“We’re really excited to have Rudy on board to help lead the Next Wave team,” says Tim Owens. “His experience makes him the perfect choice as we continue to grow and expand.”

Simondi joins Next Wave Automation after spending most of his career overseeing operations and sales at a variety of companies, including 10 years at Acme Tools, as well as at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware, Select Comfort and PetSmart.

“Next Wave Automation is an exciting place to be,” says Simondi. “It’s a rapidly growing company with a strong history of innovation, and we’ve got an exciting new product pipeline with impressive growth possibilities across multiple channels.”

Founded in 2007 and based in Perrysburg, Ohio, Next Wave Automation is a U.S. manufacturer of the CNC Shark, Moray Ready2Laser and other affordable CNC routing equipment and automated machinery for professional woodworkers and woodworking hobbyists of all levels. With core company values of customer service and technological scalability, Next Wave Automation is at the forefront of small shop automation and incorporates versatile compatibility between components and products whenever possible.

For more information about Next Wave Automation, click here.

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The tool has a 10,000 to 21,000 oscillation-per-minute variable speed, so you can select the speed most appropriate for the job. An On/Off switch that’s separate from the variable-speed control enables the previous speed setting to be maintained for the next use. Accessories for cutting, sanding, scraping and more are easy to change, thanks to a twist-and-push, tool-free interface system.

Weighing about 3 lbs., Dremel’s new Multi-Max MM50 includes a carry bag and 30 accessories. It’s available now, selling for $129.

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The Lock-Align Screwdriver Rack (item 58265) is priced at $7.99.

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Still, I’ve found an easy way of cleaning out the nozzle before the sealant cures inside. I use the tapered, ribbed end of Rockler’s Silicone Mini Glue Brush (item 45495). Pushing the tapered end of the brush up into the base of the nozzle forces most of the adhesive out where I can wipe it away. Since glue doesn’t stick to these brushes anyway, they’re also easy to wipe clean.

– Bob Smith
Madison Heights, Virginia

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– Roger Mickelson
Mesa, Arizona

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Tim Inman: A Morse taper is an engineering wonder of the world. When the tool is finely made, the surface contacts all along the length and diameter of the tapered fit. Way back when, I was required to learn how to machine a Morse taper on a lathe, and my grade was determined by the amount of surface contact my tool could make with the instructor’s master socket. How did he determine that? The same way you can test your tools right in your own shop. Get some Dykem® Steel Blue® Layout Fluid. If you don’t have that, you could just use a black magic marker. Color the tapered chuck arbor with the dye. Then, fit the arbor into the spindle socket. Don’t slam it home; insert the shaft gently and twist as you seat it. Remove the arbor and look for wear marks on the tapered shaft. They should be all along the length of the shaft. If you have a circle or two where the dye is worn off, that is where your problem is. GENTLY machine/sand down that wear mark and repeat. Do this until you have a shaft that fits closely all along the length of the taper. Do NOT rough up the shaft. Do not coat it. Make that shaft as smooth as possible. The magic of a tapered arbor shaft is the fit. Get that right, and you’re home and dry.

Chris Marshall: I have several drill presses in the shop, all of them having chucks installed with Morse taper-style arbors. They are polished smooth from the manufacturer, clean, dry and held in place with friction alone. (One of those is pictured in the top photo.) To add to what Tim has suggested, I’d also make sure that the inside of the tapered spindle on your drill press is absolutely clean and free from corrosion. When I remove a chuck to occasionally use it in the tail stock of my lathe, here’s how I re-install the arbor in the drill press again: I raise the table up and put a piece of scrap on it. I insert the arbor in the spindle, turn it some until it seats partially on its own and then just advance the spindle down (like drilling a normal hole) with the machine turned off and the jaws retracted inside the chuck. Then, when the chuck makes contact with the scrap on the table, I give the drill press handle a bit more of a pull downward to seat the arbor further in the spindle. That’s it. It stays put for any bit or accessory I need to use. Once you’ve checked/cleaned the contact surfaces, try installing your chuck’s arbor this way and see if it helps.

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But similarities end there, starting with speed. While large industrial mortisers may offer multiple speeds, those for the home shop are generally single-speed direct-drive units operating at 1,725 rpm (although a few are 3,450 rpm).

Since the bit alone does all cutting on a drill press, the low-torque feed levers take a few rotations for a complete stroke. The feed on a mortiser, meanwhile, fully lowers the auger/chisel assembly in a single, high-torque pull to power the chisel into the workpiece.

Finally, a clamping and hold-down mechanism is absolutely essential on a mortiser. Just as a lot of torque is needed to force the chisel into the wood, substantial holding power is needed to grip the workpiece when retracting the chisel. These hold-downs are typically part of a fence built into the base itself.

A mortiser’s business end is a two-part assembly consisting of a square, hollow chisel with a very long auger nestled inside. The chisel mounts to the quill, while the bit goes in the chuck. When lowered into the workpiece, the two parts work as a team to create a square hole. Because the auger’s cutting tip is slightly ahead of the cutting edges of the chisel, when lowered into the workpiece it creates a round hole and removes most of the waste. The edges of the chisel follow right behind, with the sharp downward corners squaring up the hole.

Mortiser Safety and Maintenance

Most of the safety practices for drill presses apply to mortisers, but there are two additional things to be aware of with mortisers.

The first is that mortising chisels are wicked sharp all the way around the square opening. What’s more, the corners of that opening are extended downward into extremely sharp points. Be very careful with these, as it’s easy to unintentionally brush a hand against them when setting up a workpiece (he says with the conviction of experience).

Mortisers also require a good deal of muscle power, and an extended period of usage can result in an arm that aches for a day or two afterward — pace yourself when mortising to avoid overdoing it.

Mortiser chisels, like any chisels, must be sharp at all times. A dull mortising chisel not only creates splintery mortises, it also greatly increases the force needed to drive it into the wood.

Hone these chisels regularly with a dedicated hollow-chisel sharpener. These look a lot like countersinking bits, but have honing edges or an abrasive surface. Chucked into a standard drill/driver, periodically hone out the opening to resharpen the cutting edges. After doing the inside, hone the flat sides of the opening to remove any burrs.

Using a Mortiser

Installing the chisel is a three-step process. Ideally, the cutting tip of the auger never touches the chisel opening. If it did, it couldn’t bore the lead hole ahead of the chisel, chips couldn’t be directed up and out through the side openings of the chisel and, worse, the rubbing would quickly build up extreme heat, potentially ruining the chisel. Instead, the parts are installed such that the bit is slightly ahead of the chisel. To accomplish this, the chisel goes on first, snugged up to the quill with a small spacer — a dime is perfect for this.

With the chisel temporarily secured, slide the auger up through the center of the chisel. (To avoid getting cut, use a small scrap of wood to raise it.) When it’s seated in the chisel, secure the auger in the chuck as you would any drill bit.

Finally, loosen the chisel, remove the dime, and slide the top of the chisel firmly against the quill. Make sure the rear face of the chisel is aligned with the front of the fence, and retighten it.

Unless cutting through-mortises, the next step is to set the mortise depth. Mark the outside of the workpiece to match the length of the tenon, and then lower the chisel to the line. The bottom of a stopped mortise is pretty ragged, and although it’s hidden inside the joint, you still need enough room for the tenon to seat, plus a bit of space for glue to collect when the tenon is inserted, so you want the mortise bottom beyond the end of the tenon. Lower the chisel a bit farther; about halfway between the downward corners and the curved edges is about right. Holding the chisel at this point, set the depth control.

If you haven’t already, outline the location of your mortise on the workpiece. Adjust the fence to center the workpiece under the tip of the auger and lock it down. Now, adjust the hold-down to keep the workpiece from rising when the chisel is retracted. The hold-down should rest atop the workpiece snugly enough to keep it down on the table, but not so tight that you can’t slide the workpiece from side to side.

Plug in the machine and turn it on, then lower the chisel smoothly into the wood at one end of your mortise outline. The drill will clear the way, but it will take some muscle on the lever to drive in the chisel. Raise the chisel, slide the workpiece so the other end of the mortise is lined up, and repeat the process.

With the ends of the mortise defined, nibble out the waste in the middle with a series of overlapping plunges into the wood until the entire mortise is cleared.

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