New Horizontal Router Mortiser

[Steve N]

I can see when I get mine, setting it up much like folks do with a chop saw, or RAS along a counter, or worktable where you have height ready stand offs to either side to support longer work. Honestly John, until you posted that pic, I never considered this on a tall project like the door frame you showed. I wasn't certain I would have much need for one of these, and that is the main reason I hadn't attempted a build, and that MLCS thing looks too cheesy for words. I am now wondering how I haven't had one for a long time.

[Dave Diaman]

Steve, my shop is pretty basic. I have big industrial tools but nothing fancy. There is nothing high tech in my shop. I build traditional furniture using traditional joinery a lot of which is hand cut so this works for me. I also build a set of cabinets from time to time which is the original reason I wanted a slot mortiser. The face frames and doors of my cabinets are all constructed using pegged M&T joints and this machine is perfect for this task. I have found a ton of other uses for the mortiser and keep thinking of more every day. I even ordered bits in 1/16 increments up to 1/2" so I can use it as a boring machine too. It works great for cutting holes for some hinges and ball style catches. I'm adding a long removable fence that I can put stops on too. This will allow me to cut mortises in multiple parts that are the same without measuring them all. This is getting added so I can cut mortises for cabinet face frames that have a lot of mortises like you would see with a bank of drawers. I'm sure this will help with other stuff too in the future. I can already see I will be cutting my sliding dovetails on the mortiser too. Much easier than standing a board up on a router table to cut the dovetail on the end of a drawer divider. I'm sure you will love the machine once you use it.

[Steve N]

I can see the hollow chisel mortiser going up for sale

[jteneyck]

Steve, I can almost guarantee you will never use that chisel mortiser again unless you absolutely need a square hole. For sure you'll never have to clean up another mortise again, so maybe you'll want to sell some chisels, too.

Dave's comments are exactly what I expected from people once they use the machine. They find ways of adapting it for their needs, to make cuts faster, more accurate, etc. Your comments about integrating it into a work station with support on both sides would certainly make handling long parts easier. The machine is simple yet highly versatile which means people will find ways of using it for all kinds of things once they have one. Hopefully, folks will be willing to share that information so that we can all benefit. Thanks.

John

[grey spider]

I bought John's slot mortiser along with Dave and I'm very impressed. I wanted a multi router for a long time, but the price was more than I could justify even used. Dave called to tell me about John's rig and thought I'd be interested. Long story short, I bought one and glad I did. John has built a quality piece of equipment! So if your thinking of a slot mortiser, I fully recommend his. I have the craftsman router that was on sale for around 60.00 and the dust collection is really good. It encapsulates the bit and removes almost all the dust.

[The Chair-man]

I have been looking at getting a Multi router for quite some time what are the thoughts here? I held out getting a more expensive blender for years, after burning the motor out on 4 different ones ("Cheaper"), I realized that had I spent the same amount of money on the one I wanted in the first place, it would have been the same cost. Now I have the one I wanted and am happy. I am taking the same approach to the Multi Router. I have held out for all these years, but for what? And now they are on SALE....... What to do? What to do? Here is the sale link.

http://www.multi-router.com/

[The Chair-man]

I like your machine. Have you thought about getting the air clamps from M_R and adding them to your machine?http://www.multi-router.com/?s=air

[jteneyck]

Hi Chair-man.  No, I haven't thought about adding air clamps.  If someone wanted to add them they could do that on their own.  The auto adjust clamp I'm using is fast and easy to use, and only costs about $25.  The whole purpose of my machine is to be able to offer a rugged, simple, yet highly versatile machine at a very affordable price.  You could buy 5 of my machines and still have money left over compared to the sale price of the Multi-Router.  

Are you aware that there is a tiliting X-table version?  I designed it specifically for people who make chairs, though it has utility for many other applications, too. 



Everyone who has bought one opted for the tilting X-table version:



PM me if you are interested.  I can easily omit the clamp and save you a few dollars if you intend to add air clamps.  But you might want to ask Dave his opinion on them first.  Time is money for him and I believe he's still using the clamp I supplied with the mortiser.  

John

[Stwood_]

Steve, my shop is pretty basic. I have big industrial tools but nothing fancy. There is nothing high tech in my shop. I build traditional furniture using traditional joinery a lot of which is hand cut so this works for me. I also build a set of cabinets from time to time which is the original reason I wanted a slot mortiser. The face frames and doors of my cabinets are all constructed using pegged M&T joints and this machine is perfect for this task. I have found a ton of other uses for the mortiser and keep thinking of more every day. I even ordered bits in 1/16 increments up to 1/2" so I can use it as a boring machine too. It works great for cutting holes for some hinges and ball style catches. I'm adding a long removable fence that I can put stops on too. This will allow me to cut mortises in multiple parts that are the same without measuring them all. This is getting added so I can cut mortises for cabinet face frames that have a lot of mortises like you would see with a bank of drawers. I'm sure this will help with other stuff too in the future. I can already see I will be cutting my sliding dovetails on the mortiser too. Much easier than standing a board up on a router table to cut the dovetail on the end of a drawer divider. I'm sure you will love the machine once you use it.

Question for Dave. You say you have bits 1/16" and up for this.
Routers have (normally) 1/4-3/8-1/2 collets.
What adaptor are you using for say, a 1/16" bit?

[BloomingtonMike]

If your router supports it get an ER20 collet nut and a set of ER20 collets. Bosh 1617 and porter cable 690s do. Here is one for example https://buildyourcnc.com/item/router-col...torspanner