Buying advice needed – hollow chisel morticer

[Eldi76]

Hello all,
I would like to purchase a floor standing hollow chisel morticer, I prefer to buy a used one in a good working condition (i.e. does not need a massive restoration work).
How would you rate the following models in terms of build quality, ease of use, accuracy, and repeatability?

Cooksley FHE
Dominion BM
Wadkin DM
Sedgwick 571

My budget is ~ £1000 - £1400, do you think this is a sum of money that will allow me to purchase a used machine from the above list? I am open for any other suggestions.
I work mainly with hardwoods such as oak, walnut, beech and maple, and sometimes with really hard timber like Jarrah and Spotted Gum.

Thank you!
Eldi

 

[deema]

I can comment on three, the Dominion, Wadkin and Sedgwick. Of the three, the Sedgwick is the ‘lightest’ built, however I’ve still used it to push 1” mortice chisels through rock hard oak by literally swinging on the handle. My shop machine is a Sedgwick which is very accurate, has adjustable gribs to take out any wear / slop. The more modern machines use a chuck to grip the auger as opposed to various collars and a grub screw.
I prefer the separate hand wheel on the other two for fore and aft movement which is combined in one on the Sedgwick. I also prefer the ability to adjust the head height by the handle as opposed to slackening off a bolt and moving the head ion the Sedgwick.
I have a Sedgwick because it’s ‘cheaper‘ secondhand and lighter to move around when needed. The other two are very heavy.

 

[toolsntat]

Hello all,
I would like to purchase a floor standing hollow chisel morticer, I prefer to buy a used one in a good working condition (i.e. does not need a massive restoration work).
How would you rate the following models in terms of build quality, ease of use, accuracy, and repeatability?

Cooksley FHE
Dominion BM
Wadkin DM
Sedgwick 571

My budget is ~ £1000 - £1400, do you think this is a sum of money that will allow me to purchase a used machine from the above list? I am open for any other suggestions.
I work mainly with hardwoods such as oak, walnut, beech and maple, and sometimes with really hard timber like Jarrah and Spotted Gum.

Thank you!
Eldi

Do you know about the DM-V?
I have had the pleasure of using one and can say it's a great labour saving machine.
Cheers Andy
https://www.wadkin.com/wadkin-dm-v-mortiser

 

[Doug71]

Another to look out for is a Robinson Cadet, I picked one up for £300 in an auction, nice bit of kit.

If buying second hand make sure all the collars etc are there and a few bits/chisels are always good as the price soon adds up.

You won't go far wrong with a Sedgwick, pretty much the joinery workshop standard.

 

[RobinBHM]

Hello all,
I would like to purchase a floor standing hollow chisel morticer, I prefer to buy a used one in a good working condition (i.e. does not need a massive restoration work).
How would you rate the following models in terms of build quality, ease of use, accuracy, and repeatability?

Cooksley FHE
Dominion BM
Wadkin DM
Sedgwick 571

My budget is ~ £1000 - £1400, do you think this is a sum of money that will allow me to purchase a used machine from the above list? I am open for any other suggestions.
I work mainly with hardwoods such as oak, walnut, beech and maple, and sometimes with really hard timber like Jarrah and Spotted Gum.

Thank you!
Eldi

what are you wanting to do with the morticer?

I mean do you run a joinery shop with heavy usage and you make heavy joinery, or do you just want capacity?

I ran a joinery shop which started with a Multico machine (very similar in build to the sedgewick) and then upgraded to the Wadkin DM

the Wadkin is a far heavier machine with a cast body and heavy table, but functionality isnt much different. It was better for my shop as it was used on a daily basis for machining 1/2" mortices in hardwoods -lots of doors cutting through mortices.

the sedgewick will perform just as well but arm action will be heavier.


Wadkin DM is around £1.5 to £2k for private sale UK and up to £4k from a dealer refurbed.
its the go to heavy duty morticer in the UK

Dominion and Cooksley -similar to wadkin but old and no spare parts

TBH there is hardly anything to go wrong with a morticer -if the castings arent broken and sliedways not worn theres only the motor that can go wrong

sliding tables and up down dovetails can be stripped out and cleaned -wood gets compressed into them eventually making them stiff

 

[Eldi76]

Do you know about the DM-V?
I have had the pleasure of using one and can say it's a great labour saving machine.
Cheers Andy
https://www.wadkin.com/wadkin-dm-v-mortiser

Yes, I know about Wadkin DM-V but I assumed that it would not be possible to buy one in a decent condition for ~ £1400.

 

[Eldi76]

what are you wanting to do with the morticer?

I mean do you run a joinery shop with heavy usage and you make heavy joinery, or do you just want capacity?

I ran a joinery shop which started with a Multico machine (very similar in build to the sedgewick) and then upgraded to the Wadkin DM

the Wadkin is a far heavier machine with a cast body and heavy table, but functionality isnt much different. It was better for my shop as it was used on a daily basis for machining 1/2" mortices in hardwoods -lots of doors cutting through mortices.

the sedgewick will perform just as well but arm action will be heavier.


Wadkin DM is around £1.5 to £2k for private sale UK and up to £4k from a dealer refurbed.
its the go to heavy duty morticer in the UK

Dominion and Cooksley -similar to wadkin but old and no spare parts

TBH there is hardly anything to go wrong with a morticer -if the castings arent broken and sliedways not worn theres only the motor that can go wrong

sliding tables and up down dovetails can be stripped out and cleaned -wood gets compressed into them eventually making them stiff

I need capacity, my work includes machining 1/2" - 2" mortices in hardwoods - mainly for tables and chairs, sometimes workbenches. I can certainly do most of the work with a Domino, but I prefer the heavy cast body machines.

 

[dzj]

For wide and deep mortises, here on the Continent, most people use chain mortisers (kettenfrase).
(Not the handheld units, but rather the heavy stationary ones)

 

[RobinBHM]

I need capacity, my work includes machining 1/2" - 2" mortices in hardwoods - mainly for tables and chairs, sometimes workbenches. I can certainly do most of the work with a Domino, but I prefer the heavy cast body machines.

Ah ok

for that sort of capacity you are also Id guess working on big section timbers

you need a Wadkin DM or equivalent....a lesser know brand like dominion will get you a heavy cast machine for a low price.....at least it will in the UK

bear in mind big mortices are often done with a chain morticer rather than hollow chisel

 

[Trevanion]

Yes, I know about Wadkin DM-V but I assumed that it would not be possible to buy one in a decent condition for ~ £1400.

The DM-V is a varient of the DM but with a vibrating head a bit like a hammer action on a combi drill so that it's easier to mortice with, in theory. The DM-Vs fetch a a fair fortune but the regular DM you can pick up for about £1000 up to £1500.

For your budget here in Britain are plenty of really heavy-duty industrial morticers about but I'm not so sure about Australia.

The Sedgwick would be classed as a trade machine, it's heavy duty enough for most work day-in-day-out but not as heavy as the bigger boys.

bear in mind big mortices are often done with a chain morticer rather than hollow chisel

Unless you're building lock gates



If I recall that's a 3" chisel