The Stenners I picked up last month is an interesting machine that I have been looking for information on and have nothing ( no even a pic on the net). I would like to show you boys what an English mortiser looks like. Stenner is a big industrial saw mill manufacturer from 1875 England that is still in business.they are saw mill manufactures and are best know for there re saws. I thought the mortiser had some neat things about it that i would like to show. 

This machine is a chain and chisel mortiser that uses the same motor(4hp 3 phase 600volts) and separate heads for chain or chisel. It is very Heavy coming in at some were between 1200 to 1400lbs. best guess. From what i can tell it can put a mortise in the side of a 40"x9" plank with the table off and a 12"x12"with the table on. You can slide a door right up to it and mortise the box lock in if you want. With a few jigs the vertical table can do hub and circular work.

 

the Tag

off loading

 

in the shop ready to play with. wired it up to 600 volts

 

 

the head is counter weighted and the weight looks like a cast arn or lead not real sure but it is very heavy.

 

 

It has a pop away foot peddle that is very large. for that time you don't want to use the handle or need both.

 

 

its got a built in chain sharpener on the back of the motor. all i need is a 3/4 x 3/4 bar and i have all the parts to keep the chains sharp.

 

 

underside of removable table

 

 

it has a big rack and pinion vertical table with dovetailed ways and a 24" travel. the handle is up high at the operator level.the horizontal table mores up and down or can be remove for very tall stock.

 

the locking and hold down on the table has quick release and leaver handles

 

 

 

Chisels blow and chains suck with the change of a flap in the built in vacuum/blower.
the gear is to transfer power to the chisel head.

 

 

rotating depth stop for the 6" travel of the head to set muilty depth mortises

 

the machines is going to be a great adding to the shop. a very rare peace of machinery from England. I am looking for any information on this machine too.

I cut a mortise for the first time a month ago . have a look on YouTube. if you watch the video you will see that as soon as i pull down on the handle the machines start automatically from a switch on top , and when I lift it up to the top it shuts down again.

 

 The Stenner as far a i could tell was Painted Green. When i went throught the paint layer(3) i found the oldest. Of all colors i hate Green the most, and so i had a hard time with  what color to use. In the end i went with green that i had made up that i am calling Cypress.

 

 

 

After 4 week ends i am almost done, but i have a job for flooring coming in the shop and with have to finish the last details latter. Take a look at where i am today. I am heading up north on a canoe trip for a week so i will have to field question if any when i get back. Enjoy.

 

 

All the gold is eather bronze or brass guys. Hope you liked the Machine Porn

 

 

jack 

English machines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack'ified! You and Shane are definitely in a class all of your own.

 

Jack,

 

Really nice!  As usual there is the "Jackified over-the-top" touch,  This time it's the stitched leather grip on the lock-down!

 

Great work!

 

Ray

 

 

That is incredible! What a beast of a mortiser!

 

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Adam Welker
Red Car Construction and Fine Woodworking

Wow!! Awesome

 

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My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

Awesome Jack. You do have a way with those english machines.bob

 

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Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com

Impressive machine Jack and great job as usual on the restoration, always first class.

Thanks for the coments everyone. They sure are fun doing. I am making a tilting table for her out of rat hole parts. I will post when i am done.

 

 

jack

English machines

Looking forward to seeing that Jack. Your machines remind me of old fancy cars, almost too nice to use. But I know they are used and used hard. bob

 

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Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com

The fence that came with the Stener is a great fence ,but it does not tilt and I had some rat hole parts that i thought would work to make hold downs and a table. So the cost of the fixtures was in total about $30.

 

 

here is a part of something i am not sure but it got a built in stop and i just need to make bolts to hold it to the Stenner.

 

If someone can tell me what its off of as I have no idea. I think its a fence for a boring machine

The hold downs are off an SCMI shaper and did not need much modification to get them to work. Bushing were made and brass clamp plates made to replace a press steel ones they had. I do not have any before pics of those parts.

 

The Stenner table bolts on the   vertical sliding table that has ways  that square head bolts 5/8" will slide into. This is what I use to anchor all my fixtures in place. The first hold down I made was to hold may wood at any postion.

It's just a peace of Ash and the stand off was turned  on the lathe. The black hold down with the rosewood/brass clamping plate was the parts of the old shaper (SCMI). It can be placed any where on the ways of the Stenner table.

 

The Stenner had a spot for a bar that made a great spot for a hold down when i am doing large flat plates and will hold the wood down on the table for case work pieces. So if I want to put square pegs in the end on a flat board I can hold them down.

To make the tilting table I wanted a pivet point to rotate the table by,and a gauge to tell me the angle the  table was at. I came up with a protractor that will support the table when adjusting the angles and give me pivots every 2" in height to maintain  my Z axis. The bolts on the table take all the stress when mortising so this did not need to be super strong.

only one hold was drill and taped into the stenner

Here is  the table with bolts that I just drop on top of the tilt gauge and bolt to the angle I want up to 45 degs.

I really like to make the jigs that make my work easier . when I do Ii like to make them nice to use and so the pleasure of woodworking is that mush better. It also so reminds me that not all tools can be order over the phone or on the web, some times you just have to make them on your own. BTW i do not have any metal working machines and am just a wood worker. there is nothing here that any of you could not do/make.

 

jack

English machines

 

 

Simply incredible Jack,

You make me feel like a slow poke taking as long as I have with my scroll saw. I like the hold-downs that you fabricated using recycled, and home made parts. Very cool machine. Wish I had the room for doing something of this scale, but due to space I'm limited to machines of a much smaller, and lighter scale. As usual you have done a fantastic job of bringing a classic machine back to perfection. Always enjoy seeing the workmanship, and thought you put into your restorations.

From one tinkerer to another, very well done!

Regards,

Larry

Great job on the whole hold down thing. Nice work. Excellent thought process to create what you need. Just well done Jack. Love to see your work. Makes for great background shots on my computer.

bob

 

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Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com

Very nice work, you are very talented.  Awesome machine!  I really like your shop setup.  Your overhead door also caught my eye..

Jack,

           When it comes to morticers, I generally watch out for Wadkin, Dominion and Robinson machines. After seeing the in-depth coverage of the features of the Stenner and the exceptional job you've done on this restoration, I'm going to add this machine to the list of potential candidates for import. I'm looking at a Robinson combo machine in Northern Ireland right now. I've already purchase a Wadkin EKA SET from this seller, so the import cost on the morticer will be fairly small. I've got some time, so I'll be on the lookout for any Stenner machines that come along.  Once again, nice work.

 

-Arthur

Arthur

Yes the Stenner is just a little better than the wadkin. just a little more picky and just a little more beefy. they were very inovatitive comparied to wadkin and the old English makers. be on the look out for one of the RAS as it is made like a modern chop saw in the way it pivets,Just look at the built in dust collection.

 

14" Stenner RAS

I know you have the wadkin RM over under with a 26" jointer on top a 24" planer below, but did you know that Stenner made an over under that was 27" by 9". Just look at the way they have done the motors and feed works.Are the feed works in an oil bath? sure looks like it. It's a larger machine but takes less space up than the Wadkin. you have to bring one of theses home.

 

Stenner for sale by dealer in England

Other good names to look for are the Wilson brothers. they made planers and sharpers and there spindle moulder  is just a little better than the Wadkin EP or EQ. tho not as nice looking just a bit more beefy. 

 

Thank you all for your coments and I am glade you have said something about the English machines. they are rare over here and so there are not many who can relate to them. I do love to show what Great machine for woodworking came out of England.

 

jack

English machines

Arthur said:

Jack,

           When it comes to morticers, I generally watch out for Wadkin, Dominion and Robinson machines. After seeing the in-depth coverage of the features of the Stenner and the exceptional job you've done on this restoration, I'm going to add this machine to the list of potential candidates for import. I'm looking at a Robinson combo machine in Northern Ireland right now. I've already purchase a Wadkin EKA SET from this seller, so the import cost on the morticer will be fairly small. I've got some time, so I'll be on the lookout for any Stenner machines that come along.  Once again, nice work.

 

-Arthur

Wow, what machines. They look so much nicer then what I find around Wisconsin. Thanks Jack for the insight and Arthur for yours also. bob

 

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Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com

tool613 said:

I know you have the wadkin RM over under with a 26" jointer on top a 24" planer below, but did you know that Stenner made an over under that was 27" by 9". Just look at the way they have done the motors and feed works.Are the feed works in an oil bath? sure looks like it. It's a larger machine but takes less space up than the Wadkin. you have to bring one of theses home.

 

Stenner for sale by dealer in England

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/tool613/-1307361071-6.jpg'

>Other good names to look for are the Wilson brothers. they made planers and sharpers and there spindle moulder  is just a little better than the Wadkin EP or EQ. tho not as nice looking just a bit more beefy. 

 

 Jack,

             I do like that motor setup on the stenner combo machine. My RM is a wonderful machine, but it does require a lot of floor space. I also have a 36" direct drive Porter jointer. That machine requires a 7'x7' square of shop space.  I like the Wilson stuff, but they always seem to bring high prices at sales in the UK. There are a few spindle moulders for sale right now. The asking price is twice what they get for a Wadkin EQ or a Robinson. It's like trying to find an affordable PK. You need to be really patient. I still have a little room left in the container. I'm hoping to get lucky and snag a few more wish list machines.

 

-Arthur

 

Nice looking resto.  It sure came out nice.  You did a fine job.  What is the cut off wheel or grinder for?

Tom

Thomas you can sharpen the chains as they get dull. with the chain holder and stone. you lock the head and set the height and the whole thing clicks in the the next tooth and you slide it past the grinding wheel on the back.

 

if you look at this pic you can see the mortise chain hanging of the tool guide (the power plug is hanging over it.)

this is what the chain tooling holder looks like when swung/piveted out of the way of the stone and not in uses.

you can just set the tool holder off to the side. it just swings in place. you adjust the hight to take off the same amout on each tooth and the whole thing slides past the stone to grind the gullet of the tooth. Really a nice future to have in shop.

 

jack

English machines

 

Thomas Sanguigni said:

Nice looking resto.  It sure came out nice.  You did a fine job.  What is the cut off wheel or grinder for?

Tom