Bench mortiser or mortise attachment for drill press?

[Rick Cicciarelli]

Pros and Cons of each? If you have a drill press, does the mortising attachment work just as well as a bench mortiser?

[Gary Keedwell]

Pros and Cons of each? If you have a drill press, does the mortising attachment work just as well as a bench mortiser?
Not even close. I would say that 75% of mortising attatchments never see action after the initial futile attempt at making square holes in the drill press.:)
Gary

[Keith Beck]

Additionally, drill presses were never truly created to be mortising machines. When mortising, you're often putting a lot of undue stress on your drill press. Personally, I wouldn't risk it. I'd either buy a mortiser or use a router to make my mortises.

My .02...

Keith

[Chiz Eisenhuth]

Although not a drill press but still pretty stout is my Shopsmith which I kept for this particular job as well as a sanding station and hopefully a little lathe work. I blew $180 on the mortising attachment and it's pathetic. Attempting to perform the task on my first MT joint in cherry I had to press so hard that the table deflected. I built some cribbing and I swear that I still got some torsion of the table. I could have had a HF unit and mods for this money so I too am begging you, "Don't do it".

[Dave Fernelius]

I'd agree wiht the others.
I bought the Jet HCM a few years back and have been very satisfied with it. I heard similar horror stories about using a mortising attachment with a drill press. I'm glad I bought the dedicated mortiser.

[Greg Muller]

Rick,
go for the dedicated mortiser! If cost is an issue, buy the one from Harbor Freight. Normally, I don't spend money on their machines because I want something that will last, but my neighbor had bought one and had a serious health issue come up and needed the money, but lost the receipt. I took it off his hands as a way to help him out. It was still in the box. I've used it for several projects and it is actually very accurate and reliable. You can upgrade the bits after you wear down the ones that come with it, but otherwise, i am very happy!

The only thing that beats saving time by not having to make equipment changes is saving money! This will do both.

:) Greg

[Mike Henderson]

Even if your drill press attachment works, you won't use it because of the time it takes to set it up and tear it down. Get a dedicated mortiser and use your drill press as a drill press.

Mike

[Pat Germain]

Good question, Rick. I used to watch Norm use a drill press mortising attachment during the first season of NYW. Awhile back I remembered this and considered buying one. I read a few reviews online and it wasn't pretty. One reviewer literally took his drill press mortising attachment and chucked into the woods rather than chuck it into his drill press again. :p

I notice Norm quit using his drill press mortiser shortly after he started. It sure is tempting considering how much a good mortising machine can run. However, it seems those attachments are just an exercise in futility.

[Rick Cicciarelli]

Well I guess that answered that question pretty quickly. I've never been witness to either machine in use, so I had no idea. Fine Woodworking did a review on these a couple of years ago and it looks like the General and the Delta had pretty high reviews...with the General being top at like $400 something, and the Delta being a "best value" at around $250. So....no drill press attachment...THANKS GUYS!! :D

[Rod Sheridan]

I initially purchased a Delta mortising attachment for a 17 inch drill press.

What a waste of time and money, the drill press cannot push hard enough on the chisel, the alignment is poor etc. etc.

I then purchased a General International mortiser and it was like night and day. It makes great mortises, I haven't regretted spending the money, unlike the Delta atachment.......regards, Rod.

[Don Bullock]

I thought of using my drill press, but after reading many posts on the forums I bought a Steel City mortiser. It is a very well made machine.

[Gary Keedwell]

I thought of using my drill press, but after reading many posts on the forums I bought a Steel City mortiser. It is a very well made machine.
I wish there was a SMC back in the 90's. Would have saved me a ton of money.:)
Gary

[John Mihich]

Since I have own both I guess I can comment.

The DP attachment, once set up, will work exactly as a regular mortizer. The key is once set up. It does take time to set it up correctly. I made some jigs to help the process. The key to both is sharp chisels. If they are not then you will have problems, more so on the DP since the handles are shorter and you have less torque.

Now that I have my mortizer I won't go back to my DP unless my mortizer breaks. Of course there is the cost difference.

I read on one of these forums from an mechinical engineer about the force and stress on the DP when using the attachement. Based on his analysis the force isn't an issue.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I've been using a drill press mortising attachment for a very long time and have no problems with it. Set-up conists of tightening one bolt around the drill press collar...not a big deal to me. In fact, I think I'd rather afix an attachment to my drill press than to lift that heavy little mortiser onto my workbench top. Younger and healthier woodworkers may disagree. :)

However, I must say that I don't do a lot of mortises. Also, it's always nice to have a dedicated machine for any task. I guess it's a matter of space and perhaps budget.

-Jeff :)

[Kyle Kraft]

I got a mortising attachment "free" with my drill press, and for many years had only that. I have built 5 projects using M & T's done on my drill press with none of the problems stated above. The setup takes all of five minutes and alignment is not that difficult.

Now for you naysayers, I recently bought a dedicated mortiser because it was at a drastic discount. The underlying reason is to free up my drill press. I suppose I could have simply bought another DP but the mortiser was cheaper than the lowest priced DP I could find.

Really, these paragraphs cancel each other out...like me voting no on a millage request and the wife voting yes!!!

[Roger Owen]

Since I have own both I guess I can comment.

The DP attachment, once set up, will work exactly as a regular mortizer. The key is once set up. It does take time to set it up correctly. I made some jigs to help the process. The key to both is sharp chisels. If they are not then you will have problems, more so on the DP since the handles are shorter and you have less torque.

Now that I have my mortizer I won't go back to my DP unless my mortizer breaks. Of course there is the cost difference.

I read on one of these forums from an mechinical engineer about the force and stress on the DP when using the attachement. Based on his analysis the force isn't an issue.

I have been using a mortising attachment for a Delta DP since ~1975. I got the foot pedal accessory as well; it's all pretty beefy and works reasonably well. The foot pedal helps with the brut force that is necessary for oak and other hardwoods.

The set-up is a bit tedious, mainly because getting the fence properly positioned is trial and error. Once set up, the results are ok.

I have never used a dedicated mortising machine, so I can't really make the comparison.

The one concern that I have always had with the mortising process is that no matter how sharp the chisel and bit are and no matter how well lubricated, I always seem to get a fair amount of chip buildup, heat, and smoke. The chips don't eject well even with different makes chisels and bits. I've tried different DP speeds. The one thing that seems to help is just to work more aggressively -- the larger volume seems to push the chips through better. I don't know whether these things would work any better on a dedicated mortising machine.

Roger

[Greg Cole]

I bought a Delta mortising attachment at the same time I bought my Delta DP. I agree with the posters above, IF you fiddle with it when setting up, it's OK. Simply OK. I have no patience for fiddling with toys everytime I need to use them. I'd give mine away if I can find all the parts n pieces.
The only good thing I will say about the DP mortiser is that it got me to learn how to do M & T by hand. The el-cheapo bits with it are junk IMO and there is little repeatability (unless you make jigs for ste up etc), a piece of any size is requires extensions to the fence, DP table... etc. I have a pretty small shop and don't need 5 jigs for M & T work.
The project the prompted me to buy the DP mortiser was constructed of all had cut mortises and TS cut tenons trimmed to fit with a shoulder plane. Learn'em the old fashioned way first then "automate" if needed IMO. Kind of like DT's (still on the learn to do my hand list here).
As always there will be those that like the tool, those who hate it and those in the middle. Take the opinions with a grain of salt and do whatcha like or can afford.
There is a green & black handheld tool that was all too heatedly spoken about that is dedicated to M & T joinery too.:D

Cheers,
Greg

[Gary Keedwell]

There is a green & black handheld tool that was all too heatedly spoken about that is dedicated to M & T joinery too.:D








Just a little correction.....green & black thing does LOOSE tenon joinery:)
Gary

[Greg Cole]

Gary,
Spot on.... loose M & T with the green n black handheld.
Tempting little gizzmo regardless.... but looking at building a Morris chair and couch this winter the allure of that many M & T's isn't there when I look at a mallet & chisel other than for through mortises (one more reason to learn to chop by hand IMO).
Back on point here, I should add my Delta DP is a little underpowered for mortising larger mortises.... that has bearing on my dislike for the DP mortiser.

Greg

[Gary Keedwell]

Greg,
I knew I was going to make alot of Arts & Crafts furniture so a dedicated mortiser was an easy decision. Already have 6 or 7 pieces so far. I modified my Jet mortiser. I replace the small MDF table with an aluminum plate (12"X24") and tapped some holes for horizontal toggle clamp to secure stock against fence. Figure it has already earned it's keep and I expect to use it alot in future.
Gary

[Greg Cole]

Gary,
I've been tempted to give a mortiser a go as I have a full machine shop (mostly stainless stuff) at the day job @ 50' from my desk. We also have an agreement with the fat guy in the corner office that government work is A-OK so long as there isn't stuff to do for profit. We get alot of "government contracts" let's say.....
The DP mortiser sort of soured me on a mechanized hollow chisel machine.
I seem to remember you having a machinist background.... can you post a pic of yours by chance?

Greg

[Gary Keedwell]

http://www.free-animations.co.uk/home/tools/images/tool_23.gifI wish I could. It is pretty straight forward, though.