7 Best Mortisers for Cutting Mortise and Tenon Joints

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The square or cuboid shaped hole of a mortise and tenon joint is quite difficult to cut by hand, because it requires time, precision and skill to cut accurately.

Of course if you’re a simple hobbyist woodworker who rarely cut mortises, it’s totally okay to bear the tedious task of cutting the very few ones you cut by hand with a chisel and mallet. But if you’re a pro woodworker who cuts lots of mortises and tenons on a regular basis, then you need a mortiser machine.

A mortiser machine looks just like a drill press, but uses a chisel bit instead of a regular bit.

With a good one in hand, you can cut as many mortises as you want within a short time, saving yourself time and effort. And you don’t need to be very skillful to cut a really need and accurate one.

There are different types you can choose from which are shown below

Types of Mortisers

Here are the different types of mortisers.

Benchtop Mortisers

A benchtop mortiser is a compact tabletop mortiser you need to mount on any stable workbench to use it.

As shown above, it’s the one most similar to a drill press. You just place the wood or stock with the base, line it up with the bit, clamp it down and drill through to make the cut.

This is the best one you need for cutting simple mortises for general woodworking projects in the workshop.

Cabinet Style mortisers

Cabinet or floor standing mortisers are simply larger and more powerful versions of the benchtop mortisers we just talked about above.

These have larger motors (from 1 horsepower and above) for power and a more sophisticated base that allows you to move the workpiece around without unclamping it.

The base usually includes a sliding X,Y axis table that allows you move and adjust the clamped workpiece without removing it. The base also allows angular adjustments so you can make angled cuts through workpieces.

In summary, cabinet styled mortisers are usually all about the cabinet base. It’s very sophisticated with more features that makes it very easy to move around the workpiece and cut mortises in a faster and easier manner.

Horizontal Mortisers

Horizontal mortisers are mainly designed for cutting slots into doors that have already been hung in place, in order to fit the door locks in. Unlike benchtop and cabinet styled units which have built-in motors for power, horizontal mortisers are powered using router tools.

Chain Mortisers

If you want to cut mortises in large dense timber, such as when making timber frame construction or log home buildings, a chain mortiser is the best option to go for.

It looks very much like a tiny chainsaw with a plunge capacity like that of a plunge router.

In order to use it, the chain mortiser frame is clamped to the log or large timber, it’s switched on, and then the chain is plunged right into the material to cut out the volume required to make the mortise. The chains usually come in different widths so different sizes of slots can be cut with it.

The Best Mortisers We Tested

BEST OVERALL: Powermatic 719T

BEST BENCHTOP UNIT: Shop Fox W1671

BEST CHAIN MORTISER: Makita 7104L

BUDGET UNIT: Jet JBM-5

With that said, the following are some of the best mortisers we’ve reviewed and recommend for carpentry and furniture purposes.

JET JBM-5 Benchtop Mortiser – Budget Unit

The JET JBM-5 stands is one of the best benchtop square-chisel mortiser that will make your job easier as a carpenter or furniture maker.

It’s capable of using up to a ½ inch chisel bit, powered by a ½ HP induction motor, which makes it ideal to cut through both hard and softwood with ease.

Featured is a rack and pinion head adjustment system which makes it very easy to position the drill bit exactly where the cut needs to be made.

The mortising handle is long and easy to use, ensuring minimum force is needed to plunge the bit into the work piece.

Featured also is a three-jaw chuck which holds the mortising bits firmly during use.

As with most JET products, the build quality of the JET JBM-5 is top-notch. It’s made with heavy duty cast iron and steel components, which makes it very stable when making cuts.

Powermatic PM701 Benchtop Mortiser

If you’re looking for a very good benchtop mortiser, this Powermatic PM701 is one of the best ones I’d recommend.

First thing I’ll say about it is that it’s very heavy duty. This is not some fragile equipment. It’s got a 0.75 horsepower motor in it for power, and every part of it is made of heavy duty cast iron, from the frame to the base, including the fence. Everything is solid and very durable.

I really like the workpiece support which allows you to lock the stock down from the top and from the sides, eliminating any chances of slippage when you withdraw the chisel bit after you make the cut.

Adjusting and locking down the fence is also very easy. It uses a simple cam lock that you can lock down in one quick 90 degree movement. It’s like flipping a switch.

There are inline depth stops you can use to set your depth easily at any point, without having to rack the chisel bits to the base every time you want to set the depth.

The handle can be set on both the left and right hand side of the mortiser machine, depending on whatever you’re okay with.

Overall, I really like this Powermatic PM701 benchtop mortiser. It’s very easy to set up, very accurate and it’s built to last.

Related: 42 Modern Tools for Woodworking and Carpentry

Rikon 34-260 Benchtop Mortiser

The Rikon 34-260 is the only benchtop mortiser I’ve seen with a sliding X,Y directional table that allows you to move the stock in the XY direction as you make the cut, without having to manually unclamp and re-adjust the stock every time.

I truly believe it’s one of the best features of this benchtop mortiser, because you’ll really find one of these type of tables is benchtop models like this.

Even some of the more expensive benchtop units don’t have it.

The motor on it is a 0.5 horsepower motor which is quite powerful, but not as powerful as I would have really liked from a machine like this. Mortisers use wide chisel bits that require lots of power to cut through the stock, and I think the motor on this lags just a little bit.

The handle on it can also be fixed on either left or right hand side so you can set it up in whatever configuration you’re comfortable with.

As for the fence, it’s kind of stationary. You can’t adjust it separately, but you don’t have to worry about that, because the whole table can be adjusted in the X,Y axis.

Its got a single clamp for the workpiece. The clamp is angled downwards so it pushes the workpiece against the fence and downwards as well.

It also got a tool holder 4 chisel bits to get you started.

Overall, the Rikon 34-260 is a very good benchtop mortiser you can use for a wide range of furniture projects in the workshop. And for its price, you’ll hardly find something better.

Shop Fox W1671 Benchtop Mortiser

Another really good benchtop mortiser we recommend here at Craftsman Pro Tools is this one from Shop Fox. It’s the Shop Fox W1671.

Apart from a sliding X,Y axis base, the Shop Fox W1671 has everything you need to take care of all your mortise and tenon joinery projects.

It even has a swivelling base so you can accommodate and cut mortises into taller workpieces.

Even though it’s a small benchtop unit, it comes with a heavy-duty 0.75 horsepower motor. It will never bug down when cutting through any type of wood, hard or soft. It’s got all the power you need.

The fence can be adjusted easily using a micro adjustable stop located just behind the base, so you can fine-tune size and location of the mortise.

It has double support columns for stability, and the heavy head stock holding the motor moves up and down the support columns using a smooth rack and pinion gear, with an additional gas spring support that makes it easier to lift it up after a cut is made.

The build quality is also very good. This thing will last for years as long as you maintain it properly.

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Powermatic 719T Tilt Table Mortiser

If you need dedicated workhorse mortiser to produce mortises day in and day out, one of the best units I’ll recommend is this Powermatic 719T.

The Powermatic 719T is a stationary cabinet style workhorse designed to help any professional woodworker cut mortises efficiently in the workshop.

It’s constructed with heavy cast iron for stability during operation and to ensure it stands the test of time.

The feed lever allows 6 quick position adjustments which makes it easier to make different types of angled cuts.

It comes equipped with a gas cylinder-controlled rack and pinion head raising and lowering mechanism which makes it very easy to operate.

The table and fence can be tilted from 0 to 35 degrees for even more complex applications.

Overall, the Powermatic 719T is definitely one of the best cabinet units we reviewed.

Makita 7104L Chain Mortiser

If you need a chain mortiser to cut mortises in large dense lumber, the Makita 7104L is definitely one of the best ones you can bet your money on.

Equipped with a 10.5 Amp motor, it’s capable of producing a speed of 3,200 rpm and bore rectangular holes through thick and dense lumber easily.

With it, you can cut lap joints up to 5-1/8 inches in size. It comes with an adjustable vise which can attach to logs as large as 12-1/8 inches in thickness.

The razor sharp chains it comes with, capable of cutting at speeds of 1000 ft/min means you can make clean and accurate cuts with it all day without any trouble.

For a power tool with these features, the Makita 7104L weighs just 38.1 lbs which is very portable if you ask me.

Included in the kit is a cutter chain, a sharpening holder, a wrench to set it up and oil to get it running as smooth as possible.

Mafell LS 103Ec Chain Mortiser

Mafell prides their LS 103Ec chain mortiser as the fastest because it does not require it to be clamped to wood or timber before cuts can be made.

It saves time and helps you get more done because unlike the Makita, you don’t have to clamp it to the lumber you’re working on.

The chain in the Mafell cuts in the crosscutting direction, so immediately you set it down and start cutting, it literally hugs the lumber and stays put until you finish cutting the slot.

It comes in 120V and 240V depending on what you want. The chain bar is also available in 1.5 inches and 2.0 inches as per your specs.

The chain is chrome-hardened and does not require lubrication before use. It has a max mortising depth of 5-7/8 inches which is quite large.

Talking about chain mortisers, Mafell invented the first one in 1926, and today their LS 103Ec is undoubtedly still one of the best ones you can get your hands on.

What To Consider When Choosing a Mortiser

Here are a few important factors you must consider when choosing a mortiser for your projects.

Motor Horsepower

Power is very important when choosing a mortiser machine. These machines don’t use regular bits. They use chisel bits which require a lot more power to drill into wood. So, you want to go for as powerful a machine as you can get.

Check the horsepower. You should get at least 0.5 horsepower and above. I personally prefer to start from 0.75.

If the motor is not as powerful enough, it will bug down as you cut through hardwood. That will cause the chisel bits to overheat, it will burn the wood you’re drilling through and will damage your chisels faster.

So, you need something powerful that will cut through the wood as fast as possible. That means going for as a high in horsepower as you can afford.

Chisel Size

Mortisers make use of chisel bits which come in different sizes. You can cut most mortises with any size of chisel, but the larger the chisel you use, the faster you cut through the mortise, depending on the size you’re cutting as well.

So, you want to consider how large a chisel the machine can accept. And that is usually determined by the chuck size.

Stock or Workpiece Size

Every mortiser have a maximum stock capacity or workpiece size in terms of the thickness of the stock and the height from the table.

So, make sure the machine you choose can accommodate the size of workpiece or stock you’re hoping to work on.

Build Quality

Build is always very important. You want something that will last for years, maybe for generations if possible.

Hence, you have to check the kind of materials used to build it. All the units reviewed here in this article are all made with heavy duty cast iron parts.

Apart from the build material, the machining quality also signifies just how much attention and effort went into building a particular unit.

Ease of Adjustment
To cut a mortise you need to be able to set up the workpiece on the base or table, and clamp it down as fast as possible.

So, the design of the base is very important. The fence should be easy to adjust, and the workpiece clamps should be easy to access and adjust as well.

Note About Cutting Mortises and Tenons

Here’s a rule of tumb when cutting mortise and tenons. Always cut the mortise first and cut the tenon second.

This is because you’ll find it much easier to shape the tenon to fit into the mortise than to cut the tenon first and try to cut the mortise to accommodate the tenon.

You might end up cutting the mortise too large and ruin your work. So, always try to cut the mortise first before the tenon.

For cutting the tenons, you can use a tenoning jig like this Grizzly industrial tenoning jig below, or you can make your own tenoning jig.

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