Drill Press Mortising

I have tried three different brands of the mortising attachments and hated every one of them. I know there are poeple who actually got one to work but that isn’t my experience. In fact, they now are dying slowly from rust in the woods behind my house. See the link below for the story I wrote on these little demons.

Story link

-- Tom Hintz, www.newwoodworker.com

I bought one of the “attatchment” types about 20 years ago, I used it once, bought new handles for my drill press and a mortiser at the same time. That oak sure was hard!

-- Scot, Alabama

I have the mortise attachments. If you would like them you pay only shipping cost. from Texas

-- WOOD/DON (...one has the right to ones opinion but not the right to ones own facts...)

For 9.99 on Ebay it seemed a small price. I am not going to be making a lot of mortise and tenons. The first I did was by hand on a bench.

If I find I am going to make more I will invest in a dedicated machine.

As such the whole thing can become shop art. I found a Craftsman adjustable drill but from 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches. The thing is built very well heavy and works great for holes. But forstner bits work and I have a set. It was in an antique store for 6 bucks.

But then again I am somewhat of a tool collector.

-- Measure once cut twice....oh wait....ooops.

I own the Delta attachment and I rate it like all other multifunction tools / attachments ... they are no where near as good as a dedicated machine. A drill press is for drilling, not mortising, not sanding, ... Even though there are a ton of ShopSmith fanatics out there, I’ve always been spooked for the same reason. My money was not well spent on the Mortising attachment, I’m glad you were intelligent enough to invest with little monetary risk.

-- Just 'cause a cat has kittens in the oven, it don't make 'em biscuits.

Like I said I don’t do a lot, at least not yet. I can always make a handle and use the hollow chisel with a hammer.

-- Measure once cut twice....oh wait....ooops.

I bought a mortising kit quite a few years ago from Harbor Freight. I’ve gotten quite a bit of use with them.

They’re pretty good quality steel, because I’ve never had to re-sharpen them yet. You have to be real careful,

because I’ve gotten a few blood stains on my projects. They’re raiser sharp.

I use my cross feed vice for mortising. Once you get lined up, it’s a quick operation.

Check this Video.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I had a Delta unit that I used on my Taiwanese drill press. I’ve never had any problems with the drill press and am very happy with it; however, when I used the mortising jig I had to apply SO much pressure on the handle that i was concerned that it would break. It did make satisfactory mortises once I got the RPMs and bit depth figured out, but I quit using it for fear of breaking my drill press. After several years of drilling and chiseling mortises I recently bought a dedicated Delta mortiser. After using it awhile, I can appreciate the pressure that the handles have to withstand.

-- Klpete45, Oklahoma

As I said off Ebay for 9.99 you can’t go too wrong. I am currently designing my drill press table. So we will see how the jig fits into it all. May not use it.

I used hammer chisels and a palm router for a bench I made that had mortise and tenon. If I had the jig then I might have tried it on that. I will play with the thing and see.

-- Measure once cut twice....oh wait....ooops.