Carronette Solid Chisel Mortiser

I have in my possession a solid chisel mortiser made by the Carron Foundries in Fallkirk Scotland.

This machine is named “Carronette”.

I bought this mortiser just before Christmas in Waihi. The previous owner had bought it at an auction in Ngatea Coromandel several years earlier.

After cleaning, replacing some bolts, and oiling it was working. The chisel needed sharpening, but was a problem to get out. After looking at other mortisers on the Internet I found I could take it out with a ball joint separator.

I e-mailed a cabinetmaker in Canada [who uses solid chisel mortisers for his work] to ask for the right angle. He told me it is 30 degrees.

To start the mortice it is best to drill a pilot hole. This makes for easier working and is recommended for all hard woods. It is remarkably efficient and easy to use.

The mortiser needs a crank handle (missing when I bought it) to turn the drill that fits into the chisel holder. I have recently bought a secondhand crank handle. It is actually a bit too big for the mortiser, but for now I can use it to turn the drill.

Outer oval: Carron Company Incorporated by Royal Charter 1773.

Middle oval: a Griffin above 3 cannons and 6 balls,

Writing over griffin: “ ESTO PERPETUA” Meaning: Let it endure forever.

Writing under the cannon balls: Founded 1759

I found some additional information about the Carron foundries on the Internet.

The company was founded in 1759 by the Cadell Family, Dr J Roebuck and S Garbett who realised that in one particular place all ingredients for a foundry came together - coal, ironstone (Ore) and a river (Carron).

That river was dammed and navigable right to the site that became the Carron Ironworks.

They produced the famous Carronade cannons. I do not know much about those cannons except that they

did develop the Carronade from scratch, and the key features seemed to be high quality iron, high-integrity castings, and good dimensional control, years ahead of their time.

Lord Nelson requested carronades for his flagship Victoria.

In 1784 Major-General Henry Shrapnel came up from England because Carron could cast hollow castings with a grooved outer surface and a consistent cross-section better than anyone else in the UK.

The Carron Company was at the forefront of the industrial revolution in United Kingdom.

The Carron Company was one of the largest iron works in Europe through the 19^th century and they are at least as famous for their telephone boxes and letterboxes as Carronades. 

After more then 200 years, the company became insolvent in 1982 and was later acquired by the Franke Company. With that at least a part still survives today making kitchen equipment, but the company of old is long gone.

Still looking for more information I have just found on the Internet a similar morticing machine in Australia, in the Powerhouse museum, Sydney.

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=127466

This is an interesting write up.

However, as far as I know, all morticing machines made in the USA at that time are all foot operated, unlike the European manufactured ones that all seem to be hand operated.

Jeff Joslin

Historian for http://www.owwm.com/

Very interesting! Despite what Powerhouse Museum site says, that mortiser is most definitely not of North American make. Since your mortiser has the Carronette name cast into it, it seems safe to conclude that it was indeed made by Carron Foundries in Scotland. Yours is the first Carron machine I have seen and I had not heard of that make before.

I would like to get much more information on my Carronette.

So, if there is anybody who can tell me a bit more about it, I’d love to hear from you.

You can contact me by e-mail:  nzchairman@gmail.com

Bernhard Riddering.