I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful is it? I do not want to spend money on dedicated mortiser nor I have space for it in my small workshop. I do have good powerful Grizzly drill press. Which mortising attachment is worth considering? Since I have Grizzly drill press I though of Grizzly. Any recommendations and comment would be appreciated.
for very hard woods and the larger sizes, it is a BEAR to make deep mortises with an attachment. For occasional mortises in softer woods with smaller bits, it is a breeze, other than the set-up time at the DP. A dedicated mortiser is the way to go for SERIOUS mortising work (read: quantity, big, hard woods).
dave
Alexander Galk> I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful is
I've not used mine a lot, and I've used it only in redwood, so take this for what it's worth. The main thing people will tell you is wrong with DP mortisers is the flex in the table/column/head. There's a lot of force needed to get that square chisel to dig out those corners. The bigger the chisel and the harder the wood, the more force you'll need. I had great results, but I was using a 1/4" chisel in softwood. Not to state the obvious, but you'll want to get your chisels exceedingly sharp and burr-free to minimize the required downforce. HTH, Bruce
Alex,
I bought the Delta one about 6 or 7 years ago and was about $70 as I recall. Used it once to make some mortises in a shop table to hold my portable planer. Worked fine but after that exercise I went out and got a dedicated mortiser. Last fall I made a tabletop that had 4' wide breadboard ends with a stepped mortise almost the full length of the walnut I was using. Can't even imagine how much fun that would have been using the DP but the mortiser made quick work of it.
Make ya a good deal on a "Used only on 1 project", Delta DP Mortise attachment......
Bob S.
I have a "Delta" mortising attachment which I mount on an imported full-sized DP. I have used it often and have just completed a Mission style coffee table and end tables out of quarter-sawn oak (some 75 on the tables including through joints in the 2 1/2" thick legs) and a cradle for my new grandchild out of cherry . . . and they were all assembled utilizing mortise and tennon joints. While a little slower than a decent quality "dedicated machine", the attachment worked exceptionally well on these projects.
I keep my chisels sharp and don't approach the cuts too aggressively and while I have heard pros and cons about both the attachment and dedicated machines, I haven't experienced any real problems with my attachment set.
-Verne
It will work, but it's a major pain-in-the-ass to set up each time you need it, and your drill press is out of commission in the meantime. I have one and I got tired to effing around with it --- it haven't used it in years.
I have a Delta mortising attachment (and a Delta drill press). It is a pain to setup and remove as the taper needs to be perfectly clean. And when you have the mortising attachment installed, you lose use of the drill press. I wish I had the dedicated mortiser. They don't take up much space and can be stored away when not in use.
I use mine(delta on a delta) quite often. I think the set up is no big deal. I don't use the t-nuts to set the fence. I just clamp it with two c-clamps. I am a hobbyist, so time is not money. I can understand why pros would think otherwise. I think it is a very viable tool in my shop. If I had $300 bucks I didn't need I would buy a dedicated mortise machine. Wayne K. Columbia MD
I have the GMC Laser DP, and fitted the Delta mortise kit to it. ($75) Initially I was making some Mission style tables, and did the first one by hand. The chisel thing was tedious but worked well. If your making a lot of holes, I'd get one.
If you are making a lot of holes or doing them frequently enough, I'd skip the Kit and get a dedicated mortise. Simply because it just ties up the DP to much and I need it for other uses.............
Joe
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.