Thread: Preparing chisel mortice drill and bit

Copied from the Carbatec WA site - here is the text and if you go to the site

http://www.carbatecwa.com.au/

then go to "extras" and then "hints and tips" you will find it in this section.

MORTISE CHISEL TUNE-UP

Straight out of the box a machine hollow mortise chisel and auger will work just fine. Improve performance quickly and easily to facilitate cutting accurate and clean mortise like this:

First thing I do is to reach for the oil stone and using the finest face of the stone, proceed to "lap" the chisel on all four sides. I bring the metal to near "mirror" finish …this treatment ensures smooth entry and exit from the timber.
Next I find a piece of dowel about 200mm long which will enter the hollow auger hole of the chisel. Make a central cut about 40mm long longitudinally down from one end of the dowel. Into this slot I insert a piece of abrasive cloth, or paper at a pinch, and fit the dowel into the chuck of my cordless or slow revving power drill. The flap wheel end is furthermost from the chuck!
I now carefully insert the dowel with the abrasive "flap wheel" into the chisel and turn on the drill. A few minutes up and down with the flapwheel and I have polished the inside of the chisel. This aids in efficient chip ejection from the body of the chisel. To sharpen my chisel bit, I select an appropriate sized round mounted stone from the self selection bin at the store and once again using a slow revving drill, lightly dress the hollow chisel end for ongoing trouble free mortising.

Any value in the motrice attachments for drill presses?

Deems,

As I pointed out on a recent thread on drill presses, forcing them into hard timber can break the cast iron arm that supports the table! :eek: OK for light work IMHO.....
Cheers,

Thanks Rod - I dont spend much time on the Carbatec site so the info is appreciated.

Cheers

Deems,
Yep. I got one. I can now set it up in minutes. If I did more mortices and had more room I may consider a dedicated machine.

For about $80 a drill attachment mortice is very good.

cheers,
conwood

Originally Posted by numbat

Is it desirable to flatten and polish the four sides of the motice bits - like you would do the back of a chisel? I would have thought that the outside of the bit is essentially 4 chisel backs.
Cheers

You're reasoning is spot-on, I think. Polishing all four sides makes a world of difference to mine, particularly ease of withdrawal after plunging into hard woods.
Cheers,