Side by Side Comparison of: Delta vs Jet vs Wixey

It's just what I needed to make some parts for toys I build.

Item as described. Good quality and good price

It is all that I expected. Having read posted reviews before purchasing helped set my expectations. Minor fit problems when attatching parts but this was easily corrected. Feels solid and rides nicely in the miter gauge slot. Only used it a couple of times so far but worked great. Made me feel a whole lot safer when running the stock through the saw. If nothing else making saw use safer is worth 5 stars.

I bought this tool because it was a Top Tool in a Wood Magazine review and I have not been disappointed. This was my first project with mortis and tenon joints and this jig made them easy. I would buy it again.Assembly and set up are not trivial, however. The unpainted machined surfaces come coated with a preservative. The manual says to remove it with a rag moistened with kerosene. There is no way that would work. I cleaned it outside where I could flood it with kerosene and then wipe it off. The preservative is everywhere; the base comes partially assembled, but I had to disassemble it to get at all the preservative.A couple of other reviews say that the jig did not fit their saw; one talks about the washers on the miter bar. The miter bar comes with washers mounted on the ends of the miter bar to fit "T" slot miter slots. The manual says to remove these washers if your saw does not have a "T" slot. My saw has a "T" slot, but the jig still would not fit. The space between the washer and the miter bar is too small to fit so I removed the washers (no grinding involved as mentioned in the other review, just a screw through each washer). It should be possible to shim the washers to fit but I did not bother.The miter bar is adjusted to fit your slot by turning three set screws. These screws have a spot of thread lock on them so they do not move after adjustment, but this also makes them hard to adjust. Two of the three did turn although they were tight. The third would not hardly move. The end of the included hex key wrench rounded before it would turn. I ground the wrench flat on the end and finally got the screw to move. Other reviews talk about poor quality screws; I did not see that; the wrench rounded over before the hex socket in the screw failed.The backstop is hard to adjust to a right angle with the table. Setting it is easy, but tightening the lock knob (lever) causes it to move.Using the jig is a breeze. The continuously adjustable clamp arm makes it easy to tightly clamp just about any size stock. The fine adjustment of the cut location is really fine, a full turn for 1/16" movement, however, there is a lot of backlash in this adjustment, probably 1/2 turn.I like the position of the two handles, fore and aft; they seem perfectly positioned to make the cut.One other review talked about problems after 50-60 tenons; I have only made 12, so something may go wrong later. So far I am satisfied.

I recently purchased a new Delta Unisaw and wanted a tenoning jig to go with the table saw. I was unable to find a Delta jig in the UK but I was able to purchase one through Amazon.com.The postage was a bit expensive but it did have to come from the USA to the UK.The tenoning jig is very resonably priced and is a high quality jig. The first tenons I made using the jig are great and I am pleased I purchased this jig. So far I can find no fault with this jig and would recommend it.

I bought this jig to replace a homemade jig that I have been using. Out of the box the tool looked to be top quality. During assembly and setup I encoutered a couple of problems. First, during conversion to a left tilting arbor I found that the metric "Button Head Screws" that attach the miter guide to the base were made of soft inferior quality metal. I had to cut the screws out and replace with quality screws. Second, the rear adjustment for eliminating side-to-side play (slop) in the miter guide would not eliminate the side to side movement in the miter guide. This adjustment device also had to abe replaced. On the bright side, the jig works beautifully for cutting accurate tenons.Bobby ParrisEngineer turned Woodworker

First piece of shop equipment bought in many years. It will replace my current mortise machine. Easy to assemble parts. It is a heavy piece for it's size. Base appears to be very stable. Not the most expensive mortise machine, but at the top end for similar machines in this price range. When I was in woodworking machine I sold many of these. It will be used extensively in my furniture making hobby.

All looks well upon assembly. Yet to use it. Packaging was good; arrived in perfect condition. Bits appear to need lapping; factory grinding not as smooth as could be.Not impressed with location of bit rack at the back where mounting surface is not milled flat: not especially convenient for access. I'll mount it on the wall.

Arrived very well packaged and in perfect condition. Very little assembly required, and everything worked as it should first time around. I will admit, I owned one of these several years ago, and never had a problem with it. So, I was really only worried about it getting here in one piece. I use it in hard and soft wood, mostly with the 1/2" chisel. I rarely need to go deeper than about 3/4", so I can't say how it would do beyond that. If I needed to do alot of deep mortises in hardwood, I would probably buy a floor model like the Powermatic. I think this mortiser is probably the best of the benchtop models in value and performance.

This machine has been built to last. It comes with a heavy cast iron base and a cast column. The lever is strong and long enough to apply the proper pressure without tiring. The tool runs quietly and is vibration free. The motor has ample hp to do the job.The chisels were sharp and with a 3/8" chisel installed it went through red oak with very little effort. My first mortises in red oak table legs came out perfect. I highly recommend this unit. Some people complain about problems with Delta machines. If you have a problem call Delta and tell them what it is and they will always help and send you replacement parts. I've never been refused! Some complain to Amazon when all they have to do is make that call to Delta's customer service dept

What a great tool and a great deal. (...)Bad news. It arrived broken. The cast iron yoke that held the motor to the spindle shaft was cracked in half.Good news. Amazon replaced by air shipping me a new one in just a matter of days plus paid for the return shipping of the broken one (78lbs!).Tool review. Set up is pretty straight forward with clear instructions in manual. It comes coated with a heavy layer of oil so be prepared to do some cleaning. Good news is that zero rust was on the machine. I liked spring loaded handle in that I could quickly reposition it for each new mortise cut. It comes with five decent drill/chisels that should last for a very long time if kept sharp.This machine is heavy at 78lbs, which is what you want when cutting a mortise. Without bolting it down I have not had a problem with it wobbling during cuts. I did some test cuts starting with the smallest chisel set and worked my way up to the largest set (1/2 inch), only on the largest set did I feel the motor bog down just a small amount. But for me this was not an issue because I am not in the production business but use this solely for hobby purposes.Bottom line: Great machine. And kudos to Amazon for their fast service!

This is an excellent mortiser. I decided to buy it over the slightly less expensive competing mortisers (e.g., Delta MM300) because I read complaints regarding fence and hold-down inadequacies. I've never used one of these other machines, so I can't confirm that their fences are bad. But I can tell you that the fence on this model is excellent. Solid, accurate, and easy to position and lock into position.Assembling the mortiser was pretty easy, with one exception. There is a hydraulic cylinder (kind of like what keeps storm doors from slamming closed) that connects to the power head and the base, which helps to raise the power head. The documentation says to raise the head all the way up so that you can install the hydraulic cylinder. Well, with the head all the way up, the cylinder arm is still approx. 1/2" too long to install. I ended up compressing the cylinder with a Quick Grip bar clamp in order to install the cylinder (it has too much internal pressure to compress by hand). Other than this annoyance, set-up was simple.Great mortiser. Pay the extra...and buy this machine. You won't be sorry!

This accessory allowed me extreme versatility installing mortises in a hard maple piece at an angle that was out of square.

Worked great with my Rybi drill stand and has accommodation for other drill sizes. Very happy with its performance & recommend it

Very nice. Had a bit of trouble attaching it but realized it was my misunderstanding.

Had to modify the cast collar to fit my older craftsman drill press but after that it worked great

Just got it and it fits my Steel City 20530 17" dril press beautifully! Bolted right on including the fence. Haven't used it yet but wanted to know.

excellent !!! just what I was looking for. Thank you

You can do mortises in a number of ways, I found this way to be one of the most fun ways to help me build furniture made of mortise and tenon in mission style.

Exceptional machine. It is easy to operate, and turns out great work. Very satisfied.

This is the first and only mortiser that I've ever used. It seems to do everything it's supposed to do, and I've used it on a dozen projects so far. I can see how having a heavier unit with a longer handle might be helpful, and I wish there were an easy way to align the chisel portion of the bit so that it's perfectly square. However, a couple of test punches lets you see any adjustments that are needed. A bigger back fence with a clamping system would be great, but again I think that probably comes with the more expensive units.

Being new to woodworking, I've had to trust the reviews of others in trying to sort out which brand of tools to buy so I hope this helps other newbes. Having been in the construction industry for over 35 years, I had pretty much done it all with the exception of cabinet/furniture making. With that in mind, I decided to take on an ambitious remodel for home including building the cabinetry/vanities for the bathroom and a new bedroom set. After reading more reviews than I can count and taking a trip out to the local HF to look at the Central Machinery Mortiser, I decided to spend the extra money on this one. Within a half hour of receiving it, I had it set up and was drilling my first mortis joint. Assembly literally took minutes to complete since the instructions are clear, concise and easy to understand. The lightweight oil they shipped everything in was easy to wipe off with some mineral spirits and part seemed well fit and finished. The exception to this is the hold down clamp. As others have said, this is pretty much useless. I don't know what modifications the others have made but I pretty much set the clamp aside and used the quick-grip squeeze clamps on each end of the fence to hold the wood in place. These allowed me quick and easy adjustments to the wood as well as being an inexpensive, less time consuming alternative to modifying a piece of metal. The fence itself seemed fine although I can see myself extending it at sometime in the future and the chisel bits that came with the unit were extremely sharp and worked well.

first i must say this is the only mortiser i have used.the machine was easy to set up 10 minutes from box to running. i got a free jet chiesel set with purchase.the first thing i played with was popular cut sweet, next scrap cherry a cake walk(1/4 mortise made) .the only thing i see is seal the base(which is mdf) . i ordered chiesels from lee valley for the dresses project i got this for.saw final word for the average woodworker/weekend warrior a+ machineoh yes as stated before i got free chiesels, free prime delivery fast and well packaged, good price and a stellar toy.if you dont have one put on your bucket list .

It's a good thing I read all the reviews of both the Delta and Jet mortisers. To the guys who bought the Delta and wrote the reviews, thanks for jumping on that grenade. Not only is the Jet less expensive, it is hands down the better tool. Out of the box I was cutting holes in quarter sawn white oak for my version of a spindle bed, (37 spindles in the headboard alone!). It has the feel of a tool that will keep it's place on my benchtop for years to come. I got some good tips from the reviewers too; mounting to a 3\4" piece of plywood, rotating 180 deg. to work on larger pieces, etc. Thanks again guys. P.S. The $5.00 S&H didn't hurt either.

Works like a charm. I especially like the fact that I don't have to use a 6 inch machinist rule and contort myself into reading all the little lines. Niv=ce big digital readout does the trick.

1). This includes the battery, a CR20322). This includes the pointy tip which can be attached to read into the bottom of a channel or dado or other narrow spot (see pics)

Very accurate setup for router and table saw.Easy to use and zero out.

I have been able to check a router set up that I’ve been using and discovered I was several thousands of an inch shallow. This tool allows me to more precisely make my cuts. I’m sold on it!

can be used instead of calipers sometimes too. Good, and fairly priced tool.

I saw this, read the reviews and had to have it! No more guessing about router or tablesaw height. Highly recommended!

Good product. A little difficult too set up. Touchy adjustments.

This Delta Tenoning Jig is a great boon to making neat and accurate tenons. For the price, it would be difficult to find one better!The service I received from Amazon was as usual brilliant! Keep up the good work Guys!

My first attempt to use the Delta 34-184 tenoning jig, after I had cleaned all the preservative off and assembled it, were less then awe-inspiring. While not complicated this jig has a slight learning curve and every time I use it, the results get more predictable and more accurate. Previously, I cut all tenons either by hand or using the bandsaw or the dado blade on my table saw. But with a little practice, I think this jig will be the go to method for tenons, as well as lap and bridal joints. If you use a lot of mortise and tenon joints, as I do, then this jig is well worth your time and money.

As most will attest, the tool comes set for a right tilt saw. This seems strange since most saws are now left tilt. This operation requires you to remove the guide and adjuster and relocate the guide to another set of pre-drilled holes. When I re-assembled the tool, I could not square it to the table. The holes were drilled out of allignment in the base! It is beyond me how that happens. If the tool is built using a CNC machine, it should be impossible. Delta must be using low skilled laborers to manually drill the holes, that's the only way it could happen. (What was the quality inspector doing when this mistake went by.) So, off to my drill press to open up the hole. What's up with the paint? Even after I got the packing grease off, the paint was not the same color. Even on the same part. Minor gripe, but it goes towards quality.Operation: The design is excellent. Having two handles on the tool promotes safe operation. The clamp bar allows adjustment front to back so clamping pressure can be placed exactly where you want it. Use an accurate square when setting up your cuts just to be sure.I believe this tool is the best in class, but the fit and finish could be better. I own several Delta tools - DJ-20 jointer, variable speed grinder, protable bench jointer, 12 1/2" portable planer. I hope Delta gets their act together and focuses on quality. They need to get back to their former glory.

This machine works as advertised. It cuts clean concise tenons that are 100% repeatable. It is massive and just plows the material through the saw blade.Set up took a while but that was me being overly careful. Great tool.This is the better of the two you can get from Delta. My review of the other jig was meant to be for this one. The other is lower priced but not nearly as accurate as this one.Sorry for the mix up!

I bought this because my father-in-law has one. I had no experience using it so I write this from an amature perspective. Assembly was a piece of cake. I had read several reviews about difficulty getting the shock arm installed, but I had no issue getting in on. My only issue was installing the bit due to the chuck head moving during tightening. The chuck key has a very long pin and it makes putting pressure on a very smoothly rotating chuck difficult while holding the bit with the other. Would be nice if there were a chuck brake to hold it in position while installing a bit. I have a project that will require about 100+ 1 1/2" long mortises (porch railing). Each will be 1/2" wide so that is the bit I started With. Fence setup was easy and the hold down is very stable. I did about 15 mortises before the bit began to clog and stopped the machines motor. I removed the bit and cleared the wood that caused the clog. Reinstalling the bit only two more mortises were cut before it clogged again. This time I lubricated the bit before reinstall and that seemed to help as I completed what I currently needed to accomplish. For now I will assume I was the cause of the issue and not the machine and will update this review if it continues to be an issue. Overall the machine does an outstanding job of producing repeatable quality mortises and definitely expedited what I was attempting. Machine is heavy, solid and does not move around even when the board was 6' long! I give this Delta 14-651 four stars out of five due to the bit clogging and the 1/2 HP motor (I think 3/4HP would definitely made this machine a rockstar! Glad I got it and highly recommend.

Received my Delta 14-651 Mortiser on Saturday, 4-17....ordered it on 4-11-09. Not to bad for free delivery. Box was missing a banding strap and had a couple of perforation to the box. But the machine inside was fine. After reading the instructions, ( which i usually don,t do) I had it put togeter in about 1/2 hr. I took other peoples advice n took the time to bolt it to my work bench. It is firmly attached and had no trouble mortising a 2 inch stock...cut from both side to elimnate tear-out. A inch on each side, I must say, it took more leverage than i thought, but worked fine. I did take the time to sharpen the 3/8" mortiser before use. Got a cone sharpener from Rockler. It came with a handle for the cones, but after awhile, I chucked it in the drill. Finished the outside of the mortise with a 800 grit wet stone. Took care on the milling marks, but not quite the mirror finish that a 5000 grit stone does. But, your not gonna see the inside of the mortise. I pleased the way the Delta cut the holes, beat a hand chisel in my estimation. Got 20 more holes to do in this project alone. Having a sore thumb, I used a quick clamp to hold the work tight to the fence, the Delta hold down worked for retracting the drill n mortise chisel...with a lil tug. Glad I sharpened them up. I can see where I might be using the extension....was wondering; if after its installed, can I just leave it on all the time. Not sure, as im kinda new at doing mortise with a machine. Being used on my bench table, I,ll have to wrestle it to a storage spot, try making a table on wheels for it. Just a thought. So, im glad I bought the Delta Mortiser, seems up to the job. Free shipping helped too. Shipping and use of the mortiser has been a smooth deal so far....

I would recommend the Delta 14-651 mortiser and would buy it again. I was able to complete the setup and adjustments fairly quickly and with a little practice could cut good mortises even in red and white oak with the starter chisels provided. The owners manual is not very instructive and glosses over some important adjustments. You will have to figure out your own methods to attach the hydraulic cylinder and to loosen the sliding of the head against the column. My mortiser arrived with the head adjusted so tightly that, even with no cutting involved, it took all my strength just to lower it on the column. You will need your own 6mm allen wrench and will have to experiment as the manual is vague on this point.My main problem was with delivery. I opted for Amazon's free delivery and the product arrived on a Friday as promised. But the box delivered by UPS was badly beat-up and marked with caution tape. It had a suspicious metallic rattle. On opening, I found that the box had been dropped from height at some point and that the 1/4 inch cast metal of the mortiser head on the left side was fatally cracked through, leaving a loose gib piece to bang around inside the box. I contacted Amazon for a damage-based return and was routed to a hard-to-understand, fast-talking overseas operator. During a very long phone call, I agreed to accept a replacement unit only if I could receive free 2-day shipping. The broken unit was picked up by UPS on Monday and the replacement unit delivered as promised by FedEx on Tuesday. The replacement unit was in an obviously newer box with a much less violent history. I would warn Amazon buyers to be wary of delivery problems.

At $200 ($250 minus $50 Amazon credit) this tool is quite affordable for what it is. The chisels are better than most I've seen and on par with the ones from Jet. They are reasonably stiff, but you do have to be careful about them bending in slightly towards the center of the mortise, especially in harder woods like maple. Assembly and setup is easy, although my did come with a small section broken out of the base like others have said. I didn't bother to return it, however, as it didn't affect the function of the unit. The fence is not as nice as some other brands because it doesn't move squarely with the bit, so you have to be careful when you change it. Also there is not provision to clamp or hold your work up against the fence like the Steel City unit has. Even with the adjustable guides on column the gas shock seems under powered. The tool holder on the back is pretty much worthless; I took mine back off almost immediately. I have not tried the riser block, but I wonder why they didn't just build the extra capacity into the tool rather than having this add on. Overall I'd buy this tool again if I needed one and think most serious hobbyist users will find it to be a good enough tool. Professionals might wish to step up to the floor mounted units.

It really comes down to two machines in this class the Delta and the General. The General has a better table and can be bought in a tilting model but given that it was almost a couple hundred more plus truck freight I went with the Delta given Amazon's low price and free shipping.After several years of reviews of this machine taking about broken machines you think Delta would take note however that appears not to be the case. Mine was shipped to me in two days with no major visable damage to the shipping container. I assembled it and proceded to start using it when I noticed a small hairline crack at the base of the column. That and one of the fence holddowns was stripped. Not wanting to return it I called Delta and they are shipping all the needed parts. Basically I think it come down to poor quality control from Delta.Now on to the machine. As I said there are only two machines to consider in this class and this machine is rock solid and the table is solid cast. The number of improvements that could be made without greatly increasing the cost is limited and most of them are minor. I think most of Delta's effort should go into QC. After tha, here are my minor complaints. (Making it more like the General)1 and 2 are really the same issue. Both swiveling the head and adding the extension are a pain. I think a little creative engineering here and this would be a great improvement.3) An add on vice with side to side movement would be a great add on even as an additional cost.4) The depth stop is very poor.But the basic thing is, that for the price this is the best machine in it's class.

Everyone who is looking at this machine knows that there are three machines to choose from in this range: This one, the Delta MM300, and the Jet. Yes, there is the Shop Fox and several others, but they don't really count. I looked at the other two, but did not get a chance to see the 14-651 except in pictures. But, it looked like a better machine and the reviews were better, so I splurged. Now, you should realize that we are only talking 20% more for this machine and for that you get a far nicer machine than the other two. The table is cast iron and solid, not the wood table of the other machines. The fence is larger and adjusts with a knob rather than just sliding manually. The riser is standard, not an option. A large door opens all of the way around the chuck, not just on the side, making it easier to install bits. In general, the machine feels more substantial than either of the other two machines. I think it was well worth the difference. It also came almost completely assembled, not in a zillion parts.My only objections is that they don't include a clamp for the fence. I've found I have to clamp stock down or the bit rotation may shift it a bit. I also think the plastic tool tray is badly positioned behind the machine, making it deeper than it needs to be. My machine came with the gib set very tight and I had to loosen it to more easily move the head.What I don't understand is why Delta or Jet do not make another model slightly more expensive with a true X/Y table and clamp. It seems a logical next model. I would gladly pay another $100 for those features.

For those of us who don't want to chisel by hand but don't have the money or room for a dedicated chiseling machine, this is a really good tool. The one thing I would stress to everyone is follow the directions. I didn't at first and couldn't figure out why the chisel wouldn't push through the wood. The only two negative things I can say are that the finish wasn't the same as the picture (which I really couldn't care less about) and sliding the rings over my chuck to get to the quill was almost impossible. Now that they're in place though I don't think I'm ever going to get two of the adjustment rings off again. They're not affecting the function of the drill press so I don't think it matters either.This thing makes fairly clean cuts. It only takes about 30 seconds to clean out the very bottom corners. Haven't found anything negative about it. Hoping it stays that way.

Does the job. I think the chisels could be better. Some of the mortises i've cut were a little ragged. But, i would buy it again.

It appears to be well built, but it will not fit any of the Craftsman drill presses currently available at Sears. I went over there and tried out the collars on all of the drill presses just to make sure.The Craftsman products listed in the description have been discontinued for about 15 years. Also, do not buy this product if you have less than a 12 in drill press. It will be too long.

Purchased this item for my Powermatic 2800 drill press, I needed a tilting mortising machine. This product for its price point (only $99) is well made, instructions are clear and packaged nicely. Comes will a fitted plastic case for storage. The hollow chisel bits are not of the best quality nor polished to any meaningful degree, it is a trade off for the money spent. I will look for a better quality hollow chisel bits as well as a one inch hollow chisel bit. I have a HF hollow chisel machine that I will give away or have my scrap metal guy come and get it; money not well spent, buy cheap, buy twice or more!

it works just like it should. I have only set it up, to make sure every thing fit like it should and tried it out only. I have a furniture project I am starting to plan out now. coffee table and 2 end tables, so I will see just how it works out.

The Mortising attachment works fine. The operator does need to be accurate with his/her positioning of the wood. The rating would have been five stars, except that the included directions to attach to a drill press could be more explicit. There is a set of directions available on the Delta web site that explain the set-up in greater detail.

The fence does not track parallel, resulting in slightly off-set mortises. That being said, I would not want to exchange it because it is a workhorse for my little shop. I have a set of great chisel/drill bits and value the work I can get done on everything from hard maple to fir.

I purchased this mortiser a few weeks ago and have made many practice mortises and a few real ones in a piece of furniture I am building. I can't speak to the durability of this product, but I can talk about everything else. It came promptly from Amazon, no parts were missing. Setup was simple. I've seen some people complain that the platform isn't parallel to the fence. This is a total non-issue. All you need are a few pieces of paper to act as shims, a t-square, and about 5 minutes... and a phillips head screw driver. I took off the platform, squared it to the fence, and added a few pieces of paper until it was square, then tightened it back down checking again to make sure it was still square. Setting the machine up took about 10 minutes total, then installing and squaring a chisel took about 5 minutes. I am giving this 4 stars because my 1/2 inch chisel just didn't work well at all. I would give 4.5 if I could recognizing that most of what I paid for was the machine and not the chisels, but I would have expected all 3 chisels to have been in top shape. The 1/2 inch kept burning my wood, I increased the auger lead and it worked a lot better but still not great. I'm going to be buying a new 1/2" chisel. The action on the rack and pinion lever was really stiff at first, I added some WD-40 and it got a lot better. Really easy to use, really smooth, I would advise facing the opening in the chisel forward instead of to the side. I am now looking at buying a Jet bandsaw just because I appreciate the quality in my mortiser.

I don't think I can say it much better than most of the other reviewers here, but that's never stopped me before.It's a very well made product, from the mortiser itself, the very sharp chisels that come with it and the chuck key. However, the hold down does leave a bit to be desired. It doesn't give me that sense of confidence at all times as far as whether or not it'll stay put...but it has so far.Personally, other than the hold down, I love this tool! If you're drilling holes and chiseling the waste wood or routing...well if you've got the dough (and in this economy, it's an understandable consideration!), give the Jet a looksee!

I've built several projects with this mortiser over the past year. It has done a great job. The stop mechanism works great, it's sturdy, and the chisels that come with it are plenty sharp. I've built about 4 tables with this machine, and I am currently building a cabinetmaker's bench, which requires me to bore mortises about 3 inches deep. Since I am using poplar for my base it didn't bog down the motor like maple would, however, the base wasn't wide enough to accomodate the large legs. No biggie: Rockler sells an extension table for this model that I am considering buying.I wish they would have included mounting hardware (like my Delta drill press), so that I could mount it without any further trips to the hardware store.

Simply put - this is a good machine for the cost. I'm not the world's most skilled craftsman, but I found the set up and use of the Jet mortiser easy and accurate. I was able to unpack it, set it up, and drill a few test mortises within an hour.Some reviewers have commented that when you are buying a bench-top mortiser you are buying a machine with somewhat limited use. I'm not sure what kind of work that they do, but I find the capacity more than sufficient for any project that I am planning.I also found it easy to align. Right off the bad I made sure that I got a good square alignment and then drilled out a few mortises for each size bit. Whenever I set up the unit, I simply check the alignment against my pre-aligned jig.

I've been using the JBM-5 for about three months now. It's a good machine and does what it is supposed to do (cut square holes). I did a fair amount of research before buying and the JET seemed to get better reviews than the Delta and I would recommend it as well.The only problem I've had is that the unit did have a damaged fan cover out of the box. The dented cover prevented the fan from rotating and thus the motor from turning. I called JET and they were extremely pleasant on the phone and sent the replacement parts right out (standard delivery). Overall I was pleased with their customer service.

A great help in any shop .

Great for woodworking. Being plastic, it probably isn't a scientific instrument. But it matches up with my digital calipers.

I'm pleasantly surprised at how well this tool holds calibration. I was very skeptical after 3 sets of electronic calipers failed me, but this gauge is a different animal. I have to zero it each use, but it holds calibration for at least the duration of the current task.

The entire device is plastic and the support legs are very thin. It seems way to fragile for a shop environment. It does work well and the measurements are accurate and repeatable. I don't know how long this will provide service though I will (have to) take special care in handling. I do wish that is was fabricated with more sturdy components.

If you think it defective and before you send it back, turn the battery around (so the big "+" is facing down). That worked for me and yes, I was so sure that the first unit was DOA, that I sent it right back for exchange. How was I to know? The battery caddy even has a large "+" where the battery fits perfectly, only problem being is that the 'positive' side goes down. Illogical? You bet and to make matters even worse, there is no instructions on how to get started with this device. Just wondering how many of the one-Star reviews were due to Wixey's oversight? Haven't used this tool yet so I cannot comment on accuracy and the like, but feel as though this bit of information should be posted now rather than later. Regardless, as for a quick assessment, I'm impressed.Bill B Digit . . .

Works great. Docking a star because as others have indicated the ruler isn't set up to be accurate (compared to the readout); there's no 'point' to indicate the reference for using the ruler.

So, this thing is built like a tank, that's at least one positive. Some minor problems though. First, the directions on how to align this thing are messed up. Part of the directions about aligning the backing plate to your blade (making it parallel to the blade) are wrong! Hard to explain without going into too much detail, but when you push the backing plate next to your blade to check alignment you CANNOT reach the adjustment screws that are used to adjust the parallel alignment. The directions do not indicate that, instead, you will need to put a straight edge or something like a level between the backer and your blade and THEN you will be able to reach the alignment screws. Second, the little red distance indicator clearly indicates that this might not have been made in the U.S. the threads on the set screw for the indicator are too low inside the set screw hole. Making it impossible for it to get any grip at all when the indicator is in the hole. Some doofus at the factory solved this problem by inserting the set screw into the hole sideways and jamming it in there (not using the threads). Tried to flatten the end of the indicator that goes into the hole, but I would have to make it paper thing to get the set screw to grab threads. Pretty much threw away the indicator - useless. So, all this being said.....here's the conclusion....made like a tank, works well once you get it set up, but MAKE YOUR OWN! Don't use the alignment indicators on this unit, MEASURE YOURSELF EACH TIME. Overall, I would not buy again, I would make my own. I was just lazy.

Having purchased Delta products in the past, I expected much better than I got. The casting was crude and the machining was sloppy.I had to take a file to the base plate and retap one of the screw holes which had a tear out problem. I sent photos to their support group and never heard a word from them. I won't buy another Delta product whithout closely examining it first.

I purchased this jig because Wood Magazine rated it tops and it was on sale at Amazon. It arrived as promised, well packed and in good shape. This thing is a tank, it weights a ton and the workmanship is better than what I have come to expect from the typical made in China product. I cleaned everything, using WD40 and assembled it in about 20 minutes. I did not need the washers that are supplied on the miter bar for use with saws that have T-slots. I removed them. The first thing I found was that it will not fit the older, or for all I know, the newer, Craftsman table saws. The older saws had a miter slot that was about .007 inch less than the standard .750 inch slot. I removed the miter bar and with about 10 minutes work on a belt sander had it fitting perfectly. Once in the miter slot the base had no wobble and sat rock solid on the table. The issue noted with the miter bar adjustment screws did not concern me.This jig is designed to be used on the left side of the blade and I prefer to cut with it on the right side. As shipped the base will hit the blade. There is a second set of holes for the miter bar that will move it out. However, the thickness of the stock will be limited. I wish that they had added a third set of miter bar mounting holes to allow for thicker stock. Another problem using the jig on the right side is that the face plate is very close to the base. When the stock has to be clamped above the base plate you can not set the blade height by referencing the table, you must reference from a spacer that is thicker than the base. I can't hold this against Delta as they planned for it for use on the left side. But a bit more thought by the designer could have eliminated this problem.Squaring the jig to the blade was not a big problem. Adjusting the thickness of the cut should be simple, just loosen the clamp, set the depth, tighten the clamp and you should be good to go. The problem is that if the clamp is loose enough to slide the base the face plate will tilt, slightly. This makes a precise setting difficult. This is the main reason that I only give it three stars.Once it is setup, the jig is easy to use and cuts great. This being said you can get the same results from the Grizzly jig for less money. This thing is a far cry from a five star tool, however I personally like Delta tools and with the price I paid overall, I am satisfied.

I am sure that it is a great machine...put the one that I received was a mess rust all over the machine an the metal strap that holds the the fence was broken they need to look over the machines before they are shipped..it took several hours of repairing but now is fine

Looks very sturdy, but really isn't. One of the screws that hold the unit to the table is near-stripped and I'll have to fix that. The whole thing flexes too much under pressure, and lots of pressure is required to make a mortise. Also, the glide surfaces on the vertical bar are very crude and grind away. A tiny bit of actual care would create nice smooth surfaces.

I purchased the Delta mortising machine specifically to build three screen doors 48' x 98" using cypress 5/4 lumber. On the first unit I received the dust cover was bent up (the thin metal cover over the gear). I notified Amazon of the problem, which I considered very insignificant, and asked them to send me a replacement part and I would change it out. Before I knew it a new machine showed up and I was asked to return the first machine. I was very surprised that Amazon would react that fast. I returned the first machine and upon setting up the replacement machine (I was adding the extension base since the mortice I was planning to use the machine for was 5' wide) I noticed a fine crack going across the cast iron base. While not yet broken, I notified Amazon and was asked to return the machine, which I did. Incidentally, both of the machines I received were boxed in Styrofoam, but only a 3/4 inch padding was on the bottom and had been broken by the weight of the machine. Apparently the second machine had been dropped, which accounted for the crack in the base.At my request (rather than give me a credit) the second machine was replaced by a third. It arrived with the original box (like the ones the first two machines had arrived in) wrapped in Styrofoam and placed within another box. It arrived in very good shape.I set up the third machine and started building my screen doors. I used the 1/2 inch mortice 2 1/2' deep. While it took a fairly large amount o pressure to start the mortise, I found the machine worked very well. However, after about 6 mortises the stabilizer (the pressurized cylinder which keeps the machine in the up/open position) quit working and I had to use one hand to open the machine or hold the chisel up and another hand to put the work piece under the chisel. I continued until I got all the amortizes for one door complete before quitting for the day. I don't want to return the machine but would like to order another stabilizer arm. I plan to check the warranty and see if a replacement stabilizer can be obtained.In spite of my problems, I am still reasonably happy with the machine. Once I penetrated the wood with the chisel it seemed to cutfairly easy and the cut was reasonably smooth. Only minor manual cleaning of the sidewalls with a chisel. The bottom of the mortise was a little more difficult as the bottom was not cut cleanly and lots of wood remained probably due to the long grain of the cypress I was using.

Even though I read through many of the reviews having a broken fence upon delivery, many others did not mention this so I figured I would take a chance since it is fairly reasonably priced. When I got the machine, the fence was cracked in half like many of the other reviews mentioned (styrofoam it is packed in is way too thin). Amazon did a great job trying to fix the issue giving me several options to resolve it. Return, sending me a replacement, or an $80 credit. I researched how much a replacement fence would be and it is not an option since they don't really make them anymore. I ended up making my own fence out of a piece of oak and taking the $80. It took about 4 hours but I was able to use all the parts that were attached to the fence and it functions pretty much the same as the metal version. The machine itself worked solidly considering I was cutting 1/2 inch holes in oak. So, after going through the reviews, it seems there is a pretty decent chance you could end up with the same problem. If you have the ability and time to make a fence on your own, the price is pretty good. Just prepare yourself for that possibility.

Just purchased the Delta 14-651 mortiser from Amazon. Shipping was exceptionally quick, however the packing material was in bad shape when I opened the box. Once degreased and assembled I found that the head would not travel smoothly along the column - it would jamb in some areas and move easily in others. After some investigation I found out that the rack (the long straight gear on the column) was very poorly machined. After about an hour and a half of work with a mill file I was able to even out the teeth and widen/deepen the notches on the rack. The mortiser now moves smoothly on the column.I'm happy with the mortiser now that the movement has been "fixed", but beware of poor quality in the rack and gear system.

I have one that I've used a few times and I'm waiting for parts. The part that broke ( pull handle hub) has had its number changed (possible engineering change) and is on backorder (everyone else broke theirs, too).The chisel set is fine and is made very well. The problem is in the design of the pull handle and the depth stop. The pull handle hub is connected to a round shaft by a roll pin that takes the brunt of the down force. The depth stop is an allen wrench configurated bar that hits against the top of the frame. When the stop hits the top of the frame, force is directed to the hub and roll pin and eventually both will break.If you get one, don't use the depth stop. Instead, mark the desired depth on the chisel with a piece of tape and let the depth stop move freely.

needed better directions. had to work with it to get it to function the way it should.

The hold down rod did not fit into the fence. It seems like the hole was never milled out after casting. Otherwise everything is solidly made, heavy castings all on parts. Chisels seem sharp enough but I doubt they would have lasted very long in dense woods.I wanted to like this very much but it just simply did not work for me. The amount of effort involved in getting this on (requires I remove the depth gauge/stop from the press before clamping on the chisel holder) negated the benefits. If I required production quantities of mortises to be made then I can see how the lengthy setup would be worth it, but if I were a production shop I would just invest in a real mortiser.

Well made but did not fit my drill press.

It is better than a kick in the shins and seems to work fairly well after I worked on the fit between the main casting and the lower stop on the quill of my drill press. My measurement was 66 mm but their casting had a lot of paint on it. I used a rotary sanding unit in the drill press to remove paint but also had to remove a slight amount of metal. After applying a little silicone it now fits fine.

Tightening lever's groves stripped out on first use; metal of the lever itself is too soft do do the job. Otherwise, the tool did what it was designed to do.

while functional and relatively easy to set up i found the quality poor. The face you clamp your work to looks like it was finsihed with a angle grinder leaving a surface with ridges that will damage any finished surface clamped to it. The hold down clamp is poorly designed and is unusable for any tall stock. Essentially it is cheaply made, but with modification, time, and effort you can make a functional mortiser out of a good drill press.

Rattles excessively, but it works okay after you fiddle around with it.

Very limited height, table is too small. Otherwise, it is okay. Not a lot to brag about on this one. I'd do an internet search and find a better model.

When I received the mortiser, there were no obvious signs of damage. However, when I opened the box I found the top fan cover was dented in so as to impede the movement of the cooling fan. It was easy to pound back out and there is no paint or structural damage but it should never have left the factory that way. Also,the post that the hold down clamp secures to has a set screw to hold it tight and that was loose from the factory. There is no wrench included to tighten it and it took a while to find one in my collection that was close enough tighten it. Just a pain in the neck. Once I got going, it performed as I would have expected although I will probably get a better set of bits than the ones included.

The tool works well! I am happy with its' ease of use and set up. For a low end mortiser it works very well for the occasional user. The first one I received had a caved in top due to improper packaging. I let Amazon know, and in two days I received a new replacement, at no charge. The staff at Amazon were great - it was very easy to get a new one sent quickly and have UPS pick up the one that was damaged. Thanks, Amazon for your wonderful customer support.

The product is OK. The plastic legs need to be thicker along with bigger magnets. But the biggest downside to me was the tip of the scale. It needs to be capped with steel or brass b/c when I used it for the first time I had to take my razor knife and shave off a burr that would of threw the measurement. A cap will also allow for more surface contact which will increase stability/accuracy.

Mine did not come with a battery like it was supposed to but I'm sure it will work well once I find one that fits.

Seemed to work OK, but the first time I actually needed it, a few months after purchase, the battery was dead.

Worked great until its 1 year warranty was over then died - I bought it 6/2014 and it crapped out 8/2015 - just over 1 year.When it was working, I found it to be accurate and easy to use - too bad it only lasted a year

This gadget works OK for some things but doesn't have enough height for a lot of things and is a bit wonky to use. I wanted something to set the exact height of my table saw blade when doing dado and groove work. After using it a couple of times, it wound up in the "stuff" drawer.

I received this as a Christmas gift from my wife. I did need one for sure. I popped in the battery and the LCD numbers would not display clearly. I reset, per the instructions...no good. I just returned it today and I am hoping the replacement from Amazon will work correctly. It's an important piece to have in the measuring kit. I'm sure it will be fine. Happy Holidays to all.The second one arrived today, 31 Dec. It works perfectly.

Casting does NOT run parallel to saw blade. Found the tabs that connect the vertical plate to the horizontal plate are different lengths, making it impossible to run parallel. I had to elongate the screw holes ( making a slot ) in order to use the tool. Very disappointed...

Came with one part out of place.

The box was all damaged but the stuff inside seemed OK.Upon closer examination of the jig, which seemed somewhat assembled already, many of the hex bolts/washers were missing. This was not a huge deal but I did have to go get some replacements.So 2x stars for super damaged box and missing components, but looking forward to many years of using this jig.

Kind of clunky

I bought this after using the older model and was very disappointed in the quality of the castings and the hardware. The old one, which is still available at a lower price, is a better made piece of equipment. The "deluxe" version is sloppier in its movements and reminds me of the junk we used to see out of China several years ago. Of course the simple operations required of this jig may not require it to be sophisticated but its still disapointing. I sent it back and bought the cheaper one from Delta which works great and I like the handle placement better.

It's about what I expected for the money I spent (also all I could afford to put in it too). Same old Chinese garbage mill work.But, I am a mech engineer. I can take a pos and make a sweet machine out of it. Which is what I will be doing in my spare time. The chisels are crap. You will need to properly grind the cutting edges of the drill, then polish the flute sides smooth. The chisels, hmmm, pretty bad. Rough sanded, dented and the cutting edges are very burred. I spent 3 hours just getting one chisel set to cut smooth and eject chips.Out of the box, you will get very ragged cuts, if you can even get them to cut. The gibs and ways are terrible, so forget about the lift spring pushing the head back up.In summary; if you have skills in tweaking machinery, the machine itself is a good one for the money. If you don't want to hassle with making good chisels out of bad ones, buy a decent set of chisels. One of my favorite hobbies is making a better mouse trap so this one is perfect for me.

I have had my Delta Mortiser for about three years and I am sorry that I bought it almost from day one. The on/off switch went bad then the handle broke at the hub assembly and the quarter inch bits snap almost imediately. Delta wants fifty two dollars for replacement the quarter inch bits each. They will not sell just the bit itself, you have to buy the chisel too. Ever since Black and Decker bought Delta their quality and ethics have turn me completely off. Buy beware.

I rated it 2 stars because of the quality contorl from the factory. I had to return two damaged machines to finally get a good one. After the second unit that had a cracked casted yoke assembly, Amazon removed thwe item from their site and had the vendor investigate the problem. The problem was not with the shipper. The package was not damaged. It had to packed up already damaged.I have to compliment Amazon for working this out and being very responsive. I finally got an undamaged mortiser yesterday and after the short assemby and a single test it does perform as expected.The actual mortiser is very well made and is easy to use.

After reading the existing reviews of this product I expected a real quality mortiser. My experience has been anything but good. The first problem I had is serious enough that I would never buy the tool again. The handle that lowers the bit onto the woodpiece is made of incredibly poor steel. I'm not that strong and I broke all the cog teeth on the handle while depressing it into a piece of oak after using it for only a couple of days. Amazon.com was super helpful in getting me another replacement tool. However, this new tool still had a poorly fitting cog wheel and in addition it had another problem. The set screw that tightens the bit would not screw in tight enough to keep the square cutting knife from turning. I used all my might to tighen the screw, but the bit still turns(I was using a 1/2 in. mortise bit). So, the second tool was even worse. I live in fear that the cog on the handle will break again and the bit slipping makes my mortises crooked. It's too bad Delta would let these 2 parts(and they are critical parts) ruin what would otherwise be a very solid well built mortiser.

Great in theory, but just like I was warned, this mortise attachment couldn't perform. There is no good way to mount this firmly enough to any drill press well enough to mortise anything harder than pine. Slip after slip, adjustment after adjustment, this thing is destined to fail. I'm only giving it two stars because I can still use the base/fence for other drill press uses and the chisels are decent.

For starters, no combination of the collars would fit snugly on my drill press; I had to use some pipe clamp to fill in the gap. This was really surprising and frustrating (there are so MANY included collars, I really thought one would fit!).So I finally get setup, I grab my "test" piece of scrap. Clamp it down (btw the table is WAY too short! I could only use one of the clamp arms) and start to drill. At the point where I felt I was forcing things I started to back off, and the entire piece of wood came up with the cutter. ALL the clamps failed: the "hold fasts", the guide, AND the lock holding the chisel in place! Four different failures, all on the first cut. No thanks! Returned immediately.

This tool was supposed to be new. This is not E bay the case was filthy the large bit showed chuck marks on it the factory wrap was torn and messed up and the parts had several paint chips. what is going on?

missing 1/2 of the thickest collar, can't use it.

Overall, I wish that I had applied the purchase price of this drill press attachment to the purchase of a stand-alone mortising machine.When mine arrived I was disappointed with the fit and finish. The unit that holds the work piece is made from cast iron. Unfortunately, only one face had been machined smooth. The supplied bolts would not slide the length of the slots in the cast iron work piece holder. I took the unit to my local machine shop to have work piece holder re-machined. That added almost $50.00 to the purchase price. The photo of the product shows a nicely painted assembly - mine was unpainted cast iron.In use I needed almost every C-clamp I owned to hold it firmly to my drill press - in addition to the supplied hold down hardware. Aligning the cutter to be square with the edge of the work piece is almost impossible.

The product it not manufactured for precision. You will definitely shorten the life of your drill press. The chisels themselves are razor sharp though. Im going back to the old school way to mortise and tenon

The first unit delivered had a large dent in the motor cap. Waiting for replacement.

This is not typical Jet equipment, I have a Jet table saw, lathe and band saw, they are impressive tools. I should have read the small print with the mortiser. the throat is just enough to mortise a 2X4, in hard wood the motor jams because of wood chips, the chuck is too small 5/8ths would have been a better choice and hard to access. I did keep the machine and added a spacer for wider stock. It does work better than my drill press but not much.Rich

I bought the JBM-5 and expected to not have to work at mortises again. Not true. Every new piece of wood means tinkering with the fence (which isn't necessarily square to the bit), the chisel (which will cut your fingers and won't stay in it's chuck) and the depth stop. The fence is too short and chips inevitably fall down between the wood and the fence, forcing the piece out of square. Adding an auxillary fence to won't work because the hold-down reaches over it so it can never be higher than the workpiece. The machine is also under powered and it takes quite a lot of practice to match the insertion speed to prevent binding and burning but still progress through the cut. Also, the cylinder provided to "assist in raising the head" is worthless and pops off if you pull too hard in either direction. Then bed is way too short and the racket it makes after your first cut (bit rubbing or chisel maybe) is devastating. All the adjustable pieces are held together with set screws that work loose constantly. This won't save me nearly as much time as I thought, but at least doesn't tie up the drill press with mortising attachments. You should also invest is a larger chisel. The "free" 1/2" is fine for small jobs, but any good sized project tends to need larger ones and the adjustments to make larger mortises with the 1/2" chisel is not worth it.

I purchased a Delta mortiser first. It's fence was all crooked. So I returned it and bought the jet. The Jet's motor sounded like the bearings were going out and the frame was considerablely flimsier than the Delta. When I attempted to make 3/8" mortise in maple, the head of the Jet mortiser flexed about 1/8". I'm returning the Jet, and I'm going to order the Powermatic.

Model shipped to me didn't contain fractional reading. Sent back

The digital function of mine didnt work out of the box, I have to rely on the ruler markings. Made of kinda lightweight plastic, it bends easily so I'm not confident that it will stay accurate over the years. It's a cheap option, if you only want to use if for one project, it's viable.

The price was right, but this really seems flimsy and cheap.

The thing isn't wide enough to stradle the throat plate on my saw so the magnets are useless. Have to hold it in place. Tossed it and replaced with the Kreg Setup blocks. Much better.

The accuracy of the readout is fine, but the plastic horseshoe base is not rigid enough to made consistent precise measurements. Holding the tool at its top, by the gauge, or by its legs will give a +/- 0.004 difference. This may not be a huge amount, but combined with the Wixey specified tolerance of +/- .002, the difference is enough to be noticeable.Using the gauge, I set my router depth to 1/4 inch and rabbeted the side and end of a piece of 3/4 x 1 x 8 pine (soft wood which I double passed to ensure all material was removed). I then raised the router and reset its depth back to 1/4 inch using the gauge. I then rabbeted the opposite side and opposite end of the same piece of pine (once again using double passes to ensure full cutting). At the corners, where the new rabbets crossed the first rabbets, there was a visible difference in the depth of the cut. Using the fine scale adjustment of my router, I was able to clean up the rabbets and have them all match, but no thanks to the WR25.Also the sliding scale is soft plastic, including the end that touches the bits or blades. Raising a bit or blade into the scale will create and indent, and sharp tools (like all of my bits, blades, and tools) easily shave the end of the scale. To test this, I used a 3/4 straight cutting router bit. I raised the bit until the WR25 read 0.500in. Then, starting beside the bit, I slid the WR25 over the top of the router bit. As the scale crossed over the cutting edge, I watched the bit shave a thin slice of plastic off the end of the scale.If you want a general measurement, this tool will work for you. However, you can probably get similar performance using a good steel machinist's rule. If you want precise measurements, I recommend looking elsewhere.For me, I am returning this. Even limited by their 1/16 increments, the Kreg PRS3400 Precision Set Up Bars look better. Or perhaps I will invest in some Woodpecker's Setup Bars which can for purchased in various increments down to 1/32 of an inch

Made of plastic. The battery did not last very long, so no longer a digital readout. The printed scale is quite small and difficult to read. Can't say that I trust it enough to use for fine adjustments.

This is a disappointing product. It is imprecisely machined and suffers from sloppy construction. It is not parallel to the table saw blade despite full adjustment and reassembly. I am returning it and buying the product from Grizzly.

First go at it and a weld broke already. Replacement was sent. We will see how long that last. I like the micro adjust but if parts are going to just snap, this is a huge safety concern for me.

My jig arrived packed in grease (I get it, but it is still annoying. I live in the pacific northwest. If its going to rust in shipping, its probably going to rust in the winter unless I heat my shop to 60 degrees all the time.)After assembly, I realized that Delta had machined the holes off of parallel and that I would need to re-manufacture the base plate to get it to run parallel with the blade. Otherwise all of my tenons would be off by a 1/32 to 1/16 depending on the width of the tenon. Not that big of a deal unless you wanted a jig to help you with accuracy. :)I also had issues with tightening down the screws on the jig. They were not very strong and one partially stripped out. I do not tighten things excessively tight as a rule, and I was not in this case either. Just poor quality or undersized screws.My table saw, a Grizzly G0691 Left tilt, has a T-slot 6 inches from the blade. This jig does not reach to 6 inches, leaving the measuring gauge useful only in relative measures (ie. if I add 1/4" to each value then it is accurate.)So disappointed in manufacturing, disappointed in adaptability, and disappointed in the screws that it was made from. Replaced it with a Grizzly tenoning jig. The Grizzly took a couple of days to get here, but it assembled and worked (except it has the same issue with measures.) Amazon did a great job with the return as always.

Junk- I could have got the same quality from Harbor Freight for $15 bucks. It wont align square to my table saw blade which is the main point of having this thing. I've had to run a shim along the face of support face to make it square. I also had to add some washers here and there to make the handles tighten up.The instruction manual is a joke as it will reference a photo while skipping the one before it and than go back to the one it missed later in the instructions. What in the hell happened to Delta?

I own a DELTA table saw and figured this would be a great pair-up for it. I ordered the jig and due to life reasons, its sat around sadly now beyond the return window, if that were not the case I can guarantee that I would be pursuing a return at this point. I am simply not able to get this jig squared up correctly. Very disappointed in the quality of this item, and I will likely stay away from future products because of this and some other issues with my table saw that have required serious modification and much frustration to resolve. I am not naïve enough to think that a tool would require NO setup, but there is no excuse for major misalignment and careless assembly...

Had to return it. No quality at all.

Used for 1 hour. Motor has shorted. Nobody answers tech service line at Delta. Cost to buy new motor is more than entire new unit. Never again with Delta!

Have owned it for about a month now. Have mortised a total of 6 holes. Hydraulic assist snapped. Collar guide for drill bit has pulled out. Project clamp snapped after the second use. Between the entire stand and base being made from pot metal, not even steel nor any form of quality control, I cannot in good conscience recommend another Delta product.

Total junk; do not purchase. Like most mortisers, motor head is design to travel up and down the column on a sliding dovetail; but the machining and assembly is so far out of tolerance that I can barely move the motor. First, the stop pin that limits the upward travel snapped off due to the force I needed to lift the head and then bolts that attach the lever arm to the motor head sheared and half and the arm fell off within a couple of months of use. With the machine completely locked up, I sent it to a local Delta service center for repair. They have had the tool for over 6 months and cannot repair it or work with Delta to resolve the issue. I have tried personally to contact Delta with no response.

Fence cannot be aligned to be straight with bit and front platform so mortise is not parallel to edge of wood. Alsoplastic handles on fence tightener screws are flimsy. Defective manufacturing.

The drill bits were not ready be used out of the box. If I didn't have diamond files I would have had to purchase them. The chisel part was very dull and had to be sharpened as well, the first board I tried to mortise blew out. Not very helpful. Once I get them sharpened, which I hope I can, I will try again. Right now is just sitting on my shop bench!!!

I needed a mortising machine for a project and, after a lot of research, finally decided on this Delta machine. When it arrived, the area where the head unit attaches to the column had two big cracks, just like other users seemed to have described here. Poor design is my best guess for the cracks and I sadly had to return it. Because of that defect and other quality issues that other reviewers seems to have written, I decided not to risk another problem and get a refund. I'll either order my #2 mortising machine choice (Grizzly G0645) or just give up and do my mortises by hand.By the way, the item description says this machine has a 5 year warranty, but the box says 2 years.

Attachments did not fit my Ryobi 10in Drill press (UNIVERSAL???)

Terrible finish, the chisels are dull and will not cut in hardwood.I cannot possibly recommend this item.

This kit only uses 5/8" shank chisels. You can not get replacements or different sizes. Normal Mortising chisels are 3/4" shank. I would return it if I had the box.

This is a COMPLETE waste of money. DO NOT BUY this product. It does not work. The bits slide right through the chisel and it will not do what the product is intended to do. I wish I had done more research on the product before I bought it. I wasted $100.00 on this and regret buying it. I tried to use it on cherry and it didn't work. Even got a piece of pine out and it wouldn't work with pine either. I want my money back.

Looks like it was made in a third world country. Covered in a black, greasy protectant and when cleaned off, was just a rusty casting. Just very poor workmanship, not what I would have expected from Delta. Thumb screw holes were crooked and off center and finished off very little. It could have, at least, been painted Delta grey. It is not at all as pictured. All the parts are there, but that's where the similarity stops. I realize that it's not a commercial product, but really? For $100 + I expected something better. It worked as intended, but is a real piece of scrap. I probably would have been better off buying a Grizzly product!

I ordered this to go on my Delta drill press. The purchasing process was easy. It shipped quickly. It arrived with stripped threads on the collar that goes around the drill so it won't tighten down, so it can't be used.

The machine showed up in good condition and the components were square and the assembly seemed to be a decent bench top machine. Two days into owning this machine with no load on the chisel the machine started to smoke. I have a call out to Jet Technical Support who think that it is the capacitor and we will see if that will fix this. The Jet Customer Support was not particularly knowledgeable about this product which made the troubleshooting an issue. Overall I think I got what I paid for and I will need to purchase a larger professional machine because the quality control on these "prosumer" grade tools is just so poor.

I'm a pretty loyal Amazon fan, but I won't be ordering any used power tools again. The first mortiser I received was broken off at the head (it was a Delta). This one looked okay until I got it set up and all it did was make a "whirring" sound. Looking at it more closely, it appeared that it had been dropped and had a significant dent on the top of the head. Think I'm going to stick with really new.

I just received the Jet Mortise machine yesterday. Took it out of the box, assembled it and plugged it in. At first it wouldn't do anything thing but hum a little. I turned the chuck a little, then turned it back on. It made a horrible grinding sound. Closer inspection revealed the fan on the top of the motor was grinding against the housing. Further inspection of the machine showed the bolt holes in the base were not taped square. These bolt holes attach the column to the base. I'm skeptical how square the machine would cut if the manufacturer cannot machine square bolt holes. This is my first Jet tool and it will be my last. I just ordered a Powermatic to replace this junk.

LCD indicator doesn't work properly. Sometimes not all digits are shown. Sometimes some left over symbols interfere with readings. Sent back to Amazon.

Not worth the money. It's just not accurate enough. My Lufkin folding rule is more accurate.

parts missing i would not buy this product again

I didn't open box until months later as this was a purchase for future project I was building (router table). Opened retail packaging which was undamaged. Tried to turn on using the on/off button, nothing. Replaced the battery, nothing. No directions included, so I assume that the on/off button should turn it off. So it came DOA, I should have opened and tested this thing right away and returned it for a new one. But 4 months later, its my bad.

I have a problem with this item, it wont work properly, y tried everything it says on the package including a new battery and still the same problem, half of the numbers on the display wont show at all or only half of iti would like to know what to do, is a realy good tool and i need itthank you

While the principle is good the quality could be better. Out of the box the LCD functions only partially. Being able to read ALL the numbers is pretty important!