Grizzly T10816 - Benchtop Hollow-Chisel Mortiser

I just got this today, so I've only set it up and cut some test mortises. I can't speak to durability yet. On the con side, 1) the 1/4 chisel arrived with a bent bit. I carefully straightened it using a bench vise and it works fine. 2) the chip guard is rather useless and hits the hold down bar taking away more than a 1/2" of cutting depth. I turned it sideways to make my mortises, which makes the whole thing rather pointless. I will probably just remove it next time I change chisels. It also shipped without the screw required to attach it. I used a small bolt and nut from one of my shop drawers. 3) The locking arm threaded hole is awkwardly positioned between the two upright travel shafts, making threading the locking arm in place extremely difficult. Once it's installed, it works pretty easily. 4). Moving the mortiser up and down with the lever is very difficult at first. You will need to lubricate the shafts generously with some WD40 or graphite spray. That seemed to help significantly. 5) The chuck guards are plastic and fit loosely. There is an attachment on them for securing your chuck key, but when running the machine, the weight of the chuck key would cause the guards to come out of their position. I ended up storing the chuck key in the tool holder on the back of the machine.On the plus side, 1) it was packaged well and arrived in good condition (other than the one bent drill bit). 2) It is constructed solidly with the except of the useless plastic chip guard and the cheap laminate table which was already chipping. However, you can easily make your own replacement table with a piece of 3/4" melamine or whatever material you want. Not a biggie. 3) Assembly is easy and quick. Took maybe 20 minutes from carrying the box into my shop to cutting my first test piece. 4) It does ship with a chuck and arbor if you want to use this as I drill press, but I haven't tried it and probably won't since I already have a drill press. It should work fine for small drilling jobs if that's something you're intersted in. 5) the tool holder on the back of the machine is nice. I have all my allen wrenches for the machine, the extra chuck, and all my mortising bits stored in that holder. You have to store the bits sharp end up however, so don't lose the plastic protective covers or make your own because they are sharp and could slice your hand open. 6) The bits are super easy to install. Follow directions carefully the first time, including squaring the hollower to the fence. After that you'll be able to change one out in under a minute. 7) I don't know how long these bits will stay sharp, but they ship extremely sharp. I cut my test mortises 1-1/2" deep in red oak and it cut like butter. It leaves only very minor cleanup to be done which is easily accomplished by quickly sliding a sharp chisel down the side of each wall, the blowing the mortise out. I checked the mortise with calipers after cutting. My 1/4" mortise read 0.25" on my digital calipers. You can't get more accurate than that. The question is whether you can cut your tenon that accurately. :)Obviously, this is not a top of the line commercial grade mortising machine, but for a home shop this is a lot of bang for the buck. I primarily do lathe work and small custom furniture. I rarely need a mortise over 3/8" thick, and never larger than 1/2", so this suits my needs perfectly.Final observations: 1) make sure this is bolted down to your table before using it, and 2) make sure you are using the hold down correctly or clamping your piece down some other way. It will bind, and if you come away with inaccurately cut mortises, it's likely that either you didn't square the chisel before cutting, or your piece isn't being held securely during the cut. Do those two things and you will come away with perfect mortises every time.UPDATE 5/8/20:One other minor but annoying con. The table and fence are not adjustable vertically and when fully lowered the chisel bottoms out 3/4" above the table... And that's only if you remove both the chip guard and the hold down bar, otherwise the machine hits those and won't even go that far. That means of you want to mortise 2 inch table legs or face frames, or anything less than 2 1/2" tall (something I do a lot), you will need to put a spacer board under the piece you are mortising. So basically you need to keep a piece of 2x4 by the machine if you want to mortise stock under 2 1/2" thick and still use the hold down (highly suggested). Again, not a deal breaker but really annoying when they could have just made a vertically adjustable table and fence like every drill press in the world.

For under $300 it is a pretty nice machine with 3 chisels and bits included. Sure I wish it had a multi axis table... but it was under $300 so with a little bit of time tuning the chisel to square with the fence, it was worth every penny.great for the hobbyist, not for a production shop

Works like a charm and great price.