Stand alone mortiser or mortising attachment?

[tdubnik]

I am looking for a method to make mortises and am considering both stand alone and the Shopsmith mortising attachment. The stand alone is more expensive running anywhere from ~$250 to $500. The Shopsmith package runs $183 right now.

I think the SS range and table adjustments would be an advantage over the benchtop standalone units but I am not sure how well the SS version works. Does anyone here own the SS package and use it regularly?

Would appreciate any comments either way. I am concerned about availability as the SS package may be "out of stock" and I don't want to wait months to get it.

[Gene Howe]

I found that the table "gave" under the pressure of the mortise chisel. Not a good thing.
Gene

[mbcabinetmaker]

tdubnik

The only thing that I have ever ordered and returned to SS was the mortising attachment. I felt the stress on my 520 was to great. I admit that I was mortising maple, but a trial run on alder reinforced my decision to return the attachment. I wound up with a powermatic stand alone machine and am very pleased with it. For one thing these machines are designed to assert the type of pressure it takes to push the chisel through. I once used a drill press set up in another shop and I can tell you that there are a lot of advantages to these modern mortise machines. I am sure that I will have some family heat over this post but these are my opinions.

Mark

[Gene Howe]

You probably won't get much heat. I think that our problems with the mortise attachment are paralleled by quite a few family members.

Gene

[tdubnik]

tdubnik

The only thing that I have ever ordered and returned to SS was the mortising attachment. I felt the stress on my 520 was to great. I admit that I was mortising maple, but a trial run on alder reinforced my decision to return the attachment. I wound up with a powermatic stand alone machine and am very pleased with it. For one thing these machines are designed to assert the type of pressure it takes to push the chisel through. I once used a drill press set up in another shop and I can tell you that there are a lot of advantages to these modern mortise machines. I am sure that I will have some family heat over this post but these are my opinions.

Mark

That was pretty much my concern and the main reason i asked the question. If I get a stand alone, I am leaning heavily toward the Powermatic although it is costlier than the others. The reviews I have read about it have been very good.

[RobertTaylor]

i used the shopsmith system at a travelling acedemy two years ago and had no problems. however not to "challenge" the more experienced users i must say that we only made a 1/4" mortice in a piece of pine for demonstration purposes only, not an entire project. my morticing attachment may be availble as it is one accessory that i don't think i will ever use.

[dlbristol]

I have the SS stuff, and I share the concerns about the table. I don't do enough mortising to justify a stand alone unit nor do I have room, so I still use the SS mortising chisels with these restrictions.
1. Be very sure bits and chisels are sharp. They are not very forgiving at least for me.
2. Use the support legs to hold the table, and I use a 2X4 right under the bits to carry the pressure. ( I do this with larger drill bits as well)
3. I don't do this in horizontal mode at all.
4. Go slow, very slow. I cut and back out frequently.
5.For deep or large mortising , I go to slot and fill or use drill bits and round the tenons to fit.
Red oak is about as hard as I have worked with, and that is about the limit in my experience. I have done some softer wood and they worked great.

[dlbristol]

I neglected the biggest concern I have about the mortising system, the quill. The quill not as massive in the teeth as the stand alone units. If I were going to do a lot of this, I would look at another tool.

[charlese]

I am looking for a method to make mortises and am considering both stand alone and the Shopsmith mortising attachment. The stand alone is more expensive running anywhere from ~$250 to $500. The Shopsmith package runs $183 right now.

I think the SS range and table adjustments would be an advantage over the benchtop standalone units but I am not sure how well the SS version works. Does anyone here own the SS package and use it regularly?

Would appreciate any comments either way. I am concerned about availability as the SS package may be "out of stock" and I don't want to wait months to get it.

Hi T.D.! Since you are considering getting a stand alone mortising machine, ($350 - $500) I recommend you take a look at the Overarm Pin Router (OPR) I've found, as shown by Nick in the Sawdust Sessions, it is a wonderful mortiser, plus it has many other features. See number two in the attached link.- - http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... _Index.htm

Also as Nick reported in another of the Sawdust Sessions, the SS mortising attachment is not the best tool in their arsenal. What he had to say was the same as other comments above.

[cincinnati]

Hi T.D.! Since you are considering getting a stand alone mortising machine, ($350 - $500) I recommend you take a look at the Overarm Pin Router (OPR) I've found, as shown by Nick in the Sawdust Sessions, it is a wonderful mortiser, plus it has many other features. See number two in the attached link.- - http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... _Index.htm

Also as Nick reported in another of the Sawdust Sessions, the SS mortising attachment is not the best tool in their arsenal. What he had to say was the same as other comments above.

I own a bench top Grizzly unit for 10 + years now. It works very well but have always thought a router based system (such as Charlese post above) would be a better method but I do not have any hands on experience with such.

If you are set on a dedicated unit you may want to look at a the Steelex units sold by Grizzly. $400. You can also find the free standing JET unit for around $499 if you look.