Hollow chisel mortiser

[Steve Wurster]

I owned one for a number of years but it largely collected dust because of the nature of most of my projects. I sold it to another local woodworker (who is also a 'Creeker, and it gets a lot more love. I use Domino for this kind of joinery at this point, but there are SO many different ways to do M&T, and I do occasionally do a traditional M&T joint with actual hand tools.

As to the tool, itself, they can work very well if the chisels are properly sharpened and the combination of the chisel and drill bit is properly adjusted...let the drill bit do the work and the square chisel will clean things up nicely with nice, even pressure. As long as it's sharp.

It doesn't get that much love, Jim. LOL I haven't used it anywhere near as much as I thought I would. Right now it's collecting dust under the wing of my table saw. I have also switched to using a Domino, although I haven't used that a ton yet. I will probably look to sell the mortiser at some point, after my next shop cleanup.

[Thomas McCurnin]

I have a Delta Benchtop one and use it once or twice a year, but when I use it, it is invaluable. I true up the bits with sandpaper or a diamond stone.

[Alex Zeller]

It sounds like what I figured. It's something that either you like and will use when needed or it'll just sit until you figure the space it occupies could be utilized better by a new tool. Also the type of work you do will play a big role in whether or not you'll use it. It's just money, lol. I'm thinking the only way I'll know is to buy one and see how much I use it.

[Brian Holcombe]

I use a hollow chisel mortiser daily and make accurate clean mortises with it.

- Old iron is required here, a flimsy thing will make life difficult and you’ll park it in the corner.

- sharp chisels are required: meaning you have to actually sharpen them routinely just like a bench chisel.

[Bill Carey]

The Baileigh bench top HCM I have gets used in pretty much every project I do and is mounted permanently at the end of one of the benches. And it's a great tool, lacking only the ability to tilt, that really gets a workout in my shop.

And here's the best part - a real hold down to go along with the xy table.
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[Stan Calow]

What are you making and how often? I have a Delta bench top, and after several years, have yet to cut any mortise that looks as nice and neat as the ones you see in the magazines. Usually I have to run a router through to cleanup and often find the mortise off-line by a few degrees I blame this on the crudity of the fence, hold down clamps, and the slop in the moving parts. So hopefully the free-standing models you're looking at have better fit and finish. But if I were starting over, based on what I make, I'd rather have a horizontal router set-up to cut mortises.

[Jim Becker]

It doesn't get that much love, Jim. LOL I haven't used it anywhere near as much as I thought I would. Right now it's collecting dust under the wing of my table saw. I have also switched to using a Domino, although I haven't used that a ton yet. I will probably look to sell the mortiser at some point, after my next shop cleanup.

LOL....from the dusty corner of my former miter station to the dusty underside of your table saw wing...poor thing!

[Jim Becker]

It sounds like what I figured. It's something that either you like and will use when needed or it'll just sit until you figure the space it occupies could be utilized better by a new tool. Also the type of work you do will play a big role in whether or not you'll use it. It's just money, lol. I'm thinking the only way I'll know is to buy one and see how much I use it.

Well, Mr Wurster (above) presents a potential opportunity for you to acquire one here on the east coast. Make him an offer (via PM).

[Jared Sankovich]

- Old iron is required here, a flimsy thing will make life difficult and you'll park it in the corner.

This..
My 1200lb Oliver hcm is a lot nicer to use than the 50lb jet it replaced.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Brian that anyone wanting to use use hollow chisel mortising in a serious way should covet something heavy which is almost always also "vintage". That machine he restored and uses is pretty amazing.

[Kevin Jenness]

I have a slot mortiser as well as a Delta benchtop hollow chisel machine and a Domino 500.. The slot mortiser gets the most use for large inserted tenons and the Domino for smaller work and box type joinery, but the Delta is quite serviceable when I need square ended mortises for sash work or integral tenons. Setup is everything- sharp chisel and boring bit, chisel aligned with the fence, bit at the proper height relative to the chisel, dovetail gibs adjusted properly. A featherboard substitutes for a side clamp and the top fence keeps the workpiece held down. It does as good a job within its capacity as the Powermatic 10 we used to have at work. The mortises are not as cleanly milled as those from the slot mortisers but they certainly don't need any rework.

I don't think a hollow chisel mortiser would be a good drill press except for small bits as the rpms are high and non-adjustable.

The problem of large bits getting stuck can be alleviated by carefully grinding some relief on the sides of the chisels. I haven't had this problem on my hand lever Delta, but the Powermatic with its foot pedal relied on spring pressure for withdrawing the bit and often needed some assistance.

[Brian Holcombe]

Hollow chisel work:

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Pretty sure I touched the sides lightly with a chisel since these are through tenons, something I never need to do for blind mortises. This work is more difficult with a router style machine to cut-out because the corners need to be squared, and the pegs made round. So instead of just running some square stock I need to turn or rive stock for round pegs and spend time squaring corners or one needs to have a round style tenoning machine.

[Andrew Seemann]

This..
My 1200lb Oliver hcm is a lot nicer to use than the 50lb jet it replaced.

True, but I have never had a mortice and tenon joint fail in 20+ years from either my 50lb Delta or 50lb Jet, so they do work adequately, even if they aren't as nice to use

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one, in the way that I would love to have a Northfield #4 or a 16" jointer; it just isn't realistic or practical (or really necessary for me).

[Jim Dwight]

A domino can take up more space than my benchtop hollow chisel mortiser but I do not let it. The tool rests on a shelf of my outfeed/assembly table. Under my track saw. Cases for both are on a high shelf of my utility room. A case can be handy if you travel with your tools but I do not (not often anyway and not so far with the domino). In addition, one of the reasons I did not buy any tenons is the size of the systainers they come in. Another reason is their size does not fit what I want for many projects. I want wider, more normal, tenons. But I keep 3 foot sticks of pre made domino stock but those take up a lot less space than the systainers. The way I do it, the domino takes up a small amount of space and no added footprint.

One way to think of a domino is as a router that oscillates side to side. It could easily plunge into a chair seat and can do so at an angle but would probably need at least a straight edge clamped across the seat to register too. It, like a track saw to some degree, takes some getting used to and is helped by some jigs. But that is also true for stationary tools, the jigs are just different.

The OP has the space for a floor standing model and the high price of the domino probably puts them into a similar cost bracket. You obviously have to deal with cutting tenons with the mortiser and for me that meant a shoulder plane. I think I would still want the domino even if I had the space for a floor standing model but it would be a much closer decision.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have. GI bench top Mortimer I bought about 18 years ago.

I make a lot of furniture using M&T joints, wouldn’t be without it....Rod.