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Maka Swing Chisel - $4,999 (Hurst)
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They were primarily used by two groups. The largest machines were used by door and table manufacturers to make mortises for hardware. The smaller machines were coveted by furniture makers. The larger machines were obsoleted once doorknobs and deadbolts were made for rounded mortises. This allowed for drill-powered mortising machines. So everyone stopped making them. Shortly thereafter, Martin, Felder and Robland combination saw/shaper/jointer/planer machines added a mortising attachment that makes these round ended mortises. This left the furniture makers and custom door and table makers without a machine to make "through" tenons so they either make these mortises by hand or remove through tenons from their designs (which is a shame).
What about the Domino? Made by Festool, these are great for joining but not ideal for through mortises because you want a through mortise to look rectangular. If you do a lot of through mortises or like me, you have wrist problems using a chisel, then you want a Maka swing chisel.
What about Hollow Chisel mortising machines? Made by various manufacturers like Delta, Powermatic, King, Makita, Grizzly and many older brands, they are ok, but they only cut square holes so you need to make multiple holes to make rectangles. That means you need to release and re-clamp the part multiple times. As you continue to pierce the wood multiple times, making square holes as you go, the overall mortise is not clean enough to be exposed. You need to clean it up, which makes it bigger. So with a Hollow Chisel mortiser, every mortise is a slightly different size that now needs a fully custom-fit tenon. I was very disappointed and sold mine to buy a Maka.
The Swing Chisel is the single most versatile mortising machine ever made, with many sizes and shapes of chisels available. Square end, round end, angled end, stopped, through, haunched and even double mortises can be made in one pull of the handle or on pneumatic machines, one click of a button. Switching chisels is a simple two-bolt operation.
I have a "Floor model", dry head, pneumatic operation, 'medium' chisel mortising machine for sale.
A nice set of HSS chisels are included with this machine.
A full demo of this machine is posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIinGK2j1GI
This machine came from the factory as a 550V machine and needs a separate transformer (the box on the right of the photo on the floor). Very nice machine. I have updated the lights from bulbs to LEDs because the bulbs I could get were of poor quality and kept burning out.
The manual includes wiring and pneumatic diagrams but I didn't find them very useful. Mainly because they are in German. However, these machines are strictly electro-mechanical so no chips or computer components. Basic stuff only, like transformers, contactors, switches and wires. Easy to fix if it breaks and they don't break very often.
Runs on USA 250V Three Phase electric as sold. If you only have residential power then you need a phase converter.
This machine will be sold with all the tooling I have available for it as well as a copy of all the paperwork i have had from owning three of these machines. Everything works, nothing is stuck or broken, all the parts needed are there, the head has new bearings and grease. Pneumatics were also worked on to eliminate air leaks.
This is a push-button model. You don't need to do anything during a mortice cycle, it's fully automatic.
I will include a list of tooling companies and part sources. I can service the machines after the sale if you're local. Email support is free but the manuals are very complete and I'm sure you won't need me.
If you need shipping we can crate it cheap and drop it off at YRC freight or the shipper of your choice. No rigger necessary. Delivery cost will vary on distance but I will keep it as low as possible or you can just pay the freight.
I can be reached at 817 then 503 then 9545 (landline, texts won't work). Item is on display at 113 Souder Drive, Hurst, TX 76053. We're open 9-5pm Mon through Saturday but call first just in case. We're more of an office than a retail business so we sometime close the doors during the day for a lunch or whatever.