Mortising attachments for a drill press....

[Mike Kees]

I bought a mortising attachment for my drill press about 20 years ago and have never used it. I need chisels for it. I was wondering how well these work ? Anyone have experience using them ? I just found the box cleaning up the other day. Would like to know if it is worth buying mortising chisels to use or not. Thanks,Mike.

[Lee Schierer]

I have one and I just used it yesterday to cut four 3/8 x 3 x 3/4 deep mortises in some hickory. I use mine on an old Homecraft bench top drill press. If you know the bore size of hour bit holder you should be able to locate compatible chisels using google. Some of mine were a cheaper variety and the needed some TLC before they would perform well. I honed the outside faces until they were very smooth and shiney. I also sharpened the inside surface to sharpen the cutting edge and points. Make sure you set the drill so that it has about 1/16" clearance between the drill wings and the hollow of the chisel. I find that it works best if you draw your intended mortise on the board to help you stay aligned a guide fence also helps. The first square plunge in each piece will be the most difficult going in and coming out. After that they get easier. I try to over lap the previous cut by about 1/32". Once you have made all the cuts you will need to do some clean up with some chisels. Cut your mortises first and then cut your tenons to align with the faces and fit properly.

Be prepared that the chisel and bit will get extremely hot so don't touch them.

[Mike Henderson]

I'm not a big fan of those mortising attachments for a drill press.

1. They take time to get set up (attached to the drill press).
2. While you have that on the drill press, you can't use the drill press as a drill.
3. The handle of the drill press is usually not long enough to give you sufficient leverage
4. There's a good alternative for using the drill press to make mortises. Drill out your mortise with a drill bit and then clean up with a chisel.

Mike

[Ted Derryberry]

Are you implying that there's only one drill press in your shop?!?!

[Warren Lake]

not how i see it,

Now with two drill presses it would mostly be a non issue, you still set up a mortise machine. Take the plastic handle off and put a piece of pipe clamp bar on it, you will get lots of leverage. Not the best for the drill press probably hard on a smaller one cutting 1/2 x 1/2 mortises but did lots and thats at a time before we knew about sharpening chisels and making them cut so much easier so it couild have even been better. It worked fine. Use a machine whenever you can if you are making a living forget the drill bit and hand chisel.

[Derek Cohen]

I agree with Mike. The drill press mortice accessory has a poor reputation. I was given one by a friend, which he had never used. Setting it up is an issue, but the weakest point is that a drill press is not designed to apply the down force of a decent dedicated morticer. I also tried out an entry level morticer and decided it was not for me as it, too, was just too inefficient.

If you are looking for a way to mortice with a machine, a plunge router plus upcut bit does make it easy. Yell out if you want ideas here.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Lee Schierer]

I'm not a big fan of those mortising attachments for a drill press.

1. They take time to get set up (attached to the drill press).
2. While you have that on the drill press, you can't use the drill press as a drill.
3. The handle of the drill press is usually not long enough to give you sufficient leverage
4. There's a good alternative for using the drill press to make mortises. Drill out your mortise with a drill bit and then clean up with a chisel.

Mike

I was amazed at how much less force was needed to use my drill press attachment for mortising after I smoothed and sharpened the chisels and set the drill bit correctly in the chisel. It still takes some pressure, but at least on my old Homecraft drill press it is easily done with the metal handle. As I stated before, the first plunge in any piece is the hardest one going in and coming out of the cut. For what I paid for the attachment, as a hobbiest, I can't justify the cost of a dedicated mortising machine.

[Mike Cutler]

If you're really having to apply a lot of force cutting mortises with a dedicated mortiser, or the drill press attachment, something is off.
The only wood I have problems cutting mortises into is Jatoba. It's hard, and hard on tools.

Mike
If you take the time to align the mortiser attachment, and as Lee outlined, sharpen and hone those chisels well, paying special attention to sharpening the drill bit, it should work. Buy a 1/4" and 3/8" chisel from WoodCraft or Rockler, that would fit into an asian made mortiser, and you should be fine. Just go slow.

[Bradley Gray]

I have an extra drill press that is set up with a HC mortiser most of the time. I don't think drilling and chiselling is a good alternative. And unlike a dedicated mortiser I still can set it up for drilling when I need another drill press.

I do think these things require some finesse in sharpening and set-up but what machine doesn't?

[Erik Manchester]

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I agree that a drill press mortiser is not ideal ideal for punching through oak all day, but for a hobby user they can work OK, particularly if the chisels and bits are sharpened and well set up. The auger bits tend to run too fast for adequate chip clearance. I am just in the process of setting up this little bench top press to cut mortises as it is an extra and I won’t need to use it for drilling. I am planning to build some garden benches out of hemlock and must make a fair number of mortises.

If I were doing these often I would want a chain chisel mortiser as they are impressive in use.

[Charles Lent]

If you switch to making mortises with a router you will likely never use your mortising attachment again. I did this well over 20 years ago and that mortising attachment and bits have been collecting dust on the shelf of my shop ever since. I have three drill presses and once owned a mortising machine, but make mostly round holes with drill presses now. When I first started using a router I cut my mortises with the router and made floating tenon stock on my planer and table saw. Then I went extreme back around 2000 and bought a Leigh FMT Pro jig. So now I make both the mortises and the tenons with it, a router, and the same setup for both the mortise and the tenon. There's no going back to square chisel bits and drill presses for me, and no hand tuning of each M&T pair to get them to fit together properly. Every mortise and tenon of the same size that I make with my FMT will fit perfectly without fine tuning now and they are interchangeable, since they are cut so accurately. I don't even own a rabbet plane or the square chisel mortiser anymore. I bought the FMT when faced with a project requiring over 1,600 M&T joints. It paid for itself several times over on just that first job, and has done so again several more times since then.

Charley

[Mike Kees]

Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like it will work reasonably well if setup well with sharpened chisels.Derek and Charles I am interested in the router idea.I am self employed (carpenter) and when working for cash reducing time to complete jobs is very important.Would be interested in how you use the router. I have seen different base plate ideas to use with a plunge router and upcut bit. How does the FMT jig work ? Thanks,Mike.

[Jeff Heath]

I use a dedicated Oliver mortiser, but I just wanted to point out how important it is to sharpen and polish all 4 sides of the mortising chisel, as well as the inside of the chisel. Lee Valley sells a honing set of 2 diamond cones that match the profile of most import mortising chisels, and they do a pretty good job of cleaning up and honing the inside. Also, your drill bit has to sharpened to a high polish, as well as having the depth separation set between the drill bit and the chisel. You can use the thickness of a dime to offset the drill bit from the bottom of the chisel. Otherwise, you will very quickly burn up your drill bit and chisel. Polish everything to a mirror finish. It makes a HUGE difference.

If you start to smell burning wood, it's time to sharpen again.

[Derek Cohen]

... Derek and Charles I am interested in the router idea.I am self employed (carpenter) and when working for cash reducing time to complete jobs is very important.Would be interested in how you use the router. I have seen different base plate ideas to use with a plunge router and upcut bit. How does the FMT jig work ? Thanks,Mike.

Mike, for context, part of the time I use mortice chisels and part of the time a router. What I like about using a mortice chisel is the relative quiet and absence of dust equipment, plus I fight my impatience to get on with things, and setting up equipments is frustrating. Often it is easier to just grab a chisel. It comes down to how many mortices I need, and how large they are.

I want the same ease of working from the router. Essentially, to drop the router onto the work with as little set up involved. Many years ago I was given a German-made work bench by a friend, who imported them. I have never seen another. Essentially it is a large vise on a stand. I built a simple guide system for it. I plan to build another, smaller version that I can drop into the face vise on my work bench, so do not see my system as needing a large machine. It is simply a guide in principle.

This is what it looks like from a distance ..

https://s19.postimg.org/lfmnl359v/image.jpg

Facing you is the vise, with the lighter section the vise's chop ...

https://s19.postimg.org/qea5zmgsj/image.jpg

Here the vise is holding two small parts that will receive a through mortice (which will become banjos for a lathe) ....

https://s19.postimg.org/c7uf4et2r/image.jpg

The router has an outrigger that runs in a slot. This locks the router and prevents any movements away from the chosen line (note that I can use the slot with a router fence, which has fine adjustment, and do so a larger Elu 177e ... aka deWalt 625) ...

https://s19.postimg.org/5hdxuyy77/image.jpg

https://s19.postimg.org/5hdxuzlcj/image.jpg

Writing this takes more time than setting this up! :) Just plunge to progressive depths and run down the board ...

https://s19.postimg.org/pordnab43/image.jpg

There are other ways of using a router for morticing. Essentially they need to ensure that the router does not move from the chosen line, and requires litte complexity in use. I use this little bench for various tasks, so it fits in. I would like a smaller version that i can simply pop into the face vise and then store it behind the bench.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Kees]

Thanks for the visual tour of your setup Derek. That helps me see what is needed.Mike.

[Charles Lent]

Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like it will work reasonably well if setup well with sharpened chisels.Derek and Charles I am interested in the router idea.I am self employed (carpenter) and when working for cash reducing time to complete jobs is very important.Would be interested in how you use the router. I have seen different base plate ideas to use with a plunge router and upcut bit. How does the FMT jig work ? Thanks,Mike.

Mike,

My best suggestion is to watch the FMT videos that are available from www.leighjigs.com or on YouTube. They make two versions now, the super FMT and the FMT Pro. Both jigs work pretty much the same, but the Super FMT is made from stamped steel plate and the FMT Pro is made from high quality aluminum. Both use the same templates and work pretty much the same, but the steel version is made more for the hobbyist and sells for less money. In my opinion, you won't regret buying either one.

Here is the Google list of the YouTube FMT Pro videos. I think you will be impressed. Leigh Jigs do everything that they say they will do, and their manuals and customer support are the best. I'm just a very satisfied user. I also own their D4R Dovetail Jig.

But you can also make a mortising jig from wood to hold the board being mortised and guide the router, and add manually set stops to prevent the router from making a "too long" mortise. Mortise both boards, and then make some "floating tenon" stock with your planer to get it the right thickness to fit properly into the mortises, and then cut this stock to the width and length you need on your table saw as needed to join the two mortises. It is possible to get good floating tenons this way and end up with perfect M&T joints. It just isn't quite as versatile, or quick to set up. Videos that show how to make mortising jigs are also available on YouTube and plans are available on the internet.

Charley

[Mike Kees]

Thanks Charley ,I will check some of those videos out.

[John Sanford]

I have the mortising attachment for my Jet drill press, and have used it a number of times, including making a pair of A&C plant stands with 50 mortises (most 1/4" by 1/2" deep) each. Yes, it is a wee bit fussy to get set up. Is it quicker to use a router? Often, especially if you've got a good mortising jig/base for the router, but if speed is your criteria, look at a Domino. What neither the Domino, nor the router, nor the Leigh FMT, nor a slot mortiser on a Minimax J/P can do is make square/rectangular through mortises. If you have that need, then a HCM/dp attachment or handwork are your solutions. Note that you can do most of the work with one of the roundy/spinny bit tools above and then square up by hand. Not speedy though.