WTB: Inexpensive mortiser

[dewi1219]

I'm looking for a reasonably inexpensive mortiser for some upcoming projects. I promised my daughter I would build her a loft bed over the winter. However, we are adopting and Christmas is right around the corner so the budget is pretty tight. I found one for $100 shipped on ebay which is the very most I can spend, but it is a Central Machinery which I am leery of. I would like a nice used Delta or something comparable. Anybody have one they're not using that they can let go cheap? I know shipping isn't cheap as these are heavy - I'm in the Birmingham, AL area if anyone is local. Thanks.
Scott

[Garasaki]

I just went thru trying to find a mortiser myself.

First thing I found out was it legitamitely (lol sp??) cost AT LEAST 75 bucks to ship these things. Remarkably heavy. So chances of getting one shipped to you for 100 bucks is not so good (that would mean someone is selling it for 25 bucks).

Secondly, these are fairly hot items on the used market - they are in high demand. Therefore your chances of snagging one cheap on ebay or other popular online sights are very slim.

Your best chance is to find a local seller...potentially thru CL (but they will be jumped upon if posted) but other, not so common sources are more attractive...such as papers, word of mouth, etc.

Good luck...but honestly, I doubt you'll find anything other then the HF mortiser for under 100 bucks (I've seen several people say the HF mortiser aint so bad). Expect to either wait a long time looking for one, or increase your budget and potentially save some headache.

[dewi1219]

Thanks for the reply - I know it's a long shot. But shipping could be less than $75 depending on how close the seller is. Shipping on the ebay unit is less than $40 to me because the seller is in FL. I'm not totally against the HF mortiser, and I'm looking out for one of their big sales since I have a store near me. We'll see. And I'm keeping a close watch on CL and my local classifieds, they just aren't showing up right now.

[Knottscott]

Scott - You're wise to be leery of HF tools, but that mortiser has worked pretty well for me for occasional mortises. It goes on sale for $100 often...add a 15% coupon and you've got a reasonable mortiser for $85 if nothing pops up on the used Delta market.

[JR]

I've made effective use of my HF mortiser, too.

Another alternative is to get one of those motising attachments for a drill press. IIRC, they're about $60 at list price.

JR

[Uncle Cracker]

I'll add an AMEN for the HF piece. Got mine on sale and with a coupon for about 60 bucks. Works respectably. Only disappointment is that cheesy hold-down jig. Do yourself a favor and make your own.

[dewi1219]

Scott - You're wise to be leery of HF tools, but that mortiser has worked pretty well for me for occasional mortises. It goes on sale for $100 often...add a 15% coupon and you've got a reasonable mortiser for $85 if nothing pops up on the used Delta market.

That's what I'm hoping for, but the HF sales seem to be few and far between lately.

Another alternative is to get one of those motising attachments for a drill press. IIRC, they're about $60 at list price.

JR

The attachment for the DP would be my first choice, but mine is an 8" benchtop model which is too small. All the attachments I"ve seen require at least a 12-14" model

[eddy merckx]

You could always use a loose tenon method such as this http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?O...Select=Reviews. Much cheaper than a mortiser. A lot of woodworkers have gone to loose tenons because of the ease of cutting material to actual length rather than figuring in tenon length. Also easier to get nice fitting tenon shoulders.

Eddy

[dewi1219]

You could always use a loose tenon method such as this http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?O...Select=Reviews. Much cheaper than a mortiser. A lot of woodworkers have gone to loose tenons because of the ease of cutting material to actual length rather than figuring in tenon length. Also easier to get nice fitting tenon shoulders.

Eddy

I considered loose tenons at first, but I was concerned that they might not be as strong. I tend to go overboard sometimes, especially on a bed that will hold my daughter five feet off the floor I'm sure it would work fine, and that's what I will do if I can't find a mortiser. Thanks.

[theminor]

Can someone recommend a good Drill Press mortiser add-on? I am also considering a bench top mortiser, but I figure I need to look into the drill press attachments. Do they work well? How easily/quick are they to install and uninstall? What are the main pros and cons of the drill press attachment compared to the bench top mortiser?

Thanks!

[JSUPreston]

Not to discourage the purchase of a new tool, but what about using a router for the mortice? I've seen Norm do it dozens of times. Only problem is that the mortice has rounded corners. Two ways of fixing that: 1. Use a chisel to square up the corners or 2. Round the corners of the tenon.

I recently got a mag that showed how to make a false through tenon, if that is what you are looking at doing.

[Garasaki]

A router and a loose tenon joining system work well together.

The loose tenon's allow you to easily overcome the rounded corners of the mortise - you can make your tenon material in large batches then round the corners of the material to match the router bit being used.

I cannot say from experience, but I have read over and over that loose tenons are just as strong as the real deal.

It makes logical sense to me though - I have personally witnessed on several occasions that glue is indeed stronger then wood.

For a while I used a router for the mortise then rounded off the tenons shoulders. I found this approach mind-numbingly tedious, difficult, and time consuming. I also tried squaring the corners off with chisels, which was actually worse IMO.

I finally did buy a mortising machine, but only after I conceided that it was going to cost me some cash (I am very cheap btw). I felt the savings in time and enjoyment of my projects made it worthwhile.

Regarding the cheesy HF hold-down, do yourself a HUGE favor and replace the stock clamping system with a sliding vice (xy vice) if possible. It makes the process A LOT more enjoyable - makes precise alignment a no brainer.

[dewi1219]

Well, I certainly COULD do loose tenons or use the router / chisel technique. However, the issue for me is the time it would require. On this loft bed project, I will be making a LOT of mortises, and I want to minimize the amount of extra hand work I have to do. If I can get a mortiser for ~$100 it would be well worth it for the time I will save.

[JR]

Well, I certainly COULD do loose tenons or use the router / chisel technique.

If I were to go down that path, I'd leave the mortise with round ends. Then I'd use bullnose bit, or two passes with a roundover bit, to shape the tennons.

In "production" mode this setup would work just fine, IMO. Of course, if you're looking to buy a new tool, it may not be as satisactory!

[phrog]

Can someone recommend a good Drill Press mortiser add-on? I am also considering a bench top mortiser, but I figure I need to look into the drill press attachments. Do they work well? How easily/quick are they to install and uninstall? What are the main pros and cons of the drill press attachment compared to the bench top mortiser?

Thanks!

Where's Loring when you need him? :-) I was planning on buying a DP attachment but Loring set me straight - basically the DP is not built to take the stress that is necessary to make the mortise. Long levers on the Mortiser allow a lot of leverage to "chisel" the square edges. The DP does not have these long levers and the gearing is not really built to take the stress anyway. In other words, it's hard on the DP. I've never used one but it made sense to me.
Richard