"Adam Diehl" wrote in message
...

I guess the main thing I'm trying to assess is the real utility of
having a drill press, and whether it outweighs the advantages of going
for the dedicated mortiser. At this point I am leaning towards the
mortiser unless I hear some great reason to have a drill press instead.
Thank you all for your help!

When I think about my drill press, I think of all the jobs I do with it and
not many seem like they justify having one. Yet, it would be one of the
last power tools I would give up. I use it for something every day. Its so
nice to be able to drill holes exactly where you want them cleanly and
squarely and at the depth you want. Drilling big holes is a pleasure
compared to other alternatives (Yes, I have a brace and use it
occasionally). I wouldn't waste my time and money on a mortiser kit for it,
though. In fact I don't currently have the desire or need for a dedicated
mortiser. That's really an exotic single purpose tool and way down on my
want list. I think you would get a lot more use out of a good router. I
recently did a project that required 40 large Mortise and Tenons. I cut all
the mortises with the router and a simple template I made. A router cuts
mortises cleaner than just about any other method. I did not have to clean
up a single one of them. Once you get the hang of it and have a good jig,
you can cut them reasonably quickly.

Bob