I have a job that requires a lot of mortise & tenon work. The money justifies buying a bench top mortising machine. Any info on recent purchases ? I need to be able to have at least a 4 inch board capacity.
Mark Rhodes
Vinworx.com
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Replies
You might want to figure out what size you need to make , to be sure the machine has the capacity you need . I have not yet got the mortiser but want one . I don't think the smaller machines go over maybe 5/8" I know they do 1/2" .
I have the Jet bench top mortiser and it performs OK. I was at a Rockler store a month ago and saw that the same mortiser that I bought eight years ago was $75 more in price and the delta was right next to for $250, the price I originally paid for my Jet. I noticed that the Delta had more features that I like to like the Rack and pinon(sp) fence, which is a huge time saver, and the ability to use a riser block to raise the mortiseing head for wider stock. It seemed like pretty good bang for the buck.
Thanks for the info. Im leaning towards the Delta but i checked out the Grizly basic floor model. I have always had the hee bee gee bees about Grizzly quality and support system. I guess i will do the delta thing....Mark Rhodes
Vinworx.com
"I have always had the hee bee gee bees about Grizzly quality and support system."
Mark,
My only major Grizzly product is a G0586 jointer. Its quality is excellent and their customer support was also great. The base cabinet was damaged in shipment (even though it was packed quite well). They shipped me a new cabinet, express, with no questions asked. They didn't even ask me to ship the bad cabinet back. I have ordered a lot of minor items from their catalog and always been happy with them. I would not hesitate to order another major product from them.
Good luck, GeorgeYou don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. - Michael Pritchard<!----><!----><!---->
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vin,
grizzly-hee-bee-gee-bees?
grizzly's good stuff. been using their three horse tablesaw and shaper as well as their 12" planer for about 22 years with no complaints. have had some things wear out and their support service was responsive and helpful.
the last several delta and porter cable tools i bought were shot well before they should have been.
eef
Sorry if I offended anyone that owns a Grizzly product. I just havent had any personal experience with them and i dont know anyone that has used them. I have had a variety of brands (jet, powermatic, delta, general, craftsman) when it comes to power toos and all of them have had something wear out at one time or another. I use a lot of delta since i have a large dealer/repair facility near by. thanks for all the info ....... I guess if i could see a grizzly product in person i would consider it. Mark Rhodes
Vinworx.com
hey mark,no offense taken nor any absorbed. the grizzly stuff was bought while the babies were young, the eleven year old job had laid me off and i was back in college to boot. money was hard-gotten and their machines were cheap. three different cabinetmakers used my saw, the g1023, over the course of 15 years, or so. each use saw the saw "pay for itself" many times over. i think it was $795.00 originally. their equipment is still inexpensive, after all these years. i cannot prove it, but when grizzly got started in the somewhat early 80's, it seemed as though they were trying to take advantage of the up-surge in american woodworking during those days. they offered inexpensive,big machines to the hobbyist. the attitude towards grizzly at this on-set was "i can't afford a unisaw so i'll go for the grizz". i, along with many, was pleasantly surprised.eef
Mark,
I made the same mistake about Grizzly. I purchased the 17" bandsaw last summer and I could not be happier. You get quite a bit of value for the $$$. I wish that I had started to consider Grizzly years ago.
-Jerry
I have a Grizzly 15" planer made in 1986 that is finely tuned and works as well now as it did new (maybe better!!).
Grizzly has made dramatic improvements across the board since they started business. They keep getting better quality equipment, better customer service and nicer display spaces.
They have grown in the market by being competitive, helpful and responsive (most of the time anyway).
I don't think you could go too far wrong with a new machine sold by Grizzly.
Regards,
Mack"Close enough for government work=measured with a micrometer, marked with chalk and cut with an axe"
ok guys i get the fact that Grizzly makes a great product and as soon as i get to see one i will give it a fair chance at my next purchase.
But i was really wanting to know what if anyone had any info pro or con on A mortising machine.... Thanks and once again i will look into grizzly....
thanks againMark Rhodes
Vinworx.com
Mark,
Sorry I missed the original point in my previous post. I have the benchtop Jet machine. It was not my first choice, but at $170 after rebate it was too good a deal to pass up. The machine cuts smooth and accurate mortises, and the chisels that shipped with mine were fine after a through sharpening and tuning up. The hold down system on this machine is a bit crude and jerky.
I would not hesitate to purchase the Jet again at $170. At regular price I would be looking at the Steel City or Powermatic. (or Grizzly....) <gr>
Best!
-Jerry
Bullseye Mack!
25 years ago the Grizzly machines that required a LOT of good machined parts were CRAP.
People complained or didnt come back for other purchases.They cleaned up their act and dollar for dollar, their machines are BEST buys.They dont continually win awards for crappy machines.with that said, yes, there are better machines available, but those COST 1 hellava lot more and can sit in someone elses shop while the Grizzly users have plenty of spare ca$h let over for OTHER tools/material/additions/etc.
Please don't do Delta!
I had several Delta pieces that caused me nothing but grief.. Including a table saw that I eventually wound up giving away 2 years after I bought it.. I tried to sell it but people would come out see it screwed up and walkaway no matter how cheap I made it. I gave up my Delta bench top planer too..
Since then I bought nothing but Grizzly and I'm really happy.. tablesaw, 20 inch planer, 3 hp shaper, 8inch jointer, dust collection system, air cleaner, hhmmmm I know I'm missing some but bottom line 50,000 bd.ft. of wood has been worked by the equipment and they've been great!
Some of my equipment is over 8 years old and so far the only breakdown has been one (of 3) drive belts broke in my 20 inch planer .. I replaced it from my local NAPA store and it cost me $5.00 and took maybe 5 minutes to do.
ok thanks for the info on a mortising machine....Mark Rhodes
Vinworx.com
Things might be improving.. Been saving my lunch money/allowance and was going to buy the Grizzly but I noticed that for $499 Woodcraft is selling the 701 and adding in the $150 Set of chisels and bits.I called a local PM dealer and told him the price and he sent me a quote for $470 with the chisels etc.. Needless to say its ordered and will be here next weekRichCapt. Rich Clark
--DUCT Tape is the "force"... It has a Light side and a Dark side and it binds the universe together
Hey Matt that Rockler store wasn't in Charlott was it? My brother and I took a field trip up there last week and was impressed with the tool store and wood selection. It's a two hr. drive for me but well worth the time and I got to get out of the house.
Wayne
I was the one just north of chicago
Has no width limitation but once the width is > ~3", the jig is clamped to the stock, not the other way around,
I have the PM bench top. You might want to check out the grizzly slot mortiser for about the same price. Slot mortiser takes a little less time, and I would like to have checked that out first.
One key is the quality of the bit you buy as well. The cheap ones are just that. You want to spend some extra here.
AZMO
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-------(*)/ (*) http://www.EarthArtLandscape.com
Mark,
I just bought the Powermatic 719 a couple of weeks ago and could not be happier with it. My only disappointment is that I didn't buy it a long time ago.
With the tilting table and easily adjustable stops it is a very versatile machine that will handle some production work. It may be more machine than you are currently looking for, but you won't regret it once you start using it.
Matt
http://www.oldgreenwoodworking.com
If you don't need a tilting head or a floor model, take a look at the Steel City benchtop mortiser, and the amusingly similar Powermatic 701. I bought the Steel City when it was relatively new. It had features that made it stand out from the crowd: a much bigger table with built-in stock support, and roller hold-ins that obviate the need for making your own clamp arrangement. Two-year warrantee I think?
The Powermatic 701 has borrowed the roller hold-ins, added tool-free adjustments and a bigger motor, a couple other smaller goodies -- see Tom's review.. Yes, a bigger price, but probably well worth it if you're going to be using a mortiser alot.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 3/3/2009 11:03 pm by forestgirl
Since PowerMatic introduced the 701 in 2005 the same year as the founding of Steel City Tool Works I don't see how they could have "borrowed" any features.
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Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
d, they may be made in the same factory anyway
I stand corrected Sir Donald Green. The Powermatic didn't hit the my radar, via Knots, until quite awhile after I'd purchased my Steel City in 2006.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 3/4/2009 12:01 pm by forestgirl
Hey we've got to keep you accurate now that you are posting with the authority of the staff hammer! :)
As Dusty noted they probably come from the same factory. I've always been curious as to whether it was PowerMatics talent that came up with those features or the talent at the factory in Taiwan. I asked a contingent of WMH reps once and got a dirty look for my trouble.
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Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
"I asked a contingent of WMH reps once and got a dirty look for my trouble." That might be your answer! What I really can't understand is why (a) it took so long for someone to come up with extendable stock supports and (b) why more machines don't have them. Not to mention that nice big table.
The day I bought the Steel City mortiser, I had done the ferry ride + long drive to Sumner Woodworks to spend $400+ on a tilting-head mortiser (General I think?). Mad money from selling my little island business and being free, free, free!
I look at and played with all the mortisers there, but once I laid eyes on the Steel City, the contest was over. The tilting head was less of a consideration. If I were doing the same today, with the $400 budget, I might well go for the Powermatic 701, as I love the tool-less feature and the bigger motor certainly is attractive.
Bottom line, though, seems to be that most of the major brand bench-top mortisers seem to do an adequate job, with relatively minor differences between them.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
We were 51 floors up in the open air part of the VooDoo lounge at the top of the Rio in Vegas, WMH, Metabo, Delta and I forget who else. I didn't press the issue as I hadn't packed a parachute and besides they were buying!
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Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
Hmmmmm, I'll have to check out the VooDoo Lounge next month. I'm not a Vegas fan, myself, but my trainer and several of us women are headed to the Dressage (and Jumping) World Cup in mid-April. With 5 days to wander around, we should be able to hit the VooDoo. No parachute needed, LOL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
It's $20 just to get in the elevator to go up but the view is spectacular and worth every penny. Cocktails are about the same price as the rest of Vegas. Check the dress code online, we saw a lot of people turned away.
And no, I don't know how I got in!
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Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
"And no, I don't know how I got in!" Must've been your charm......
About the only challenges I have dress-code-wise these days is when I visit my brother in Palm Desert. A Del-Webb type country club, no denim allowed!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I've been called many things, charming was seldom one of them!
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Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
Mark
I would have to agree with OldGreen, I too have a Powermatic benchtop mortiser. At $450 it's not the cheapest machine however it's a pretty fine wood chunker. Keep in mind you will have to set a few coins aside to by tooling, PM doesn't supply any with their machine. One more thing, I'll never wear this baby out it's built to last.
Edited 3/5/2009 1:48 pm ET by Nick54
Edited 3/5/2009 1:49 pm ET by Nick54
thanks for the info the more i look at it it seems that the Powermatic keeps rising to the top of the heap in personal info and industry reviews.Mark Rhodes
Vinworx.com
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