Replies

1. 
   emerckx | Jan 04, 2004 02:43am | #1

   I have the Jet and outfitted it with a sliding cross-vise. I couldn't be happier witht the arrangement. All of the benchtops suffer a bit from their stock clamping system. The addition of a cross-vise made a huge difference in the ease of use. I got the idea from someone on the web...maybe Sarge who posts here a lot. A search will find it I'm sure.'

   Mike

1. 
   4yanks | Jan 04, 2004 02:57am | #2

   thanks

2. 
   NormInFujino | Jan 04, 2004 03:38am | #3

   I also have the Jet, but as a general reference, you might check the Benchtop Mortiser Review in American Woodworker online. The general consensus seemed to be that the models with slower motors (Craftsman, Delta, Jet) worked better, although all the benchtops have problems with their fence systems. I haven't updated my fence yet, but it's one of the things I have planned -- "when I get a round tuit."

   ". . .and only the stump or fishy part of him remained."

   Green Gables: A Contemplative Companion to Fujino Township

3. 
   alexlisa | Jan 04, 2004 04:49am | #4

   I have the Jet, and think it's better than the Delta, slightly more powerful motor. Ditto on the fence arrangement. I clamp everything down for each cut on exposed through-mortises to keep the holes clean. The Shopfox is supposed to be a good one also. Try a search for old threads on that one. Ditto on the speed issue. Get something that runs at the lower speeds, not the 3450 RPM models. I had a Woodtek mortiser (breifly) that ran at 3450, burned the hell out of the wood and bits.

1. 
   Jimma | Jan 05, 2004 01:14am | #5

   No one interested in the English Multico? Better than those mentioned above, all of which are Multico knock-offs, but none of them are equal to the Powematic, a very serious machine. Once again, depends on what you're going to do with it.

1. 
   Scrit | Jan 05, 2004 02:02am | #6

   Jim

   I have a Multico MCD and it's a pretty good machine, a sort of big brother to the smaller Multicos. It allows me to mortise lock openings in full width doors - something very few mortisers permit and certainly nothing in the price class. I think the problem is that Multicos are expensive when compared to the others....

   BTW, Multico moved from Harlow in the UK to northern France midway through last year, so they're technicaly not British any more. :-(

   Scrit

4. 
   tbhs1964 | Jan 05, 2004 03:37am | #7

   I have a Delta.  The holddown sucks.

5. 
   brookwood99 | Jan 05, 2004 05:57pm | #8

   i had the Delta and it SUCKED!!!!!!  The first one was broken out of the box and the replacement was not buch better.  I now have a big Bridgewood and love it.

6. 
   scooter1 | Jan 05, 2004 11:40pm | #9

   I am very happy with my Delta. I did a couple things to improve it:

   1. Extenstion Kit. This helps me mortise taller rails and thicker posts.

   2. Auxilary Fence. I rarely clamp the work being mortised, but I do always clamp stop blocks, so the mortise size remains constant. So I installed an auxilary fence, which is nothing more than a piece of half inch poplar. This makes fitting tennons a breeze, because all the mortises are exactly the same size, to about a 64th or so. Tennon fitting is now a thing of the past.

   3. Dedicated Cabinet. Go to a home Center and buy a cheap melamine base cabinet. I put a shop vac in the base and drill a hole for the tube in the countertop. I screw down the mortiser and wire both the shop vac and the mortiser to a current sensing circuit, so the shop vac is turned on when the mortiser is turned on.

   4. Dedicated Task Lighting. Mortising is fussy work, so I have a couple flourescent lights and spots on the machine.

   5. Drawers for depth guage, extra tape, pencils, etc. I also have a couple extra quarter inch mortiser bits, because that seems to be the ones that I use the most. Oh, and I have some specific pieces of wood the thickness of common mortises, like half inch, three eights, three quarters and an inch. Then I place the bit on the rail, lift up the Delta depth stop, put the block under it, and clamp it down. The depth will automatically be my pre-set depth. It helps to have a cheap sliding depth guage handy to calibrate those block, because they need to be a tad thicker than the stated depth, about a sixteenth over.

   I love my Delta, never had a problem with the holdowns, although it has limited range of movement, so if it is below the range, I have a set plywood boards, to raise the piece up to the level of the holdown. My only complaint is the Delta spring loaded chuck key, but this is the case will all Delta drill presses, too.

   Good luck with your new purchase.

   Regards,

   Boris

   "Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

1. 
   TomFerreira | Jan 06, 2004 05:06am | #11

   Boris,

   I agree. I have the newer Delta with the large cast iron table and fence and I love it. I suspect most people who have problems aren't setting up the chisel and bit correctly. I have never had a burning problem and it cuts very smoothly. I have had no trouble with the holddown and like you don't clamp the work, but I do clamp stop blocks.

   I also feel that unless you are doing a lot of mortising, or have a large shop, the free standiong mortisers take too much floor space. I keep mine under the table saw extension wing, in a cabinet and bring it up on the workbench when I need it.

7. 
   alexlisa | Jan 06, 2004 04:22am | #10

   FYI

   Woodcraft has the Jet mortiser on sale for $199, marked down from $259.