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Chisel Mortiser #8571 08/19/04 09:13 PM
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Joel Offline OP
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Are there any timber frame chisel mortisers sold in the USA? I know there used to be. Rumor they stopped selling them here. New rumor that they are once again available.

I'd gladly swap my rumors for your facts!

Thank uou,

Joel

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8572 08/21/04 03:46 AM
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jim haslip Offline
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Makita has both chain Mortisers and chisel Mortisers. Mafell has a chain Mortiser. I've used both. There are substantial differences in design and cost. check them out...

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8573 08/28/04 12:52 PM
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Jim...

Thank you for your reply. My delay in responding is due to a wicked head cold.

I can't seem to find any info on the Makita chisel mortiser. My web searches find chain mortisers and bench top chisel mortisers! Can you point me in the right direction?

I used a Mafel for a couple mortisers at Heartwood School. Very nice tool...but costs more than I should spend for a tool that will get ocassional use. One of the Heartwood instructors suggested that a chisel mortiser might be more useful for projects other than large timberframes than a chain mortiser.

BTW, I've heard comments that the Makita chain mortiser is not the smoothest in the world and wears out the user fast. Also heard it will kick back a moderate amount of time. How true is all these?

Joel

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8574 08/31/04 01:49 PM
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Bob Smith Offline
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Hi there,

I have used both the Mafell and Makita mortisers extensively and they each have their own merits and disadvantages.

The Makita is significantly less expensive and comes with more chain thickness options. We use both a 3/4 and a 1 inch chain depending on the task.By cutting with the grain, the Makita leaves a cleaner sidewall cut. This helps with wedge, spline, and bare-face mortices. We are also able to rake the bottom of large mortices, ensuring a dimensionally accurate and smooth bottom. Deponding on the hook and sharpness of the blade, the Makita can indeed jump around a bit. With a little practice, you should be able to anticipate and account for this.

The Mafell is a much faster machine. Because it cuts across grain, I have had problems with it tearing the visible sidewall. If noe of your mortices have visible walls, it won't matter to you. Another aspect of cross vutting is the radius left at the bottom of the mortice. In order to take advantage of the speed of the Mafell, you usually have to over-plunge the depth significantly or shape the tenon end. If the dimension of your timber does not allow sufficient over-plunging, the machines speed is lost. It has also been my experience that Mafell's speed is only a factor if you have a lot of mortices laid out and on horses so you can just put your head down and go.

On a bright note, the cost of either machine might become somewhat irrelevent because you could sell either one for close to the purchase price when you finish your frame if desired.

Hope it all helps

Bob

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8575 08/31/04 03:35 PM
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Joel Offline OP
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Bob...

Thank you for your reply.

If I go with a chain mortiser, I lean heavily towards the Makita becuase of the significant price advantage. The European tools sure are beautiful pieces...but my budget would be better off with less costly tools.

I'm in the dark about chisel mortisers. Are they available in the USA? Opinions of chisel vs. chain?

Joel

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8576 09/01/04 04:54 PM
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Bob Smith Offline
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"I'm in the dark about chisel mortisers. Are they available in the USA? Opinions of chisel vs. chain?"

Makita and Ryobi used to make and market chisel mortisers in the US. But I haven't seen them for years. You might find a used one on Ebay or through advertising in Scantlings.

As to any opinion on their use, that depends on your use for them. A chisel mortiser is, in my experience, much slower at producing a standard mortise(say 6" by 1/12"). However, when you're done, there should be absolutely no chisel work needed. And as my earlier response comparing the flexibility of the Makita chain to the Mafell chain mortiser goes, you might find the chisel mortiser more flexible yet.

If speed is of absolutely no concern, and you can wait until you locate one, then try a chisel mortiser. I would think that like the other mortisers, there is a strong enough market that you could recoup most of your investment should you decide to sell it later.

Personally, I would not use a chisel mortiser to produce a timber frame; it just seemed too slow. But what you could do is buy a Makita chain mortiser (new or used), keep looking for a chisel mortiser, use them both for a while, and sell the one you like least.

On a side note, working recently in England, I saw many "mortices" (that's English for mortise) very quickly drilled and chopped with a corner chisel. It demonstrated how tooling is primarily about comfort levels and practice. This, of course, would be the cheapest approach.

On a side note to the side note, utilizing this method also seemed to requir smoking hand-rolled cigarettes.

Good Luck,
Bob

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8577 09/01/04 06:57 PM
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gil anderson Offline
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Just wondering what the Brits use to drill the "mortice?" I have been using Forstner bits to pretty good effect. Also, I have heard that Hitachi or Riobi markets a chain mortiser in England. Has anyone seen these on this side of the pond?

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8578 09/01/04 09:23 PM
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Bob...

Thank you for your reply. It's looking like the "rumor" the chisel mortisers are no longer sold in the USA might just be true.

Initially I was going to use a old fashion boring machine. Tried on at the Heartwood school...my arthitus will have no part of climbing up on the timber to sit on the machine...much less a shoulder with an old injury that really didn't take well to cranking the machine.

I'm going the way of "Time The Tooltime Toolman"...more power!

Joel

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8579 09/02/04 01:45 PM
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Bob Smith Offline
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Riobi markets a chain mortiser in England.

Once again our free market economy, through tariffs and import fees has seen to it that this machine, along with most of the Makita catalogue, is no longer available.

Re: Chisel Mortiser #8580 09/02/04 01:48 PM
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Bob Smith Offline
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"Initially I was going to use a old fashion boring machine. Tried on at the Heartwood school...my arthitus will have no part of climbing up on the timber to sit on the machine...much less a shoulder with an old injury that really didn't take well to cranking the machine."

With this in mind, using a standard drill may not work for you either. The torque delivered by an 1 1/2 drill bit can be significant.

From memory, I remember seeing a lot a single flute, double spur bits in England. It is my experience that Forstner bits clog and bind at mortise depths.

Bob

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