Jet JBM-5 Bench Mortiser

[samson the builder]

Anyone have any experience with this one? What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

s

[MikeWhy]

It works well enough. Do you have specific concerns?

[samson the builder]

In article , boat042- [e-mail] says...>

Not really. I just need something decent for a mid-range home woodworker that will last a good long while.

s

[MikeWhy]

There's nothing remarkable to say about it. It just quietly puts square holes into the stock. The small base is tippy. Bolt it to a base plate with the supplied bolts. Keep the chisels sharp with a rattail file. It's a little fiddly with setting the chisel parallel to the board edge, and setting the bit clearance. Again, nothing remarkable; just needs doing. Mine lives in a locker under the small tool counter. I'd almost try to talk you out of it, but sometimes it's better suited than any other tool. I use the router table more often for the dust collection. Router cut mortises tend to look sharp and crisp, while the mortiser can leave it looking a bit ratty. I think that sums it up. I'm glad to have the choice, but very few times is it the only tool for the job.

[Pat Barber]

[samson the builder]

In article , [e-mail] says...>

Thanks, Pat. I've made and used a mortising jig before, but I thought a dedicated mortiser would make things even easier. I guess not.

I'll have to take my little wad of cash and buy a different tool.

Thanks,

s

[Pat Barber]

There seems to be always be something that needs to be adjusted on the mortiser.

The better bit sets are fairly expensive.

The router just seems to be a natural for "most" mortising once you get a decent jig and setup.

I bought my Delta mortising machine for the exact same reasons you have and the results didn't come as expected. It was a expensive lesson.

The MUCH larger mortising machines like the Powermatic

't suffer from the same problems their smaller cousins seem to have.

sams> Thanks, Pat. I've made and used a mortising jig before,

[-MIKE-]

If were doing production work for which I need a bunch of repeated mortising, I would go with a dedicated machine.

If I needed 8 or 16 for a bed or big table or something as a one off custom job, I would be tempted to make a jog and use the router.

But in the one video someone posted, by the time the guy had the jig setup with the stock clamped up, someone with sharp tools could've drilled and chiseled the things out. Surely, in the time it takes to make the jig, the other ones could be done as well. And yeah, you'd have the jig done and ready for the next time around.

I think we should all have to do a thing by hand, before using a power tool or dedicated machine to do the thing, for a couple reasons. A. It helps you really appreciated the power tool or dedicated machine, having once done them my hand. II. It gives you the experience needed for determining if the power tool or dedicated machine is really worth the extra money, and if it's

*really* saving you time/effort or not.

[B A R R Y]

I also have a mortiser, but not the aforementioned, and that makes one of us.

[d.williams]

I have the Delta 14-651 mortiser, under $300, I like it. Easy to set up, once the settings (the back fence, and the depth) are locked in, I trust them and have not had any trouble having to readjust. I just made a radiator cover with 24 slats spread out over 50 inches and found it to be very quick and accurate. Basically 48 - 3/8" square plunge cuts. In that case I wouldn't imagine a router jig being as fast. Not intending to say that it's the only way, but it was slick in this case.