Thread: Hollow chisel Mortiser advice

I have the Jet bench top model which is great. Spend a bit extra and get a decent set of chisels. Makes a big difference.

I've got a carbatec mortiser. The big one - I picked it up secondhand a year or more ago. It is good - it makes nice mortises, which is exactly what it is supposed to do.

But that is all it does. Makes square holes. If I was going to start again, I'd definitely look at the domino before a mortiser. A domino can do so much more.

If you do go for a mortiser, the most critical part, in my view, is the mechanism that moves timber (or in some cases the machine) to create the mortise. Don't skimp on that bit. Also be prepared to get a new clamp to hold the timber down. If I had a $ fore very time the timber has lifted up when I pulled out the chisel...

Trav

if you have a lot of mortice to cut, then you may want to consider Masterwood OMB1V, Gabbetts has them. new is about $15,000, think there is an used one at Sydney for $9,000-$10,000.

Thanx all for your advice. I think I'll hold out and cut them with a router for a while then decide. I agree on the Domino option, but I can't decide which size machine would suit me best, so I'll wait. Cheers.