Good value in mortise chisels?

[Wade Lippman]

Lowes has the Powermatic mortise machine for $600. I got 10% for a code, 15% off for using discount gift cards, and 5% off for Capital One shopping. Although I certainly don't need the machine, the price was irresistible.

But I need chisels to go with it. Any suggestion for decent quality at a good price?


Amazon has sets from $25 to $250. Temu has them between $4 and $22. I have ordered a few things from Temu and been pleasantly surprise by the quality.

[Keegan Shields]

High quality chisels that are properly sharpened are critical for hollow mortise machine to function properly. I wouldn't buy a $4 chisel.

[Edward Weber]

For a mortise machine, IMO, the best these days are the Nakahashi brand.
These are also marketed by Lee Valley and Grizzly as their premium brand
https://www.scosarg.com/manufacturers/nakahashi

[Thomas McCurnin]

You'll have to dress up those chisels out of the box to polish the edges. They will cut better with some work with some honing.

[Cameron Wood]

I got a mortising machine a few years ago- (barely) used, no bits. I got a set of inexpensive bits, figuring on upgrading the key sizes when up and running.

They were pretty rough, but with some fine tuning, good enough that I haven't upgraded yet.

This is key- chuck the hone in drill press and hold chisel to it freehand. Works OK for larger than 1/2" sizes.

https://www.amazon.com/Taytools-468433-Mortise-2-Piece-Sharpening/dp/B07FZ8P19Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VTZC9OV5IP1Q&keywords=Taytools+46 8433+Hollow+Chisel+Mortise+2-Piece+Set+of+Diamond+Sharpening+Hones+200+and+600+ Grit+for+Chisels+Up+To+1%2F2+Inch&qid=1688062087&s prefix=taytools+468433+hollow+chisel+mortise+2-piece+set+of+diamond+sharpening+hones+200+and+600+ grit+for+chisels+up+to+1%2F2+inch+%2Caps%2C268&sr= 8-1



Edit: The bits come in different shank sizes, make sure that they fit the machine or an appropriate bushing.

[Edward Weber]

If you have a lathe, it's easy to chuck the hone in a collet chuck in the headstock and the chisel in a chuck in the tailstock.
You can assure good alignment this way.

[Kent A Bathurst]

The machine is a boat anchor without good quality sharp pointy things. Cheap is cheap. The Lee Valley are worth it. You don’t need all sizes to start I used 5/16 and 3/8 85% of the time when I had the big brother of yours

[Edward Weber]

I have a few Nakahashi bits, there is really not much of a comparison with the cheapo brands, of which I have several Shop-Fox.
The bits eject the chips far better and the steel quality in the chisel holds an edge much longer in my experience.
The higher quality bits make using a mortise machine much easier, makes you more apt to use it when it's not a chore.

[Warren Lake]

they are good chisels but the auger shafts are undersize.

Ive past ordered from Engand and have what came with the machine. The undersize has been discussed with the seller and answer was Mortise machines have Quills. Kind of a prickley answer. The Wadkin Forest Clico and whatever else is here are imperial sizes and all of them fit the collets. If whoever ordered stuff had enough experience with machines they would order the imperial sizes. They would fit both styles.

[Joe Calhoon]

I like the Nakahashi brand, ordered metric ones from the UK and imperial from Lee Valley along with the proper cones to sharpen. The only fault with these compared to the old Greenlee and Wadkin patterns is the smaller single flute augers can snap if pushed too fast in hard woods.

The Augers are all different sizes because all the Japanese mortising machines use chucks instead of bushings for the augers. If your mortise machine has a chuck there will not be a problem. I’ve had several custom size bushings made for my Wadkin DM.

[Tom M King]

Another good thing about the high end Japanese sets is that the drill bit comes long. If you take enough time to set it up correctly by cutting the bit just the right length, it not only saves time with initial setup of a pair, but eliminates the possibility of the bit working its way back up and damaging the cutting edges of the chisel. I use a Dremel cutting wheel and fine tune the final length on a grinder.

It's nice to just be able to put the bit all the way home in the chuck, bolt the chisel in place and go to work.

I keep an extra fine diamond paddle close to where the machine. In running a lot of parts, the chisel may develop a burr which makes pulling it back out harder. A few flat strokes on the outsides of the chisel keeps it retracting easily.