# Jet / Powermatic X-Y Mortiser



## Fishinbo

Thanks. Something to consider in the future.


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## TheFridge

Xy tables and vises are awesome.


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## goggy

Great review and nice features.


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## AandCstyle

Congratulations on this addition to your tool stable!


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## Reedo

Thanks for the great review. Just curious why you preferred the Jet over the Powermatic. Did you have a chance to try the Powermatic? The reason I ask is I was learning toward the Powermatic after reading so many rave reviews for that machine.

Jim


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## pintodeluxe

Hi Jim,
The Jet JFM-5 and the Powermatic 719-A actually share the same castings. They are identical except for the color. There is a tilting head option on the 719-T. 
Thanks


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## stevo_wis

I have the powermatic equivalent of this mortiser and my clamp doesn't hold the work very well. It clamps the piece from the front and it seems no matter what I do, the piece always lifts off when the mortiser is pulled back up. 
I have racked my brain trying to come up with a way to attach a hold down with very little luck.
Any suggestions?


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## pintodeluxe

I think Steve already found this, but for anyone else with the same problem, this is what I recommend…
http://lumberjocks.com/pintodeluxe/blog/46209


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## rhett121

I have this same mortiser and I have enjoyed it as well. I used to have a tilting Powermatic but the Jet is a great replacement for about 1/2 the price.


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## Reedo

@rhett121 Do you have any regrets about not having the tilting feature of the Powermatic? I don't have a current need for the tilting feature but I worry if I don't get it now, I may regret it later. For those of you with HCM's, what do you think of tilting vs. non-tilting?

Jim


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## pintodeluxe

Here's the thing on the tilting head… it is said to be useful for chairmakers. Well I make chairs, and I can tell you it tilts the wrong way! Usually seat rails are set at an angle to the chair, but that would require the mortise to tilt front-to-back, not side-to-side. The only application I have for side-to-side angles is with Morris chair armrests. However laying the angled armrest on the table has problems of its own. It would leave the armrest unsupported in the middle, and that wouldn't work well. I prefer to use angled blocks to cut any angled mortise I may need. So for me the tilting head wouldn't have any value. 
Actually every review mentions how neat the tilting head is, and that they have never had occasion to use it. 
So I guess I wouldn't worry too much about it.


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## rhett121

> @rhett121 Do you have any regrets about not having the tilting feature of the Powermatic? I don t have a current need for the tilting feature but I worry if I don t get it now, I may regret it later. For those of you with HCM s, what do you think of tilting vs. non-tilting?
> 
> Jim
> 
> - Reedo


Sorry for the delayed reply. I bought the PowerMatic about 15 years ago and I don't even know if Jet made one at the time. It was a nice feature for the project I was working on at the time (a small scale timber project) but when I moved across the country I sold it. I bought the Jet about 6-7 years ago because my local Woodcraft had a 
sale on them @ $500 and I couldn't resist. I haven't missed the tilting feature since, as pintodeluxe pointed out, the one time I wanted it to tilt, I wanted it to tilt front to back and not side to side. It's a great machine none the less.


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