Your favorite plunge morticing jig

[charlie b]

That would be a good enough excuse for getting the General International 75-075M1, tilting head, angleable fence and XY table - if you're a tool junky and no SWMBO to bitch about the price.

You can make something that works out of ply or MDF - but you'll probably overlook a key capability and have to modify it or make an add on. Usually end up with something that sort of works - for one specific task, or maybe a couple. And when it's not in use you have to find a place to store it. If you don't make, and keep notes on how to use it the next time you go to use it there'll be a learning curve to get over before yo get to making "the real thing".

Then there's the Trend M& T Jig. Very easy and versatile for mortises, not quite as easy for tenons. So simplify things and go with "loose tenons" and just use the mortising process. Oh, and get a couple of extra clamps - they come in handy.

You can cut angled mortises on one or two axis as well. Handy when making chairs (not a problem with some of the A&C / Greene & Greene / Stickley / Frank Loyd Wright / MacIntosh chairs)

charlie b

[George]

Up spiral 1/2 bit carried pretty well. Keep the rpm up on the router and use the vacuum extractor if you have one. I don't. I took what it gave me on the first pass, hit with air to clear corners and took a finisher.

[George]

You saw the method for making the jig you need, so use it.

[Swingman]

If that's the case, then I'm thinking that you perhaps misunderstand the correct use of a router.

[B A R R Y]

Which is why you can put _two_ edge guides on the same rails, or if you don't have two guides, spend 30 minutes cobbling together the wooden base with two rails.

Shallower cuts can also go a long way toward curing torque issues.

[B A R R Y]

Cut a bigger hole.

[Teamcasa]

I'm a little late for this but here is mine. Dave

[brentdelf]

Off-line, there is a nice one in Creating Coffee Tables: An Artistic Approach by Craig Vandall Stevens. It is versatile because it can do side and end mortises. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED book.

[resrfglc]

Impressive! Where'd ya get that angle? 4" x 6" (1/4" thick?) Impressive find or expensive purchase?

Also - kudos on the gate!

[MB]

What is the preferred bit? Spiral upcut the same thickness as the mortise? One of the sites looked at recommended a two flute straight bit (which are quite a bit cheaper).

[Joe]

Spiral upcuts have their upsides and downsides (pardon the pun).

Upside: You can plunge straight down into the mortise, where with a two flute, you have to move back and forth as there is no cutting surface on the point of the bit. Downside: spiral upcuts have a tendency to be yanked down into the workpiece. This can be alleviated by setting the stop on a plunge router. I like to use my stop for the finished depth of the mortise, so this could be a small problem unless you have multiple stops (most plunge routers do). As you mentioned, they are expensive and success rates with sharpening are (from what I've heard) not good.

I use 2 flute straight cutters for all my mortises.

my $.02 worth, ymmv, etc etc....

[Swingman]

I have good luck with spiral upcut, two or four flute, "end mills" of the same diameter as the desired mortise and, besides the extra lengths available for deep mortises, they are often cheaper. Last time I ordered, the 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8" 4 flute end mills were $16, $19, and $27 respectively.

PDF of their catalog online at:

[CW]