 [Larger view] | Delta 17-924 Mortising Attachment with Four Chisel and Bit Sets
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Average user rating:  | |
 A good price for a decent tool | |
| As an aspiring woodworker, I found the Delta mortising tool a useful addition to my collection. Its best feature is definitely the price and the fact it utilizes your existing drill press. However it does have some limitations. First is the depth of cut. I have a Delta 12" drill press with 2.5 inches of travel. The attachment method of the mortising tool eats up about 1.5 inches of the total travel. I was able to optimize the mounting somewhat to achieve about 1.25" of travel for the 1/2" mortise. The smaller bits are shorter, so this might further limit travel but I haven't tried them yet. If you have a press with 3-4" of travel, this probably wouldn't be an issue. Bear in mind there are two levels of mortising bits from Delta. The set of four bits included are the cheaper ones made in Taiwain, whereas the better ones made in Austria are about $40 each. To the novice they look similar, but the experts insist you get what you pay for. Personally I opted for the 4 included Taiwanese bits and then bought a single higher quality 1/2" bit which I had an immediate use for. I figure I will use the cheap bits for now and if they break, I'll upgrade them later. As for set up, it can be very time consuming, especially the first time. I ended up scribing perpendicular cheater lines on my drill press table and support column to assist in determining when the fence and bit were square. Because I was making deep mortises, I had to raise my table several times in order to achieve the desired depth of cut. To facilitate maintaining the proper table alignment, I used a C-clamp to lock the toothed rack in place on the support column. I also referenced the scribed lined on the column described above. Once set up was complete, I was able to make some nice cuts in a reasonable amount of time. I feel the mortising kit is well worth the price, so long as you are aware of its limitations. | |
| Good basic set | |
| This is a tool that will let you make square holes in wood better known as Mortises which are the female part of a Mortise and tenon joint. I bought this because I needed to make some for a project I am building and did not want to fork the money for a dedicated machine. As other reviewers have noted the bit set that comes with is CHEAP. However the tool itself is well made. Set up was easy. It comes with different collars for adapting to most drill presses(check to see that yours is compatible before purchase) If you have a small bench press like I do there is not a lot of room left after attaching. I had to remove the table from mine to make it work! However if you have a 13" or larger drill press there should not be a problem. If you can afford it or if you do a lot of mortises BUY A DEDICATED MACHINE. But if you only use it occasionaly than this is a good way to go. The quality is there ease of set up is good I only rate 4* because of the bit set. A better way to go might be to buy the attachment w/o the bits and then buy a good set of bits to go with it. | |
 fit??? | |
| i am still in iraq, i ordered this to go on my drill press, the dp-200 i know delta doesnt say that it fits, below some one said it did all in all ill just see if it doesnt someone let me know and i can send it to them for 10.00 less then amozon. i only gave it 3 stars for now but will update later |
