Replies

1. 
   youn188 | Jan 08, 2007 06:13pm | #1

   Larry- Is the mortiser a newer model or the old style floor mounted Powermatic, I think model 10?  If it is the old style, $600 is a great buy for an excellent quality industrial machine.  I have one and it is one of the best tools in my shop.

   Ron 

2. 
   ChipTam | Jan 08, 2007 07:54pm | #2

   I suspect this is a newer model.  I picked up one several years ago for $500 (used).  I think they go for around $850 new.  So, $600 is in the ball park.  I think it's a good tool.  The superior clamping system and the moveable table make this a much better tool than a bench-top mortiser.  Both this unit and the older industrial type are floor models but the older unit, which Ron describes, really is a great old machine. Then again, it weighs around a 1,000 lbs not 150 lbls.

   Chip Tam

3. 
   mapleman | Jan 08, 2007 08:33pm | #3

   For what it's worth, that machine (Model 719 or 719T for tilt table) is $1000 + or - new, depending on where you get it. Used one time in great shape you couldn't go wrong, you could definitely at least get your money back.

   Lee

1. 
   woodman2263 | Jan 08, 2007 11:58pm | #4

   For what it's worth, I bought the 719 from Woodcraft (local store, not cat.) and I paid $622 for it.  They were wanting to get rid of it to make room for the 710T.  If this one has only been used once and includes chisels, buy it.

   Jeff

1. 
   mapleman | Jan 09, 2007 05:13am | #5

   Woody,

   Wow! $622 huh? That's a smokin good deal. Wish the woodcraft near me would want to get rid of one. It would be in my truck in 2 seconds flat.

   Lee

4. 
   ThreePuttJoe | Jan 15, 2007 03:13am | #6

   I own that machine...if the 719T is the one you are looking at. It is a great, rock solid machine, and I would buy it in a second for that deal. I would check it out thoroughly, and not buy anything sight unseen. He may have only used it once, but for all you know that was after it fell down a flight of stairs. That said, it is a great machine, and way more than I need right now. However, I plan on doing this for a long time, and I would rather grow into my tools than out of them. Some of the features, like the sliding table allow you to cut a set (8) of mortises in about ten minutes, because you don't have to unclamp and move your workpiece. The tilting table is a great feature, and though I have only used that feature to test it out, I will deploy it in anger soon.

   Good luck.

   Joe

5. 
   LarryMartin | Jan 17, 2007 02:03am | #7

   Here's the response from the person who first raised the question to me about the Powermatic Mortiser 719.

   Well, I've got the 719A - probably the predecessor of the 719T -
   mine does not have tilting table.
   After looking over msgs you forwarded to me from Knot's forum, plus
   reading other reviews/comments on the web, I bought the mortiser - it
   got delivered to my basement yesterday, and I took it for a test drive
   last evening. The chisels need to be sharpened - I will probably
   actually purchase a new set of chisels and bits in 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8"sizes - the sizes I would use most often. There is also a sharpening'cone' available for sharpening bevel (interior) of chisels and then I can clean-up burrs and polish exterior faces.
   It looks to be a nice machine - sliding X-Y table is very nice, very
   solid hold-down, built-in assembly for 'registering' the end of stock
   for repeatability. All sits on a stand with a small cabinet/compartment underneath with a door.
   I'm pretty excited about it - I was not in the market for this item, but have thought about getting a benchtop model for a couple of years. I was leaning toward a Powermatic benchtop model, and ended-up with ####Powermatic floor model - it's a 1 hp vice the customary 1/2 hp benchtop models and will cut 1" mortises whereas benchtop models seem to go up to about 5/8" in capacity. I don't think I will ever have much reason to go beyond 1/2" mortises, but I guess if I do, I'll be able to achieve the task. Squaring the chisel to the fence will require some fiddling and test cuts but I believe it will be achieveable w/o much difficulty.
   You can set stops on the X-Y table to limit length of travel. For
   repeatability, it looks like it will work much better than I could ever do with a router - and handling a chisel to cut mortises by hand is just something I don't think I could ever master - at least not in my remaining lifetime.
   Thanks to you and other posters who offered comment and helped confirm
   this decision was the right one.

   p.s. the responder is a blind woodworker who does very nicely finished work. Thanks for everybody's earlier responses.

1. 
   ChipTam | Jan 17, 2007 05:47pm | #8

   Larry and Responder,

   Always nice to hear the results of one's input on a particular question.  Thank you.  I think you'll be very satisfied with your purchase.  I used this machine to construct 5 interior and exterior doors for an 1880-era summer home I'm restoring.  Those doors involved some pretty thick and deep mortises.  You're right.  A bench-top doesn't allow very thick mortises and, more importantly, you're limited in the width of the stock you're mortising. I think those doors had 5" stiles and those would have been too wide for a bench-top to handle.

   When you start a project, you may want to make a mental note where the wheel handle is for centering the mortise (2:00, 7:00, or whatever).  I find that it's very easy in the middle of a series of mortises to mistake the moveable table wheel for the centering wheel.

   ChipTam

2. 
   ThreePuttJoe | Jan 17, 2007 06:39pm | #9

   Larry -Congratulations on your find and purchase. I think you will be very happy with it. Though as discussed, more tool than you need right now...what really isn't more tool than you "need?" I consider the mortiser essential on the order of the planer (to a lesser degree, but for the same reason.) Mortises, like hand planing to thickness, are not things that I want to spend a lot of time doing. I still want the results of quality M&T joints, but I want to spend what little shop time I have in the scheme of things on other aspects of the process. I think you will find the sliding table, and other features very useful. The poster above has a good point about keeping an eye on the wheel, however, and even more exact way, since you will presumably have just cut mortises on another piece, is to just throw that piece back on the table and center it up with the chisel. Also, to your concern of squaring the chisel. This couldn't be easier, especially with the larger chisels. Just put a piece of scrap, known to be square, against the fence and gently bring the table towards the chisel. It will square itself, you tighten it and you are off and running.