How to Mortise With a Drill Press
Cabinetmakers must cut mortises accurately when making mortise and tenon joints. The tenon should fit snugly in the mortise, strengthening the joint. You can do most of the work of mortising with a drill press and regular drill bits. Once you set the depth and center the drill bit, the press lets you drill a series of vertical, perfectly-aligned holes that will remove most of the wood from the mortise, so you'll only need to square up the edges with a chisel. You can purchase a special hollow chisel mortising bit for this task, but regular drill bits do the job almost as quickly and require only a little finishing by hand. The drill bit's diameter must be 1/8 inch smaller than the mortise's width.
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Instructions
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Mark the outline of your mortise on the wood, using a square and pencil. Also mark a line down the center of the mortise.
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Set the depth on the drill press so it will drill as deep as you want your mortise. If your mortise must go all the way through the wood, place a piece of scrap wood beneath the piece you're cutting to prevent the wood from splintering as the drill goes through it.
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Drill a series of slightly overlapping holes, each centered on the center line of the mortise, to cut out most of the wood within the mortise outline.
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Cut out the remaining bits of wood with a chisel and mallet and square up the corners of the mortise with the square.
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Tips & Warnings
If the mortise is too wide to drill out with a single line of holes, draw a line 9/16 inch in from each side of the mortise, instead of down the center. Drill a series of holes along those two lines with a 1-inch bit.
If you'll be cutting several identical mortises, set the fence on the drill press so the bit will automatically be the correct distance from the edge of the wood. You won't need to mark the center of the mortise each time.
References
- Photo Credit drill machine closeup image by .shock from Fotolia.com
