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opticsguy said:
OP here.
Retired, don't want to die with money in the bank and a mortiser is cheaper than buying coffee for a year. There are plenty of projects on my life-time to-do list which requires mortise and thru tenons. I have chopped the mortises before, an interesting skill I might not ever perfect. The mortising machine seems like a good way to reduce the time and I am certainly running out of time...
Thanks to those who have replied so far.
You mention through tenons, your probably on the right track to look at a mortising machine. Most of the other options mentioned like the Domino, the Leigh FMT and the home made router jigs are going to leave you wishing you had gone with a Mortiser. I have a Leigh FMT and it's a good machine although I have considered getting a domino to replace it, and they make strong M & T joints just not suited to through tenons. Duke
I had (and still have) a Delta bench top mortiser. It did the job, but I hated the thing with a passion and would avoid using it unless I had a bunch of mortises to cut. I found an almost new Jet floor-standing machine on the local Craigslist for a very good price. I had been putting off a project for my daughter that required a whole bunch of mortises, so I bought the Jet. The difference between using a heavy floor-standing single purpose mortiser and the little bench-top machine is amazing. The Jet is precise, powerful and a real pleasure to use, all the exact opposite of my bench-top Delta. I've cut mortises with pig-sticker mortise chisels, drilled them out with a drill press and pared the sides and cut them with a router. The floor-standing mortiser is by far the easiest method. It's a single-purpose machine. It only cuts mortises, but it does it very well. If you have the $$ and the floor space, I recommend it.
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Voice in the wilderness here. I have the HF tool and their 6" x-y vice. Upgraded to CMT chisels and use the cone sharpeners. It will chop mortises. Is it the best tool on the market? No, but it is cost effective for me, also retired. I have also used a router for mortices and it works very well.
I used it for a dining room table, red oak, 3 1/2" thick legs, 2" deep I believe. Table is still standing.
Some of the folks are purists, only use the best tools for everything. I get what I can afford considering how often I will use it and what the end product will be. I adapt my builds accordingly.
Good luck, Tom
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A router-type mortising solution gives the smoothest tenon walls IME so should provide the best glue joint. It also yields rounded ends so you'd need to square up the ends if you want traditional looking through tenons.
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Well, nobody's mentioned it, so I will. I gave up hand tool mortise and tenon method and purchased a Domino DF500. It's loose tenons, and it's very quick, very accurate, and does 95% of all the mortise and tenon work I'll ever need to do. Won't do through tenons like you see in some Arts & Crafts or Mission Style furniture, but it's an awesome machine and very intuitive to use. Expensive? You betcha. Worth it? To me, yes.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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+1 for the domino. More flexible and usable by far then the regular mortisers. Try puting mortises in a 4x5' panel or at compound angles. If you want an occasional M&T then by all means get one oof the regular mortisers; if you want to make furniture get a Domino or if portability isn't important and near production is important then build or buy a slot mortiser like Horizontal Router Mortiser with Tilitng X-Table or a commercial CNC type. The DIY costs a few hundred, an entry level horizontal router table $400 or up a little; a full up CNC several $k. One big advantage of th Domino is that it's portable and small foot print when not in use. The disadvantage fo the horizontal or CNC is a large foot print. The disadvantage of the bench top of floor machine is that they are a generally not very usefl waste of money and space.
homo homini lupus
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Yeats
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Quodcumque potest manus tua facere instaner opere Ecclesiastes
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frigator said:
Leigh Fmt Will help spend some of that money out of the bank. The good one is over $1000 and it will cut beautiful mortise and tenon's. I've never use the domino but I understand you're limited to about an inch in depth. I would stay away from the mortise chisel business. Router is the way to go..
Mortise Sizes DF500 Cutters available for 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 mm thick tenons. Max depth 1 3/32″ (28mm) DF700 Cutters available for 8, 10, 12, and 14 mm thick tenons. Max Depth: 2-3/4″ (70mm)
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Hank Knight in SC said:
I had (and still have) a Delta bench top mortiser. It did the job, but I hated the thing with a passion and would avoid using it unless I had a bunch of mortises to cut. I found an almost new Jet floor-standing machine on the local Craigslist for a very good price. I had been putting off a project for my daughter that required a whole bunch of mortises, so I bought the Jet. The difference between using a heavy floor-standing single purpose mortiser and the little bench-top machine is amazing. The Jet is precise, powerful and a real pleasure to use, all the exact opposite of my bench-top Delta. I've cut mortises with pig-sticker mortise chisels, drilled them out with a drill press and pared the sides and cut them with a router. The floor-standing mortiser is by far the easiest method. It's a single-purpose machine. It only cuts mortises, but it does it very well. If you have the $$ and the floor space, I recommend it.
I usually chop my mortises by hand for individual projects; but when I made (and make) vanities and kitchen cabinets where I have many to do, I use the Delta benchtop, I have this one: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Delta-3-8-in-...lsrc=aw.ds That being said, if I came across a deal on a used floorstanding model, I just might get one, but then again, my production cabinet days are over, and I got good use out of this Delta. Key is to keep the chisels and bits sharp and pay attention to the set up depth of the bit to the chisel. This is not rocket science. That being said, I prefer the traditional mortise and tenon, I imagine loose tenons work just fine and can be quicker, but I'm just not on the Domino bandwagon from a philosophic perspective.
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Thanks for that info on the Domino. I am thinking if I were to go that route I would want the 700 with the longer tenons. Cant imagine what the cost with all the bits and dominos would be....more than my new 1023 tablesaw. Wish they made them with an inch scale.
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frigator said:
Thanks for that info on the Domino. I am thinking if I were to go that route I would want the 700 with the longer tenons. Cant imagine what the cost with all the bits and dominos would be....more than my new 1023 tablesaw. Wish they made them with an inch scale.
Seneca Woodworking makes Imperial Guages for both Dominos. I have chisels, and I sold my MortisePal and I sold my benchtop mortiser. I have the domino and I wish I had bought it years ago. The MP worked great but I hated the mess and it was fast not as fast as the domino. The mortiser and I just didn't get along. Set-up was a pain, the chisels were a pain, and too many things had to be just right. The Domino is fast and easy and clean. There are other ways, and a Domino is ridiculously overpriced because they can get away with it, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Shane
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