An antique morticing machine

[GaryR]

I had to do a bit of maintenance on this old flat belt driven girl today so I thought I would show her off. There is a good story behind her, too.



This is a Wysong and Miles #272, made in Greenesboro, North Carolina, USA in 1921. This was the first one they made, just before they switched to larger and direct drive morticers that they continued to make until the 1950's. They supported their legacy machines until about 1970 when they stopped making woodworking machines. Then a gentleman named Don Hege, who was the VP of operations, bought out their stock and machine manuals and records and set up a separate company dedicated to supporting all of the old W&M machines for as long as he could.

I bought my machine in 2013 from a millwork company that was having a sale of their no-longer used machinery. I met the man who ran the machine and he said he made hundreds of windows with it. As I was I leaving with the machine (for which I paid $125 USD) he stopped me and said, "Oh by the way, you might want these," and opened a box with several hundred dollars of chisels and bits.

There is more. The machine was complete with nothing broken or missing except the foot pedal. Broken long ago and replace with a hunk of oak. I knew about Don Hege and called him up hoping but not expecting he had a spare pedal for this machine that had not been made for almost 90 years. In a very thick southern USA accent he said, "Well, they made two different sizes. Which one do you want?" That shocked me into stuttering, "Ummm, I don't know!" He asked me to make some measurements, I did, and he said, "Let me go check in the back...." After awhile he returned to the phone and said, "No, I don't have that one." But then he said, "But I do have the pattern they used to cast it. Would you like me to cast you a new one?"

An original pattern, for a part of a machine made in 1921! Of course I said yes. I had the new part a few weeks later, with an apology that, "It took me awhile to find someone who could do it."

I did have to get a new flat belt made when I got the machine and swap a motor and some other minor updates. Here is what it looked like today after a change in pulleys.


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7DWTQX0Xn28

 

[Mike G]

Great story!

I was offered an even older morticer by someone here who had restored it: it was entirely mechanical. Unpowered. However, one of the pleasures in my woodworking life is chopping mortices with a mallet & chisels, and one of the assets of my workshop is floorspace. I didn't want to compromise either.

 

[AndyT]

I do like it when an everlasting bit of kit like this finds the right owner to use it and appreciate it. Extra good to have such amazing customer service too!

 

[Trevanion]

That's a really nice example, and will last ad-infinitum with care. I'm not often complimenting the Americans, but I've always thought their morticers were lovely pieces of kit. It's an interesting difference between British and American morticers that the British ones are almost entirely operated with a hand lever, and American ones almost entirely use foot pedals.

I bought a Greenlee catalogue the other day, Greenlee reportedly invented the hollow mortice chisel and auger as we know it today. I'll have to upload it to my "Vintage Wood Machining Books" thread so people can have a gander.

 

[AndyP]

Makes me wonder if any machine made today will garner the some reverence in a 100 years time.

Not sure about genderising tools though

 

[Cabinetman]

That’s really something Gary, mine's turn of the century then motorised, but not a patch on that one of yours, and big hand lever operated of course.
I can’t quite see how yours works, does the chisel come down or the wood up?
Ian

 

[AJB Temple]

Looks very nice. Wadkin like in robustness.

Periodically I've thought about getting a morticing machine, but never have as for big stuff it's easier for me to take the tools to the wood, and for small stuff, like Mike, I quite like chopping out by hand as it's quite satisfying.

 

[GaryR]

That’s really something Gary, mine's turn of the century then motorised, but not a patch on that one of yours, and big hand lever operated of course.
I can’t quite see how yours works, does the chisel come down or the wood up?
Ian

The spindle and chisel move. Foot pedal to move down, and a large return spring inside the main casting moves it back up.

A couple of other stories about the machine. According to Mr. Hege, the machine was made in 1921 as part of a run of 6 machines. It was sold to a furniture company in Greenesboro (a center of furniture making at the time) but then sold back to Wysong and Miles during the Great Depression. It was later re-sold to the millwork shop in Richmond, Virginia, where I bought it, and was used until the late 1990's.

According to vintagemachinery.org and my other research, there are only four or five of these machines still in existence and only one other besides mine is operational.

 

[Woody2]

Gary
That is one beautiful Mortiser and a lovely story.

 

[wallace]

Nice lump and nice story. Does the table tilt for angled holes?

 

[Vann]

...According to Mr. Hege, the machine was made in 1921 as part of a run of 6 machines...

...It was later re-sold to the millwork shop in Richmond, Virginia, where I bought it, and was used until the late 1990's...

Isn't it great to get the back story. To know the actual history of your machine.

I have several machines where all the previous owner could tell me was he'd had it for 5 or 6 years.

However I am very fortunate to have received a lot of paperwork with my Wadkin PK - enough to allow me to even work out which ship* and which sailing it came out to New Zealand on.

It's a well beaten old PK, and I've since had the opportunity to get a better one. But all the history makes it very special to me.

Cheers, Vann.

* MV Port Phillip.

 

[GaryR]

Nice lump and nice story. Does the table tilt for angled holes?

Yes, the table tilts. The fence can also be raised, and has those lovely serpentine hold-downs.



Mr. Hege sent me a copy of the original shop drawing for the machine, dated 1920.




I forgot to mention that it has all babbit bearings. I added some felt to keep sawdust from falling into the oil cups. For fun, I made the felt myself using some undercoat fur from my golden retriever.

 

[Cabinetman]

That really is a great machine, so good to see it being used.
Haha Just dropped off 2 HUGE bags of Samoyed fur to be mixed with wool for hats and scarves etc, never considered making felt washers out of it though.
Just noticed the swivelley spanners permanently fastened to the nuts on the front, really brill.