mortisers

[Tom Leasure]

Hey Guys,
Need some advice on mortisers. Have a Jet presently but am not real happy with it. Mainly the table & hold down. Am strongly considering a Powermatic or a General. I would appreciate any input I can get before I start spending the hard earned bucks - Thanks

Tom

[Darl Bundren]

You might check out the Steel City Benchtop mortiser. It's a nice, affordable, well-designed machine. The rollers and hold down keep the work stationary but are easily adjusted.

[Don Bullock]

I agree with Darl. While I've used the Jet and found it adequate, the Steel City that I own is a much more substantional machine. I'd suggest that you find some place where you can see one in person, not just online.

[Gary Keedwell]

Hey Guys,
Need some advice on mortisers. Have a Jet presently but am not real happy with it. Mainly the table & hold down. Am strongly considering a Powermatic or a General. I would appreciate any input I can get before I start spending the hard earned bucks - Thanks

Tom
Tom...I have the Jet but I modified it. I took the cheap little MDF table off and replaced it with a 1/2" aluminum plate. I drilled and tapped some holes in it and added a Plunge-type toggle clamp that pushes the stock against the fence. Works great now.

Gary K.

[John Thompson]

Hey Guys,
Need some advice on mortisers. Have a Jet presently but am not real happy with it. Mainly the table & hold down. Am strongly considering a Powermatic or a General. I would appreciate any input I can get before I start spending the hard earned bucks - Thanks

Tom

Evening Tom..

I would have to agree with Darl and Don on the Steel City "benchie" (no affiliation.. I'm learning that is important here on this site :) ) is probably the best designed without getting into some heavy bucks with the PM or General.

But.. with that said, I also agree with Gary that you already have a bench mortiser and some tweaking will bring up the level of it's performance. I have owned a Shop Fox and used.. PM.. General.. Jet.. and a SC and have examined the Fisch and several others.

They all have something in common.. they are bench mortisers and and not floor models. None have what would be deemed excellent hold-down as a floor model. Some are better than others (General has the best front clamp while SC and PM have more sufficient ones than the others. But.. compared to a floor model, they all still come up short.

Each have little quirks that can be modified to some degree. For instance many use to complain that the Jet plunge lever wasn't long enough on the early models. Solution.. put a steel pipe over the current lever and problem solved. The tables on most of the benchies are not a design engineers idea of great. Solution.. replace it as Gary mentioned and while you are at it, put a pholenice or MDF on the fence to get a close to flat fence. Better hold-downs have to be thought up with each and every model as they are all a bit differently designed.

So.. instead of spending more money on another "benchie" that will probably be only a slight upgrade from what you have, I would personally just fix the flaws on the Jet and save the cash.

And if you cut a lot of large, deep mortises and want to really increase.. you might consider looking for a deal on a floor mortiser in lieu of sinking more into another benchie that will always be just the best you can make it!

I looked for two years and finally the "old blind squirrel" got an acorn. I ran across a Bridge-wood industrial model recently being Closed-Out by Curt Wilke at Wilke Machinery on E-bay auction. Picked it up for about 1/3 the price compared to the what the same Grizzly model industrial goes for ($2500). Took a while.. but I found one and once I did, didn't hesitate to write the check. It gave me some extra options of what I can do and how quick I can do it.

Good luck with your decision...

Sarge..

[Gary Keedwell]

http://www.free-animations.co.uk/messages/miscellaneous/images/message_11.gif THat's what I call a mortiser.

Gary K.

[John Thompson]

http://www.free-animations.co.uk/messages/miscellaneous/images/message_11.gif THat's what I call a mortiser.

Gary K.

Evening Gary..

You might say they didn't spare the cast iron! It's been a pure pleasure to use so far and it will come in awful handy as I build a number of work-benches for freinds and acquaintances. Doing 1 1/2" x 3" x 4" throughs is no challenge anymore even though the Barr framing mortise chisels still get the call on occasion.

Again... a pleasure, well after I managed to get the 600 lb. beast off the pallet onto a mobile base. Quite a challenge for an almost 60' old man. Had to go the the "bag of tricks" for that one. I always carry a 2 1/2 ton floor jack in my wallet. I don't leave home without one! :D

Welll.. gotta get back to work on that bird-house I started back in 1972! ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..

Regards...

Sarge..

[Gary Keedwell]

Evening Gary..

You might say they didn't spare the cast iron! It's been a pure pleasure to use so far and it will come in awful handy as I build a number of work-benches for freinds and acquaintances. Doing 1 1/2" x 3" x 4" throughs is no challenge anymore even though the Barr framing mortise chisels still get the call on occasion.

Again... a pleasure, well after I managed to get the 600 lb. beast off the pallet onto a mobile base. Quite a challenge for an almost 60' old man. Had to go the the "bag of tricks" for that one. I always carry a 2 1/2 ton floor jack in my wallet. I don't leave home without one! :D

Welll.. gotta get back to work on that bird-house I started back in 1972! ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..

Regards...

Sarge..

John, if your almost 60' you should be strong. I'm only 5' 11":eek: :D

Sorry, Sarge, I couldn't help myself.:p
Gary K.

[Tom Leasure]

Gary,
Thanks for the advice but lady luck shined on me today ( for once ) found a almost new PM for $200 - snapped it real quick. Even has chisels, was part of an estate sale. I missed quite a bit of others tools but an happy with my luck so far.

John has that BIG LUNKY one - Think he would be interested in a trade for my Jet ???? :D :D

[Gary Keedwell]

Gary,
Thanks for the advice but lady luck shined on me today ( for once ) found a almost new PM for $200 - snapped it real quick. Even has chisels, was part of an estate sale. I missed quite a bit of others tools but an happy with my luck so far.

John has that BIG LUNKY one - Think he would be interested in a trade for my Jet ???? :D :D
Tom,
Congratulations...A PM is definetly a notch or two up from what you got. I have read some real good things about it. Gets great reviews. Happy mortising.;)

Gary K.

[John Thompson]

Gary,
Thanks for the advice but lady luck shined on me today ( for once ) found a almost new PM for $200 - snapped it real quick. Even has chisels, was part of an estate sale. I missed quite a bit of others tools but an happy with my luck so far.

John has that BIG LUNKY one - Think he would be interested in a trade for my Jet ???? :D :D

Morning Tom...

Big lunky one, huh.... ha.. ha... With a big chrome "steering wheel" like that one, why would I want to trade? I may add one of those "truckers" air horns and a pistol grip shifter from an early Mopar, then enter the puppy in the Daytona 500 next Febuary. :D

You got an excellent deal on the PM. I wouldn't pay the full $399 for one, but would take all I could get at $200 for re-sale value alone.

Hey Gary...

I flubbed that 60' thang pretty badly proving I am no literary gaint even at 60 feet tall. I got a kick out of you catching that. I ran a hunter-killer team in VN with 75th Ranger Reg. and I always said... "If you get a clean shot.. take it"! I have been known to poke a few one liners myself. :)

Regards...

Sarge..

[Jim Becker]

Rather than getting rid of your Jet (unless you really need a bigger, beefier machine for some reason), you can do what many have with their mortisers of many brands...put an X-Y table on it. They can be sourced from places like Enco. Not only do they hole the stock very securely, they also keep things lined up "exactly" as you move through each plunge.

[John Thompson]

Rather than getting rid of your Jet (unless you really need a bigger, beefier machine for some reason), you can do what many have with their mortisers of many brands...put an X-Y table on it. They can be sourced from places like Enco. Not only do they hole the stock very securely, they also keep things lined up "exactly" as you move through each plunge.

Good afternoon Jim...

An excellent point to make to those that are not aware of X-Y tables that can be retro-fitted. Do you have a site for Enco or is it best just to google as I have many local entry intermediates that ask the question "how do I improve my bench mortiser"?

Most of the X-Y retro's I have seen have a short movement throw, but most don't need a large movement with standard furniture projects as available on a floor model. I used a Quick clamp on my Shop Fox benchie that was pretty quick after you got the hang of it, but a X-Y would be another step up from that no doubt!

Regards...

Sarge..

[Matt Meiser]

When I added an x-y vise to the mortiser I used to have I had my dad make me a riser block so that I got back the throw. He made it from a hunk of aluminum, but you could probably make one from hardwood or MDF with good results.

[Jim Becker]

John, Enco's address is http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRHM

[Don L Johnson]

Just a thought; to add versitility to your shop (as opposed to replacing an existing machine and staying "even"), why not tweak it as suggested, and add a Leigh FMT so you have more versitility with your mortise and tenon work. Just doing a set of chairs would more than likely justify the expense. I just started using my FMT, which will be my first choice in the future, unless I have to go the the mortiser due to size, etc. Good luck.

[Tom Leasure]

;)
Morning Tom...

Big lunky one, huh.... ha.. ha... With a big chrome "steering wheel" like that one, why would I want to trade? I may add one of those "truckers" air horns and a pistol grip shifter from an early Mopar, then enter the puppy in the Daytona 500 next Febuary. :D

You got an excellent deal on the PM. I wouldn't pay the full $399 for one, but would take all I could get at $200 for re-sale value alone.

Hey Gary...

I flubbed that 60' thang pretty badly proving I am no literary gaint even at 60 feet tall. I got a kick out of you catching that. I ran a hunter-killer team in VN with 75th Ranger Reg. and I always said... "If you get a clean shot.. take it"! I have been known to poke a few one liners myself. :)

Regards...

Sarge..

John,
I like your mortiser - they don't make iron like they used to anymore. I will keep my eye out for one like yours - Should you get tired of it, I would be more then happy to trade you for this Jet I have setting here.
I would even bring this one to you & I'm in northern Indiana ;)

Tom

[Tom Leasure]

John, Enco's address is http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRHM

Jim, thanks for the advice - I think I will add the X-Y table to this PM - it will make a nice addition - Thanks Again

Tom

[Dave Malen]

I have a PM701 mortiser. I assume that's the model you picked up. At 200 that's a real steal. I paid $329 for mine new at Amazon without any chisels. I think you'll really like the fence and the hold downs as well as the extra 1/4 hp. Enjoy!!

Dave

[John Thompson]

;)

John,
I like your mortiser - they don't make iron like they used to anymore. I will keep my eye out for one like yours - Should you get tired of it, I would be more then happy to trade you for this Jet I have setting here.
I would even bring this one to you & I'm in northern Indiana ;)

Tom

Morning Tom..

I have cut thousands of mortices on the Shop Fox benchie and just couldn't justify a floor and their prices even then. But.. I kept my eye open for any deal (and there are few with floor models as once you have one you don't likely upgrade again) and then the deal with the Bridgewood came into view.

I was speaking with Curt Wilke at Wilke Machinery and ask if he had any left he wanted to dump. No... but he had the last industrial model on E-Bay acution and I got lucky with a $800 bid. After 35 years, this pretty much completes the upgrades in my shop period as it was the last missing piece of the puzzle.

So.. I think I'll keep it and it does have that big chrome steering wheel (three of them in fact). Don't get any better than that! :D

Regards...

Sarge..

[Carl Crout]

Don't buy the HF xy vise. I put one on my Jet for about 6 months. Just took it off yesterday. Was crudely machined. If you loosen the set screws enough that you could get the table to move, you then had too much movement (front to back) than you wanted.
Piece of junk.

[Gary Keedwell]

Don't buy the HF xy vise. I put one on my Jet for about 6 months. Just took it off yesterday. Was crudely machined. If you loosen the set screws enough that you could get the table to move, you then had too much movement (front to back) than you wanted.
Piece of junk.
Thanks for the "heads-up", I wonder if the Enco makes a better one.:confused:

Gary K.