I'm going to be doing several mortises sometime soon, and as I don't have a plunge router or dp mortising attachment, I was planning on drilling them out with brad-point bits or forstners on a drill press, then chiseling out the waste. Then I got to thinking - what if I carefully set up a drill press table with a fence, chucked in an end mill or spiral upcut router bit, drilled down at one end of the mortise, and slowly slid the board until I cut the whole mortise? Then I'd only need to square up the ends with a chisel. Has anyone done this? I know the dp is far slower than a router, but if it can be done in metal (that's the point of an end mill, right?), why not wood? I know lateral pressure on the quill isn't good for the dp, but if I used a sharp bit and fed it slowly, how much would it stress the machine? I'd appreciate shared advice, experience, and opinions, Andy
- posted
18 years ago