I’m in the market for a bench top mortiser and would sure appreciate recommendations and recent experience that folks have had with this power tool—especially regarding currently available models. I do enjoy cutting hand M&T’s, but have a project in my sights that has a busload of mortises. I have read the reviews, and Powermatic seems to come out on top, albeit with its share of concerns. The whole package, including a set of good bits needs to come in well under $1k. I tossed my drill press mortising attachment clear across the county about 15 years ago in frustration.
Thanks in advance.
Replies
Drill press mortising attachment! They should all be melted down and formed into small iron balls for shot putting away, away, away - never to be seen again. I should send the manufacturer a bill for all that time I wasted trying to make one work 25 years ago!
Proper mortising machines are still about and no doubt a good one can be found albeit for lotsa dollars. They still occupy a low position on my own list of possible future tool purchases though. They seem so limited. They only do one thing. They are fussy about where they do it and what they'll accept without issue. They are over-sensitive to the bit maintenance and every other aspect of their engineering.
Long ago - when they first appeared really - I decided on a Festool Domino (now two, little and large) for making the less decorative M&Ts that remain hidden in the furniture. The machine is rather more versatile than the benchtop mortiser, especially at the angled stuff. Also, you take the machine to the work, which allows a far greater and easier access to the hole-making area than does a benchtop mortiser.
And you don't have to make any tenons. :-)
If you do want to continue to make the (rectangular) tenons, say for through wedged tenons or some other reason to retain the rectangular shape, it takes no time to square the ends of a Domino slot. And those slots can be quite wide if you just set the machine to "wide cut" and also move it along the workpiece to take overlapping cuts.
And its fast.
Just a thought about an alternative to the batch M&T making.
Lataxe, with no shares in Festool I assure you. I yam just a pathetic fanboy of the Cherman wonder gubbins.
I had a Delta benchtops mortise 20 years ago and it was rubbish. Pieces of the casting broke, threads stripped, switch broke. I didnt even try to give it away. I found a used floor model Powermatic and it is amazing. Whatever you choose, get the x-y table. It makes the machine far, far better than a mortiser without it.
Before you settle on a piece of equipment, this is a good read for members of FWW on joint strength according to various joint design and related equipment.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/57138/011203036.pdf
Thanks, all. I use a variety of joints and methods. I also use a variety of methods to cut mortise and tenon joints. The article you reference, Gulfstar, is one of the reasons that the time-tested mortise and tenon finds its way into most of my projects, though I have used biscuits, pocket screws and the like for quick and dirty projects. I will continue to use whatever method best suits my specific project. But for large number of identical mortises, I am investigating a dedicated mortiser. The floor model mortiser is most attractive, but as a hobbiest, out of my price range. I have not found any attractive prospects of used versions of these machines on craigslist or eBay.
An x-y table is a huge plus. Check the Rikon. I was going to buy one when a floor model PM came available at a good price.
IIRC my only issue with the Rikon was the 1/2HP motor.
That said, have you considered a horizontal mortiser?
I started with a Delta benchtop mortiser, and used the tar out of it. It cut a lot of mortises for me, but eventually I broke some internal parts. Cogs on the handle mechanism as I recall. I replaced them and used it a while longer. Then I bought a Jet floor model, which is just like the Powermatic but without the tilting feature.
The floor model is night and day better than the benchtop unit. The same mortising chisels cut better and last longer in the bigger machine. Perhaps that's due to less runout, or perhaps less flex in the machine itself. The X-Y table is really great. It would be hard to go back to a fixed table mortiser. I think I found my forever machine, but if I was starting out and shopping for a benchtop mortiser, I would look at the Powermatic. ANY benchtop unit you can get your hands on would be better than a chisel and mallet.
Check out Baleigh Machines.
I really like my Wood River mortising machine. Not real expensive, comes with a variety of bits, and has table extensions that pull out from the sides. I've had it a good 6 years or so and would buy it again.
If you go back in FWW you will find an article by (??) Klaus that describes the best table saw tenon cutter of all times and a mortice cutter using your router that you cant beat.These home made robust have served me for 30 years and have cut hundreds if not thousands of mortice and tenons.
I have the Powermatic 701 and I am very happy with this. I use it frequently and I have chopped deep 3" mortises in white oak multiple times without issues. Sharpening chisels is not an issue, less work than keeping my hand planes tuned. When I purchased this a number of years ago the larger 719 was not an option for my shop. I now have space for a larger machine, but I still get by with my smaller machine. If you can make it work with you space and budget, I would move up to the larger machine. If not, the benchtop machine is great. I did spend a few hours tuning it up after I purchased it, but since then it has been perfect.
I built a router jig and couldn’t be happier. Jig easy to make and cuts are repeatable and fast. Couple minutes with mortise chisel and corners are square. Working on project now with 16 mortises 3/8 in. Same jig will be used to cut 1/4” grooves for panels.
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