I'm interested in purchasing a bench top mortiser. (My Olde Mill colleagues should refrain from their comments about how to use a marking gauge and mortising chisel). There was a recent article in FWW that reviewed these and said that the General or Woodtek were the best. I have seen the General at Woodcraft. It looks substantial but the depth stop seems to be jury rigged as an afterthought. As far as I know the Woodtek is available only through Woodworker Supply and I have not seen one in person.
Does anyone have any experience with these?
Floor model mortisers seem to all come with fences that adjust like machinist vises. At first glance this seems like it would be an advantage in set-up (finer adjustability) at a cost of about $500. Any comments on efficacy/value of these?
An aside about review articles in woodworking magazines. The FWW article criticized the hold-downs on most of bench top models tested. An article in American Woodworker several years ago reviewed most of the same models and said the hold-downs performed admirably. So I'm somewhat skeptical of tool reviews in these publications.
Thanks in advance.
Howard Steier
Does anyone have any experience with these?
Floor model mortisers seem to all come with fences that adjust like machinist vises. At first glance this seems like it would be an advantage in set-up (finer adjustability) at a cost of about $500. Any comments on efficacy/value of these?
An aside about review articles in woodworking magazines. The FWW article criticized the hold-downs on most of bench top models tested. An article in American Woodworker several years ago reviewed most of the same models and said the hold-downs performed admirably. So I'm somewhat skeptical of tool reviews in these publications.
Thanks in advance.
Howard Steier