I just bought a ShopFox mortiser. My initial opinion is that like many other units, the designers need to work on the hold down mechanism. Basically it’s cheap and doesn’t do an effective job.
I’m sure many of you have run into similar problems. Any ideas how to correct this?
My Observations: An allen wrench is needed to lock hold down. The designers expertly set the angle for the allen screw to line up with one of the posts holding the motor assembly. Using the supplied tools is difficult at best. I replaced it with a lever handle. Problem solved.
The hold down doesn’t put pressure on the wood. The chisel binds when withdrawing the chisel. I’m placing a piece of foam rubber (from an old mouse pad) on the bottom of the hold down. This may help a bit, but it won’t allow me to place additional locking pressure on the wood.
I was thinking of using toggle clamps, or something similar to a drill sergeant on a drill press.
thanks,
Steve
Replies
Steve
I bought the SF mortiser after extensively shopping 6 brands. It's a great machine with a bit of tweaking. The hold down is not sufficient. For one, if you are mortising a piece that is below rear fence you have to put a block under the hold-down to meet the top of the work-piece. I agree the hold-down does not give sufficient pressure. Also, there is no front hold-down to exert pressure of work-piece to rear fence. That has to be done also. The work-piece has to be square to the rear fence and base table or you will get racking. This results in the chisel getting stuck. Not good..
First check your rear fence to table to see if they are square. Next, make sure your chisels are being delivered to the work-piece square to the rear fence and table. If not shim the fence and table. Make adjustments to get this set-up square. Now you can apply pressure. I will not explain how I do it or this post will look like the Dead-Sea Scrolls.
What I will do is take a picture tomorrow if it's clear here in Atlanta and upload it. A picture is worth a thousand words as they say. Some of those words will probaly be more civil than some you have probaly used in speaking to your mortiser after the racking and stuck chisel. Ha..ha.. Do my best to get a picture of how I use hold-downs to prevent rack!
sarge..jt
It is a shame that you have to break that 5 to 7 hundred dollar mark to get a machine that has a cross slide vice rather then that yoke gizmo. It would seem that an after market cross slide vice for these bench top mortisers would be a fairly inexpensive tool, but I haven't seen one offered with the minimal base that would be needed. Open ended right and left of the cutter and a max travel both ways of 3 to 4 inches would cover 95% of the work these machines do and make the machines more effiecient.
Don
Steve
In order to use my method you replace the table with a longer one that extends beyond the metal fence. Hope you can see the two slots from rear of extended table forward to just in front of metal fence. This is the key to how I slide and use quik-clamps. If you have any questions on the method, reply. Hopefully you can see the pictures well enough to see I like to have down pressure on both ends of the work-piece. Even when cuttiing near the end of the piece as we do ofter with mortises, my method gets even pressure distributed. The stock hold-down actually becomes a back-up.
Also you notice a front clamp I made from a 9" veneer clamp. You could use a spreader clamp if you put something in front stationary to butt against. Just a thought.
Hopefully, this won't confuse. If so ask. I will explain. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the movie.
sarge..jt
Sarge,
Thanks for the photo's but you're a day late. I got sufficiently frustrated with the unit and returned it. Woodcrafters provided great customer service. I called looking for suggestions, the employee on the other end sensed I wasn't enjoying the tool and said bring it in for a full refund. They also refunded me on a 3/8 chisel that I had used (very little, but still used) without batting an eye. I ended buying a veratis (sp?) spoke shave, so it was a win win situation.
I know I gave up on the machine very easily, but I was spending more time squaring off my thru mortises and un-jamming the chisel then it I was spending creating mortises with my router and squaring the ends.
I think the tool would do a good job with mortises for pins and such. For larger mortises done by chain drilling, I'd rather look towards another solution.
thanks for the advise.
Steve
Thanks for all the input on this thread and 8189.1 concerning mortisers. If I get one it will the Powermatic with the moveable clamp table. Its at least twice as much as anything prices lower but a Multico, but I can't imagine that I would like to reclamp every time I made a cut. I often make large tables and I am bidding on a forty-chair job tomorrow, so I need some effieciency. I can sell it also for something close to the original price if I keep it carefully, I think.
Thanks for the considerable time and effort that people have put it lately.
John.
John,
As an aside, the Powermatic is expensive, but it's lower in price than similar models sold by Grizzly and Woodworker's Supply. Figure that one out. Can't say I've ever heard or read a bad word about the machine, so you should do very well in the long run.
Jeff
SBAIA
I agree with the others that if you are production the SF or any bench mortiser is not the way to go. Too slow for that. I also like the Powermatic big boy. Not familiar with the Multico. I cannot warrant the production machines as I have no deadlines, etc. Kind of like it that way. Ha...
Have fun with the spokeshave..
sarge..jt
Hi SBAIA,
I too have had my trials and tribulations with the bench-top mortisers, and can only dream of those wonderful, snug-fitting mortise and tennon joints we read about in awe and jealousy. I have owned both the Delta and Jet models. Had the exact same problem you had, and ended up selling one and returning the other within a very short time period. Sheeesh! I'm sure you have seen Powermatics beefy machine, complete with the movable table and massive clamps. Three times as much as the bench-top models but in the end probably worth every penny. If you get a chance, check out the Multico bench-top models. Made in England and usually sold through the Garret-Wade catalog, the Multicos have a pretty good reputation and price tag to go along with it.
P.S.- I get a lot of raised eyebrows when I tell people they have to spend alot of money to get a really good joint.
I put a small piece of self-adhesive UHMW plastic on the bottom of the hold down. Gently round the corners to allow the wood to slide in and out real easy. Because it is so dense, it allows you to put the hold down firmly on the wood, while still allowing the wood to move easily.
Also, I use a quck grip clamp to hold the workpiece tight against the fence. An added benefit is that it holds everything nice and tight, and is quickly and easily released to move the workpiece. This may sound cumbersome, but in practice, it works real well.
If I'm cutting a lot of mortises (especially with a small bit), I hold my shop vac hose in my left hand and work the mortiser handle with my left. The clamp holds everything nice and tight, and the vac collects the chips, and most importantly, keeps the bit cool. On one project last year, I was cutting a bunch (50+) of 1/4" mortises in dense cherry. The bit would get real hot and snap. That's when I came up with the idea of the shop vac. It draws so much air over the chisel and bit that it keeps everything nice and cool.
Regards,
John
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