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