Me the JET, too. Never have understood the objection about hold-downs. Don't you hold your work down with one hand while pulling the lever? In which case the "hold-down" is really a bit extractor.
I don't own a mortiser, but I'd expect that holding a piece of wood down with the hand is much less stable than using the metal hold down on a machine. Do the hold downs on a mortiser permit the wood to slide around, even incrementally?
Some do and the inexpensive machines are poorly toleranced castings.
It's also not at all uncommon for them to not have sufficient vertical force to hold the workpiece down solidly when extracting the chisel from hard wood, particularly w/ larger chisels...
Dave, Could you tell me what sort of modifications you made?
Max
Hate to ask, but what would _you_ do with your other hand while mortising that's so important?
Little stickyback sandpaper and holding seem to work fine.
recommendations?
IMHO, the order is:
I agree with the order and I own the JBM-5.
-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)
TeamCasa wrote:>>>>> ...>>> modifying the Delta to be more secure and accurate anyway.>> ...>>>> What mod's did you make?>>>> Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services> ----------------------------------------------------------> ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **>
----------------------------------------------------------
recommendations?
I agonized over this decision a few years back. I took home a Fisch and love it. Bottom line, any of them will do a good job. Don't forget stones for the bits. Mark
I certainly appreciate all the input. I've ordered the Delta 14-651. I'll post my impressions after I've had a chance to use it. My thanks to everyone. I've also ordered sharpening stones.
Has anyone discovered which bits are the best?
Max
Sharp ones. Deburr the hollow chisel inside and out, set the bit properly below the edges for chip clearance.
Pushing with my left hand on something solid like a bench edge while pulling the lever with my right hand is the only way I could use a mortiser. I use a wheelchair so using my bodyweight to assist me with the lever is not an option. If the hold downs on a mortiser are as generally inefficient as it sounds, I wouldn't want to add to be adding to the chance of the wood moving.
Of course, I don't own a mortiser (yet), so other solutions may be more practical, but my experience so far with some tools and machinery is remarkably similar.
For the Delta-style that are simply the small fork on a 1/2" diam rod w/ a small hand screw (that is pretty much the same for all the small bench-top mortisers in the $250 range afaik), they may not be sufficient for hard wood and larger mortises w/o some help. In those instances I typically use a clamp to hold the material snug against the fence to prevent rocking. Adjust the clamp where it is just snug, not torqued down and one can still make the adjustment from one position to the next along the mortise. W/O use of the off hand, it might be necessary to tighten that a little more.
That would be a prime reason for the adaptation to a slide vise which is a good alternative anyway.
In your position you might consider something more like the Powermatic or General although they're significantly more costly they have much better fences and hold downs. I wanted the Powermatic but had spent so much on the barn over the last year couldn't bring myself to lay out the extra $$ at the time... :(
Already been considered. When the time comes, I intend for my next table saw purchase to be the General 650-T50.
This is such a strange issue, isn't it? If you use the thing to hold tightly, you can't move the piece to the succeeding hole without loosening and retightening. I consider that the pressure of the chisel is enough downward pressure - makes the hole. All I have to provide is alignment - for which the sandpaper and the hand works a treat.
Well, I don't know if it will work, but I suppose I could use my hand to hold the work until the chisel starts to enter the wood and then grab something more solid so I can apply real pressure to the lever. That's assuming the chisel will stay true after it starts to enter the wood. I guess only practical experience will answer that for me.
I adjust it so it barely touches the wood and it can slide easily. IMO< the best use of the hold down is to hold the wood for chisel extraction. Ed
"Upscale" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com:
I like the General. FYI, they have a large mortiser the 75-075, which is similar in size and price to the big Powermatic (e.g., around $800). They also have a benchtop mortiser that is bigger than most of the Jet/Deltas ... that's the 75-050. It is moderately priced (about $320) and has a front clamping holddown and a topside holddown. For an extra $80 or so there's also a benchtop unit with a tilting head.
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 07:18:10 GMT, the inscrutable Nate Perkins spake:
If I ever upgrade my Shop Fox, it'll be to a General 75-075. Beauteous beasties, they. As it is, I'll be removing the fence and installing an X-Y table to make it more functional.
--- - Sarcasm is just one more service we offer. -
Nate Perkins wrote: ...
I haven't ever seen the 75-050 listed...what's the capacity? (I know, I could go look but... :) )
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.