Mortising machine - clean mortises?

[Warren Lake]

very rare your mortise will match the chain unless you design that way. the odd time it works out Long time in this and so far never once had a tennon that has to match the bottom of a mortise to rest on it. Not sure what all this Maka not flat bottom is, a chain mortiser does'nt leave a flat bottom.

[Bill Carey]

Dan the OP - I think the most important thing to look for in a benchtop mortiser is an x-y table. Rikon 34-260 at $449.00 and Baileigh MC-65 at $404.00 are the only 2 I know of. Could be more - google is your friend. But using the Baileigh has been fine with the x-y table. I think it would be a PITA to use a mortiser without one.

[Christian Hawkshaw]

Dan the OP - I think the most important thing to look for in a benchtop mortiser is an x-y table. Rikon 34-260 at $449.00 and Baileigh MC-65 at $404.00 are the only 2 I know of. Could be more - google is your friend. But using the Baileigh has been fine with the x-y table. I think it would be a PITA to use a mortiser without one.

Confirmed....I had a delta bench top mortiser without an x-y table, and it was a PITA. I now have a Powermatic floor model with an x-y table, and it is so much more efficient.

[Mark Hennebury]

A little itty-bitty bench-top Maka
Manual, with a hand crank, older style oil filled head.
Takes all the same chisels as the larger automatic floor model SM series machines.
This one is in rough shape and probably dates from the late 60's
Darcy Warner video of one in operation.


MakaSM6B-02.jpg

[Mark Hennebury]

Jack, I have never used or owned a chain mortiser! So my comments were based on your Statement that the chain mortiser was the best, and on the demo video that accompanied it. The "best" is a tall order to fill. And from what you have shown me you have a little ways to go to claim that title. I don’t know how much experience you have with Swing chisel machines like Maka , but my guess based on your opinion of them, is not much.
Your machine is a fine machine and you have done a great job on it. And the mortise is pretty impressive, but it wouldn’t be my first choice.

My choices for mortisers would be swing chisel and slot mortiser and a hollow chisel, if I added a chain mortiser it would be out of curiosity.


I have thirty years experience with Maka mortisers and have owned models SM, SM6, SM6P, SM6PII, SM7, SM7P, SM8,, STV, STV-VZ and the multi-head RDB machines. Also a few Italian made machines Muti, Centauro and Lari& Lari
And rebuilt most, I also rebuild the mortising heads for companies across North America.
I have cut tens of thousands of mortises with them.

They are not perfect machines, but they tick a lot of boxes.
But they are accurate, precise, fast, cut clean, and can cut a wide variety of mortises, single mortises, double, haunched, complex stacked multi shaped, square end, angled end or round end.
The small SM series machines were made in small benchtop manual machines with a hand lever operation, to floor models with power feed and fully automatic.
The larger machines are a direct drive spindle and run slower, they can also handle very large chisels. They were available as single head machines and huge multi-head machines.
The earlier models had balance weights to reduce vibration, the later models were redesigned to reduce vibration without the need for balance weights.
Most of the damage is done by abuse/ lack of maintenance, keep in mind a lot of these machine are in production shops and worked hard, and not cared for a craftsman.
Most of the ones that i have seen rarely have properly sharpened chisels, and bashing dull chisels into hardwood puts a lot of strain on the machine.
Also most of the machines are from the 60's and 70's so they have done a lot of work.


The Currently produced Lari & Lari machines have a patented head designed to eliminate vibration by using a counter rotating double eccentric.

The have hydraulic feed and clamping. digital height readout and run on linear rails.


The New Italian machines are quite slick, CNC with options to add drills, routers and hollow chisel heads.

If you like round end mortises, the Balestrini mortise and tenon set is a pretty tough combination to beat.
Automatic, Infinitely variable adjustments for a precision fitting of the mortise to tenon. compound angle capability, high output, up to 600 per hour.
Great machines for chairs, cabinet doors, general furniture. Crisp clean joints. The machines are industrial grade and made for high production with a reasonable finish, but you can tinker around and slow them down and greatly improve the finish if you are that way inclined, and for the studio craftsman they still have an awesome production rate.
I have cut thousand of joints with these machines and they are a joy to use. I had older machines back in the eighties, when i was a young pup, the newer have had several innovations including cnc and newer style heads with disposable knives and I am sure that they are great machines, but I am used to the older machines and quite happy with them.

In my shop these would be my first choices, i would then add a chisel mortiser ( i haven't had one for many years) or a chain and chisel like your Stenner, or a Wadkin or Robinson
I am sure that i could find a use for a chain mortiser after i got one and played around with it to find out what its like.

It's nice to see what you can achieve with one, so glad that you posted the photos, looks like you have obtained quite impressive results.

If people are a bit handy like us you can pick up old machines pretty cheap, you have to have access to three phase power, (one way or another) and be prepared to do the dirtywork and pay the price to get them working, but once you do, they are great machines that will last you a lifetime, and do excellent work all day every day.

Whatever you choose of course has to be suited to the work you do, and what machine may be perfect for one is not going to be for another, so we are all looking at things from a different perspective.

[jack forsberg]

all good Mark but its not rocket science . i love your passion . still have to come out to your shop to fix that shaft. have a beer too .

want to see fast



doubles for hollow

IMG_0031[1].JPG

[Mark Hennebury]

Jack, that's pretty quick for sure! That's a sweet looking machine.
I have never seen those hollow chisel heads before.

[jack forsberg]

Jack, that's pretty quick for sure! That's a sweet looking machine.
I have never seen those hollow chisel heads before.

i am sure you know these guys . you can get double chain too

http://www.unilap.co.uk/Mortice_chisels_and_chains.htm

[Brian Holcombe]

Those mortising heads I’ve seen but can never seem to find a place to buy them from.

[jack forsberg]

very rare your mortise will match the chain unless you design that way. the odd time it works out Long time in this and so far never once had a tennon that has to match the bottom of a mortise to rest on it. Not sure what all this Maka not flat bottom is, a chain mortiser does'nt leave a flat bottom.

you can get flat bottom chain not to mention a dragged bottom
http://www.unilap.co.uk/Mortice_chisels_and_chains.htm

guidebars (1).gif

[Mark Hennebury]

Some Of my Maka SM series machines; These machines are all SM6 PII that means that they are Sm6 series, the P is for pneumatic, the II is for the newer style heads, which use standard bearings. These machines can be operated in the vertical or horizontal position, or somewhere in between. The Factory paint is Green, the others are ones that i have rebuilt.

SAM_0779-1.jpgIM000011.jpgMakaSM6P-5.jpgSAM_0544.jpgMakaSM.jpgSAM_6110.jpgSAM_3422.jpgSAM_3616.jpg

[Mark Hennebury]

This is the benchtop manual machine with the type two head. Not sure if this is one of mine, but i have had one of these.


P1000747 (768x1024).jpg

This is one of the older machines probably late 60's early 70's
This is a floor model, power feed, but has the older style oil head.
This is not mine, but is the first type that i owned.

MakaSM6bst.jpg

[Mark Hennebury]

The Magnificent Maka. The SM7
The culmination of 30 years of making mortisers this was designed based on all that Maka had learned.
The SM7 made in two version Sm7 and SM7P with a bunch of options.
Manual hand operated and combination hand or pneumatic feed.
Too many innovations to mention here.
These are some of my SM7 machines, the last photo is of a machine that i rebuilt this year.
I will be rebuilding one for myself soon and will post a thread on it.

MakaSM7-1985-003.jpg 20.jpg SAM_3057.jpg SAM_3811.jpg 1.jpgSAM_6164-2.jpg

[jack forsberg]

Those mortising heads I’ve seen but can never seem to find a place to buy them from.

Only out of Japan

Notice of the pictures show up for the underprivileged.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....-chisels/page2

[Mark Hennebury]

The STV's
A few of the STV's, the last one is the STV-VZ with a mortiser, vertical drill and horizontal router.
These are the heavy duty machines with the larger hp direct drive motor.

98MakaSTV2.jpg SAM_0564a.jpgSAM_3186.jpg Rebuil1.jpg