Replies

1. 
   Qtrmeg | Jan 11, 2003 11:41pm | #1

   Do a search over in Knots, you can read for hours....

2. 
   debarker | Jan 12, 2003 03:37am | #2

   I have the equivalent to the small Grizzly : works great , but tooling aint cheap!!!

   If you are into 5" diam raised panel cutters you need a 5hp machine. Look for a smaller machine to have 2 speeds as well as different diam throat inserts. The stock hold downs on any of them arent worth a hoot in my opinion/ I modified my fence and use feather boards. The "adjustable" fence of the delta looks cool / but Id hate to replace it if I busted it.

   Watch out , there is a Chinese copy floating around cheap and it is brutal. Fit / finish , adjustments are poorly made / considered. Tolerance is out the window and the motor should have a rope tied to it and used in a boat.

   A consideration : cutters are expensive : but richards (and delta) make a molding head cutter for a shaper (just like their model for the table saw) : takes the delta (made by richards) or richards inserts. I wouldnt use it for production : but it works great for short runs . The head is around $30 and the cutter sets are around $15 a piece. They are not carbide / but you can sharpen HS steel without too many worries.

   All in all I prefer it to a router table big time.

1. 
   measuretwice | Jan 12, 2003 05:21am | #3

   Thanks cutter!

   I don't intend to do stuff requiring 5" dia cutters.  I've narowed it down to 2-speed machines with 5-6" table opening for inserts.  Glad you mentioned stock hold-downs and fence -- appears to be quite a range.  Jet JWS-34L appears to have fairly solid one, Delta 43-300 series even heavier (although this Delta may be out of my price range.)  For me the main thing is fairly high, rigid fence and places to clamp on hold-downs.

   Problem for me where I live (near Madison WI) is that local stores don't seem to carry any shapers in this range.  I'd like to see B4 I buy!

   Do you know anything about brand of cheap-o copy?  Shop Fox?  Their price for 2 hp machine is way lower than Jet.

1. 
   debarker | Jan 12, 2003 06:30am | #6

   Im in the "great white north" we have a grizzly equivalent here called "Busy Bee" /  in fact Ive been told by a number of people that the two owners are brothers. The key is (and this is beginning to go for other machines as well) is that the "el cheapo" is Chinese : the "off shore" is Taiwanese. Ive got nothing against anybody but if you remember what "off shore" was like 20 years ago (when Taiwan started) that's where China is now. Some for instances :

   The motors are cr#p

   the mitre slot is straight cut : not a "tee" slot

   the spindle , "as is" is WAY off center

   the  fence adjusters are sloppy and have a hole drilled thu them with a cotter pin acting as a stop

   fit and finish suck

   I gladly paid the extra $100 bucks and got what I consider to be a great machine for me.

3. 
   GCourter | Jan 12, 2003 05:38am | #4

   I have the 3hp from Woodworkers Supply, got it three years ago and am very happy with it.  Like everyone else says, tooling is the big $.

4. 
   jocobe | Jan 12, 2003 06:27am | #5

   A power feeder on a shaper is really nice..........safer and makes a nice cut.  A power feeder also makes it possible to climb cut on the shaper.  I have a 3 ph 5 hp powermatic.  I'll use heads for coping & sticking of doors, but mostly use high speed shaper steel between collars.  Some of it is lock edge, but most isn't.  I'll grind my own profiles on one knife, by hand, and grind the other half of the pair close in weight.  When I put them between the collars I set the knives so the accurately profiled one is sticking out a little more then the other.  Usually if I am trying to make a short run of a particular profile I may make several passes, with a few different knives in order to get the results I am looking for.  Using shaper steel is way cheaper then buying 3 winged cutters.  Sometimes I'll also use moulder heads with HSS corrugated backed steel.  There's a lot of different ways to use a shaper.  For doing radius or elliptical mldg I'll flip the feeder on end and line up one wheel with the spindle.......it's kinda hard to describe, but I've been doing it that way longer then the Williams & Hussey machines became fashionable.  Shapers are great tool...you can really do some great stuff with them!

   jocobe

1. 
   measuretwice | Jan 21, 2003 06:26am | #9

   Hi Jocobe

   Where did you get the Lock Edge collar assembly?  Thanks!

1. 
   jocobe | Jan 21, 2003 02:40pm | #10

   Charles G. G. Schmidt & Company

   http://www.cggschmidt.com/

1. 
   jimblodgett | Jan 21, 2003 05:47pm | #11

   If you're not in too big a hurry you might look around for a used shaper.  I regularly see them at tool auctions.  With the popularity of router table set-ups for some, and CNC equipment for a growing number of professional shops, more and more used shapers are available and there's less demand for them than there once was.

   Great tools for production runs.

   I think the suggestion to find a head with changable knives is an excellent one.  Between shaper cutters and router bits I'd hate to know how much I've invested through the years. 

1. 
   Adrian | Jan 21, 2003 07:08pm | #12

   There are always lots of smaller ones out there too, where a hobbyist bought it, was scared to death of it, and is selling it just to see the back of it. Lots have hardly any hours.cabinetmaker/college instructor. Cape Breton, N.SWAY too conservative to be merely right wing

5. 
   bill_1010 | Jan 12, 2003 06:14pm | #7

   Min 3hp.  You should also buy a power feeder with a shaper.  Power Feeders and shapers go together like a table saw and a blade.

   Power feeders will give you a better cut and a safer cut. 

1. 
   Adrian | Jan 12, 2003 06:44pm | #8

   Same as the others, mostly....bigger is better....save up for as much HP as possible. Same with spindles; if you can spring for an 1 1/4" machine (and keep all your tooling that size), you'll get better results.

   And ditto on the power feeders. Should almost be consisdered part of the machine. And make sure you have adequate dust collection.cabinetmaker/college instructor. Cape Breton, N.SWAY too conservative to be merely right wing