Menu
What's new

How do you make your Mortises?

How do you cut your Mortises

  • Old School, Mortise Chisel only!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Drill the holes and clean up with a chisel.

    Votes: 6 10.2%

  • I use a mortising attachment on my drill press.

    Votes: 5 8.5%

  • I use a mortising machine.

    Votes: 28 47.5%

  • I use a router/router based jig

    Votes: 15 25.4%

  • Other (Please describe)

    Votes: 5 8.5%
  • Total voters
    59
Status
Not open for further replies.
Brent Dowell

Brent Dowell

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
16,913
Location
Reno NV
So, I'm thinking about getting a bench top mortiser, but thought I would ask you guys how you make your mortises?
 
It depends on how many you're going to make. If you only make mortises occasionally, drill them out and clean up with a chisel. If you are going to be making mortises every day, get a horizontal slot mortiser.

Mike
 
i've found the easiest way is with a dedicated mortising machine. you can hammer them out just as big or small as you want, and the best thing is, you don't have to clean up the corners.
 
I don't often have a call for mortises, but when I do, it's usually a bunch of them. Even though my benchtop mortising machine collects dust about 363 days of the year, it sure is handy when I need it.
 
I use a 100+ year old foot operated Wysong Mortiser. It was really a production machine so I have done a little adapting but it works really well. It was a line shaft driven machine originally, babbit bearings. Someone butchered it and put on the electrics but to my surprise is works really well so I have left it alone and just use it as is.

mort3.jpg
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
The Shop Fox. It was available locally, and had a bigger motor than most of the others in the same price range. The last review I recall seeing, it placed well, although the tilting General was rated higher.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've been going back and forth between the grizz, shopfox, general, and woodtek... The general and wood tek seem like overkill, the grizz and the shopfox seem like they would be good, and probably very serviceable with a cross slide vice...
 
i have the delta mortise attachement, works great, worked great, I just bought the jet tabletop mortiser, its a pleasure to use. Easy quick set up, depth setup is great. Im sure most of the tabletop mortisers are similar.
 
Multiple choice:)

well brent i have done most all of your choices. the first ones i ever did were by hand, then i had another project that only called for a few, but were on an angel, at that tim ei had a older version of delta bench top.. but to make a mortise on a angel is a another ball of wax and for it being the first time i used the machine i had some custom clamping to do and had to make more depth clearance on the machine, so if your looking at making a few on a bias and am gonna buy a machine dont look away from the general to much,, i have seen it in action and its a nice tool.. but for the occassional one or a speacilly large one in some long heavy piece.. the machine wont do you they do have limits on hiegth of piece and being able to jig it right to work..if had lots on money i would look at the one that david marks uses, the multi router.. it may be the same as mikes suggestion on the horizontal mortise machine..but the drill and chisel will work anywhere:)
 
larry merlau said:
well brent i have done most all of your choices. the first ones i ever did were by hand, then i had another project that only called for a few, but were on an angel, at that tim ei had a older version of delta bench top.. but to make a mortise on a angel is a another ball of wax and for it being the first time i used the machine i had some custom clamping to do and had to make more depth clearance on the machine, so if your looking at making a few on a bias and am gonna buy a machine dont look away from the general to much,, i have seen it in action and its a nice tool.. but for the occassional one or a speacilly large one in some long heavy piece.. the machine wont do you they do have limits on hiegth of piece and being able to jig it right to work..if had lots on money i would look at the one that david marks uses, the multi router.. it may be the same as mikes suggestion on the horizontal mortise machine..but the drill and chisel will work anywhere:)
Click to expand...

I recently had to make mortises on a piece that was taller than my machine allowed even with the column extension. I ended up drilling and chiseling. I then realized that all I had to do was reverse the column on the mortiser and I could do almost any thickness of wood:doh:
 
I use a router to make mortises in both sides of the joint and add a loose tenon. For most, I use my router table but have had to use a handheld router for larger items.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top