"For the money" is the key phrase here. Compared to buying a dedicated mortiser or doing it by hand this tool is chpear than the former and quicker than the latter. The good things are that it does work. Once you have it installed, aligned, and tweaked it seems to work fine. I use it in oak without a problem. People who are burning or breaking bits may need to adjust the position of the dril vs the position of the square chisel. Or maybe they have a defect of some sort. It seems to help if you back out often and allow the bit to clear itself of debris.