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After I replaced the broken parts I made a couple of test mortars. This machine should have sent by truck as it is obviously too heavy (approx 100 lbs). When I received this machine from UPS the base was broken in two, and the guard on top of the motor was bent in so far that the motor wouldn't turn. So far this is all I have done so the rating on this machine could go up or down in future updates. for UPS so more than likely it was dropped along the way. I called Shop Fox and they promptly sent me replacement parts. I am not rating the shipping, I am rating the machine. However, you may consider buying this from your local woodworking store, even though it may cost more just to avoid the hassle.
Overall, it's been a great time saver and great tool for joinery in furniture building. It felt more substantial, the longer handle felt right, the quill was fairly easily accesible for bigger fingers and the action traveled smoothly on the gas strut.
Happened to get it on sale locally pretty cheap and have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. It'll cut mortices easily without fuss provided it has a sharp chisel and bit.
I upgraded from a drill press attachment to this machine a few years back. My only complaint (reason for 4 stars) is I absolutely didn't like the cheapo particle board table and immediately replaced it with a table and hold downs sold by Rockler (another $40 and highly recommended, BTW) I chose this machine above the others mostly because of it's feel.
The machine is solid, heavy, and adequately powered. In fact, it's first task was to cut many 1/2" mortices in 10/4 White Oak to build my workbench base and it went very well.
I like the on-board bit/tool storage, but I've accumulated enough accesories now that I have a drawer dedicated to storage for the stuff that goes with this machine.
After reading the manual, I set the machine up with the 1/2 chisel set and did some practice mortising in a couple of 2x4's.The large door opening makes bit/chisel changes easy, even if you have large hands. So just a heads up.if the chisel needs sharpening, the drill does to. First of all, make sure to read the manual completely before assembly or attempting your first mortise. I leave it a little loose and use a wedge between it and the material, something I saw on New Yankee, so I can slide the material along with minimal hassel. Especially the one about cutting sequence. Once I got the proper clearance figured out, I was cutting mortises with ease. This is a pretty strong machine, and I found that by letting the machine do all the work, I achieved very nice results.
Plus the machine was already assembled and ready to go. I bought this machine at my local woodworker store. The hold down functions well and has a nice big foot. Brain fart on my part. Once I had the fence square to the chisel, it stayed in place. One thing that is a must is securely clamping or bolting the machine to your work surface, as you produce quite a bit of torque pulling the handle down. I found the manual to be pretty complete and informative, apperantly they have upgraded it since the last reviewer got his machine. You need the drill to lead the chisel by a 1/32 of an inch.thickness of a dime.
I also found the fit and finish to be very good, without the burrs and misshaped screw heads previously reported. Sorry Amazon. The twin colums and ability to swivel the head so you can do large pieces is icing on the cake. Mine has to remain portable, because of the lack of space in my shop. I bolted mine to a piece of 3/4 plywood and clamp that to my bench.
There is a learning curve involved in getting the drill bit set correctly in relationship to the chisel head. I have used the Delta and Jet Mortiser's and find that I do prefer the Shop Fox. That extra 1/4 hp does make a differance. They were having a sale and the lower price included two extra drill/chisel sets. Just slow the feed rate down a little and it cuts right thru.
I have cut mortises in several types of hardwood (quebracho, vera, maple) and achieved very good results. I gave it a 4 star rating because of the particle board table, it is flat and level but I would have preferred it to be cast iron, I guess ya can't get everything your heart desires. I am very happy with this machine and would reccomend it to anyone, looking for a benchtop mortiser.Update.I took the chisel's in to be sharpened by the same local outfit that has been sharpening my saw blades and cutters for years. They told me that most customers don't bring the drills in, and that is the part that does the most work.
This includes the little sidebars and warning captions. First thing they did was send me home for the drills. Being able to adjust the handle, for deeper cuts, with one hand is a very nice feature. It cut easily thru the fir 2x4's and made very square holes.
Been using them quite a bit and have xmas projects coming up. Still recommend this machine.
Not bad for the price and I guess it is quite versatile compared to competitive products.The handle fixture has been redesigned, with some real poor engineering. The manual has not been updated. Poor quality from Taiwan, leaving burr marks on threads, screw heads and shafts.The wood work table is actually particle board with imitation wood plastic coating, which rubs off with your nail.The flexibility to do larger pieces and bigger mortices, is offset by additional set up time.Once the machine is set up and tuned, it should give good performance though.
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