I am new to timber framing and although I have attended some apprentice clinics and used mostly the Makita chain mortiser I am looking for opinions regarding a different approach.

First, let me say I am going to be working in mostly oak (Red primarily - sometimes white). I am doing projects just for my own enjoyment.

Only due to the $1,500 price tag I am exploring alternatives. I have looked at the old beam drills (I favor the Buckley ones) but want something powered.

I have thought about using a 1/2" angle drill (like the Milwaukee Hole Hawg) with a depth stop and then taking the chisel to the sides to complete the mortise. That way I am hoping I can use that drill for my peg holes as well. Then, when I save enough pennies I can get the chisel mortiser.

Those with some experience at this...is this a reasonable approach or will I live to regret it?

You will live to regret it.
Get an boring machine with a bit the same width as the mortise.

Doing with a power drill with a small bit will take forever.

Check out my videos on YouTube and see how fast we bore holes with a boring machine.
http://www.youtube.com/user/JimRogers117?feature=mhee

You can use a spade handle or a right angle like the hole hog with a bullseye level mounted on the drill. With a leveled timber and the plumb drill you should have no problem roughing out your mortices. Always remember, plumb is plumb and level is always level. Gravity will never change (that goes into another topic)... But all that said if you plan on doing multiple frames, the chain mortiser will pay for itself with efficiency and accuracy.

Will Denton

Have fun with that Hole Hawg.

My latest mortice, with a hand cranked boring machine. 2"x10.5"x4.25" bored in 6 minutes, with out a struggle, can be done faster if you push it. Chopped out and finished in a total of 15 minutes. White Pine. Brace pocket. Clean, accurate and consistent depth. Hand tools. Fun, no struggles. Efficient and accurate.

Well said....

Use a plumbers bit... similar to a forestner but with a lead screw. No effort needed. I am all about doing it how they did 100 years ago... but to make a profit I like to use power tools over hand powered tools when ever I can. A hole hawg with some masking tape will beat a boring machine over the long haul. One mortise is one thing... take the average over 100 mortises into the frame. You will find that power tools will be more effective. The more frames you add...the more profitable you want to be you move from a bit and brace to boring machine - makita chain mortiser to a cross grain mortiser. If you are doing these frames for pleasure go ahead and bore them...

I strongly disagree. I work almost exclusively with hand tools as a professional timber framer. There are many things that have to be taken into consideration when comparing power vs. hand.

If power tools have an edge in speed, how do they make up for the substantial additional cost and maintenance? I paid $240 for my boring machine and bit, a mere fraction of the cost of a chain mortiser. How many mortises to break even on that investment? If you look at just the time of the actual boring, they do look impressive, but what you aren't taking into consideration is the time spent adjusting them, lubing them, and having the chain sent out for sharpening. I was involved in a project this summer and all of the mortises were bored with a Mafell. I had to go around cleaning them all up so the tenons would fit. Tools that reference flat and square timbers really lose ground when working timbers that aren't, and in a hurry. Let's save hewn and or riven timbers for another day.

Development of skill set is another area that comes to harm when the over application of power is considered. If we jump from green framer to power tool champion, when do we have time to learn how to "pat the cat" as Tim would say? That would be learning to read and accommodate the grain of the wood. If we divorce ourselves from the craft and force the wood to comply to our perception of what we think it has to offer, then why are we using wood in the first place? We should let the wood tell us how it should best be used.

Having said all that, I don't want you to think I'm a Luddite shunning all things modern and electron dependent. I do use a few power tools here and there when it really makes a difference. For instance I use the HoleHawg in places I dare not risk destroying my boring machine bits, like a nail infested timber. A cordless drill is always handy somewhere about the shop as well for making jigs and fixtures.

denton4th, this is not directed at you personally, it is directed at the concept that a power tool MUST be more effective. We need to think in terms that a power tool MAY be more effective.

Dave,
I'd like to request a topic about this subject of power tools, and when the use of hand tools is more effective. This is a subject that interests me. I love hand tools, far more than power tools, and have long been convinced that a small scale operation is better off with them.
I think it'd do us all some good to have a genuine discussion of costs, efficiency, etc.
It's perhaps time we run all of our tools through a good cost benefit analysis to see what's actually worth it, and when things really pay for themselves.

DLB

I've often wondered where to draw the line for hand tools. My other work requires me to be a "power tool champion" as Dave says. I'm comfortable with power tools. I know what I can and can't do with them. I don't know that I have the same training/skill with hand tools. I'm working on a project right now out of cedar. I haven't worked much with cedar before. With power tools there is no change. With hand tools cutting across grain is a challenge. It seems any hand tool not beveled to a 25 degree or less is useless. Not wanting to change the bevel on all my tools I've been working with a smaller set. I've cut the whole frame without using half my toolset. Having put my slick aside, I pick up my axe. I've learnt a lot that I thought I knew about working with the grain. I use different tools than I would with spruce, pine, fir or oak.
I've seen framers work with skill saws, mortise machines, drills, chainsaws, handsaws, etc. I think whats important is find techniques that work well for the wood your working with and your set of skills/aptitudes.

Choices in design also change what tools are most practical.

That post was my opinion, and I still stand by it. As for the frame cut by the mafell... its all about tolerances. Where to take the line and by how much. Where to leave a little slop and where to be dead on. In my opinion a mortise generally should not have to be cleaned up with hand tools after a mortiser. Power tools can be rigged to use for irregular timber, with the use of levels. I mentioned be for a bullseye level on a hole hawg, you can also use a small torpedo on the rails of a mortiser. I prefer to use power tools, but I do use hand tools everyday in the shop. Every tool has a time and a place. The frames that I work on power tools do most of the grunt work.