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22nd August 2015, 03:42 PM #1Novice
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Router or Drill Press with Moritising Bit for making mortises?
Hi,
Just after thoughts re pros and cons of making mortises with a router versus a drill press with a mortising bit, both in terms of ease of execution and quality of end result. Thanks, Blue
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22nd August 2015, 08:16 PM #2Woodworking mechanic
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Routing mortises
I haven't used a drill press and mortising tool but I have just machined 32 mortises with a router, spiral uppercut bit and a home made jig. The two things that were brilliant were repeatability and accuracy. This was essential as I was using loose tenons and needed each one to be exact.
image.jpg
I even managed mortises in the ends of the 2 metre long table aprons by mounting the jig on the top of a cupboard
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22nd August 2015, 09:04 PM #3
Lappa's home made jig is ideally suited for loose tenons and its accuracy is dependent on how much time you are willing to invest in its manufacture.If you want to use this and cut tenons on the joining timber you need an additional jig, or a proprietary mortise and tenon jig. These produce rounded tenons that may or may not suit your application and again their accuracy depends on the manufacture and setting up procedures.A mortising attachment on a drill press produces very fast mortises but their accuracy is dependent upon how RIGID you can get all the components. Generally a hobby drill press has no chance. And you still have to cut the tenons, but this method produces a more traditional joint.Personally I use a drill press attachment (I have a Brobo Waldown drill that can just cope) for my mortises but if I ever decide to make through mortise and tenon joints I'll be constructing jigs like Lappa's.There are alternatives to M&T joints that may be suitable, it depends upon the required cosmetic effect, load type it will be subject to and the investment in tooling you are willing to outlay. Domino joints, dowelled joints, biscuit joints and pocket hole joints all do the same job but each one has limitations and no one method is "best" if you take into account strength in various planes, time to produce and cost of required equipment.Is there a specific project you have in mind?
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22nd August 2015, 10:25 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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I'm with Lappa on this Bluewren. If you take the trouble to build a jig (plenty of information/designs on the internet) you will never regret it. The accuracy that can be achieved and the speed of cutting the mortises makes the build effort worthwhile. Depending on the equipment you already have available your tooling investment could be as little as the cost of some suitable router bits, a base plate and a set of template guides.
Some of the big benefits of using loose tenon joinery is that all your components are cut to finished length, you don't have to allow for a tenon in the length, and twin tenons are very easy to achieve when required. It is even possible to use the loose tenon method without a jig using pins or bearings on the router base as a guide and some appropriately clamped stop blocks - a bit fiddly to set up each one individually though.
If you have a router table and thicknesser making tenon stock, using the appropriate half round bits, in long lengths to cut to the required length is easy. To cut the mortices either straight or spiral solid carbide bits are best.
Cheers,
David
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24th August 2015, 01:23 PM #5Intermediate Member
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24th August 2015, 09:21 PM #6Woodworking mechanic
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Mortise jig plans
It's by Dan Phalen. Plans are available at:
www.crestonwood.com/mjigplans.php
I made a couple of mods. as my table legs were 100x100mm
I made my tenon stock from old tallowwood and jarrah floor boards. Tough as nailsLast edited by Lappa; 24th August 2015 at 09:26 PM. Reason: Additional material
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30th August 2015, 08:34 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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Drill presses make awful morticers. There's way too much pressure on the quill for starters, and way too little leverage available from the short handles.
A (proper) hollow chisel morticer has heavy & strong head castings for the chisel and a long, low geared handle to force the chisel into the workpiece. This pressure could be up to half a ton or more! A drill press just isn't up to this.
Routers can do an excellent job of both mortices and tenons when properly set up (i.e. templates).Sycophant to nobody!
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1st September 2015, 10:04 AM #8Awaiting Email Confirmation
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Lappa,
Ratbag is correct. Drill presses make awful morticers.
I have a dedicated hollow chisel morticer as well as I use templates and a router. Just depends on the job at hand.
My morticer has been modified to have a 6" cross slide vise incorporated.
It allows me to create this type of mortice. The tenon was created using a router and a guide.
The mortice in the bed head post is 500mm long and 55mm deep. It took about 10mins to cut that mortice and that included setup time.
The one in the bed end is only only 300mm long and 55mm deep.
Otherwise I would be making some rather large templates for a one off job.
I also have a tenoning jig for my router table.
Bed head.jpgBed end.jpg
BTW this it my morticer
01092015205[1].jpg01092015206[1].jpg
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1st September 2015, 05:44 PM #9Woodworking mechanic
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1st September 2015, 06:46 PM #10
Hi Bluewren
Excellent advice above.
Triton used to give you a DVD with their tables and that had an excellent section on cutting mortices with a router on their table, and also cutting the tenons using either the saw table or the router table. Set up was a little more finicky than they suggested, but once tuned it worked quite well, especially if you were cutting heaps of mortices.
Their suggestion to round the sides of tennons, rather than squaring the sides of mortices is a good one.
Presume that video is now on the web, somewhere, but have no idea where to look.
It might give you some ideas on building a jig - or hepl you to choose welll between available designs.
Good Luck
Graeme
PS: My Triton table was bought in 1983, so the ideas have been around for a long time.
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1st September 2015, 10:04 PM #11Woodworking mechanic
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Triton Heritage videos
Youtube site for all the Triton heritage videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XZ3...bIl9NIbrmQTFrt
Cheers
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7th September 2015, 01:06 PM #12Intermediate Member
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24th September 2015, 07:04 PM #13SENIOR MEMBER
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A couple of years ago I built my own horizontal router using an old bench grinder stand and bought a morticing attachment from Machinery house.
I use a heavy duty router and fitted with an upcut solid tungsten cutter.
being horizontal means you can cut mortices in the ends of rails of unlimted length (within reason !)
I can cut mortices in the hardest timbers in just a few seconds.
The morticing attachment cost $250 and I already had everything else needed to build the machine.
I just thickness my own tenons and round the edges with a hand plane,although would use a router table if I was making a large quantity.
I wouldn't recommend cutting mortices in a drill press personally.
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24th September 2015, 11:07 PM #14Woodworking mechanic
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24th September 2015, 11:42 PM #15
I designed and built a morticing jig for a router about 20 years ago. Very recently I refurbished it (as I have 34 mortice-and-tenon joints in Jarrah to make, and I would rather not chop out this many with chisels as I do want my elbows to survive!).
The router-plus-upcut 1/4" bit makes a powerful combination here. especially if the router has effective chip removal, as the Elu I use does. This is a point-and-shoot "machine".
I snapped a few quick photos this evening to post here. They are not the best since they were taken around my car, which shares the double garage. Hopefully they will make some sense. If they interest anyone, I will take more detailed photos this weekend.
Basically, the workpiece is clamped into the morticing machine and is held there by two clamps. The router runs along the top of the piece, balanced on a flat top, and held securely in position along the side. Adjustment laterally is made by the fence, which has micro adjustment, and depth of cut is of course adjusted on the router. Mortice length is controlled with stop blocks.
Above: the router fence is held inside a groove in the external wooden runner. This locks the router in position. The router sits between two stop blocks.
Above: At each end of the machine is a vise. This will side forward and backward with the external rest for the router. The gap under the router is where the workpiece goes, and it held against the near wall by the front and rear vises.
Here is a better view of the outside rest and clamp. There is one at the near end and another at the far end.
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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