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I have two hollow chisel morticers, one bench mounted one and one that clamps onto the workpiece for large scale joinery. They are great in a lot of ways but have definite limitations:
- They are a faff to set up.
- They are an even bigger faff to change the chisel.
- There are limits to the dimensions of timber they can handle
- It is a pain in the arse sharpening the chisels and the bits that go in them, you will cut yourself.
Because of all this I find that they are good for production work where one set up means that you can drill a series of mortices quickly and accurately but use a chisel for everything else.
Had a look at those pig stickers and they look nice but I've been using the same set of wicks firmer chisels that cost me £20 for that last 2 years I think I'll stick with them as I can buy another 2 whole sets for the price of one of the pig stickers!
- They are a faff to set up.
Bobbo-
I got to a point where I'd bought all the cheaper tools twice and was making enough profit to buy the good stuff!
Ashley Iles was the last of the sheffield tool makers who had apprenticed in the three main areas of steel tool production, his son Ray Iles is carrying on in the tradition.
If the new stuff seems too expensive there's always second hand Sheffield steel chisels, they're not a secret so you still have to pay reasonable money but I've not been disappointed by the results.
p.s. I've had mine for a while and didn't realise how expensive they've got.
Airhead
I don't think the edges of mine could get any cleaner. :)
You should try the pig sticker. It's very good at mortices. I had been considering a mortice machine but the pig sticker made the job too easy. I don't do a lot of them though. I use the domino for smaller stuff and I only make doors from scratch occasionally.