Cross-slide Vise on Mortiser

[joeljcarver]

I'm thinking about mounting a cross-slide vice on a mortiser and putting a riser block under the pedestal.

1) I saw an article (or tip) about this in a woodworking magazine. Does anyone know which magazine and issue this was?

2) Has anyone done this? Is there any real advantage to this setup?

Thanks.

Joel

[Planes True]

The article was " 3-D Mortising Upgrade ", written by David Thiel in Popular Woodworking, Issue # 143, October 2004.

This is on my list of projects to complete. I did assemble the list of materials but haven't completed the riser box shown in the plans.

[e-mail] wrote:

[Planes True]

The article was " 3-D Mortising Upgrade ", written by David Thiel in Popular Woodworking, Issue # 143, October 2004.

This is on my list of projects to complete. I did assemble the list of materials but haven't completed the riser box shown in the plans.

[e-mail] wrote:

[Planes True]

The article was " 3-D Mortising Upgrade ", written by David Thiel in Popular Woodworking, Issue # 143, October 2004.

This is on my list of projects to complete. I did assemble the list of materials but haven't completed the riser box shown in the plans.

[e-mail] wrote:

[Planes True]

The article was " 3-D Mortising Upgrade ", written by David Thiel in Popular Woodworking, Issue # 143, October 2004.

This is on my list of projects to complete. I did assemble the list of materials but haven't completed the riser box shown in the plans.

[e-mail] wrote:

[Planes True]

The article was " 3-D Mortising Upgrade ", written by David Thiel in Popular Woodworking, Issue # 143, October 2004.

This is on my list of projects to complete. I did assemble the list of materials but haven't completed the riser box shown in the plans.

[e-mail] wrote:

[Planes True]

Sorry for the multiple posts......cats on the keyboard....

Planes True wrote:

[charlie b]

Having an XY table - with the fence on the table - important - makes registering the chisel to a layout line a bit easier than the "bump 'n nudge" (and Curse 'N Swear) method. Also makes it easier to set and check the fence setting.

charlie b

[Swingman]

When I was searching around prior to buying a Multi-Router, I ran across this somewhere:

no idea whose it is (if anyone does, please speak up) but I thought it might be worth doing at some point.

[Stephen M]

Yes I have, and I would no longer consider having a mortiser without one.. Why?

1. It makes it really, really easy to (quite literally) precisely dial in the position of the mortise. I don't center mortises, I set them a specific distance from the show face. I do this so that there is a consistent reveal for things like inset rails. That also means that I only have to set the North/South axis once. It also enables operations like chopping an oddly sized mortise which does not match the chisel size. It's not that this can't can't be done with a standard setup; the X/Y Vise just makes this operation trivial.
2. With the vise that I use, 2 turns give me a little less than the bite of a 1/4" chisel, 3 turns for the 3/8" chisel. When moving across the mortise, I turn, turn, turn, bite.... turn, turn, turn, bite ... etc. It's fast. 4 dozen mortises times 8 bites/mortise is allottabites. It's hugely significant.
3. The standard stock hold-down on my Delta mortising jig was darned near impossible to set with enough pressure to hold the workpiece firmly yet allow you to slide the workpiece (without releasing the hold down) for the next bite. If I did get it right, the next stile so be mortised would be a hair different in width. IME, this is a very fussy setup where thousandths matter.
4. The standard hold-down geometry of my model (I think the newer ones are better) limit the min and max stock width (distance along the plunge axis). For instance I could not use the stock hold-down to place a mortise on the broad face of a 2x4, without resorting to fussing with shims.

Regards,

Steve

[Andy Dingley]

Nice idea, but I have my doubts about it.

Cheap morticers are great. They cost under =A3100 but have lousy hold-downs with no traverse. Good morticers have both, but cost =A3500. Mid-range morticers cost =A3200-300 and have single-axis traverse. IMHO, they're not enough of an improvement over a simple one to be worth it.

I'd love a morticer with full traverse. When I can afford it, and the space to put it, I'll get one. In the meantime though, I don't think a

200 compromise is worth it and I really don't think a bolt-on compound vice is going to help at all. I've never had a good experience with these vices, they're just too flimsy and rattley.

My own cunning plan involves getting a pre-war non-rotating morticer (huge, cheap and not too hard to find) and then bolting the head of my rotating cheapie to it. I see this as a much more practical way to get a real morticer with traverse.

[Dave W]

I too have been thinking about using an x-y table and vise below a plunge router to make routed mortices. If someone has done this I would like to chat. Dave

[Pat Barber]

It's already been done:

have been several folks who have given this idea a shot.

The results vary with the quality of the vise....

[e-mail] wrote:

[Stephen M]

I'm not sure what units you put in the Mid-priced category: This Is $200(US$) and has an integrated X/Y capability. As far as I know, this is unique in this price category.

have no experience with this product... I just know that it's out there.

[Andy Dingley]

That's an interesting machine. If I could find it in the UK (probably for about $350 !), I'd probably recommend it over the =A3100 cheapies.

[joeljcarver]

riser block under the pedestal.

Woodworking, Issue # 143, October 2004.

Thanks to you and all the others who replied.

Joel