[Bstrom]

You may know about this old trick bit if not here it is.

When you insert the hollow chisel put a dime between the stop and the top of the hollow chisel. Insert your drill bit and let it just touch the bottom of the hollow chisel. Tighten up the drill bit. Then loosen the set screw for the hollow chisel and move it up till the top of the chisel mount touches the bottom of the mortiser. This gives you enough clearance for chips to exit the chisel and not heat up and burn your bit.

Occasionally use a very fine diamond stone on the four outside flat edges of the hollow chisel. Just a few strokes. Then they make a cone shaped diamond home to polish the inside cone of the hollow chisel. Hone when ever you feel a lot of resistance.

When cutting your mortise, start with the two outside edges to get a nice clean mortise. Then start on one side and drill only about half the distance of the bit width and progress to the other end. So if you have a 1/2" mortise bit then step over about a 1/4" inch each stroke. This takes a little more time but you get a better cut and a straighter mortise.

When you insert a new chisel in the mortiser, leave the drill bit out. Use a ruler to square the bit side up with the fence. Since the fence is fixed you should adjust the hollow chisel. Use the dime trick from above. After your get it square and insert the drill bit, remove the dime and recheck the squareness to the fence and tighten the hollow chisel.

With my advise you will be come a real chiseler, and can be called a dastardly chiseler.

That is a very good deal on the Powermatic - I paid full price but it'll be worth every penny in the long run. Easiest tool to use in my shop.

The Powermatic comes with two integrated spacers for both large and small chisel bit - you don't need a dime - keep the change!

You can also align the square bit with your stock in place too - it's how I do it on my Powermatic as I also check the plunge along the layout pencil layout along the workpiece. The important thing is to get the fence square overall so the mortice isn't 'stepped' as you go down the cut and creating a 'twist' with the insertion of the tenon.. I've had no trouble getting mine to work and ad a full 1/8" to the depth of the plunge to accommodate the waste that won't come out from the bit end. I make a centered tenon first on my radial arm saw and pare the mortise to fit.

I also pay attention to the tension on both the horizontal rollers and the vertical stop to create a snug but movable fit on the workpiece. It can be done with practice and is part of getting clean accurate cuts. Plunging into solid wood by spacing the cuts before cleaning out the intermittent spaces is also a good idea. It's all in the instructions.

 

[Bstrom]

One of the instructional videos I had watched said to make the end cuts and then leaving space between them make the next cuts. It also said to have the open side of the hollow chisel positioned so the chips went into the already drilled 1st holes so I worked right to left and had it facing right. Now watching several more I see it facing toward the operator which makes more sense to me as most of the waste is outside the mortise. All went back when finished and made light fast passes to finish.

You got it! Really a very simple tool to use once you get your bearings. Really speeds up a lot of work. I also bought a set of pretty cheap set of bits to start with and they work fine in soft and hard species - just sharpen them up until they can cut you easily and it's all good. You got a great deal on yours, BTW.

 

[Bstrom]

I was wondering the same..
and why all the tearing... dull chisels???

I'm going to guess at some of the potential causes, as I have had to deal with the same issues:

1) In this case, the bit 'square' alignment is off - or there's movement in sliding the piece along- resulting in stepping in the cuts. Takes a little practice and some test holes to get that sorted out before you commit to the workpiece. Not a huge issue as you pare the mortise some anyway and the shoulder hides it all - but, a twisted opening will twist the tenon - not good. All in the setup.
2) Soft woods tear pretty easily - set as shallow a bit>chisel gap as you can to keep this under control.
3) Dull chisels and bits will make some fuzz - you have to clean out the mortise too as all the shavings don't exit the bit, especially at the bottom where the bit is all that's cutting. I add 1/8th" to the desired mortise depth to minimize cleanout.
4) Boring speed matters too - a nice smooth, slow bore will keep the workpiece in place, etc. Until you figure out how to use the clamp and rollers it can be a tad clumsy but one you've go it things go very well.

Hope that helps...

 

[Bstrom]

Sorry guys late on getting back to this. This was a very fast and not well executed test. I was looking mainly at the chisel sharpness and how much pressure it would take to make the cut. I quickly made the 1st cut and followed with the others not checking square at all. Heck I didn't even check depth. I had this old piece of soft maple from a previous screw up on the bench so I just used it. I normally would have checked to make sure the bit was square to the wood, the fence was square, and the depth of cut set but as I was simply testing the bit I didn't do any of this. It was quick and simple.

I'll go back and do a proper test after finishing the sliding table. I've got a ton of work to get this thing done properly but should prove worthy in the end.

Makes sense now.

I forgot to mention that the plastic fence locks are a little squeamish and require some care in getting set firmly. The rollers aren’t an issue but you can’t have anything moving around once you start - just another consideration.

Also, the height limiter can move if you push hard down too hard against it. I watch as I approach the stop and halt as soon as I feel resistance. Another ‘skill’ needed on this tool.

You’ll get it sorted quickly enough and will be raving about your results.

 

[Bstrom]

Thanks Brian for the tips. I've started acquiring the parts and pieces needed to build the sliding table and one item was a neoprene tip for the clamp. It appears to be a 5/8" bolt but as I looked and thought about it I got the feeling this wasn't the better solution. So I looked at some soft maple scraps I have from another project, yet to be finished, and thought of this instead. The neoprene tip had less surface than a dime and while the clamp is rated ate 1499 pounds I was thinking a bit more surface couldn't hurt so I decided to try the following. More surface (1.5" x 2-3/16") and the bolt head is below the surface of the block. I took the nut and tightened on the back side and then the bolt screws onto the clamp. Seems more clamping surface should be better at least in my mind and the additional cost was nothing.

Where is this clamp being utilized - I'm not catching your purpose for it. Also, the medullary grain on those tiny parts is very pretty. Can't wait to see your application. Post some pix-in-use, OK?

 

[Bstrom]

Extremely neat workmanship on your part. Mr. Reilly. I envy your attention to detail. Let us know how effective this design was for you, OK?