Footprint of mortiser

[W Canaday]

What is the approx. footprint of a benchtop mortiser when mounted to a free-standing base?

I recently saw a web site where someone on here has just such a beast and his measurements would be close enough.

I'm trying to lay out my work shop semi-sanely. When there was only a table saw and a lathe, there was plenty of room. Now all is insanity and I haven't even gotten around to adding the mortiser, panel sander and a decent workbench (indeed, the only workbench I have was made by Craftsman and has a hole for a round saw thingy in the middle of it).

As I get into the project this wet Saturday afternoon, I am making paper templates (which weigh ever so much less than the actual tools) for use with graph paper. I see now what the problem might be ... tools already about 1/2 of my square footage. In an 11 x 31 room, that doesn't leave much wiggle room.

I might be selling a 1 hp scroll saw pretty soon ... and a 'shop fridge' in need of a new door gasket.

Somethings gotta give.

Soon.

In the meantime, if you know what dimensions to allow for a mortiser that I don't even own yet, post here, please. As I get into this project, it looks like I am in the market for some shop=built rolling bases.

Bill

[Edwin Pawlowski]

[W Canaday]

that info in a product listing of what is, essentially, a benchtop tool.

I guess there are still a couple of things I don't know yet.

Bill

[Mike Dembroge]

Bill,

11x31 is more than double what I have, so I'm envious right off the bat ;-). I'm not directly answering your question here, and this might be blatently obvious, but I put everything on roller bases and roll everything outside to make room when working. Rain is a hassle, but I live with it. Also, there are lots of plans for tool carts that double up (via a swivel mechanism) so you could put the mortiser on one side and a planer for example on the other. Now that I think of it though, mortisers are pretty heavy, so that might not be a good example. Planers and scroll saws maybe?

Anyways, I just thought I'd let you know that while 11x31 may feel small, it's quite roomy by comparison for some of us!

Mike Alameda, CA

[Upscale]

I'm thinking that a mortiser on a cart with wheels might not be so practical. Quite a bit of downward pressure is needed to operate a mortiser and the handle is not centred on the device. Having it on wheels might cause the whole setup to wheel off on some tangent unless the wheels are decently locked and not subject to skidding.

[Mike Dembroge]

Yeah, I would have to agree with you.

[Bigpole]

I have my Delta mortiser modified with a cross slide vise, mounted on a homemade wheeled cart 24" deep by 14" wide by 39" high and have no problems and the wheels don't lock.

[Bill Waller]

Like just about everything in my shop, my mortiser is on a stand with a roller base. I have never had a problem with it moving during operation. ____________________ Bill Waller New Eagle, PA

[e-mail]

[Upscale]

Well, it was just a thought. Not having purchased a mortiser yet, I can only guess at possible problems. Considering that I move around on wheels, everything else I come in contact with better be solidly anchored or I've got a problem.

[CW]

There's no reason you would.

[Bill Waller]

...and a perfectly good thought it is. From your comment, I can certainly understand your concern.

I started putting wheels under things when I worked in my one car garage shop in my last house. Although the new house has a much more substantial space for me to play in, I have found the there is always a need to be able to get things out of the way for larger projects that require lots of floor apace for assembly.

All of the machines on wheels have some kind of locking feature and with the exception of the 12" DeWalt miter saw and the old 9" Rockwell table saw which has crappy casters from Lowes, I lock them down before use. There is no lateral force on the miter saw, and the poopy casters on the Rockwell don't want to move without a lot of force. Besides, I only use that saw for special setups that don't seem to force things in any direction.

The lathe and the 12" RAS are not on wheels. My drill press is a bench top and I don't have a need to move it. The bench it sits on is permanently attached to a wall. But there are times that I wish...

Having things set up for mobility allows me to store tools that are not in use in their own special "parking spaces" and when I don't need them, When I do need them, I can place them wherever it most convenient for a given operation. With the mortiser, for instance, I can just pull it straight out for little jobs, but if I am doing something large, like stiles, I can bring it into a larger work area.

One of the things that I learned while working in the one car shop, was that having larger open areas is a good thing. :-)

Of course, it is important to have power at convenient locations to make all of this work. When I had the shop wired, the electrician asked where I wanted the outlets. I had them placed (quad boxes) every five feet around the walls. That was a half length of EMT between each box. All of the new wiring is 10AWG. There are three circuits, on 30A and two 20A in the run set up in a running lap. No two adjacent boxes are on the same breaker.

____________________ Bill Waller New Eagle, PA

[e-mail]

[W Canaday]

Mike ... if you think rain is a hassle, try rolling a jointer up stairs out of a basement!! ;-)

Bill