benchtop mortiser

[Bill Carey]

I looked closely at every brand out there when I bought mine 2 years ago. Went to stores and tried out several. Read a TON about what to look for. I figured that cutting a mortise puts a fair bit of strain on the lever arm, the bits and the motor. So this was not a tool I wanted to cut corners on. I decided on the 3/4 hp Powermatic (PM701). It is rock solid. It cuts any mortise I ask of it and does so easily. For me, it was $500 well spent.

As the saying goes, "they'll pry it from my cold dead hands."

Fred

Hey Fred - I was hung up on the column of the 701 not rotating for off the bench mortises. But in reading the manual, seems there are 4 bolts to remove, rotate the column 180 and reinstall the 4 bolts. I'm gonna confirm that with PM tomorrow and if correct I'll buy it. (have you tried this?) Like you, I've spent a couple of days not answering calls from clients while I researched this. Even made a spreadsheet. Quite the rabbit hole, huh?

[Frederick Skelly]

Yes it is Bill. IIRC, it does turn 180 but I havent had a need for that yet.
Let us know what you end up buying!
Fred

[Bill Carey]

The PM701 is at the top of the list, but I just found that Baieigh is offering a 15% discount from today until Jan 1. That puts the MC 1000 at about 100 bucks more than the PM701. Anyone have any experieionce with Baileigh in general? With the MC 1000 in particular? It's a floor model, 1 hp, tilting table, tilting head, x-y table, 1" capacity, etc. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[ChrisA Edwards]

I'd have that Baileigh in a nano second......

[Van Huskey]

The PM701 is at the top of the list, but I just found that Baieigh is offering a 15% discount from today until Jan 1. That puts the MC 1000 at about 100 bucks more than the PM701. Anyone have any experieionce with Baileigh in general? With the MC 1000 in particular? It's a floor model, 1 hp, tilting table, tilting head, x-y table, 1" capacity, etc. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

First, if you are buying from Baliegh directly check the shipping, they tend not to be cheap, Elite metal sells their stuff with free shipping and the prices are generally better, but unlikely with a sale. Baliegh is a fairly well-respected importer of Asian metal fab equipment that has gotten into woodworking machines. A handful of people here (including Keith) bought some when they first started selling wwing machines and gave SMC members a nice discount, everyone seemed happy. There are a couple of their machines that are "unique" and in my radar for my new shop and based in what I have seen over the past 5 years I am not afraid to order them. You could probably gauge the quality of their CS by looking at forums that deal with metal fab.

[Ronald Blue]

I don't know if you are interested in or up to a road trip Bill but here is a couple links to what might be a good deal. They are close together. Both on the Metro East part of St Louis on the Illinois side. Just sharing them because I thought they might be of interest to you.

stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/d/delta-hollow-chisel-mortisernew-in/6768537650.html

stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/d/powermatic-bench-top-mortiser-pm701/6765873035.html

[Greg Parrish]

Looks like a nice machine. Southern tool has it for $755 plus shipping. May be worth calling them for a freight quote to see if it’s less in total than Elite’s $939.

First, if you are buying from Baliegh directly check the shipping, they tend not to be cheap, Elite metal sells their stuff with free shipping and the prices are generally better, but unlikely with a sale. Baliegh is a fairly well-respected importer of Asian metal fab equipment that has gotten into woodworking machines. A handful of people here (including Keith) bought some when they first started selling wwing machines and gave SMC members a nice discount, everyone seemed happy. There are a couple of their machines that are "unique" and in my radar for my new shop and based in what I have seen over the past 5 years I am not afraid to order them. You could probably gauge the quality of their CS by looking at forums that deal with metal fab.

[andy bessette]

Powermatic mortise chisels seem superior to all others I've seen.

[Frederick Skelly]

Powermatic mortise chisels seem superior to all others I've seen.

I have the PM chisels and like them a lot.

Lee Valley also has a nice set that has received good comments. Link

[Bill Carey]

Well, the die is cast. I'm the proud owner of a Baileigh MC 1000. Total cost = 723.05. Have to call them Wed to confirm, since in order to tell the web page I was going to pick it up I had to enter their address as the shipping address. Weird. Since it's only a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive to Manitowac, I'll go pick it up, provided they will help load it in the vehicle. Weight is 265 lbs. 2 boxes about 2' square. Piece of cake. Worse come to worst, it won't be the first tool I unpack in the parking lot to get it in the van. In discussion with the LOML, after agreeing it was a good idea, she asked for the Stickley book by Lang, paged thru it until she found several things she liked, and asked which one had the most mortises! I have a new assignment looks like.

[Greg Parrish]

Nice. Congrats Bill!

[Frederick Skelly]

Congratulations Bill! Please consider posting a brief review after you get her home and set up. I don't recall seeing anything here about that machine.
Fref

[Bill Carey]

Congratulations Bill! Please consider posting a brief review after you get her home and set up. I don't recall seeing anything here about that machine.
Fref

I will. Won't pick it up till the first week in Jan. But I'll document the assembly and first usage. Should be fun.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Excellent....

[Brian Holcombe]

Powermatic mortise chisels seem superior to all others I've seen.

Have you tried Nakahashi?