General International 5/8" Hollow Chisel Mortiser

Comments about General International 5/8" Hollow Chisel Mortiser :

[...]The hand wheel assembly that holds the workpiece to the fence is a great feature, however is poorly designed and not easy to use, and thus time consuming and annoying . Although the machine is designed to be able to mortise at an angle, I see no way,using the scales on the machine, to accurately set the angle, or even the 90 deg. setting, other than using a square or bevel square. They would have been better off just leaving those scales off the machine. That being said, I just finished a prototype 30" X 80" frame and panel door with twelve mortise and tenon joints. After playing with the machine on scrap and getting used to it's personality, the twelve mortises on the prototype went off without any problems, and all were very consistent. I am considering making a second plunge handle for the machine. It turns out that, on taller workpieces (I was at 5.5"), with the handle in a comfortable position to start the plunge, the handle hits the workpiece before the chisel reaches the bottom of the stroke. I think that a handle with a bend in it would allow the use of the upper handle position, and still put the handle grip in an easy reach position. All in all, the machine is far better, quality and feature wise, than all the other machines in the $200 -$600 range. The extra few dollars for this machine is well worth the price. This machine is "rock solid". I did not purchase the optional stand, but rather built my own out of scrap pine and plywood, resulting in a sturdier stand, with locking casters, for less money. My usage would not justify the machines that are over $1K, if I were going to be using it a few times a week, I would have gone for a more expensive machine. All in all, I think I got my monies worth, and I would make the same choice again if I had it to do all over again. BTW, it was cheaper for me to purchase this machine online, rather than at one of their retail stores. Go figure.

Comments about General International 5/8" Hollow Chisel Mortiser :

I've used this to make furniture in a variety of woods, and the tool has performed excellently in all cases. Easy to set up and use. Accurate adjustments and quality chisels make the cutting of mortises very smooth. I've enjoyed using this tool and the quality of the work I can do with it.