Old Motise Machine

[RosieP]

Hello

My husband acquired an old manual mortise machine from his Dad and it has been sitting in our garage ever since. He's asked me to look into getting rid of it or else it will go to the scrap yard.

We know nothing about this type of thing so please excuse my ignorance. Does anyone have any suggestions of where we could sell something like this or anywhere that could use it? I have attached a photo.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[marcros]

ebay. but dont expect to retire on the proceeds.

I have one too actually, and would expect getting maybe £40 for it when I get around to selling.

 

[adidat]

Someone on facebook got one of these of ebay for 99p. Would love to make an offer on it!! Just to far away!

Adidat

 

[AndyT]

Your best option is eBay. But you won't get much unless two eccentrics go into battle for it. They do crop up reasonably often, and are much loved by those who have them, often bought for a very small sum.
For example, see this thread from a poster on here
reynolds-hand-morticer-c-1875-t61547.html

- but he had to get rid of it - you need a buyer with plenty of space. But please, don't scrap it if you can sell it to someone who will use it.

 

[Bm101]

Hi Rosie,
If you have a selection of the chisels that fit I believe they can go for as much as the machines. It looks in good condition so you might be lucky on ebay if there's someone local who wants one.
I bought the one in Andy's link listed above. It's my winter project to try and restore it. The problem is as stated above, they take a lot of space in a workshop so you need to want one. There's easier solutions to morticing tbh for most peoples needs these days.
Please don't scrap it though if at all possible! You'll get pennies anyway! If I were you I'd take a decent set of clear pics (maker name, details, any attachments you have etc and post them on this thread). It's possible you will find a buyer right here. This website is really quite popular and reaches a lot of people. :wink: There's a couple of old tool restoration sites etc. that could generate interest too if you posted there. I can post links if you are interested. At the very least, it might take a litlle more time and effort but you wont be scrapping a part of tool heritage for nothing. Once these tools are gone they really are gone forever.
Would you do it to this if you found it in your garage?

Cheers
Chris

 

[heimlaga]

Don't scrap it!
I don't think you can ever sett it for more than 20 pounds at most but that machine is an important part of the industrial heritage of your contry plus a very useful machine to some people.
For me as a part time professional those old solid chisel mortisers are just as outdated as my 1971 model Massey-Ferguson tractor is to the owner of a super modern 300 hectare farm.
Just like my old tractor is ideal for my small scale needs that mortiser could be ideal for someone who works wood on a smaller scale yet has enough space.
It would also be worthy of preservation in some museum.

In my village we have a small museum run entirely with volunteer work on a minimum budget situated in the former schoolhouse and in a purpose built barn. We try to preserve tools and machines and household items that have long since gone out of use. Everything used in countryside households and farming and fishing and crafts and small industries before the disposable era.
If you could find some club or organisation of the same sort or some museum of early industry in your area I think they would be very happy to take care of your mortiser.

 

[Jacob]

As Heimlaga says - good machine if you've room for it and not doing 100s of mortices on a daily basis. They work much better then you'd expect.

 

[dickm]

Don't know if they would be interested, but isn't there a museum village somewhere in Warks that has reconstructed buildings saved from around the county? Avon Dassett? Could be worth a try.

 

[AndyT]

Dick, I think you might be thinking of Avoncroft, near Bromsgrove?

http://www.avoncroft.org.uk

 

[toolsntat]

Wonderful bits of kit 8)

I have a very broken and battered but usable one already but would feel obliged to send out the "heritage lifeboat" to stop it sinking in the scrapyard :wink:

My friend runs a vintage racksaw and maybe this could be used along side it? :idea:
Any cutters with it?

Where roughly in Wonderful Warwickshire Rosie?

Andy

 

[RosieP]

Thanks for all the replies. We don't want to scrap it if at all possible- it's just that as you know it is big and heavy and we can't find anyone who wants it- to buy or otherwise. We have offered it to a few local working museums but they're not interested. We'll try the other one mentioned above.

We have 9 attachments for it- the 8 shown in the photo and 1 on the machine itself. I can't see a make anywhere on the machine, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place?

 

[RosieP]

Oh- and in answer to your question Andy, we are in Stratford upon Avon.

 

[toolsntat]

Oh- and in answer to your question Andy, we are in Stratford upon Avon.

Nice 8)

Ok Rosie , will make some inquiries but please call if you have need to :wink:

Andy

 

[dickm]

Dick, I think you might be thinking of Avoncroft, near Bromsgrove?

http://www.avoncroft.org.uk

Yes, that's probably it. One of my family worked there 40 odd years ago, but he died this year, so a bit difficult to check

 

[Jacob]

Don't know if they would be interested, but isn't there a museum village somewhere in Warks that has reconstructed buildings saved from around the county? Avon Dassett? Could be worth a try.

There's the Hawley Collection in Sheffield. These machines aren't that rare but somebody somewhere will want it!