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mortising

dombear

Plastic
Joined
Sep 28, 2020
Can anybody tell me what Mortise Tenon Drill Press Attachment will work with a Guardian power 12 speed drill press?
 
Pictures or link?

Basically just measure the quill.
Then get an attachment with the same bore.

Something close but undersized can be bored to fit the quill.
Something slightly oversized, so long as the quill bears on the inner shoulder, can be sleeved to fit your quill.

Even if you find a direct fit attachment made for your machine, sometimes the augers for the chisel set will have to be shortened a little. Sometimes you will wish they were a little longer. 3 jaw drill chucks do not hold HC m,ortiser auger securely. Back short ones up with a slug in the chuck so they don't get pushed up into the chisel & split it when working.

smt
 
Dombear,
Welcome to the forum.

Stephen is being polite.
Basically it is just a bad idea to try morticing on a drill press and that is why so many are for sale. A drill press does not have the quill down force needed to do the job.
Any table top type of dedicated machine will be far better than a drill press setup.
I have a 2000 lb dual chain chisel machine and for some cuts I am hanging off the 3' lever to get the chisel to make a full depth cut.

Sharpening the chisel and drill is 90% of the battle and they are definitely not sharp right out of the box. Each face of the chisel needs to be flattened and stoned to a mirror finish just like the back of a well sharpened cabinet chisel.

There are many other ways to make mortices and you would be well advised to try some other methods before going with a drill press mortice attachment. Come on back and ask more questions about other methods if you want to explore other options.

Good luck,

Michael
 
Very illustrative your comments about mortising chisels. Would you please provide details about your dual-chain mortiser? I´ve known only single-chain mortisers. Finally, who is your supplier of chains? Thanks!
 
Rodelu,
My machine is a dual purpose machine, it has a chain mortice on one side and chisel on the other, they are fairly common. I could have written the sentence a bit better...

I have never had to buy a chain as the machine came with a cabinet full of tooling and I have picked up a bit more over the years. I don’t use the chain much anymore as I just do one of a kind furniture these days and not so much of that now and prefer the chisel for most work.

I recently made a pair of Oak heritage doors, 1/4” veneer over solid fir and used a 1/2” chisel to 4-1/2” depth. The chisel needed to be very sharp or the fir wood tear badly on the way down. The harder part of sharpening a chisel is the inside edge and I have a set of tapered reamers with changeable pilots to do the job. Not sure where you would find these as I got mine from a company in New York and I don’t know if they are still available. I think it was Garret Wade tools but not 100% positive on that. Grinding stones can be dressed to the correct shape but without a pilot they are a bit harder to use. The reamers have a square taper shank and fit into a hand drill brace.

Michael
 
M.Moore, thanks for your reply.
I remember seeing one of those chisel/chain mortisers made by Jonsereds many years ago, big machine, beautifully made, very heavy.
 
Yes, Jonsereds made a very nice machine, that is the one I have.
I think Wadkin made one that when you pulled on the handle the motor started for whichever type cutter you were using, very dangerous. Seems like a good idea but turned out not so much.

Funny (?) story about the morticer when I was moving from my old shop to my new shop 15 years ago. My dad was helping me load all the machines and we had two large trailers to load. We got the morticer out of the building with the forklift and then set it temporarily on the trailer deck while I had to reposition the forklift as there was not much room to move around. I lowered the forks so he could remove the sling and all was fine, then as my dad turned away I saw the machine start to tip forward, I yelled! He turned and in one smooth motion slipped the sling back onto the fork, catching it just before it went over off the back of the trailer to its demise. The damage may not have been repairable. We both said nothing for a minute or so.
Most people would have watched it fall, he was amazing in an emergency, so fast to react. Most of the rest of the time he was hard to be around.
That was my only close call with machine moving, a story for the rigging forum perhaps.
 
There are many other ways to make mortices and you would be well advised to try some other methods before going with a drill press mortice attachment. Come on back and ask more questions about other methods if you want to explore other options.

I second this. The other methods will depend on the size and number of mortises that you are cutting. Since the OP asked about a DP mortiser, I can only suspect cabinetry level mortises. I would advice you to explore cutting them by hand. Unless you are doing production (which you would have a dedicated machine), it is often faster to cut them by hand.
 
FWIW, I don't see a big problem with small mortises on a decent DP if set up well.
In the late 70's/early 80's i made a rack & pinion traveling table for an import floor DP & used up to 3/4" square chisels to mortise a pile of white oak for horse stall doors, on one job. With a 4 x 4 propped under the table to hold height and resist deflection. :) Shortly thereafter, a nice heavy old Greenlee 228 auto was found on the Eastern Shore & refurbed to replace it.

Toned down to using chisels up to as large as maybe 7/16" sq for cabinet work a DP rig would beat hand chiseling, unless the nature/quality of the work demands hand mortises (Antique forgery, e.g.).

I would not invest a lot of money in the system, but modern oriental style chisels cut faster and freer than the old western pattern, though they are a bit more delicate. Advice to get a true mortise machine, of course is spot on. Major advantages are a rigid square fence, traveling table, and micrometer set lockable cross travel to position/center the work.

smt
 
I got a morticing attachment when I bought my Powermatic 1150 new 50 yrs ago. Maybe had the foot pedal too, can't remember. But I do remember that it was not a very satisfactory way to cut morticers in hardwoods, got an old Crescent morticer soon after, much better! But if you don't have the space, I guess one has to compromise
 
Richard,
I used a General dedicated morticer when I was in school many moons ago. It had the foot pedal with spring return, a very bad idea indeed. What is needed is positive control of the stroke in both directions.
If the chisel sticks when down in the hole you can burn up the chisel quite easily.
 
I would consider a small metal working milling machine, whether new or used, horizontal or vertical. Then use high helix end mills to cut the mortises. Square the corners by chisel or round the tenons.
 
Richard,
I used a General dedicated morticer when I was in school many moons ago. It had the foot pedal with spring return, a very bad idea indeed. What is needed is positive control of the stroke in both directions.
If the chisel sticks when down in the hole you can burn up the chisel quite easily.

Tbat sounds ideal Michael, but requires a pretty sizeable machine, yes? I've used my Bridgeport for mortices for years, as henrya suggests. But I was always doing one off or small edition work, never any real production. I'd cut the tenons on it too, using the horizontal head accessory. Again kinda slow, but man , was it accurate! Plus it was easy to first take a climb cut around the rails to avoid breaking out any brittle veneers or ebony cockbeads.
Really good for bridle joint too!
 
I agree on the mill for mortices, a very accurate method, not sure if the OP has access to one though.
I built my own tenon machine and had a question about the construction which was one of my first posts on the PM, way before the woodwork forum started. It is quite similar to the Leigh FMT but much, much better. All cutting is climb cutting but I do make a normal last pass as insurance. It is very fast and accurate.

Here is a link to the original thread way back in 2007. https://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/flatten-aluminum-plate-144749/?highlight=router

I could start a new thread and post more photos if anyone wants to build their own tenoner.
 
Michael -I think that would be interesting, especially if it is still your primary process for making tenons & mortises.
This site would be a little more vibrant with more photos posted, but my own recent experience indicates a possible reason why so few bother. Picture posting on this site has become a bit more grueling/time consuming than it used to be; and for woodworking apps, the size is not generous.

Anyway - go for it!

Bought my first tenoner around 1980, and then in the following years used to build a few router based mortisers and tenoners for other shops on request, but didn't use them myself. Most of the jointery for my regular work was bigger/longer than is practical with routers. However, having started making more furniture late in life, i can see why router based machines appeal for some ops and sizes.

smt
 
I have an Inca table saw with mortising attachment. Here is a video overview I found.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ6NDr1GOEE

Its got some play in even new. Requires careful set up to make nice work. The saw overall is very precise. I’ve cut joints by hand, with this machine, table saw jigs and milling machine. Milling machine is hard to beat.

A milling machine with a ultra high speed head (like router fast) would be excellent. As would any rigid dedicated machine for cutting joints in wood. Main feature of mill is there is a good supply of used machines out there for not much money.

The other machine I’d like to have is a small cnc router with maybe a 12x12x12 work envelope mounted in a good sized table. That would be super useful.
 
I could start a new thread and post more photos if anyone wants to build their own tenoner.
Please do!!
Thanks.
 








 
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