| Review by Greg3G | posted 279 days ago | 302 views | 0 times favorited | 6 comments | ![]() |
- General 5/8-Inch Hollow Chisel Mortiser
- Brand: General | Category: Hollow-Chisel Mortisers

I purchased this machine after reading a lot of top reviews. My inital take on the machine was it is pretty well made. However, when I went to set it up, the instructions were very lacking…there were several steps missing, and they did not even address how to attach the upper work hold down clamp. After l looking closely at the pictures on the web, I finally figured out how to install it.
The machine was very stiff to use at first. After a run of about 10 mortices, I reshapred the chisels and auger bit (that was recommend to me by someone, can’t remember who.) That seemed to help. The more the machine is used the smoother it seems to work.
Pros:
Very stable,
Holds work down well
accuracy is as good as the operator
Cons:
INSTRUCTIONS ARE HORRIBLE
Takes a while to work in
Heavy, better off putting in place in and leaving.
-- Greg - Charles Town, WV
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6 comments so far
teenagewoodworker
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2143 posts in 308 days
posted 279 days ago
how much does it cost and where. it seems like a good machine so i want to know the cost to see how the cost compares to other mortises out there.
Richard Williams
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81 posts in 332 days
posted 279 days ago
We used something that looks similar to that Greg on construction jobs to do core drilling through cement floors. You did not say what the machine was but one of the posts said it was a mortise machine???? I’ve never seen one before buddy. Good luck with it. Be careful too it looks like it has a good sized motor to it. bye.
-- Rich, Nevada,
Greg3G
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686 posts in 625 days
posted 279 days ago
Teenagewoodworker,
I purchaced it on sale at WoodCraft, I believe it lists at $435 and I got 15% off (regular 10% sale discount plus a customer loyalty bonus card that they had sent for an additonal 5%) It is pretty expensive when compared to the Deltas and Jet models but it is much heavier. The only machine compairable in size at the time was the Powermatic and it ran about the same price. I preferred the front hold clamps over those on the Powermatic.
-- Greg - Charles Town, WV
Greg3G
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686 posts in 625 days
posted 279 days ago
Rich, I’ve seen those core drilling machines you are speaking of, simular but not really if you know what I mean. The core machines I saw were anchored down the slab while this is actually a “benchtop” machine. You do have to be careful but with the hold down clamps on the front and top the work peice is pretty secure. Its about as tall as a benchtop drill press, but heavier.
-- Greg - Charles Town, WV
Lee A. Jesberger
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2898 posts in 519 days
posted 279 days ago
Hi Greg;
I have the powermatic unit, and once I machined the cast bed and fence, (a one piece casting), so it was square, I’ve had reasonable results with it. Actually that was my only complaint I had with it.
Other than that it’s a good heavy duty unit, and has the power to work all day long without over heating.
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com
Critterman
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493 posts in 350 days
posted 278 days ago
Dang Greg, I own one of these and also purchased from Woodcraft. Read the same reviews and decided on this one. Can’t say I had the same problems. Assembly went well and within I’d say, half an hour, I was cutting mortises that were perfect. Can’t say I use it all the time as I’m just a hobbyist, but It’s done exceptionally well for everything I’ve thrown at it so far. The chisels were sharpened to perfections right out to the box. I was a little confused about the chisel/bit installation until I remembered an article in one of my magazines where it talked about spacing the chisel from the machine, then all went very smooth. It is heavy, but I think that’s exactly why it works smoother and better than the other brands. I left mine right on the bottom of the shipping crate on m workbench. Not one your going to want to lift up and down like Norm. I like mine a lot. Love the “L” handle much better than the standard straight handle on the other brands. So far I’ve got no complaints and it works exceptionally well.
-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA