Delta Drill Press Morticing Attachment
So, I am building a new work bench, and the idea of cutting all the mortices in 2″ or 3″ hard maple by hand kinda had me bummed. I’ve never used a hollow chisel morticer before, and I was always sceptical. But, I went to Lowe’s and purchased the drill press add-on and hooked it up. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed. It does exactly what it claims, cuts square holes. They will require a little bit of clean up, but not much. The biggest problem I’ve had is with alignment, getting everything square, and the hold down is a little shaky. But overall, I’m pretty happy considering the price.
So, is a dedicated morticer a whole bunch better than the drill press attachment? If so, I just might have to consider buying one in the near future. I look forward to comments.
Jeff
Replies
If you mean you're cutting mortices for bench dogs, you can align them with the edge of one row of boards and cut them with a router or dado. Using a morticing attachment will waste a lot of time and I'm pretty sure you won't be a happy camper by the time you finish them. I have a Delta mortice attachment if you want it, cheap.
I'm cutting mortices in the leg assemblies for the stretchers. I'm doing round dog holes in the bench top, and using Veritas pups and Wonder Dogs from Lee Valley. I am forgoing a tail vice and using the Wonder Dogs, instead. Their new surface clamp looks pretty appealing, too. I'll post photos when I get it all done.
If the mortices will be large, I would consider using a Forstner bit and chisel or routing them, using a jig.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Edited 7/29/2007 9:31 am by highfigh
If you like the attachment, you will LOVE the dedicated machine. You will add your name to the many here that would like to sell their attachments cheap!
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It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
You have a favorite morticer? The Jet flavor seems to strike my fancy for some reason.Jeff
I have the Delta deluxe, if money were no object I would have Generals best floor standing. If I were buying today on a budget I would look very hard at the Steel City.------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
I agree with dgreen. A dedicated mortiser gives you much more leverage than the add-on attachment. I have both -- the Delta and Jet attachment and I have a Powermatic benchtop dedicated mortiser. Wanna' buy a couple attachment's cheap?
'nuff said on my end.
Alan - planesaw
Morning Jeff...
Throw my sentiments about drill press attachments in the ring with all the others. I don't have one and don't won't one. A DP is a finesse machine that is designed to drill small (usually) holes. With a sharp tipped drill bit and the action created by the bit design, that doesn't require much effort on the presses part making even small motors acceptable on a DP.
But.. when cutting hard-wood and especially deep and wide mortises, the gears and leverage on your press are going to be like a light-weight fighter stepping in the ring with a contending heavy-weight. And to do it on a regular basis is even more absurd. Your winner in the in-suing battle is..... ? You get the point.
I have a bench mortiser I am going to sell soon. It has cut thousands of mortises and is still going strong. But.. I have been looking at floor models over the last two years trying to pick up a used to justify the price. But.. nobody sells a floor model as they will last a life-time and no reason to get rid of it.
I cut many mortises.. beds.. baby cribs.. work-benches.. etc. and need a floor model with X-Y moving table and tilt to save even more time. My dream was realized as I picked up a new Bridge-wood MS-12 from Curt Wilke under his distributor cost on E-Bay last week in an auction as he is closing out Bridgewood. The 550 pounder is on the way.
So.. is a bench-top or floor better than a DP attachment? I think you already know from the wise and experienced answers already given by those that have been there and done that. I personally believe a DP attachment was originally a manufacturers engineers idea of a practical joke that got out of hand and they figured out some of us have the need but can't afford the more suited machine when first starting out.
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
Sarge,
I have a bench mortiser I am going to sell soon.
How much? I didn't even think of asking which one; coming from you I'm sure it's a good one.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Morning Bob...
Shoot me an e-mail message with your phone # and zip code thru the forum. I will get back to as soon as possible and that may not be tomorrow and could be as late as Friday as my agenda is jammed at the current time.
Scott Box from Steel City called and spoke to my wife this afternoon while I was at work and the Steel City guys are going to deliver a black granite jointer fence tomorrow morning for me to field test. Have to leave my home by 1 PM each day to get to work at 2 PM and it is late when I get home. But.. only work Mon.-Thurs. so Friday looks good and Saturday would be a "for sure".
It's a Shopfox I got for $185 as the floor model was the only one the SF dealer had on hand that day. I cut a deal on it and took it home. I wouldn't charge you much for the SF even though in excellent condition as I didn't pay full price. It weighs a lot though, so I will see what UPS shipping is to your local in New England.
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
Morning Bob...
I called the # supplied by e-mail and got "Tim's" voice mail. So... the SF is the 2001 version of the bench-top.. W 1671 as opposed to the current W 9976 or whatever. It is 3/4 HP and runs turns at 3450 rpm as opposed to the 1725 on most.
The 3450 will burn wood (especially soft-wood) if you attack it too rapidly. I have discovered the key is plunge and withdraw.. plunge and with-draw and that is eliminated. I do the same thing when drilling deep in wood with a drill bit. If you don't withdraw which allows the waste that wraps around the drill shank to escape, it will burn the bit also.
Another key is to get the drill bit (which does the most work) 1/32" of an inch below the tip of the chisel itself. That eliminates friction that would be caused by rub and a distinct metal to metal sound. I learned this by experimentation after Planewood complained of that problem. Also the drill bit tip and chisel have to be sharp as with any other tool if you expect it to perform properly.
Thousands of mortises latter.. I will give it to you for $50 and $60 shipping as I check yesterday on 100 lbs. going to your zip code. It is in excellent condition and has the table replaced with a an MDF one that I laminated in kitchen counter-top (I call it Formica but there are new terms that replace that). The fence has been retro-fitted with a 1/4" piece of phenolic for flatness.
If your interested.. e-mail me. Not a problem if you're not. I won't have any problem selling it local for $100 as no shipping. It's a special price to you to absorb the shipping. I just want it to get a good new home with someone that can appreciate what it can do.
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
Sarge,
Had to step out for a bit. Am back for the duration.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hey Bob...
Got to get ready for work and will call future AM.
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
Edited 8/1/2007 12:42 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47
I'd be interested in either a dedicated mortising machine or the drill press attachment if anyone is willing to sell a used one. I figured I'd go for the attachment for cost reasons but I've started to think twice based on all of the comments. If there's a used attachment for sale but no dedicated mortiser, I guess it wouldn't hurt to spend a few bucks to see if it suits my needs.
Thanks, Brett
Brett,
Feel free to email me via my Knots profile if you are interested in a Shop Fox. I have one I bought about two years ago and used for maybe 15 minutes. A full set of chisels goes with it. I probably have the original box.
I live in central PA. Let me know your zip and we'll see what shipping might cost.
Alan - planesaw
I had a drill press mortiser..... trying to get it to work propery (ie square holes) was like trying to put sox on a chicken. Couldn't be done. I bought a dedicated mortiser....
I threw out my drill press one.... wouldn't sell it to my worst enemy!
"...was like trying to put sox on a chicken. Couldn't be done"
Now that's funny, I don't care who you are. Almost spit coffee across the room. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I bought a mortising attachment for my drill press once. The whole idea just isn't heavy duty enough for what your asking it to do. I think mine is part of the county landfill now.
Paul
Jeff,
I got a Sears craftsman drill press in , oh, 1975 or so. Got the mortising attachment for it at the time. It has stayed on it mostly since then. I've used floor model mortisers, and no the drill press model isn't as stout--who'd expect it to be? But I've used the bench top mortiser made by delta, and I wouldn't turn my hand over for the difference. We're talking furniture sized mortises here-- mostly 3/8 and 5/16" in the thousands, and fewer 1/2-3/4" maybe a couple hundred or so. Interestingly (to me anyway) when I got that drill press, it had the wimpiest looking drive belt on the step pulleys, it's no more than 1/4 across the top of the vee, that I ordered two replacements when I saw the thing. I'm still on the first one.
The drill press mortiser attachment has been good enough for me for the last 30 or so years, but maybe I'm just real easy to please.
Ray
I think I had that same model of drill press. I was in Sears some time later and was drawn to the twenty inch with a light and rack and pinion table lift. I was so enamored with that thing that I sold the original DP. In short, I wish I had the old DP back.
tink,
I wish mine had the rack and pinion lift. I got the aftermarket lift, and it has had its issues.
Ray
We are both left wanting. Maybe that is what makes life interesting. That is surely a nice running drill press though, isn't it? Much smoother than the one I have now. I liked that puny little Vee belt, and the stop was positive.
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