drill press mortise attachment?

[Art]

I've got a Delta 14" drill press, and am leaning towards getting a mortise attachment, also by Delta, including all the bits for about $70. Seeing only limited usage, is this worth it, or should I hold off and save up for a full time mortise machine? Also, any comments from whoever has the drill press attachment would be appreciated.

[rrich]

Art,
Before you spend the $70, consider this:
Use either your drill or router to cut out most of the mortise and then use a chisel to clean it out. After an hour or so you'll be saying to yourself, "Durn, I'm good." :)

It's not that difficult and from what I've heard, sharpening chisels is a lot easier than sharpening the square mortise chisel.

I used to have a Mortise machine on my wish list until I practiced my chiseling skills. (Once you learn you don't really forget.)

Rich

[Lou_williams]

I have tried the drill press mortise attachments in the past, They don't work that well. I have drilled and chiseled out mortise. I have routed and squared, routed and rounded the tenion. And last year I bought a Jet mortise machine. It is a real thrill to use and to cut a mortice right where I want it fast and easy.

Yes, you have to sharpen the chisels and they are a bit harder to do than a standard chisel, but not that hard.

I would not spend the 70. You may or may not want to spend the 360 for the JET, but that or the manual methods.

[walter]

I currently own the drill press mortise attatchment you are refering to. I find that the attatchment does a good job after a little work on the setup, and i find it a very good bargain for the price versus a dedicated mortising machine. you just need to spend some time making sure your fence is square to the chisel blades. This is a little more difficult with the drill press than it is with a dedicated machine, but it can be accomplished with very pleasing results. I was never able to drill and chisel mortises as square an accurate by hand as i can with setup. good luck!