Mortiser

[Dick Tysen]

I am going to start a project which requires a number of mortises.I would like to purchase a mortiser, I have looked at the Delta 14-651 and a General. Has anyone tried either of these machines or suggest another good quality mortiser. Price range 300.00 or under.

[Ken Ventress]

I am going to start a project which requires a number of mortises.I would like to purchase a mortiser, I have looked at the Delta 14-651 and a General. Has anyone tried either of these machines or suggest another good quality mortiser. Price range 300.00 or under.
Hi Dick. I have the GI mortiser and like it very much as it has about the best stock fence/ hold down going! It comes with 4 chisels that are of good quality. It does a great job of boring mortises! I chose the GI over the Delta, which was the only other mortiser in the hunt.
Cheers Ken

[Roger Myers]

I've got the Delta and have been very happy with it. The improvements that they made over the earlier Delta units made all the difference in the world. Most of the work I've done to date has been 3/8 in Cherry, which it handled with no problems...Fence is good, hold downs work fine...keep the chisels sharp and let the tool do the work....

Roger

[Eric Apple - Central IN]

I've got the Delta. It's an OK machine and makes square holes. Whatever you get, make certain it comes with a chisel set (delta did). Also 1750RPM (delta) to avoid hot chisels. I keep thinking I should set up some router jigs to do this. It takes a fair amount of cleanup to make good tight mortises. You have to clean the bottom and often the sides by hand. From talking with others, this is common unless you make tennons that fit much to loosly IMHO.

So I suggest maybe check out your router options before deciding upon a dedicated mostise machine.

I do think if you only have say 5 or 6 mortises and they are a different size, the dedicated machine is probably easier then setting up the router jigs each time.

[Dave Avery]

I've got the Delta. It's an OK machine and makes square holes. Whatever you get, make certain it comes with a chisel set (delta did). Also 1750RPM (delta) to avoid hot chisels. I keep thinking I should set up some router jigs to do this. It takes a fair amount of cleanup to make good tight mortises. You have to clean the bottom and often the sides by hand. From talking with others, this is common unless you make tennons that fit much to loosly IMHO.

So I suggest maybe check out your router options before deciding upon a dedicated mostise machine.

I do think if you only have say 5 or 6 mortises and they are a different size, the dedicated machine is probably easier then setting up the router jigs each time.


Eric,

Now that I have a shop made horizontal router table that I use for mortising, my square chisel mortising machine has been gifted to my dad. The HRT is pretty simple to set up and produces uniformly perfect mortises. Dave.

[Roger Myers]

I've got the Delta. It's an OK machine and makes square holes. Whatever you get, make certain it comes with a chisel set (delta did). Also 1750RPM (delta) to avoid hot chisels. I keep thinking I should set up some router jigs to do this. It takes a fair amount of cleanup to make good tight mortises. You have to clean the bottom and often the sides by hand. From talking with others, this is common unless you make tennons that fit much to loosly IMHO.

So I suggest maybe check out your router options before deciding upon a dedicated mostise machine.

I do think if you only have say 5 or 6 mortises and they are a different size, the dedicated machine is probably easier then setting up the router jigs each time.

I agree with Eric about clean-up, but I guess it's all relative...takes me less than a minute to clean-up any mortise that I make and that results in a well fitting joint....Of course, my starting point was lots of practice in hand chopping mortises, which I still do if I only have a few to do (I would cut 5 or 6 by hand ) Router options are certainly there, if rounded tenons are acceptable...
As to burning, or hot chisels, I have no problem with either...it is very important to properly adjust the chisel and bit - the chisels should not be rubbing on the bit....and like any job...sharp tools make a world of difference.

[Eric Apple - Central IN]

Yep your hand cutting practice is making a difference. I would go a head and use the machine on even 1. There not much setup, its just cutting between the layout marks. You'd probably be done with a couple out of 5 or 6 before I even got started. I would however use more electricity! If I put some time into the shop this fall, I might workup one of those HRTs like Dave.