:

Let me say that I have NOT read the other replies to your
question...YET...

But years ago I faced a project that required tons of mortises and I
already owned a floor model drill press . I actually borrowed a
dedicated morticer from my brother for a few weeks and honestly it
worked pretty darn good...

BUT I actually purchased a Morticing kit for my floor model drill
press and a mid level Delta Bench top drill press instead of buying a
dedicated morticer...just much more flexability in the shop...

Today I have three (3) drill presses in my shop the 2 above and
another small delta cheapie that I have mounted horizontally for use
as a horizointal boring machine.. ( I make a dozen or so 4 poster beds
every year ) for my wife to sell at craft fairs along with her hand
made dolls and doll cloths.

The Kit is NOT installed on any of the drill presses and has not been
for about a year...

To answer your question on how the "kits" compare to a dedicated
mortiser.... WELL not very good... ! much slower and not nearly as
easy to use... BUT THEY WORK ... and in my case since I do not have
to cut a lot of mortices in general I know I made the right
decision...

How much do I use my drill presses... ? Honestly a heck of a lot...!
How many mortises do I cut...? not that many ...!

If I cut a lot of mortises I would definitely have a dedicated
machine...they work MUCH better then the add on kits

In short I can live without a Morticer BUT I can not live without the
drill presses...

Bob Griffiths





..




1) What do you use your drill presses for in your shop? My reason for
initially leaning towards the drill press/mortise kit combination is, as
I mentioned, because of the ability to also use the drill press as a
drill press. However, the only uses I can come up with are to cut plugs
and possibly for spinning sanding drums (which, I'm told, is another job
they're not ideally suited for). I don't think I'd do either on a
regular basis.

2) If you've used a mortising kit, what were your impressions of the
quality of the job it did and its usability?