What morticer do you have ?

[JFC]

Ive got a record 75 bench top cheap jobbie thats done me proud and some times not so proud for a few years . It does the job , but with my next few jobs all im doing is mortice and tenons ( just over 200 of them to date ) so i think an upgrade of the morticer may need to be considered .
So what do you use ? No router comments please it upsets Mr Grimsdale :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Charnwood that works well and a couple of mortice chisels that are far more fun and not that much slower

Oh, and I use a router to cut them sometimes - in the Rat

 

[ByronBlack]

I use a combination of a handheld router to hog out most of the waste, and then square up with either mortice chisels or bevel edge depending on how much material there is left.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a 3 phase sedgwick 571, Bought secondhand for £450, great machine will last forever and will always be worth that figure in the future if its looked after.

 

[Scott]

Jet JBM-5. Very nice bench top machine IMHO

 

[Freetochat]

I've got the Record 75. Don't think a lot of it, so it collects dust a lot of the time.

 

[JFC]

If you make up your own bed for the record 75 youll find it works very well :lol:

 

[Scrit]

Multico MCD - one of the models where the head moves rather than the bed. Can be converted to work as a 3- or 4-hole hinge borer (with the appropriate boring head) or as a line borer (again, with an appropriate add-on 7-pin head - very useful for dowel boring rail ends, etc). It's most useful capability is to be able to mortise-out door lock recesses on assembled doors - a real time saver. Completely overpriced when new, but a bargain secondhand if you're offered one.

I agree with Senior about the Sedgwick mortiser - bullet-proof basic engineering that will see you out and hold its value.

Scrit

 

[ProShop]

My vote is the same as Senior & Scrit

Sedgewick 571

Go on treat yourself you know you want one

you won't be upgrading again.

 

[JFC]

Is it one of these ?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sedgwick-Mort...4QQihZ013QQcategoryZ42938QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Anonymous]

Thats the one, don't know where you are in london, but I got mine from a place in barking.
I'll try and find the name for you if your interested, an amazing place, massive warehouses full top to bottom with second hand machines, estimate 5000+ machines most are scrap, but they always have fairly decent 571's in stock.
Apparantly all their gear comes from liquidation sales, all I can say is that a lot of businesses must have gone bust.

 

[Anonymous]

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[WellsWood]

Here's another place you could try, S.East this time,

http://www.homeandworkshop.co.uk/wood.htm

don't be put off by the short list on the website I'm told they have loads of stuff that never gets put online and welcome people dropping in to mooch around.

 

[ByronBlack]

 

[Scrit]

Grimsdale - "you can't do mortices with a router" really? Then what was the plunging tool with a straight cutting bit in it that I have been using for the past few years?

Have you never seen the magic that a hand chisel can do to a rounded edge in a matter of seconds?

Byron

In the context of this discussion Mr.G is absolutely correct. You need a mortiser to chop out mortises for any sort of commercially-viable joinery work. Yes, OK, you can do mortises with a router, but you can't seriously tackle the depth (or volume) of mortises you need for joinery work day in, day out. It would very quickly drive you potty even trying it. Perhaps you are unaware that a traditional through mortised and wedged frame and stile panelled door can require mortises with at least 4in deep and sometimes up to 6in deep x 5/8in or 3/4in wide - a tad outside of the range of any router. I feel that in the absence of any other tools a router will get the job done providing you can accept the compromises it forces onto you - longer term though a proper mortiser is the only way to go.

JFC

If you are looking for a Sedgwick 571, the other machine to look out for is the Multico M1. That was a very similar conventional mortiser formerly made by Multico, although if you are offered a Multico PM20 or PM22 I'd seriously consider them if they have the bases which accommodate full doors - the ability to mortise-out a pre-manufactured door is not to be sneezed at

Scrit

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

I have to agree with Grimsdale and Scrit on the router front but only up to a point.

Although commercial requirements make a router unsuitable for multiple mortises without a doubt, I find that cutting mortises on the WoodRat using a router fitted with a spiral cutter is very quick and painless (a boon for me :wink: ).
Once set up, one can bang them out even quicker than on a dedicated mortising machine (I have and use both).

However, I am certain that the Rat would give up the ghost in a professional environment pretty quickly as it is not robust enough by a long way.

Mr Grimsdale, I expected you to only use chisels (pig stickers) for some reason :wink:

 

[Freetochat]

Isn't it a case of using the best tool for the job and workshop. As described, the router wouldn't be good in the joinery shop, but it would and does function for the cabinet maker. You can also use a chisel?

 

[Colin C]

JFC

I spoted this one too Ebay

 

[nickson71]

I use a router in a rat for my mortise and I'm very happy with that

But saying that I'm a hobby woodworker .......... All my kit has to be moved to use (except the rat which is bolted to the wall) as my workshop is 3.2x2.2M self built shed

If I need to cut very deep mortises I predrill and use a chisel


If I ever get my double garage house I'll be looking for new toys...... er.... Tools and a proper mortiser is on the list