Milling machine as a mortiser

[Bruce Page]

A knee mill in a wood shop would quickly have the slides and threads gummed up with a goo from the way oil and sawdust mixing together. The spindle speed is slow for cutting wood.

Not entirely true. I have had a knee mill in my shop for 30 years with no noticeable wear on the ways. As long as the way-wipes are in decent condition you shouldn’t have any problems. I do most of my wood “milling” in the 700-1200 RPM range. It cuts just fine.

My bench has 30+ mortise & tenons, all cut on the mill. (see very old pics) I think a dedicated mortiser would be much faster, but mortise & tenons are certainly doable on the mill.

A conventional knee mill, if you know its capabilities, is very handy in a wood shop.
JMO

[Brian Holcombe]

I’ve occasionally used the mill for round end mortises, using dedicated machinery works a lot faster.

If you have good dust collection and your mill is oiled routinely, it’s fine. I have a few machines with dovetail ways, and they all require constant oiling to keep the ways clean.

You can also get way covers to minimize the issue.