Mortise Pal

[Greg Hines, MD]

Has anyone her tried out this:

http://www.mortisepal.com/

The reviews I have read in Woodsmith Magazine and Popular Woodworking have been very favorable. Anyone tried it?

Doc

[John Keeton]

I think Don Dorn did a review on SMC recently - month or so ago. He seemed very impressed.

[Dewey Torres]

I have my eye on this and have a gift coming my way soon. I watched all the Vids and read the reviews/ magazine articles. Seems like it is of the same cut as the critically acclaimed "Dowel Max" and certainly would be cheaper than a FT Domino (just not as fast).
I am planning on staying tuned to this thread!
Dewey

[rob durfos]

well made tool worth the price

[Dewey Torres]

well made tool worth the price

Rob,
So you have one then?
Dewey

[Rob Will]

I have not tried it yet but I have decided to concentrate my efforts toward loose tenons. I recently sold my square edge mortising machine and purchased a Laguna slot mortiser and a Domino system. Along these same lines, the Mortise Pal looks like a very nice tool.


Intregal tenons have thier place but loose tenons work better for me. Based on my limited experience here are a few reasons:
Less setup time - no tenoning jig or tricky table saw setups.
Less chance for error - less steps = less opportunity for error.
Cut exact lengths - no need to add for intregal tenons.
The kids can participate - my teenager can handle the Domino machine and the 4 tear old can select the correct Dominos.Intregal (square-edge) tenons are cool and my hat is off to those who want to cut them out. But let's face it, square tenons were developed a few thousand years before rotary cutting tools. These days, carbide router bits, precision jigs and horizontal slot mortisers are hard to beat. I think the Mortise Pal has a strong future.

JMHO.
Rob

[Steve Flavin001]

I have the Trend mortise & tennon jig. This one is the same operation for the mortise half and works great; the Trend does both M&T, no square corner cutting, but it does cost $300 last heard.

But the concept shown here of centering and stop limits on templates is great and error free - providing you then make your tennons to fit as well plus the time involved.

Just a thought in interest of the full picture.

[Brian W Evans]

I have been thinking about buying the mortisepal and am about 90% certain I'll get one pretty soon. In looking it over, I did notice 2 limitations, though:

1) You can only use it on stock up to 2" thick. If you are attaching an apron to legs that are more than 2" thick, you're out of luck.

2) You can't do edge-to-face joinery (no way to use mortisepal on the face of a board).

I contacted the manufacturer about these two limitations and they said there was nothing to be done about #2. For #1 they said I could order longer rods from McMaster. (http://www.mcmaster.com) The item # is 1162K78. The problem with this is that the jig supports the router and making the rods longer moves the edges of the jig too far apart to support the router properly. I've attached some diagrams he sent me to illustrate this. The left-hand image is the jig as it is sold. The right hand is the jig with longer rods to accommodate 4" thick stock.

Even with these limitations, I think I'd get enough use out of it to make it worthwhile.

BTW, Lee Valley has loose tenon stock (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=44779&cat=1,250,43217) that looks good.

[Ellen Benkin]

Another vote for loose tenons. Best of all when you cut the exact length you also have a square end. Usually when I make integral tenons the two cheeks are not exactly on the same planes.

[Ellen Benkin]

You can make something similar to the Mortise Pal with a couple of pieces of wood.

[John Lucas]

I have not tried it yet but I have decided to concentrate my efforts toward loose tenons. I recently sold my square edge mortising machine and purchased a Laguna slot mortiser and a Domino system. Along these same lines, the Mortise Pal looks like a very nice tool.


JMHO.
Rob

So, Rob did you get the metric unit and then plan to use Dominos? That is what I willl do.

[Rob Will]

So, Rob did you get the metric unit and then plan to use Dominos? That is what I willl do.

I have not purchased a Mortise Pal but the thought did occur to me that Metric cutters would allow my horizontal slot mortiser to use Dominos.

This is pure speculation for now but I may end up using the Horizontal Slot Mortiser mostly on large mortises that the Domino machine can't do. I suspect that the Domino will get the most use.

Rob

[Don Dorn]

I did a review elsewhere on the forum and am impressed. I've done both loose tennons and fixed ones. If using a fixed one on two boards the same thickness, all you have to do is place the jig as close to center as possible and then turn it around much like we do for centering on the tablesaw. Then a centered tennon fits the centered mortise easily and accurately.

I ordered and just received the metric and the dowel template. I haven't tried the dowel system yet, but did put the metric template in and using a 5/16" bit, the Festool (8mm) tenons go in with a nice friction fit. It is not necessary to go with an 8mm bit unless you want to. I'm very happy with the jig and while I hesitated due to the cost, I have absolutely no remorse and no longer am concerned with the time and accuracy for M&T. It is as easy to do them now as any other joint that took less time in the past.

A Dowelmax would certainly be nice, but it's harder to justify now because this works just as I hoped it would.

[Grant Stevens]

I also recently received the mortis pal. While I have only used it for one project, I like it a lot. I spent more time screwing around trying to make my own loose tenons just the right size than with making the mortises. Not a big deal since you can make a bunch extra at the same time. My previous mortising experience is with the dreaded drill press attachment, and this is 1000x better...

I do like the idea of using the metric template with pre-made loose tenons. Don - do the festool domino tenons match the metric template? I get the 8mm and 40mm dimensions, but wasn't sure about the mortis length...

Grant

[Don Dorn]

I do like the idea of using the metric template with pre-made loose tenons. Don - do the festool domino tenons match the metric template? I get the 8mm and 40mm dimensions, but wasn't sure about the mortis length...
Grant

I'm sorry it took awhile to respond - yes, the Festool loose tennons fit perfectly and I'm using a 5/16" bit. I set it to go a shade over 3/4" deep and use the 8mm x 40 which are 1.5" long. Works perfect.

[Brian W Evans]

I expect to receive my mortisepal tomorrow. I also ordered some tenon stock (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=44779&cat=1,250,43217) at Lee Valley, which I have already received. It appears to be maple, is grooved, and is reasonably priced. They sell 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8" thicknesses. The 3/8" is 2" wide and sells for $2.20/foot. Not sure what dominoes sell for, but these have the advantage of going as deep as you want, and being wider.