Mortising machine: what to buy

[wood_newbie]

In a recent FWW tool guide, they gave a very good review to the Delta

14-651. (Tops were General International and Woodtek, in that order...both very substantially more expensive.)

I just bought one last night on Amazon...they had it on sale for $199, and with the $20-off promo, that brought it in at $179, with free delivery to boot. For that money, I couldn't say no. (Woodcraft sells the same machine for $269.)

I just looked, and the price has risen to $229, but that now qualifies for the $40-off promo, so your delivered cost is just $10 more.

I (obviously) haven't used the tool yet, nor any other mortiser, so can't answer you about which is the best model, other than based on a single review.

But I sure as ^%$# can't wait to get mine. It comes with four chisels as well, which I figure are probably crap chisels too, but an _excellent_ opportunity for me to learn to sharpen them, probably burn the &^%$ out of them, then throw them away and get better quality once I've gotten over the learning curve.

[Cyrille de Brébisson]

hello,

Iam planning to buy a mortising machine for an upcomming project, but I have a few questions.

- is it really worth it?

- is the $99 HF machine good enough for light usage (like a 1 project a month type thing)

- I imagine that the HF mortising bits are crap (this type of stuff usually is crap at HF), but how crap are they really, how much should I expect to pay in a "real" place (woodcraft) for the bits

any advices?

thanks, cyrille

[Al Miller]

I needed one for a cradle I made my Gdaughter. After checking the reviews I went with the Shop Fox and am very happy with it. Check at

for latest prices. I also bought the set of chisels they sell. Still sharp after 160 holes in butternut and white oak.

Have fun, Al in WA

[e-mail]

[David]

Personally I like the results from an upcut spiral bit over a mortising unit.

dave

[Vic Baron]

Bought the HF unit - have about the same needs as you. Went on ebay and bought some extra chisel/bit combos. Much better than the HF originals and the combo works fine. There are quite a few excellent quality chisel/bit combos available that fit the HF unit. Cut 120 1/2" mortises with no problem other than boredom. :)

YMMV,

Vic

[Dave Jackson]

I'll second the shop fox recommendation. IIRC, it was the most adjustable one made when I bought mine. Also, most other brands were 1/2 hp whereas the shop fox is listed as 3/4 hp. (I don't know if the extra 1/4 hp is really necessary as mine has never bogged down in even the hardest of woods). One other thing to note- the shop fox machine runs at 3450 rpm, whereas most other brands run at 1725 rpm. Dunno why. It's a great machine. --dave

[JGS]

[Locutus]

is the difference between this and a DP???