I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful is
it? I do not want to spend money on dedicated mortiser nor I have space for
it in my small workshop. I do have good powerful Grizzly drill press. Which
mortising attachment is worth considering? Since I have Grizzly drill press
I though of Grizzly. Any recommendations and comment would be appreciated.
I have a "Delta" mortising attachment which I mount on an imported
full-sized DP. I have used it often and have just completed a Mission style
coffee table and end tables out of quarter-sawn oak (some 75 on the tables
including through joints in the 2 1/2" thick legs) and a cradle for my new
grandchild out of cherry . . . and they were all assembled utilizing mortise
and tennon joints. While a little slower than a decent quality "dedicated
machine", the attachment worked exceptionally well on these projects.
I keep my chisels sharp and don't approach the cuts too aggressively and
while I have heard pros and cons about both the attachment and dedicated
machines, I haven't experienced any real problems with my attachment set.
-Verne
>I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful is
it?
It will work, but it's a major pain-in-the-ass to set up each time you need it,
and your drill press is out of commission in the meantime. I have one and I got
tired to effing around with it --- it haven't used it in years.
I use mine(delta on a delta) quite often. I think the set up is no big deal.
I don't use the t-nuts to set the fence. I just clamp it with two c-clamps.
I am a hobbyist, so time is not money.
I can understand why pros would think otherwise.
I think it is a very viable tool in my shop.
If I had $300 bucks I didn't need I would buy a dedicated mortise machine.
Wayne K.
Columbia MD
"Alexander Galkin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful
is
> it? I do not want to spend money on dedicated mortiser nor I have space
for
> it in my small workshop. I do have good powerful Grizzly drill press.
Which
> mortising attachment is worth considering? Since I have Grizzly drill
press
> I though of Grizzly. Any recommendations and comment would be appreciated.
>
>
for very hard woods and the larger sizes, it is a BEAR to
make deep mortises with an attachment. For occasional
mortises in softer woods with smaller bits, it is a breeze,
other than the set-up time at the DP. A dedicated mortiser
is the way to go for SERIOUS mortising work (read: quantity,
big, hard woods).
dave
Alexander Galkin wrote:
> I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful is
> it? I do not want to spend money on dedicated mortiser nor I have space for
> it in my small workshop. I do have good powerful Grizzly drill press. Which
> mortising attachment is worth considering? Since I have Grizzly drill press
> I though of Grizzly. Any recommendations and comment would be appreciated.
>
>
"Alexander Galkin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful
is
> it? I do not want to spend money on dedicated mortiser nor I have space
for
> it in my small workshop. I do have good powerful Grizzly drill press.
Which
> mortising attachment is worth considering? Since I have Grizzly drill
press
> I though of Grizzly. Any recommendations and comment would be appreciated.
>
>
I've not used mine a lot, and I've used it only in redwood, so take this for
what it's worth. The main thing people will tell you is wrong with DP
mortisers is the flex in the table/column/head. There's a lot of force
needed to get that square chisel to dig out those corners. The bigger the
chisel and the harder the wood, the more force you'll need. I had great
results, but I was using a 1/4" chisel in softwood. Not to state the
obvious, but you'll want to get your chisels exceedingly sharp and burr-free
to minimize the required downforce.
HTH,
Bruce
Ditt0- Jim in Michigan
Joeljcarver <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> >I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful
is
> it?
>
> It will work, but it's a major pain-in-the-ass to set up each time you
need it,
> and your drill press is out of commission in the meantime. I have one and
I got
> tired to effing around with it --- it haven't used it in years.
On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 13:32:15 -0400, "Alexander Galkin"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful is
>it? I do not want to spend money on dedicated mortiser nor I have space for
>it in my small workshop. I do have good powerful Grizzly drill press. Which
>mortising attachment is worth considering? Since I have Grizzly drill press
>I though of Grizzly. Any recommendations and comment would be appreciated.
>
I have a Delta mortising attachment (and a Delta drill press). It is
a pain to setup and remove as the taper needs to be perfectly clean.
And when you have the mortising attachment installed, you lose use of
the drill press. I wish I had the dedicated mortiser. They don't
take up much space and can be stored away when not in use.
Alex,
I bought the Delta one about 6 or 7 years ago and was about $70 as I recall.
Used it once to make some mortises in a shop table to hold my portable
planer. Worked fine but after that exercise I went out and got a dedicated
mortiser. Last fall I made a tabletop that had 4' wide breadboard ends with
a stepped mortise almost the full length of the walnut I was using. Can't
even imagine how much fun that would have been using the DP but the mortiser
made quick work of it.
Make ya a good deal on a "Used only on 1 project", Delta DP Mortise
attachment......
Bob S.
"Alexander Galkin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful
is
> it? I do not want to spend money on dedicated mortiser nor I have space
for
> it in my small workshop. I do have good powerful Grizzly drill press.
Which
> mortising attachment is worth considering? Since I have Grizzly drill
press
> I though of Grizzly. Any recommendations and comment would be appreciated.
>
>
I have the GMC Laser DP, and fitted the Delta mortise kit to it. ($75)
Initially I was making some Mission style tables, and did the first one by
hand. The chisel thing was tedious but worked well. If your making a lot of
holes, I'd get one.
If you are making a lot of holes or doing them frequently enough, I'd skip
the Kit and get a dedicated mortise. Simply because it just ties up the DP
to much and I need it for other uses.............
Joe
"Bruce Adams" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Alexander Galkin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I am thinking of buying a drill mortising attachment. How good and useful
> is
>> it? I do not want to spend money on dedicated mortiser nor I have space
> for
>> it in my small workshop. I do have good powerful Grizzly drill press.
> Which
>> mortising attachment is worth considering? Since I have Grizzly drill
> press
>> I though of Grizzly. Any recommendations and comment would be
>> appreciated.
>>
>>
>
> I've not used mine a lot, and I've used it only in redwood, so take this
> for
> what it's worth. The main thing people will tell you is wrong with DP
> mortisers is the flex in the table/column/head. There's a lot of force
> needed to get that square chisel to dig out those corners. The bigger the
> chisel and the harder the wood, the more force you'll need. I had great
> results, but I was using a 1/4" chisel in softwood. Not to state the
> obvious, but you'll want to get your chisels exceedingly sharp and
> burr-free
> to minimize the required downforce.
> HTH,
> Bruce
>
>