11
Set Up: Mounting Fence
Set Up: Making a Mortise
1.
Position fence on top of drill press table and
align holes on ends with slots in table.
2.
Secure fence in place using adjustable handles
and appropriate T-nuts for your table.
Proper alignment of the workpiece and chisel is
essential to making good mortise and tenon joints.
The instructions below describe one method of
creating square joints with an evenly spaced
mortise. Place a spoil board on top of the drill
press table if a through-mortise is to be made.
1.
Install chisel into cone, rotate it so opening
is positioned toward operator, and secure it
with the knob.
2.
Secure drill bit into drill chuck. Slide the drill
bit into the chisel as far as it will go and then
allow it to drop back down 1/32” - 1/16”. If this
is not done, wood chips generated by the cutting
action will have no place to go, resulting in
excessive heat and damage to the tool.
3.
Measure the surface of the workpiece that is
to have the mortise. Subtract the size of the
mortise chisel and divide this number in half.
Workpiece = .75”
Chisel = -.375”
.375” 2 = .1875”
4.
Mark the workpiece where you want the
mortise and clamp it to the fence.
5.
Loosen the adjustable handles on the fence.
Lower the chisel with the spider handles on
the drill press and make adjustments to the
fence until the marks on the workpiece are
aligned with the chisel as shown in the figure
below. Tighten the adjustable handles. If
the fence cannot be adjusted close enough,
adjust the table on the drill press until the chisel
and marks are aligned.
6.
Set the speed of the drill press between 900
and 1200 RPM.
7.
Carefully inspect the alignment. When you
are satisfied that the setup is worthy of being
tested, replace the workpiece with a scrap
piece of lumber that is the same size. Attach
the hold down bracket and rod(s), then make
a cut.
8.
Watch the chips coming out of the slot on the
shank of the chisel. If you don’t see chips, or
there is a lot of smoke, raise the chisel, turn
off the drill press and lower the drill in the
chisel. If burning still occurs, lower the drill
press speed. Some burning may occur with
certain species of wood regardless of the settings,
but you should see wood chips while
cutting mortises with this tool.
9.
Check the placement of the cut and make
any adjustments to the setup before cutting
a valuable workpiece.
Aligning the chisel and marks.
