Benchtop Mortiser Questions

[Sweet Chuck]

Who makes the best Bench top Mortiser, something in the $200-$250 range? Do they all pretty much take the same drills/chisels? Is there any brand to avoid? I really don't know that much about these so any help would be appreciated.

The ones I'm considering are the
Jet 708580
Delta 14-651
Craftsman OR25101

[Mrk67mark]

Don't forget about the Steel City 25200. $269.00 with a $50.00 mail in rebate. It can be seen here.
Mark

[LarryG]

Mortising machines are one of those things that are all sorta-kinda the same, only different. The main differences, spec-wise, will be the motor horsepower rating (usually either 1/2, 3/4, or 1HP) and spindle speed (~1725 or ~3450).

Here's a test of eight different machines that was done by August Home Publications, the folks who put out ShopNotes and Woodsmith and Workbench. It's nearly four years old but I don't think there have been any real changes to any of the machines reviewed. The Steel City is obviously too new to have been included. I've not seen one in person but it basically looks to me like an improved clone of the Delta. It'd be on my short list if I were buying today.

EDIT: There's another test, here. (I knew I had another one bookmarked somewhere, but couldn't find it a few minutes ago when I wrote my reply.) The interesting thing about this test is that they named five of the six machines tested as co-winners. That's a good example of what I mean by "the same, only different."

I own the Delta, and like it fine. It makes square holes, which is all I expected of it.

[Ken Massingale]

Have you considered saving yourself all but about $20 of that and making a jig?

[LCHIEN]

Interesting review linked by Larry.
One comment they had:

"Our testing of these tools revealed some surprising
truths.Among them are that horsepower and bit speed
are secondary to precise tolerances and smooth operation
when it comes to how these tools perform."
reflected a previous review of several units including the HF mortiser.
There the inexpensive HF unit ranked last because of those issues and
the overall comment was the convenience or clumsiness of attaching and adjusting the hold down was the big factor in pleasure of operating.
Also they noted the 1750 RPM models tended to feel more controllable.

[Sweet Chuck]

Have you considered saving yourself all but about $20 of that and making a jig?

Ken,

Wouldn't that create Mortises with half rounds at the ends? How do you cut a tenon to fit that accurately?

[ChrisD]

Chuck,

FWW reviewed bench-top models in '05 and picked the Delta 14-651 as the one to seriously consider if you don't have the budget for the General, which they rated Best Overall. That's what I did and have been happy ever since.

Popular Woodworking periodically publishes an ad-free magazine by another name ("Woodworking", if I remember correctly). In the current issue is a test of after-market hollow mortising chisels (just chisels, not mortisers) ranging from $30 to $300. For value on the dollar, the least expensive set did better than the more expensive ones.

If/when you do end up buying one, I suggest that you invest in the following as well:
- Rockler cone-shaped honing tool
- Time to hone not only the inside of the chisels but especially the sides until the factory grind marks are gone
- Dry lubricant

[Ken Massingale]

Ken,

Wouldn't that create Mortises with half rounds at the ends? How do you cut a tenon to fit that accurately?

Some use a round over bit and router, I just round the edges with a rasp, or use a corner chisel on the mortise ends.

[Hoyden]

Per Chris D. I also picked the Delta 14-651 and do not regret the choice.
made an arts and crafts bench with about 70 mortises and the Delta 14-651 preformed excellent as did the BT cutting the tenons.

[cyberodie]

I am looking to buy one too and was looking at the same three yesterday. I liked the size of the bed on the Delta and Craftsman over the Jet. I liked the price of the Craftsman ($159 for CC members starting this Sat) vs the Delta ($200 after 20% off coupon at Rocker). I went to Woodcraft to see what they had and saw the Steel City model. I have to say, I was impressed. I liked the pull out extension wings and the two roller guides that push the stock against the fence. Overall it looks as good as the Delta and better then the Craftsman as far as fit and finish goes. It's $269 with a $50 rebate through Sat. 3/31/07. I think I am going to go with the Steel City model myself.

[JimD]

I have the Jet and I like it fine. I rigged some supports outside of the table on the base it sits on to provide additional support for long pieces. Fine Wood Working did a review fairly recently as did Wood. Wood like the higher speed machines but the squeel factor is one of the things I do not like about the Jet and it is apparently common. You can minimize the squeel with proper bit setup but in my experience it is hard to eliminate entirely. Having the squeel occur at 3450 rpm does not seem attractive to me. The cutting speed of the 1750 rpm Jet I use is fine. The real big floor mounted units will use larger chisels but are much more expeinsive. There is a tilt-head unit somewhat inbetween the ~$200 units and the floor mounted (i.e. costs around $400) that gets good reviews. I think it might have been a General.

I couldn't justify more than $200 for this occasional use tool and for that kind of money, I think you can safely base a decision on price and whether it includes chisels or not. Everything except the HF work and work pretty similar, there are nicer and not as nice features but nothing that prohibits basic functionality.

Jim

[SARGE..g-47]

Good morning...

I purchased a Shop Fox 5 years ago (floor demo.. last one in stock for $185)as after shopping, I found it to have the sturdiest of columns at that time. It actually has "twin" steel columns that keep head travel on line even in hard-wood. It also has the longest head travel with 3 shock positions to adjust to on the rear. It does have 3450 rpm which many think is too fast. I dis-agree with that partially and if I designed a morticer, I would put it in the 2600 rpm range. Here's why...

When I first got the Fox, it would scorch a bit in soft-wood with that speed. I had to adjust on the fly and discover that a quick plunge and with-draw cured that. But in hard-wood which entails the majority of my work.. the Fox shines with the higher speed and gets to the finish line quicker. Since those first experiences of "getting to know your machine" days, thousands of M & T's have been cut and I do some big ones. The ones I cut on a recent completed oak table are 3/4" x 3" x 2". I do much larger ones when building work-benchs and the Fox is still running true and has not let me down yet.

I will give kudo's to the new Steel City morticer. I helped the Steel City folks at the recent Atlanta WW Show sell Band-saws through their distributor (Redmond & Son Machinery.. Atlanta). With the rebate going.. I saw about 30 SC morticers sold in around 5 hours till they ran out. A bunch more were sold the following day with IOU's on the next shipment which was shipped the following Monday to Redmond. Excellent machine with built on supports and table extentions backed by real "tool guys" and a 5 year warranty.

I will also give kudo's to the General as I almost purchased one. A little pricey but extremely well built. This is true of the Power-matic bench also.. but at that price I would pay the extra and get a very serious floor model with sliding tables.

And I totally agree with Chris about getting the sharpening hones and keeping the chisels sharp. Without you are chasing your tail. If you gave me a choice of a dull Forrest II TS blade or a sharp $12 Oldham.. I'll chose the sharp Oldham every time. Without sharp.. regardless of how well built or high tech a machine is... it ain't gonna perform to maximum with a dull cutting edge leading the way... Period!

Ken's idea of a slot motise using a router is an alternative and I have used them in the past. And before I got the SF to speed things up, I just cut em by hand. Layout takes the same amount of time either way..

Closing... all of the bench-tops will get the job done IMO if you put someone that understands the machine.. the chisels.. and the bits in relationship of what component shoud do what and why behind the pull-down lever!

Regards...

[footprintsinconc]

mortices! i am just complete a work bench and had to make mortices for the first time, and boy was it difficult. i searched for a jig or set up that i could use, and didnt find anyone that i liked. so i ended up just making a template for the the mortices that made on the base of the bench, but at the top of the bench i tried chiseling it, and those were really ugly! but i just put the top three-quaters of the bench togather today and it worked out well.

ken, that jig looks neat, can i ask where i can find it? i would definately give that one a try.

thanks,