I am about to purchase a new mortiser. I also need a drill press. Is there a reason to buy both or will the mortiser perform both functions?
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Although a mortiser could be coerced into drilling round holes, rather than square ones, you might be disappointed by its limitations on dimensional capacity. Buy the drill press, too. ;-)
2 different critters. The mortiser is a one-trick pony, but it does that one trick well - DP with mortiser attachment isn't a viable option, IMO - setup + precision are problematic.
As an alternative, you could always get a DP, a few mortise chisels, and a few bench/paring chisels, and sharpening gear. Hog out with DP, and finish with chisels. Really not that hard to get proficient at, if you get good chisels. I do this for one-offs. My mortiser is for multiples.
BTW - hollow-mortise chisels out-of-the-box need to be honed/tuned, just like regular chisels out-of-the-box.
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