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Homemade Mortise Pal jig

16K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  wingate_52 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
So I've been looking for a good mortising jig for building six dining chairs. Each chair has about 20 mortises and I want to finish them before I'm 100 years old (I am 42), so I needed something fast and accurate. I found the Mortise Pal online, but I am apparently a few years too late because they are out of business. I figured I could try to make one with some aluminum and plastic. Turns out my old 12" Caftsman band saw with an Olsen 6tpi blade cuts through one inch aluminum like butter! The band saw, a crappy tabletop drill press, some thread taps and a Ridgid belt/spindle sander are about all I needed to make this. Careful setup and use of a clamped-on fence got it done. All told, I spent about $60 on this thing and it works like a champ!!!
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#4 ·
Matt, welcome to LJs. It looks like you must be something of a machinist because your MortisePal replica looks pretty good to me. Maybe you should consider selling your version commercially unless there any patents protecting the original design. I greatly prefer my MP to the hollow chisel mortiser it replaced. Will your chairs require angled mortises? The MP can do them if you make angled wedges to insert between the MP and the stock. Anyhow, please keep the posts coming.

P.S. Beautiful table, especially the sapele.
 
#6 ·
AandCstyle, "looks like you must be something of a machinist" Haha no. If you saw my shop you would laugh with me. I told a bit about the tools I used, and I wasn't kidding. It was all just careful planning and layout, and the use of a block of wood as a drill press-and-sander fence. It was really pretty slapdash, and that's why I posted it, because I was sort of surprised by the turnout as well.
 
#7 ·
Slapdash works! I often wished I had a bit more of the "tinkerer" in me that could come up with these jigs on my own - but that gene did not get passed on to me. I'm glad it worked out for you.
 
#9 ·
The poly part is about 1" by almost 6" long. The router rides on the outer thick pieces of aluminum, and actually doesn't touch the poly at all, since it sits about a 16th of an inch low to keep it from getting scratched by the router base. I didn't notice any rocking in it, but I've only run a few mortises so far. The weight of the jig and the clamping pressure keep it pretty steady, in the bottom picture where it is clamped onto the wood, the whole thing is almost 6" square, so it's a good base to ride on.
 
#10 ·
Ok. I did not realize the polycarbonate was below the aluminum and that the router did not touch it.

A 6" base is a nice size. I cut mortises with plywood jigs that use a slot and guide bushing similar to your jig. Mine have a 6" square base but are not adjustable.
 
#14 ·
Can you give some of the dimensions?

- Matt
Since the OP has only 10 posts, many of them on this thread and has not contributed any further info in two and 1/2 years, I don't think he'll be answering your question…

Good Luck!

Herb
 
#16 ·
Can you give some of the dimensions?

- Matt

Since the OP has only 10 posts, many of them on this thread and has not contributed any further info in two and 1/2 years, I don t think he ll be answering your question…

Never underestimate the power of automated email notifications!

The body is just under 6" long, and I made it out of 3/4" by 2" aluminum. I used thick aluminum so it wouldn't flex when clamped down. The only thing that would really matter is the rod length. I made them long enough that I could clamp a piece of stock up to about 4 in. thick. The larger pieces are adjusted to roughly fit the stock, then I crank the threaded ball which is attached to the smaller piece on the inside. The different plastic templates are for different sized mortises. Any other questions let me know!
 
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