I am looking to add a bench top mortiser to my shop. Quality and Price are both a big concern. I don,t want to sacrifice quality just to save a few dollars but I can't afford to through money away on a name. Shop Fox seems to have a good machine with a lot of features. I need some advice. I just don't know which one to buy.
I have a Jet benchtop mortiser that I would sell to you very reasonably, but shipping would likely be a killer. I recently purchased a Mortise Pal and prefer it to the Jet. The price of the Mortise Pal is quite reasonable assuming you have a plunge router.
I use a benchtop hollow chisel mortiser for most work. I have the Delta 14-651 which performs well for me. I had a few parts break, but replacements were available. The biggest limitation is you can only fit a 4-1/2" wide board under the hold-down. It does come with a riser block to allow a 6" board under the chisel, but it is a pain to install. If you are mostly working on parts 4-1/2" wide or less, then most benchtop mortisers will work.
General International makes one with a 9" capacity under the chisel, but it comes at a cost.
Unless you have a particular need for square through mortises
or deeper mortises than 2" in the style of work you want to,
I recommend going with a slot mortiser. New ones aren't
cheap but you can make one yourself using a 1/2" router
motor, even an old one off ebay. Some designs like
the "pantorouter" (woodgears.ca) can be used to make
tenons as well and that's a considerable asset.
Thanks for all the great input everyone. you have given me a lot to think about. Money is always a concern, as is the quality of the finished product. I have 2 grand daughters that will be the recipients of most of my future furniture projects. So, the quality must be my best work ever. LOL, No pressure on grandpa.
In comparing, check the RPM. It's my view that 1750 is kinder to your chisels than 3450. There will always be some heat-producing friction between the bit and the chisel and any way I can minimize that is important to me.
The hold downs seem to be the worst part of bench top mortisers. It might be worth it to get a full sized one with horizontal clamp and movable table. I would avoid the Jet model of bench top mortiser.
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