deep, long and narrow mortises

larry merlau

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Delton, Michigan
ok i need to make 4 mortise's that are 1 5/16" deep and 5" long and 3/8" wide but i cant get the stock under the drill press... and the spiral cutter i have only cuts a touch over 1" deep.. so you router gurus, how would you set it up to run these..????
 
Hey larry, how about a mortice machine, I got one you can use :p In other words, I had better get your machine back to ya:eek:

nope yu dont need to hurry with it tom it wont work either. i need to have ten inches of clearance between the table and the bit:( cant get it with that either.. what i or we need is one of those mulit routers and cheap too.. they are slick looking machines and if i ever got close to one i would be lookun it over real hard..david marks made one look like it was the golden goose...
 
Hows about..... ?

Set up the router to make a nice/neat mortice (1" deep) Then set up the drill press, drill out the remaining depth using the previously routed mortice as a guide to keep you straight, clean it up with a chisel... ? Might work for me.
 
my drill press doesnt have ten inches of clearance,, ..have thought on using a spiral bit and the router table to get most of it but the last batch if it would rub on the unmilled portion of the cutter. the cut lenght is only around a a touch over a inch..but i might be able to just use a portable drill and get the last bit of wood out????
 
I think my work drill press can have a lot of clearance Larry, I will check tomarrow. If not, I know my brother has 5 drill presses, one is an old one that I think has tons of clearance also.
 
I'd use my PC router, with a 3/8" chuck, and a HSS two flute end mill. The mills I have have a 1½" cutting length, so they'd make it without having to rub the shank against the sides of the mortise.

BTW, if you do rum the bit's shank against the mortise walls, it'll burnish them and make a poor gluing surface.

A forstner bit in a drill guide, followed by a sharp chisel would likely cut the mortises just about as fast as setting up a router for it.
 
larry,
could you use a stop dado method on the table saw. plunging down into the cut at the start and stopping the blade at the end. you could remove the first 1" with the router, then that small amount with the dado. then all you would have to clean up is the corners at the start and stop where the curve of the blade couldn't reach. you could even do it in small passes to make it safer.

lemme know if you don't understand what i mean. i guess it depends on the size of the piece you are doing this to.

chris
 
I take it you don't have a floor model drill press. I would go as deep as I could with the router, use a forstener bit to go the rest of the way and finish with a sharp chisel. shouldn't be a problem since its only 4 mortises.
 
ok, i obviously need to read the whole post, i missed the 5" long part. scratch my idea....:doh:

i am pretty sure i have seen 1-1/2" long straight bits though...couldn't find one to prove it though
 
Burnishing the sides of the mortice with the drill bit???? Geeze one might be a bit persnickerdy I would worry more about over widening the joint than burnishing the sides.

As for reach of a table top drill press.... loosen the set screw and swing the head around , clamp the base to a workbench , Now you have a greater clearance. Be innovative, think outside the box, convert your tools to do as you wish. You are the Master of your realm and controler of the toys. A
Wiil and a Way, they alway supercede the impossible...
 
Do you have one of those dowell jigs that clamp on the edge of boards and have guide bushings in them? I think they have a catchy trade name, cant remember it now. I would drill a series of overlapping holes with it and finish with a chisel.
 

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wll thanks for all the input here,, i hadnt though about moving the drill press to the side 90 degrees,, will look into that and as for the burnishing these mortise's wont be seeing any glue just hardware. so jim i wish i had one of those 3/8 collets and a two flute mill bit.. so i will think these suggestions over and see what shakes out..:thumb::)
 
Woops, I guess I forgot that the drill press at my work was a table top version on a cabinet stand. It can drill a center hole on a 36" circle thou, but that doesn't help you at all. I still can/will check the capacities of my brothers multiple drill presses but it will have to wait till next week, he is leaving to "Da UP" for vacation in the morning.
 
Larry, Do you drill bits long enough? If so You can use a square tape to the wood as a guide line to keep you drilling straigth. I have done this several times ans it works great.
 
Jim mentions the way I would approach it but, if it is never to be done again I would have a hard time buying a 3/8" router collet and longer bit for just four holes. Route as much as you can and then clamp some scrap to act as guides (so you don't bugger your long surface edge) and use a brad point bit in a hand drill with a stop collar(?). Clean up with a chisel if required(?). Just tossin' out ideas.
 
ok i need to make 4 mortise's that are 1 5/16" deep and 5" long and 3/8" wide but i cant get the stock under the drill press... and the spiral cutter i have only cuts a touch over 1" deep.. so you router gurus, how would you set it up to run these..????
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With the equipment I have I would probably approach the task from a different direction. I would consider using the table saw to cut a groove full length the depth and width desired and then cut blocks to be glued back in the spaces between the mortise locations. Leave the insert blocks just a little proud and do a final trim so everything comes out flush and neat.
 
Update...long deep mortise's

well i got them done and in the process got a lead on a bit to make it easier next time:thumb:

tn_deep mortise's 001.jpg tn_deep mortise's 002.jpg

i took and used a upcut spiral bit that was to short of cut length for proper useage but i made it work.. then cleaned up the round corners.. just took it in 4 passes and mark my stop points so as to not go threw the end where i had just a 1/4" of material left.. thanks for the tips folks. as yu can see a table saw wouldnt work on this one:);)
 
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