I just bought a new benchtop mortise machine, Powermatic 701, that did not come with a set of bits. I have DAGS on mortise bit reviews and mortise machine bits and afew other combinations and the hits are not relevant. What i am looking for is advice on the best set of bits for my machine. I would appreciate any suggestions.
TIA
Russ
I am still using the ones that came with my Delta. With that said buy the sharpening cone and polish the outsides chisel edges immediately. Like regular chisels you need to sharpen them first. It will make a WORLD of difference in performance and effort on your part to plunge the chisel down into the wood.
have one 3/8" AMT mortising chisel that came with my Dad's AMT mortising attachment, and I would like to sharpen it. As far as I know, I'm out of luck for purchasing additional chisels, as the AMT mortising attachment uses 3/4" diameter chisels, and Delta and others use 5/8" chisels. Thanks in advance!
Look at the "Upscale" reply above.
Thanks for the link!
Thanks for the link!
Fisch makes pretty good chisel/bit sets.
As noted by others, they. like most bench chisels, don't come honed and ready to go. A fine - safe sides - needle file will get the cutting parts of the bit better. Small shaped slip stones will get them even better - sharp and shiny. For the chisel, Lee Valley sells a pair of diamond cones for throat sharpening. They're not expensive - under $20 as I recall. There is a much more expensive version that has a cylinder on the end that regiseters inside the chisel - keeping the grind square to the long axis of the chisel. But you need one for each chisel size and at $60 or so eac . . . . Hone the outside faces of the chisel(s)
- hard arkansas stone or whatever.
And once that's all done you still need to set the gap between the bit and the chisel. Here's The Forty Cent Method
Thanks for all the advice. I will likely buy the one from Lee Valley. The powermatic has a built-in adjuster for the bit to chisel spacing. Once i get the bit set I'll try this and let the group know my amateur opinion. It also has a built in come for sharpening the inside edge of the chisel.
Interesting. I had a Delta and it didn't work for sh*t on cherry. I actually stripped the shear pin on the handle trying to cut a 1/2 inch mortise. I called Delta technical support and finally returned the mortiser to Woodworker's Supply for a full refund. None of the people I spoke to ever suggested that the chisel needed sharpening before use.
Oh well, I've gotten pretty good at the Drill/Chisel and Router methods.
TWS
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