Replies

1. 
   vanderpooch | Mar 05, 2004 07:50am | #1

   My impression, although I haven't honestly used one, is that you trace the outline with a knife or outline it with a chisel, break up the waste with a few crossgrain chisel cuts and excavate with the plane. I think it's function is similar to that of a router plane.

   I've always wanted one, but haven't gotten around to making one and don't need one often enough to buy the Lie-Nielsen.

   There was a thread about these planes a while ago at the JLC Finish Carpentry forum. Lots of good reviews.

   Please correct me if I'm wrong.

   -Kit

   Technique is proof of your seriousness. - Wallace Stevens
1. 
   Michael6255 | Mar 05, 2004 03:25pm | #5

   VDP,

   I think ECE makes a woodie butt mortise plane.  Check Eddie Sirotich's Adria saw website.

   Mike in NJ

2. 
   ian | Mar 05, 2004 12:12pm | #2

   OK I have a LN Butt mortice plane and I have used it to cut hinge mortices and to flatten the bottom of recesses when repairing old doors.

   I typically use it in conjunction with a stanley knife.  I knife out the outline and then chisel out a small amount of waste (a triangular piece about 1/16 thick) at either end of the mortice and then have at it with the plane working from the centre to the ends taking out a shaving up to 1/32 thick depending on the timber.  The whole process goes really quickly and as the mortice is deepened I continually recut the fibres at the end of the mortice.  Depending on how deep you need to got the fibres can be cut across the grain with a marking knife or a chisel.  What I particularly like about the tool is that the blade can be angled so that the bottom of the mortice matches the cross section of the hinge.  Also depth setting is a snap, I do it by eye against the hinge itself.

   Ian

3. 
   eddiefromAustralia | Mar 05, 2004 01:32pm | #3

   Lie-Nielsen instruction sheet available online

   Cheers,

   eddie

4. 
   roninfante | Mar 05, 2004 02:42pm | #4

   Take Eddie's advice and look at the on-line instructions. I use mine regularly; its faster than a chisel and easier to adjust than a router.

   Ron

5. 
   dirtstirrer | Mar 05, 2004 04:11pm | #6

   Morning Mr. Micro,

   I have and use the LN version.  Nice tool that is a lot nicer to use then a blasted router.  For big hinges, I use those templates you whack with a hammer to make the cut aroungd the outline of the hinge.  I think you could use a cutter from a 45 in it if you had the urge to use a narrower cutter, which might be benificial on small hinges. 

   Steve
6. 
   Ron6978 | Mar 05, 2004 06:31pm | #7

   There is a video tip on FW's page but is just using a chisel. By Garrett Hack

   Ron

7. 
   Jay345 | Mar 06, 2004 04:54am | #8

   THROW THAT PLANE AWAY GENE---!A REAL CARPENTER CAN DO THAT MORTISE FASTER WITH A KNIFE AND CHISEL. --- BUT THEN YOU'D HAVE TO PAY HIM.

1. 
   UncleDunc | Mar 06, 2004 05:08am | #9

   You may be right, but that's no reason to SHOUT about it.

   Also, this is the fine woodworking forum. Carpentry is next door, at Breaktime.

2. 
   gdavis62 | Mar 06, 2004 06:51am | #10

   Today when installing some cabinet doors, I realized I had cut edge mortises for some high-style pull hardware on only three of four cabinet doors.  Poop!, I said.  I only had one chisel on site, and I had been chopping some drywall mud out of corners with it.

   I scavenged through my painter's tool kit, and found a Stanley knife and the kind of single-edge razor tool used to scrape paint off window glass.

   I went to work. 

   No bench with frontvise to hold the piece, just some nasty sawhorses.  And the door I was working on was fully finish painted.  Hold the piece on the edge, visually gage the backset, then take a breath and mark the edges with the razor.  Deepen the edgecuts with the knife, then knife-score the field, and try to shovel out a first course with the wrecked chisel.

   In five minutes or so I had the mortise almost finished, but the chisel was doing such lousy cuts I went home to get a supersharp one, to finish up.  Having done that, and being well-satisfied with the end results, I came to the conclusion:  don't need no butt mortise plane.

3. 
   gdavis62 | Mar 06, 2004 08:09am | #11

   Why would I pay a "real" carpenter, when I can do it better myself?

4. 
   alias | Mar 06, 2004 05:54pm | #12

   hell i'm a carpenter and use the butt mortiser all the time purchased 20 yrs ago with a bruzz(sp?) for 65.00 w/ the bruzz. i love it and all the carpenters stand pretty impressed with it . and seasoned men on the job all say the same thing.....". where'd ya get that"...... and jay i'm a -REAL- carpenter , with pplleennttyy under my belt.... so happy routing ... best regards. bear"expectations are premeditated resentments"

1. 
   Jay345 | Mar 07, 2004 05:37pm | #14

   I've used many different methods to mortise all sorts of hinges and hardware,but I learned many years ago that a sharp chisel and knife worked best when only a few pieces were being fitted . As a carpenter you know that power tools and gagets are great for production work but ultimately they do in fact only replicate the skill that all "real carpenters" pride themselves on. An old timer that I used to work with used to say "It's got to look like it grew there". he taught me how to achieve that effect and over the years I've made quite a good living adhering to that philosophy, simple, sharp, and well respected tools in hand.

1. 
   alias | Mar 07, 2004 06:12pm | #15

   jay- yours points are well founded and taken. simplicity has it's own credentials and beauty. but on the comparison to the butt mortise plane( it's is a great little tool) and a bruzz/chisel. and a knife/chisel the plane is quicker but.... that is probably just the amount of rep's and diffrent tasks that i've incorporated them in. that "organic morphing" is a great credo. i secretly love showing off my jigs/patterns, there are a great all around indicator of the substance of the craftsman. in short or long i agree with you, i like my tools(toys)...... enjoy your sunday

   ."expectations are premeditated resentments"

5. 
   dirtstirrer | Mar 07, 2004 08:54am | #13

   Yup, and if his work looks like most of the "real carpenters" work I've seen, I'd want no part of it.  If you like planes, you'll like the butt mortiser.  If your chisel doubles as a paint can opener, or you have only one dull handsaw, you have no need for a butt mortise plane, you wouldn't appreciate it. Steve