Suggestion on hollow mortising_bit
mwurds55
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
Recently one of the woodworking magazines I read had an article testing several brands of hollow mortising chisle bits. As I remeber they recommended a set that was ‘best overal’ in the $20/bit range. I can’t find the article and now I’m looking to purchase a set of bits.
Any suggestion on a good set of bits? I’ll be using the Delta attachment on my drill press.
Replies
The article was in:
Hollow Chisel Test
View Image by Robert W. Lang
Page number: 12; Article length: 4 pp.
The most expensive tooling for hollow-chisel mortisers is 10 times the price of the least expensive. We test seven brands to see if there is a measurable difference in performance
Wildnerness, is there someplace we can go to read that article?
Sorry I forgot to mention the test was done by Woodworking Magazine. If you don't have that issue you might email Christopher Schwarz or Robert W. Lang at the magazine and ask if they could send you a copy of the article by email.
http://www.woodworking-magazine.com/index.asp
http://www.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/
Ah, thanks. I have a General Tilting Mortiser. A nice machine, albeit my suspicion is the chisels leave something to be desired.
General Tilting, a famous soldier, was known to be a bit off center.
Regards, Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Guess it's kinda fitting to me, too. This morning I discovered that I am a loudmouthed naysayer. Just another in a long line of names to add to my handle.
Denny, the Tilted Loudmouthed Naysayer
Hey, who called you a loudmouthed naysayer!?
Thanks for the chuckle.
Lee Valley sells HCM chisels and they are really good or at least that's been my experience with them. Also, their sharpening cones work very well.
A question I have is on size: Do I understand it that one size does not fit all?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Some chisel brands are cut at 45 degrees. Others as much as 60.
OK, but does the length of the chisel matter? Seems to me that I've seen long and short ones but I could be wrong.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob, You may be thinking of the auger bit shaft lengths. Those vary. My Powermatic has a chuck extension for use with the shorter bits.
Bob, unless you need to go really deep, you're better off with shorter ones as it cuts down the torque on the chisel (and between the seat and the chisel, they do torque).
Samson & Den,
OK, I probably should have posed the question in a different way. I have a ShopFox bench mounted HCM and I'm wondering if I can use any HCM chisel in it that is commercially available to me? Or are HCM chisels generally machine dependant?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Okay let me be specific about what I know:
I have a Powermatic HCM (benchtop model)
The Jet/PM chisels have long auger bits that will reach the chuck as assembled at the PM factory.
I have another chisel set - Guildcraft from Rockler that has shorter bits. PM includes a part that increases the chuck shaft length so the these shorter bits will reach the chuck.
What length of auger bit is the ShopFox built to accomodate? or, like the PM, is a switch-hitter?
What length of auger bit is the ShopFox built to accomodate? or, like the PM, is a switch-hitter?
Not in the woodshop right now but I'd guess off hand that they're about 9" tip to tip. I needed to replace the ¼" one and bought one from Lee Valley that is about the same length which works fine.
Not sure if the ShopFox is a switch hitter but there might be something in the name...........
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
It's a jungle out there. LV sells 2 types of HCM chisel, economy Chinese and premium Japanese, and 2 types of cone. At one time they sold Swiss. I've had Chinese ones that are quite good (SC) and others that barely have an edge to file. One set had very long shafts that you had to cut to length. What's annoying is that they all seem to come boxed the same way, and it's hard to know what quality you're getting.
Jim
Hi Jim,
It's a jungle out there
Yes, I'm beginning to find that out! Add to that is navigating the ShopFox WEBsite. Kinda like playin football with a soft boiled egg.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I don't know. I'm no expert on these things. Come to think of it, I'm no expert at anything.
Rockler sells a sharpening set for the chisels.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11153&filter=chisel%20sharpener
Sounds like they are good too as they seem to be oversold till May 9th. I have the cones from Lee Valley but they don't have a handle to connect them to like the Rockler ones.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I have a sharpening set (maybe that one). How good the chisels themselves are, I don't know. Thanks for your help.
Mr. Naysayer,
As to sharpening out of the box stock chisels, I found that it made a big improvement in performance. Flattening and polishing the sides made the more noticeable difference, especially by reducing friction pulling out of the cut. I'm not quite sure how much was gained by polishing the bore, but I do not have any chip jamming problems.
Best!
-Jerry
Thanks Jerry. I got the machine this winter and just popped the chisels in and went at it. I know better than that. I clearly should've honed these things before I ever placed them in the machine. My cuts are pretty good, but I do have a lot friction on the up and out stroke.
You have reminded me to go back to basic principles: so easy to forget.
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