Benchtop Mortisers - toys or tools?

[Allen Bookout]

I am just finishing up building an exterior cabinet that needed to be very strong so I used sixteen motrise and tenon joints (1 1/2" thick material) in the project and used a router to cut the mortises (5/8" wide x 1 3/4" deep x 2 3/4" long). I did not like the extra time and general pain in the tail to square the moritses or round the tenons. Later projects may require wider and deeper mortises so now I am considering a benchtop mortiser. Specifically considering the Wootec 1hp or the General International 1/2hp.

My question is, do these mortisers work good enough to save time and produce acceptable mortises or are they just too light weight to do a good job?

Allen

[Mark Pruitt]

Allen,
I purchased the Delta benchtop mortiser a couple months ago and have thus far used it in constructing my workbench. I was very impressed with its performance and rigidity. It has a couple of holes at the sides of the base where it can be mounted to a bench, but it is so solid that I did not need to secure it. I don't know about the Woodtek or the GI, but the base on the Delta is large enough to provide a decent amount of weight.
Mark

[Jim Dailey]

Yes a bench top machine will cut up too 1/2" mortises... you still have typically 6 cuts on a table saw tenon fixture to complete the joint. You will also build up some arm strenght due to the short handle & lack of horse power with the table top machines. You will eventually get used to the squealing & smoke give off by the bits..... Off course you could spend about $700 to $800 plus for a faster more capable floor model & another $100 for a tenon table saw fixture...

I've gone from; hand cut with chisel & saw, to drill press and cheap table saw fixture, to table top Delta mortice machine & Delta tenon fixture.... and because I was still unsatisfied with the time & number of operations it took to complete a joint, I was then looking at spending $800 plus on a Powermatic floor model.... but I instead bought a Leigh FMT for the same money. Does both the M & T in less than 30 seconds.

As with many operations in woodworking... there are a number of ways to achieve the same result. In some cases it's a trade off of time, quality & money....

Hope this helps, jim

[chris del]

I have the Gen Int. tilting head mortiser....... wonder how I ever did without it...
This is a heavy cast iron machine... One of the most solid benchtop versions on the market.
The only thing I dont like about it is that you have to square the fence to the chisel every time you adjust it...

[Ron Blaise]

The model G9976 by Shop Fox for $250.00 (sold by Grizzly). You can't buy a better one for thr price. I have one and you can cut upto a 1" mortise with it. Built like a tank. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Forrest Price]

I had the Jet benchtop which worked quite well for me. Another option you might consider is the BeadLock system as shown on John Lucas's sight here: http://woodshopdemos.com/beadlk1.htm

[Bob Childress]

At the risk of starting trouble, I will tell you that I had the same pain routing mortises, researched the benchtops and other stuff, and then decided to save my money and wait for the Festool Domino to hit the US market. I am convinced that the Domino (and its eventual copycats) are going to change the face of joinery, period. :eek:

Meanwhile, I am just playing through the pain with my router and nudging Uncle Bob Marino to tell Festool to get a move on.

[Vaughn McMillan]

I have the Shop Fox 1671 benchtop mortiser (same as the 9976 in the Griz catalog), and am very pleased with its performance. It's got a 3/4 HP motor, and it's stout all the way around. Nice long handle with good leverage. So far, I've not had a need for a tilting head (which the General has IIRC), but that seems like it could be handy in some instances. I went with the Shop Fox, as the local price (about $200) was lower than what I'd pay for of the competitors' models by the time I included shipping.

I spent 3 to 4 hours yesterday putting a lot of through mortises in 4X4 fir in 105+° heat, and the Shop Fox ran great. All of them were 3/4" wide (cut with a 1/2" bit) and up to 12" long...not something I'd want to do by hand. ;)

In answer to your original question...definitely tools, not toys, IMHO.

- Vaughn

[tod evans]

allen, the bench top units work fine, pick a color....they`re not as fast as the bigger ones but by and large are accurate and dependable. if anybody is still offering one with a 1750 motor you`ll be better off going that route...02 tod

[Larry Rose]

I agree with Tod, I have a Jet that works fine. If I were going to buy another one I would probably opt for a tilting head model. I can see where that would be handy.

[Andy Fox]

I have the Shop Fox 3/4 HP, which I convinced myself I needed with the help of fellow creekers. It's a nice machine for $200 local + $40 for a set of chisels.

The motor is a higher RPM than most, and I have to press the mortiser fast and hard in easily-burned woods like cherry so that it doesn't have time to fry any fibers.

The instructions warn to use the depth stop to lock the head in the up position when not in use. I didn't :o , and the gas cartridge failed without warning after a few weeks of holding up the head unassisted.

[Tom Hintz]

I also use a Delta mortiser and am very happy with it. Keep the chisels sharp, learn to set the drill to chisel gap right and it works fine.

Just in case you might consider one of the mortising attachmnets for a drill press, see the link below first.


http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/dpmortattachrvu.html

[Mike Cutler]

Allen.

They're not toys. They work.

I have the Delta 14-651, and have done close to 600 mortises in Brazillian Cherry( very hard stuff) with it. I had to keep honing and sharpening the chisels and bits, but that was expected. The chisels and bits were a little rough when I bought it, but they cleaned up nicely with a conical stone and a diamond hone.
They aren't fast though. I picked up a little speed when I mounted an XY vise to mine and got rid of the stock fence. I recommend this mod highly. The stock fence, and holdown sucked for my use.

My only regret is that I should have gotten the floor standing Powermatic, with the tilting head, like my wife told me too at the time.:eek:

The General got very high marks in a recent mag test, but I think that particular model had a larger motor than 1/2hp. That seems a little light to me.

[Gary Keedwell]

I have the Jet. I up-graded it by replacing the small cheap MDF table with a 1/2" aluminum plate. 12" X 24" I also drill and tapped some holes into the plate to accept a toggle clamp to push my stock securely against the fence. I'm proud to say that it is a toy- no more!!!

Gary K.

[Jesse Cloud]

I got the Powermatic benchtop a few months ago and I love it! Just finishing hogging out a bunch of 1/2 inch mortises for a bench I'm building. No smoke, no screeching bits, and my handle-arm is not sore. The powermatic has the right clamps where you need them, both to hold the fence down and to hold the work to the fence. It also has a clever gadget that makes the placement of the auger in the chisel really a snap.

This is just my angle, but I basically hate routers. They are loud, messy, dangerous, and take forever to set up. I can have a dozen mortises chopped on the powermatic by the time I get the right collet and the right bit and the right jig and the right clamps for the jig and get the depth set right, and so on and so on.

When I use the mortiser, I don't even need hearing protection - I can even hear the radio!

Sorry for the rant. Routers make fine mortises and sometimes I still use them, but I sure don't think the powermatic benchtop mortiser is a toy.

By the way, I have used the floor model Powermatic mortiser, too and for my money, the benchtop is the sweet spot on the $$ vs power curve. But I'm just a hobbyist and I'm not building an ark;)

[Jim Becker]

Mine works great (Jet). I don't use it much, but it does a nice job when I ask it to.

[Jay Knepper]

1) I've never seen a mortise made by a mortising machine that was nearly as clean as one that is routed or made by a slot mortiser. This has to translate to a stronger joint by virtue of more glueing surface.

2) The mortising machines are not well suited to routing the ends of boards, which is needed for "slip" or loose tenon joinery, which I favor.

I used a router jigs 'till I got a horizontal slot mortiser attachment for my jointer/plainer combo. The slot mortiser reduces setup time quite a bit and removes wood faster than the router.It is defininately a step in the right direction. I do wish it weren't so noisy though. (The noise comes from the dust shroud in close proximity to the jointer/planer head. A dedicated slot mortiser should be much quieter.)

[Rick Cabot]

Allen

You might find the FFW article helpful. http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/FWNPDF/011178068.pdf

Rick Cabot

[Allen Bookout]

This is a great response. Thanks!

So far here is what I have absorbed.

No to drill press mortising attachments.

$700 to $800 for floor model or Lee FMT. I will look into and consider both but was thinking a little less capital outlay at the moment.

Wait for the Festool DoMino. I do not know anything about it but will do some research. Sounds expensive.

Did a short search for slot mortisers and it looks like the price is going up fast. From what I saw in a short amount of time is $1600 on up.

Bench top models work fine. Consider a tilting head. Good upgrade is an xy vise. Powermatic, Delta, General Int., Shop Fox (Same as Grizzly 9976) and Jet all work well. Consider a 1750 rpm model. No report on Woodtec yet. These units are more in my price range for what I am doing but might consider a floor model or the FMT depending on what I find out.

Rick, thanks for the link but I am not a member and cannot see the article. Might be worthwhile to join but will have to think about it. By the way ---Welcome to Sawmill Creek.

Thanks to all!!! I will look forward to any additional information.

Allen

[Andy Fox]

Allen, here's a limited review along with some common problems and their resolutions:

http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/articles/200008/tooltest/body.htm

From the article: "The hold-down systems on these machines stink!" But they give some fast, cheap, and quick solutions to this.

[Allen Bookout]

Thanks Andy!

[Mike Cutler]

Andy.

Nice article that you linked to. Good info. I feel, from personal experience, that one tip may not be a very good one.

When the authors suggested that adding a longer handle would help. I think they overlooked something. I broke the handle on my Delta 14-651 using a pipe for some additional leverage, and because the stock handle grip was tearing my hand up. It broke at the "spline" where the handle ratchets and engages the machine. The parts are really a light cast iron, and in retrospect I am lucky that the handle broke, and not the machine. Something to do with Archimedes or something.;)

Delta had me a new handle inside of a week, but it still cost me some time. I ordered two in case I broke another handle in the future.:eek:

Nice article though. I lliked the techique for sharpening the bits.