How do you cut your mortices?

[silentC]

Time for another poll.

How do you cut your mortices? Assuming that you cut them. If you don't, I'm sorry but you cannot vote. Unless you want to say how you would cut them if you cut them.

[Ben from Vic.]

SilentC.

I currently use the "Drill & Chisel" method, with the aid of a (Sorby) corner chisel.

I think it's the best thing since sliced bread and highly recomend it.

Ben.

[echnidna]

Most of the above -- it just dependswhat mood i am in

[Gumby]

I don't !!!!!!!!

LONG LIVE THE BISCUIT !!!!

[Ben from Vic.]

Gumby,

shhh...I've got a whole bag of "shhh" back their with your name on it!

Ben.

[Grunt]

I use the Trend Mortice & Tennon jig that I bought in a moment of stupidity at the Melbourne WW show. Don't get me wrong, it works, it's just that it takes a bit of time to setup and cost a lot. Knowing what I know now I'd build a template for the mortices and a table saw jig for the tennons.

[Rocker]

SilentC,
I suppose I am prejudiced, but I still think my router morticing jig is the best thing since sliced bread. When my old one gave up the ghost recently, I spent a few hours building another more robust version. My jig enables me to cut accurately positioned and precisely sized mortices in a couple of minutes. Set-up is quick and easy, and marking out consists simply of making a single registration mark on the workpiece to be aligned with the centre line of the jig. My jig costs well under $100, including the dial gauge, whereas commmercial jigs that can produce comparable results cost anywhere between $800 and $3500 dollars, and some of these, as Grunt has pointed out, require tedious set-up procedures.

If you are considering building projects which need a number of M&T joints, the few hours spent in making the jig are well worthwhile. Admittedly you can get away at a pinch with using biscuit joints in tables and dowels in chairs, but the resulting pieces are never going to last as well as they would if made with M&T joints.

Rocker

[bitingmidge]

Experience now tells me that there are better ways to join MDF.

Cheers,

P

[AlexS]

Drill & chisel is my favourite, although if I had a lot to do (and if I had one) a dedicated chisel & bit morticer would be the way to go.

[Wayne Davy]

Dedicated Chisel Mortiser for me - fast, accurate, dead simple to setup, etc.

[bob w]

Drill & chisel is the go when I have the time to spare. I find it relaxing and enjoyable to work with hand tools BUT if I'm in a hurry the router and homemade jig are used. My jig is fairly basic so will soon be looking for a better design to build.

[woodymarts]

hi , i use my mortsing machean it work very well and is easyer that doing it by hand (what a pain)
woodymarts

[Rocker]

How come this thread keeps coming up in New Posts, when the last post was back in June? Looks like there is a bug somewhere.

Rocker

[Grunt]

I think the thread keeps coming to the top when someone votes on the poll regardless if they posted a reply.

[Caliban]

I usually try the last option, go Uri.
When that inevitably fails I stick a dirty great screw through the two bits of wood and slap a bit of bog over the screw head, then paint over it with paint from a tin opened with a Robert Sorby Chisel sharpened for the task with several hundred dollars worth of waterstones.(which were flattened with a duosharp diamond stone.(??????)