YIRgC3xD9m74zbLp8Cfub3soFCpQVfSejKFjhrfDkTV0YvW4ba zc_NIwDU_DE4wT2enGvQu3ISIPqcScHMYN0mWwKf0gRecv50aD 7b1iqPooyOkHIhzwKpKUdfeDokJxUotgoA7RjhNuoWl_ay5jru kL3pER-nIQQL9yGNGXqnIe0ZdpETJRTi5oBJH4blyJFpiSrUfYmQdw9SB Vqn8f4WmlPFosD5HafkOwuLQ9FuAlpaUNIZY4IKVOQ4iBiXKYi HTJ1hYLgzyF-VeItx26IsyUJXDZ-TYgZErDQI_H-o_VUMKE-7lanE9zsy0cw4VoxuMSvQk4GZwCpeFDp2G-Y74XR_AxrLmSxWzFLIV6S9XLrOrjq1-0TeugcBsdK60Wy32FBVjwDLEV6dWkxqY2l_SBIsQgm3j0DZiB_ eDF-p_jpZC3SAclI0bfBY-VXRel8OgItpwFNqUblNn8Bdf0rIKHcgY-R33V=w640-h480-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/aIuR6K6JuoD3wUH92IiIKtKffEZcbML2qzJ_PJcXMw7QHQ3xJc 0AifYfhHbgxJJH2TWJZNuWbteqWC9gc0xxbwtKJOyj1-jo-jjd2RIS_VT6YX4xDFRAYKyDPrmlcnc0lWO_2RmTrCcZzmizAs4 57pNf1cA46KTBkR3MiVo_uumUlYTevtOIHtr20j2iR5bMcACst uMWB1E_RDgRu3YBeyq3LJcohrLnQ3lYPeOzCih4gIhiDZ8AkP8 UmhucMKPq08_vPGNrsuL_QSF90j_L7zxE7J2CpbK9pfHVvvsXR pZgXesqqiYtL8LuFT4jXbJAJdR27stXLLpTmDCD0HnTJXJxFMy ea4k1k2C2XqhVRP2hpG1b4VYtE5mOC_RtYv7bG8GgWVlmnp0db LEmfP5rEVJNkJkPoAIqJsa_NuEIr-QukLjxXX_WrmiFiOmVpj8td8y9IsKr65fbc9zYsZ4a0HkvEwH2 MA3u0Kz435RH8_gWGtPoVptdtDx2B5aWWXl71zyVWz4az-1fmqQ8tFvWcQv0xLCtbEBQz9SJijOKrCByVqLZVzF9MRz0dF8n QwzH_YiBLILMpfBOKq0DDTNbeNeId5A0kl-X=w640-h480-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ot1OFQerqtOUKwvn2Bs5RvA6Sg-LnfVc6ZvePfI8_2oWnMTwUzcFiee9cDlkNkz53BkXARpq8423P BLiXdcamuheI1N2nVpsr91Ny2U-DuMGyV6eYKprjuYUfZAGdJOVKOh14cpYC__yKGbrOpuwqsnF4j tQilyVrUzpv6KFUSdwBArQYQI1RKlcIWY-63PPmstnKjDaOXDoYfIYMReBMkBKMDNxgHrSpo0yKzky7EUKev OYTo83YrvA-lJLd9j013JY7rI-UjRFhtBrdDpaNgPFEYGo43fC9BwZLbACNoUTJT_df9GRygt9K2 Fb6n5hgeBHrsTVDJtQDCUmzHNumUQelcdXUpCRW7Km4iJ6aiky TtkdMivVCe7kg28HzShfszn-cYFYe008Tn7bgNVEkABXIfqlzVw5GQXWcjcU8fdOlCpxGWzfRv uUVbNXr1IOiKIzx0IXTUJ1bEyiLrYHh8Hl2wLBgvfxyef52QHR xz5bNpXssqs_6eM055COo_CeK61tSoY1uOxVRRyUaStgoqfEHV 0VIoryrZk5RC__ndPw-z2HGw2r2tDqUASAvtSQuisLq0to_NaWTPQTKQqCV3aBcI5LpSy D=w640-h480-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/q8wH97R5tzP-6XL3wbH3Ao9msPC_XdybFrwjB60IIQDJx9QEMmVTIl5cMvNM4L lKU5HUM9WIUgkWOa7lb-c56JXLc91ipoDear6rY-UR2JYe4qHWOgYykfUhY24MwS6pnM4_4vqtcQopvRUi43HPU-aU686dE6IYd83PcD5BlVm8MLWCwsNyQfSrAxDvgpEsb1r1mbpZ SgIHAdf8Me2pPwquvQv16ZLui56YoJSDMM4aPKyOaZXS69oda6 SfOd3ki67czN4qU2F9776m8H0BpS1h_YwOa6PQdvNQGQdDFH2n fJc5nfTqZh48JlL0xRjK5bC14l7VeCMi8afAaKeaqqZUebenGW 8d9cBkXYFBVThiT-cRnspk30T91d_Q_UpAk1eWqTgbGXJvi_DmS3T5dLz3Rgkk3xEs K-8tza37PpFyIIZZXp94AGI-B42oeNscC1atYqXJhAuyDsQIOiPvNInM1Pl65DO_eJbarXXdis LP12NHUtn3xRZX8m3SXMOTWBwFPbYf3V6i-Aa7Igi3kOZvqnAO7TOdiGfbcPhXLqysY0tscjY2YGWOiPZivFD hcnHDqnmUn74JI3okAf52fvJX_Wzx-e9X=w640-h480-no

And, yes, the doors and drawer fronts were assembled with mortises cut with the mortiser, too.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7HFmNfjNAN727PoycdTjJQqov9_Jnj4WG09MDe0EoSpBmZM9Wd LzdoQbwZUVv2ZOfTsXJp2dskp1f5FWaAS7UtL5_Q3VqQrUggH-5OxbG1HUQyOmhpqY6Jx8cAz9uIPtOmiG_jE3RSc78rcRvh5Dpi IzfvEsbMCncgBBto4tMOW3-tpwagO65_63NZ3koeLBYUylG2yRmPCFEM5h9pEZehqXW13HGCt zFuXcTpJqfNg68m48qSGZQ4-OhdX4fAST0E_jZ9bX4XH2pE1mQmPvNYk5XHspL5WmqKOdPaGV6 hB2RwPOoXW4nX0to6KxOtW6Cga2dFsrJTZ3favc082qHBzV28A 4J1kbNmUUljHqi3Lixx2U7GhObnzGVp2WExcJ4KzWbwzqfhadm 2rOPex0QvIlaoopd5w4JtntLqTRL6cHaZyGb0ShdE1Q9m_fVgh demUQBOhbiQY8KKYtw8YgoA_4NvGaQxsyVI5AglVEiIfJ2VlYZ LqR6HFM5wD3BpPOXfoh0Aqtj4NC43iVaGerwOc0XSd_tYYAjYa 02Am8yX3A1UtlA0Dgf2P4Rs84vf4AEMDHmzscn0mPLPHWaUZLD OjPpSDUfhCh=w640-h480-no

Not many machines can do so much at so little cost.

John

[Jim Dwight]

I have tried drilling and chiseling but didn't like the results or speed. I liked the router cut mortises but screaming routers are not my favorite tool. tne need to round over tenons is also a drawback. I have a Jet hollow chisel mortiser now and it makes functionable mortises that aren't as pretty os routered ones. I may have a domino someday but I need lots of of other things first.