I've never used a mortiser before so I'm not sure what to look for. I
realize this is far from the top of the line but has anyone used it
before? I will mostly be working in redwood and I'm not a high
production wood worker. It is normally $159 on sale for $99.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35570
Greg
I purchased one about a year ago.
I figured a dedicated mortiser would be too extravagant for a woodworking
hobbyist like myself, but for the price I decided to take a chance.
I was pleasantly surprised.
The depth stop and handle are kind of cheesy,but I have cut about sixty to
seventy mortises to date and it works fine.
I think it is worth the $100.00.
I got one recently. Immediately had to replace the table (particle board,
it came broken) with plywood. Also had to shim the fence square. One
apparent "design flaw" is the hold down doesn't flush to the fence, so I
added an auxiliary fence to the front of the aluminum fence. Do a google
search on this machine as I have read that many people replace the chisel
set screw. Also look for the 40 cent method to set the chisel/bit spacing..
Check all the tolerances and make sure everything is tight.
This is also my first mortiser. It takes some tweaking to set up, but I
think it is going to be a big time saver.
Montyhp
"Greg DeBacker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've never used a mortiser before so I'm not sure what to look for. I
> realize this is far from the top of the line but has anyone used it
> before? I will mostly be working in redwood and I'm not a high
> production wood worker. It is normally $159 on sale for $99.
>
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35570
>
> Greg
"todd" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "Greg DeBacker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I've never used a mortiser before so I'm not sure what to look for. I
> > realize this is far from the top of the line but has anyone used it
> > before? I will mostly be working in redwood and I'm not a high
> > production wood worker. It is normally $159 on sale for $99.
> >
> > http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35570
> >
> > Greg
>
> I have this unit and have used it successfully. The only other mortiser
> I've used is a big iron foot-operated unit with an indexing table, so
> obviously, it's not going to compare to that. Since I don't do that many
> mortises (at least not right now), I found this mortiser quite serviceable.
>
> todd
"Serviceable" is something I can live with. I'm getting it.
Thanks,
Greg
"Greg DeBacker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've never used a mortiser before so I'm not sure what to look for. I
> realize this is far from the top of the line but has anyone used it
> before? I will mostly be working in redwood and I'm not a high
> production wood worker. It is normally $159 on sale for $99.
>
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35570
>
> Greg
I have this unit and have used it successfully. The only other mortiser
I've used is a big iron foot-operated unit with an indexing table, so
obviously, it's not going to compare to that. Since I don't do that many
mortises (at least not right now), I found this mortiser quite serviceable.
todd
I have one and it is OK. You are not getting a $300 machine but then
you are not paying $300.
On 10 Jan 2004 14:50:08 -0800, [email protected] (Greg
DeBacker) wrote:
>I've never used a mortiser before so I'm not sure what to look for. I
>realize this is far from the top of the line but has anyone used it
>before? I will mostly be working in redwood and I'm not a high
>production wood worker. It is normally $159 on sale for $99.
>
>http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35570
>
>Greg
Yes.
--
Rumpty
Radial Arm Saw Forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/woodbutcher/start
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"Greg DeBacker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've never used a mortiser before so I'm not sure what to look for. I
> realize this is far from the top of the line but has anyone used it
> before? I will mostly be working in redwood and I'm not a high
> production wood worker. It is normally $159 on sale for $99.
>
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35570
>
> Greg
On 10 Jan 2004 14:50:08 -0800, [email protected] (Greg
DeBacker) brought forth from the murky depths:
>I've never used a mortiser before so I'm not sure what to look for. I
>realize this is far from the top of the line but has anyone used it
>before? I will mostly be working in redwood and I'm not a high
>production wood worker. It is normally $159 on sale for $99.
>
>http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=35570
I just picked up the Shop Fox mortiser and absolutely love it.
I made a guitar string winder today to test the little 1/4"
chisel and it works great. I had a little 0.320 x 0.875" through
mortise in a piece of mesquite about 1 minute after setup.
BTW, guys, I figured out why some of the chisels squeal so
loudly sometimes. It happens when a small piece of wood gets
cocked in the chisel and holds the drill bit against the chisel.
I also found, by trial and error, the proper depth to set the
bit below the chisel to keep it from binding after 1/8" of cut.
Learning how to cut mortises by hand was great fun, but this
tool is definitely easier on the old bod, I tell ya.
Greg, you could probably sell that mortiser for the price you
paid if you needed to. If you can't swing the $234 Griz gets
for the Shop Fox, delivered, you might be OK with the HFT job.
Especially in a soft wood like redwood.
I had a problem with my HFT 8" drill press tonight. As I bored
the counterbore hole in my little winder, the very last step
on the tool, the bit grabbed and knocked the chuck clean off
the tool. The bit went all the way through the winder, so I
stepped out a wee bit and drilled naother hole. The winder is
not a bit lighter than it would have been, but it works. It
felt good to get into the shop again. I'm building/painting
leftover plywood into storage cabinets to get some of my tools
off the floors and shelves this week.
-
They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it. -Confucius
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