Chip Collection Setup for Hollow Chisel Mortiser
I make a lot of mortise and tenon pieces so I have a hollow chisel mortiser.
For those new to this tool, the chisel is square, with a wood auger bit in the center. The bit cuts a circle, while the chisel is shaped to cut into the corners and push the wood into the center where the auger picks it up. All the waste comes up inside the chisel and dumps out the one open side of the chisel.
It makes a lot of shavings and they are always in the way of the next mortise. I couldn't stand it so I went through several interations of shaving collection before I arrived at a design that is completely adjustable.This picture shows the mortiser positioned during a cut with the chip collection in place:
Here's a look with the mortiser raised:
Although many cuts I make are similar, sometimes I have a workpiece wider or thicker. The only simple place to mount this is on the fence, and so the point where the chips are ejected moves relative to the fence. It can go up and down and also front to back.
This design is a 1.5 inch dowel (I bought a long one to make hand stretched pasta haha, and had some left) with just a short section of 2Ă—4 with a matching hole. I let hole break out the side, but I doubt this matters much (although the hole saw cuts like a shot when it can dump the sawdust when passing outside!) The 2Ă—4 has a diagonal slot into which a vacuum crevice tool wedges. It can rotate and move up/down on the dowel, and the crevice tool can be slid in/out on the slot. This way the suction point can be adjusted to almost any position the chisel can take.
Like several tools in my shop, I use a DGC Socket Autoswitch that senses the current draw of the tool and switches the vac on and off to follow it. The switches are expensive and (if you can actually believe it) senstive to dust! They have vent ports in the top (???) and fine dust renders them non-functional. I've had to open several of mine up and clean them to get them working again. Sheesh! I finally put tape over the vents to prevent this.
The chip collection plus the auto vac switch really sped up making multiple mortises and cut down on my headaches.
I make a lot of mortise and tenon pieces so I have a hollow chisel mortiser.
For those new to this tool, the chisel is square, with a wood auger bit in the center. The bit cuts a circle, while the chisel is shaped to cut into the corners and push the wood into the center where the auger picks it up. All the waste comes up inside the chisel and dumps out the one open side of the chisel.
It makes a lot of shavings and they are always in the way of the next mortise. I couldn't stand it so I went through several interations of shaving collection before I arrived at a design that is completely adjustable.This picture shows the mortiser positioned during a cut with the chip collection in place:
Here's a look with the mortiser raised:
Although many cuts I make are similar, sometimes I have a workpiece wider or thicker. The only simple place to mount this is on the fence, and so the point where the chips are ejected moves relative to the fence. It can go up and down and also front to back.
This design is a 1.5 inch dowel (I bought a long one to make hand stretched pasta haha, and had some left) with just a short section of 2Ă—4 with a matching hole. I let hole break out the side, but I doubt this matters much (although the hole saw cuts like a shot when it can dump the sawdust when passing outside!) The 2Ă—4 has a diagonal slot into which a vacuum crevice tool wedges. It can rotate and move up/down on the dowel, and the crevice tool can be slid in/out on the slot. This way the suction point can be adjusted to almost any position the chisel can take.
Like several tools in my shop, I use a DGC Socket Autoswitch that senses the current draw of the tool and switches the vac on and off to follow it. The switches are expensive and (if you can actually believe it) senstive to dust! They have vent ports in the top (???) and fine dust renders them non-functional. I've had to open several of mine up and clean them to get them working again. Sheesh! I finally put tape over the vents to prevent this.
The chip collection plus the auto vac switch really sped up making multiple mortises and cut down on my headaches.