slot mortiser opinions

[Kevin Jenness]

We are looking at buying a new slot mortiser for our shop. Currently my own 15 year old Steton is in use, but I want to get it back home and have the shop buy its own. My machine doesn't seem to be available now, at least I don't know of any stateside Steton dealers.It is a 500 lb machine with a belt driven drilling head that strokes in and out, and a stock support table that strokes sideways and adjusts vertically, all on dovetailed ways bolted to a fabricated steel base. Most of the available machines now have a fixed height, sometimes tilting, stock support, and a drill head that adjusts and strokes in all 3 dimensions using a single joystick, often on ball bearing mechanisms. Does anyone have experience with the machines we are looking at (Bini, Paoloni, Felder, Griggio, Laguna, Casadei) and an opinion on the pros and cons of various designs?

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The Felder has 5" height, 10" side to side, and 6" depth. There is a 3 HP reversable Baldor motor with a one arm control on a fairly large table 21"x12", the chuck take a bit up to 3/4" shank diameter,
Options include a chisel mortiser and a doweling tool, dual Stops out to 98" on the left to riight, and a cam clamp.

Felder whacks you on the options what with the damn cam clamp at $168.00 and $200.00 for the wheels etc.

[tod evans]

kevin, are you sold on a dedicated slot mortiser? if not pin routers are going cheap with the advent of cnc machines and most will kick a slot mortisers butt in a production enviornment plus the versitility of a pin router would be a bonus....02 tod

[Alan Turner]

Kevin,
I hav ethe older Griggio, with the x-y-z table, and if I had a coice, I would have the x-y-z- head instead. If you are doing a large entry door, for example, you will need to build a stock support device, which will need to be height adjustable. Whereas, if you had the head moving, you could make do with a single, fixed, stock support device. I think this is a pretty major difference.

[Rick Lizek]

kevin, are you sold on a dedicated slot mortiser? if not pin routers are going cheap with the advent of cnc machines and most will kick a slot mortisers butt in a production enviornment plus the versitility of a pin router would be a bonus....02 tod

I have extensive experience with slot mortisers and pin routers. The bit being in an overhead position in a pin router is a big disadvantage over a slot mortiser where one typically makes mortises in the rails. With the slot mortiser bit mounted horizontally you can mortise some really long pieces easily. I also favor the slot mortiser for it's lower speed than a router as it can be used nicely as a doweling machine and horizontal borer. I always do loose tenons with a slot mortiser.

I've used the Bini, SCMI, converted handmills and a few other brands of slot mortisers. The Bini with the tilting tables is nice. I think I'd be leaning toward the Knapp or Felder if I was in the market and had money to burn. Slot mortisers are very scarce on the used market. I've only seen a few pop up over a twenty five year period.