Cordless Drill Mortise Mill

Cordless Drill Mortise Mill

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This mortising jig is small, but don’t be fooled by its toy-like appearance; the JessEm Pocket Mortise Mill II is a finely crafted, precision jig. Coupled with a hand drill, you can make clean, accurate 1/4″ mortises for loose tenon joinery.

The Pocket Mortise Mill is simple to operate, and set up is minimal. The jig has reference lines that align with marks that you make on your workpieces. Clamp the jig to your workpiece or use your vise to hold the jig and the workpiece together.

Using the included 1/4″ mortising bit chucked in your drill, the Pocket Mortise Mill cuts a 1/4″ wide x 1-1/4″ long mortise. You can center a mortise anywhere from 1/4″ – 1″ from the stock’s edge, so offset joints are very easy to make.

To cut a mortise, insert the mortising bit in the bearing-guided bushing, turn on your drill, and move the handle back and forth. Operating the handle slides the carriage back and forth on two rails, creating the mortise. A locking collar on the bit controls the mortise’s depth.

It takes a little practice to figure out the right feed rate, both vertically and horizontally. Otherwise, using the Pocket Mortise Mill is very intuitive and gives fast, accurate results.