I've never used a mortiser before so I'm not sure what to look for. I realize this is far from the top of the line but has anyone used it before? I will mostly be working in redwood and I'm not a high production wood worker. It is normally $159 on sale for $99.
I have this unit and have used it successfully. The only other mortiser I've used is a big iron foot-operated unit with an indexing table, so obviously, it's not going to compare to that. Since I don't do that many mortises (at least not right now), I found this mortiser quite serviceable.
todd
I purchased one about a year ago. I figured a dedicated mortiser would be too extravagant for a woodworking hobbyist like myself, but for the price I decided to take a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. The depth stop and handle are kind of cheesy,but I have cut about sixty to seventy mortises to date and it works fine. I think it is worth the $100.00.
"Serviceable" is something I can live with. I'm getting it.
Thanks,
Greg
Yes.
On 10 Jan 2004 14:50:08 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@windsweptsoftware.com (Greg DeBacker) brought forth from the murky depths:
I made a guitar string winder today to test the little 1/4" chisel and it works great. I had a little 0.320 x 0.875" through mortise in a piece of mesquite about 1 minute after setup.
BTW, guys, I figured out why some of the chisels squeal so loudly sometimes. It happens when a small piece of wood gets cocked in the chisel and holds the drill bit against the chisel.
I also found, by trial and error, the proper depth to set the bit below the chisel to keep it from binding after 1/8" of cut.
Learning how to cut mortises by hand was great fun, but this tool is definitely easier on the old bod, I tell ya.
Greg, you could probably sell that mortiser for the price you paid if you needed to. If you can't swing the $234 Griz gets for the Shop Fox, delivered, you might be OK with the HFT job. Especially in a soft wood like redwood.
I had a problem with my HFT 8" drill press tonight. As I bored the counterbore hole in my little winder, the very last step on the tool, the bit grabbed and knocked the chuck clean off the tool. The bit went all the way through the winder, so I stepped out a wee bit and drilled naother hole. The winder is not a bit lighter than it would have been, but it works. It felt good to get into the shop again. I'm building/painting leftover plywood into storage cabinets to get some of my tools off the floors and shelves this week.
- They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it. -Confucius ---
I got one as well...
on mine, the 'fence' was NOT vertical to the table... a little work with a file and grinder made it a far better fit... you might look at that... --Shiva--
I got one recently. Immediately had to replace the table (particle board, it came broken) with plywood. Also had to shim the fence square. One apparent "design flaw" is the hold down doesn't flush to the fence, so I added an auxiliary fence to the front of the aluminum fence. Do a google search on this machine as I have read that many people replace the chisel set screw. Also look for the 40 cent method to set the chisel/bit spacing.. Check all the tolerances and make sure everything is tight.
This is also my first mortiser. It takes some tweaking to set up, but I think it is going to be a big time saver.
Montyhp
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.