G3183 Hollow Chisel Mortiser -17-
Figure 18.
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6. The chisel and bit will cause some smoking
as it contacts the workpiece. This is caused
by friction heating resins in the wood. This
does not necessarily mean that the chisel is
dull. More likely, a dull chisel will cause the
head to be difficult to lower.
7. An even pressure on the handle bar will pro-
vide the best mortising results. The rate of
penetration should be fast enough to avoid
burning the tip of the bit, but slow enough to
avoid stalling the motor.
8. Placing a piece of wood between your work-
piece and the mortiser’s table when through-
cutting will minimize tear-out.
9. When mortising thin stock, build up the
height of the workpiece enough for it to clear
the fence, so the hold down will function cor-
rectly.
10. When making rectangular mortises, we rec-
ommend you follow the sequence of cuts
shown in Figure 18.