Shop Fox W1671 3/4 HP Heavy-duty Mortising Machine

I purchased this machine after receiving orders for several pieces of mission furniture. I grew tired of trying to cut mortises with my router. I have made several hundred mortises in white oak, cherry and white maple. I am very pleased with the machine. Pros: 1. Arrived on time and undamaged. 2. Setup and adjustment took only a couple of hours. 3. Hold down is exceptional. I have had NO racking problems 4. Plenty of power, it doesn't even groan a bit on 3/4 inch mortise 2 inches deep in white oak. 5. Dual rods work very smooth. 6. Easy to adjust handle, I can always set it for best stroke. Cons: 1. Fiber board cutting base is a little cheap. I replaced it with solid red oak. 2. The supplied chisel bit was so-so. I purchased a set from lee-valley (the ones from Japan) and they work exceptionally well. 3. I would like a micro adjustment on the depth control rod. No question I would buy this machine again. Great value.

I purchased after comparing several machines and pouring over reviews on several sites. I've made hundreds of mortises so far - most of them angled (for wedged, through mortises) and I'm extremely happy with my purchase. Note, the table doesn't angle - I did that with an angled jig on the flat table. I was using a Delta drill press mortising jig, but this is so much better. I would say I'm an intermediate level weekend warrior in terms of woodworking experience and ability. I have one car slot of my three car garage dedicated to this hobby. I have a table saw, small planer, joiner, scroll saw, drill press, and now a mortiser. I mention this just to give you an idea of my perspective on the review. I'm so pleased I got the 3/4 horse motor. No problems with 3/8" through hole mortises in cherry or 1/2" mortises in walnut. I was able to stall the motor a couple of times doing 3/4" angled mortises in 2" thick walnut, but the unit fired right back up and kept at it. Note, the mortise bits have to be sharp! If you buy a brand new bit, expect to sharpen it before use or you will not cut holes and just create a bunch of smoke. There are several web sites available that explain how to sharpen your bits and it makes all the difference. This includes the 1/2" bit shipped with the machine. In walnut, using 3/4 and 1/2 inch mortise chisels, I got some smoke, but was able to control it with a bit of practice in terms of force. When the unit arrived, it was undamaged, but I could definitely see how flimsy the packaging was and how the base could be easily cracked if dropped on that corner. I received the unit delivered in a van by a local delivery company with two people, so that may have contributed to my good luck. One person delivery is asking for trouble as it is a 100lb box. Assembly went well, but I did break one of the pot metal collars holding the handle in place when tightening the set screw. This is where a nylon collar would have been a better design, in my opinion. I used the Shop Fox online customer support process and had a new collar in my hand about a week after submitting the request. I also saw several complaints in the reviews about the partical board table, but I didn't have a problem with this. I expect the table to be sacraficial anyway after heavy use, so why invest a bunch of money in this area? Like someone else commented, just change it to oak if you like, but I'll wait until the first table is worn. The rest of the machine is a heavy beast. The hold down worked well, although it would have been nice if it had a knob to adjust it instead of the allen head screw. I may modify it to add a knob as it seemed like I was constantly having to fumble with finding the T-wrench to loosen and tighten it. It also doesn't have a stop fence micro-adjust - not a good one anyway, but once I got it set, it stayed in place. So all in all, I gave it 5 stars - even with the minor issues. It exceeded my expectations for the money I paid, support was good, and I would buy it again.

I bought this machine to replace my JBM-5 Jet Mortiser. The promise of a beefier machine with a 1/2" chuck (vs. 3/8" for the Jet) was what attracted me to the Shop Fox. I received it yesterday, and spent a couple of hours assembling it and making some test mortises. Below follows my list of pros and cons. Pros: 1) First and foremost, this machine offers great value in a mortiser. This made-in-China mortiser is a lower cost option than its Taiwan-made competitors such as Jet and Delta. $247 including shipping is hard to beat. 2) Beefier than either of the above mentioned machines. More iron in the casting. Dual columns. Weighs 87 lbs assembled. The fence and base are much more substantial than the Jet. The substantial, adjustable handle offers more mechanical force advantage over my Jet. 3) 3/4 HP motor running at 3450rpm, vs 1/2 HP 1725rpm on the above-mentioned competitors. 4) 6 1/2"+ capacity from bit to column (fence removed) 4" with fence in place. The latter can also be increased by re-bolting the fence support block into different predrilled holes. 5) 8 1/2" Height capacity--unlimited if the head is swiveled to the edge of the bench. Hold-down comes with 3 rods of multiple lengths to suit the capacity you need. 6) Fence has a micro adjustment. Cons: Most of the cons can be attributed to poor quality control. 1) Casting are fairly rough, although the machined portions of them are fine. 2) The spray painting job leaves something to be desired. Mediocre quality. Motor housing badly sprayed. 3) Depth Stop rod arrived bent out of the box. It won't affect its function, but a half inch bow isn't pretty. 4) Plastic electrical switch and capacitor housing was loose. One of the two phillips head machine screws failed to tighten, I realized that it had been overtightened and stripped. This was the biggest annoyance for me. Although the machine was fully functional with the housing as it was, I re-tapped the hole to a larger size and replaced the screw. 10 minutes extra assembly work. 5) Fence fine adjustment screw hole not perpendicular to the adjustment stop bracket, i.e., hole drilled and tapped at an angle less/more than 90 degrees. Doesn't affect functionality, but again, smacks of lousy quality control. 6) Owners manual completely forgets to mention attaching tool and accessory holder, which one can install based on seeing the photograph on the front of the owners manual. Overall however, the manual is pretty good for a Chinese manufacture. 7) Cord, although sufficient in length is sheathed in plastic instead of rubber. This gives it a stiff feel, and is reminiscent of so many cheap power tools that I could name here, but won't.... Overall I am quite happy with this machine so far. The motor runs smoothly and very quiet. I own high quality mortise chisels, and my experiments with the 3/4" chisel in white oak were very satisfactory. The high speed and increased horsepower are a noticeable improvement over my Jet, which I frequently stalled with a 1/2" bit in the same material. I was somewhat leery of going to a 3450 rpm machine, because of the higher potential to create more heat and destroy the bit, but proper setup and clearance seems to be the key to avoiding this problem. Because of the greater capacity, I can finally purchase a 1" bit instead of the much more painstaking approach I used to use, drilling 4 1/2" holes to accomplish the same thing. Because of the above mentioned quality control issues, I give 4 stars only to this machine. If these relatively minor issues are resolved, it would easily deserve a full five star rating. I recommend it as a substantial step up from the above-mentioned benchtop mortisers if you have need of 3/4" or 1" mortising, or routinely work with thick or wide stock.

The motor is powerful enough to get good cuts. The machine is heavy enough that I didn't have to mount it to the table. Setup instructions could be better. Came in two packages with no instructions for assembling the base, but it wasn't hard to figure out. First used to cut mortise in treated lumber. The wood tears but can be cleaned up with multiple passes. Very critical to make sure the bit is set properly. Youtube has a number of good videos that can help with that. To this point, it was a good addition to my workshop.