How do you cut your mortices?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rocker

Squizzy,

But why waste time maintaining the bits and chisels of a morticer, when you could be woodworking?

Rocker

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I'm not going there, sounds like that "f" word ..."fettling"

Anyway Rocker and Silent I hear what you are saying but if I was in stirring mode I'd say bollocks, I'm not but,:D here's why;;)

We have unlimited threads on the fine tuning of machinery, lots about tablesaws, of whatever $$$ and brand. I would expect unless you are paying top dollar some (its that "f" word again) fettlin would be involved. I have used two machine morticers, one a vertical chisel morticer (older than me) and one a horizontal slot morticer (which is really just a fancy router on its side with a controlled table. Anyway, no machine works out of square or with blunt tools, thats a given.

I read the article somewhere about seven odd "cheaper" chisel morticers that were tested in the States and all but one was found to be wanting in the maintaining square/true department. Some provided good adjustment for this purpose and some where impossible. I am concerned about the market (in Aus) offering a few $300 machines and a few $1100 machines. Seems like a big gap?? and the quality needs looking at.

Having once been trained to make M&T by hand and then having done a batch job with a tenoning jig and a chisel morticer I know which produced the most accurate job in the least time.

The setup required in a chisel morticer is not really that different to a morticing jig (like the Leigh) but may be a little easier IMHO and not having used Rockers jig.

I believe people have bad experience with chisel morticers mainly because of blunt chisels; caused by poor operation. It is easy to overheat a chisel in Aus hardwood and a lot of the chisels around are garbage. However they really are quick and easy to use. I'd stick my neck out and say faster than most other methods.

Anyway, I believe a chisel morticer has its drawbacks just like other tools but there is no more potential for inaccuracy then there is with a Leigh D4, Tablesaw, Bandsaw, thinnesser etc.

BTW, last time I touched a chisel morticer was about 8 years ago so I could be talking Bollocks:D .

Cheers

I suppose the thing to remember with the Rocker jig is that you make it so that the router platform is square to the section that the workpiece is clamped to. Then, assuming that your router's collet is perpendicular to its base (if it isn't - buy a better router) then the mortices can't help being perpendicular. There is no set up or adjustment. This relies on your ability to contruct the jig properly but once you have done so, there's never any need for adjustment.

If you buy a jig or a morticer, because they are mass produced, the same attention to detail is not applied and so they have to give you a way of adjusting it for square. Some are obviously better at this than others. If you have one of the drill press attachments, you can easily adjust the table side to side but front to back is a bit harder.

Squizzy,

I don't doubt that if you want to pay over $1000 for a heavy-duty morticer, you can get excellent results and accuracy. But why bother, when you can build a jig for under $50 that will give results just as good? All it takes is about a day's work to build the jig, which should last for years.

Admittedly, the chisel morticer gives you mortices with square ends, which may save a bit of time when making the tenons to fit, but I don't think a morticer can be justified unless you are building furniture commercially.

Rocker

The object of my post wasn't about wether other jigs or methods were better or cheaper, just that I don't think you can generalise chisel morticers as inaccurate. In my experience they are very accurate, fast and good fun to use. My concern was for people reading this thread gaining the impression that chisel morticers are obviously accepted as being inaccurate which is no more true than it is for the Triton workcentre, Jet SuperSaw, BP-16a, etc etc.

What is the best, most economical?? is a different poll, being another poll not one started by Ross:D .

A little bit of mis-information can go a long way and a little bit of inexperience/lack of fundementals with machinery can further a myth. For example, at a clients today a noticed a MK III Triton workcentre on the back verandah. Cut to the chase, the guy that originally owned it gave it to Mr Client describing it as dangerous and innaccurate. In discussion I had with him Mr Client was pleased to learn there was a video he could get to set it up and manuals and clubs etc. He was approaching the machine in the right manner. I was able to determine that the original owner had even assembled the thing incorrectly. He said "it was a piece of junk".

Have I rambled enough.

OK, well just to clarify my comments on the subject, I didn't mean to imply that morticers were any more inherently inaccurate than any other piece of machinery, with consideration given to quality and design of the machine and experience of the user. Norm uses one all the time and he is the champion of 'fast and furious' furniture making.

I merely wanted to point out the areas in which I knew a morticer could be inaccurate, in answer to your original query directed to Rocker, and balance that against observations on the fixed platform jig and router combination.

Heaven forbid that I should be responsible for putting anyone off the purchase of a dedicated morticer BUT be aware that they have to be set up properly, just like any other machine, before you can expect them to work properly.

Am I off the hook yet?

Silent, the areas you point out that can provide problems are what a lot of the cheap machines suffer from, from my limited observation and research of the current market.

A separate issue is the one of the angled mortice. I once made a workbench for a mate which, instead of having a lower set of spreaders, needed to be open to allow a compressor to be put underneath. I put the legs in the chisel morticer, rotated the table to 45 deg and cut mortices for angled leg braces, carefully, but no real drama.

So that goes into the advantages/disadvantages basket.

Cheers and yes, you were never really on a hook, just a mild toasting platform:D ;)

Squizzy,

I have also cut angled mortices in square table legs on on my jig. I just clamped the legs between two blocks with V-shaped grooves. The mortices on this table were cut like that: http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ead.php?t=6305

Rocker

I use the a mortice jig and a router. Makes it easier. If I need to I also use a chisel to neaten the job up a bit.

Cheers

Kris