Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | May 15, 2004 08:40am | #1

   Congrats on the new mortiser, bill.  I've heard the Delta is a good one.  re:  "...and refused to sell them at the Tool King price"  --  I hope you weren't too hard on 'em.  Extremely difficult for a brick-and-mortar store to compete with an outfit like Tool King especially when it involves a product that's hard to get in stock.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   billballeza | May 17, 2004 11:45pm | #2

   No, I wasn't hard on them at all. Steve, the fellow who owns The Cutting Edge, is a great guy who deserves to make a buck. And he's made a good many of them from me. Our good friend, Sgian Dubh, worked there for a time before going back to the old country.

   I simply told Steve that when I can get a lower price on something, he has the option of meeting the price or sending me on my way. He seems to be relatively happy with the arrangement.

   As for Tool King.. Steve can't understand how they can offer such low prices.. and kick in free shipping, too.

   Cheers to you, Forestgirl. Your encouragement led me to buy a Delta planer.. which led to a Delta jointer, which led to a Grizzly bandsaw, and now the Delta mortiser. I was so apprehensive about making the jump to milling lumber. You helped me bridge that fear gap. But now, I don't know whether I like the woodworking more.. or the tooling around with woodworking machines.

   Either way, I'm having great fun. Thanks!

   Bill

1. 
   forestgirl | May 18, 2004 06:54am | #5

   Awwww, shucks!  Tee hee.  Glad you're having a good time!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   Elcoholic | May 18, 2004 02:11am | #3

   Enjoy it, it's one of the better bechtop HCMs on the market.  One tip - avoid the temptation to put a cheater on the handle.  I was doing a bazillion mortises in QSWO and put a cheater on it to improve the leverage.  I ended up breaking a tooth off the rack gear.  A clear case of abuse on my part, but at least it wasn't to expensive to fix it.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   The more things change ...

   We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized.  I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet an new situation by reorganizing; and a wonder method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

   Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC

1. 
   billballeza | May 18, 2004 03:41am | #4

   Thanks for the advice. While we're at it.. do you think I should install the riser that came with the mortiser?

    I read one review that said the riser negatively affected the rack and pinion fence mechanism in some way.

   Thanks,

   Bill

1. 
   Elcoholic | May 18, 2004 06:19pm | #6

   Not if you don't need it.  Increasing the length of the moment arm will increase deflection of the column.  Two more tips.  A playing card makes the perfect spacer under the hold-down to allow shifting the workpiece sideways without allowing the piece to rotate and bind the chisel when withdrawing it.  I've found the common 'dime' gapping method for the auger allows it wander and yields mortises with a slightly scalloped wall.  I use a protected finger and gap it tighter, just short of squealing.  Another atribute of the Delta is it's 1750 rpm motor which tends to burn the chisels less than the 3500 rpm HCM's.  As far as replacement chisels go the German made Fisch are pretty good.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   The more things change ...

   We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized.  I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet an new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

   Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC

1. 
   billballeza | May 18, 2004 11:31pm | #7

   Thanks for the advice.. and the tips. It's really great to have folk who've been down the road .. standing there to guide you along.

3. 
   k9s | May 19, 2004 05:46am | #8

   Received the same mortiser a couple of weeks ago. Amazon had a sale a couple of months ago for $229 plus Delta rebate of $40. Added in a $40 gift certificate and a big smile. Well made machine and quiet, Have only used it on some scrap. I installed the riser block then immediately removed it. The adjusted for moving the fence in and out is defeated with the riser in place. Immediate need will be for a 1/4 inch chisel which puts the work above the tall fence with the riser installed. Just put the riser in your spare parts drawer until there is need.

1. 
   billballeza | May 19, 2004 11:26pm | #9

   Man! You got a great deal!

   Thanks for the advice. I did put the riser away as you suggest.

   It's in the same drawer where I'm keeping (for reasons I will never be able to explain) the parts that remained after I installed the riser block on my Grizzly 14" bandsaw.