Powermatic PM2700 Shaper

[Joe Jensen]

One more question to Jay. Tom, or any other PM2000 users that know, about the fence/tube arrangement. Does this fence and hood assembly guarantee the fence plates remain parallel to the miter slot over its range of movement? I have not seen this issue addressed in any literature or reviews on this machine.

I checked out a Felder shaper at an industrial show last year, it had an Aigner type fence on it, and one of the features I found most precious was a set of index pins that maintained the position of the fence plates precisely parallel to the sliding table regardless of how far forward/backward the hood was moved. Setting a typical shaper fence precisely parallel to the miter slot or sliding table is one of the most annoying tasks I can think of, not sure why this problem has not addressed with most shapers.

Thanks again for all your information.

Peter, what do you want to do that requires the fence to stay parallel with the miter slot? I haven't even worried about it in 20 years of shaper use...joe

[Jeff Duncan]

I'm with Joe on this one, I don't use the miter slot nor do I find myself needing to have my fences parallel to it.
Of course if you want a fence that remains perfectly parallel you can take a look at the SCMI T130 class shapers like JR has. Course when you see the price tag I think that feature will become far less of a concern
good luck,
JeffD

[J.R. Rutter]

Digital height gauges on a shaper are a near necessity if you change cutters and come back to the same cuts over and over. I retrofit a few ProScales into various shapers that I had. Highly recommended. Keep track of spacers (if any) below the cutter and keep a log of heights for various cuts.

I really like the fence setup on my SCMI. It has a precision pivot at one end, a stop hanging down off the back that registers on the back of the table, and a tapered screw pin on the free swinging side. You can swing it away fro freehand work, and swing it back into exact position afterwards. Each fence half has mechanical digital readouts and handwheel adjustment for repeatability. I saw a similar MiniMax fence on eBay a couple of months ago and almost bought it before I remembered that I don't have anything o put it on ;-)

[Peter Quinn]

Thanks for the responses. I presently use a shop made coping sled that rides in the miter slot for coping door parts up to 1 3/4" thickness. I use the infeed fence as the reference for depth stop and it really has to be pretty parallel to the miter slot to avoid binding up. This is really the only thing I need the fence/miter slot parallel for, but its sort of a pain to get it there when I need it.

Jay, thanks for the info, the Felder rep made it seem like that fence stayed parallel within pretty tight tolerances. I'd love to have a fence with two big pins to locate the hood precisely relative to the miter slot and never have to fuss with this issue again.

[Jay Brewer]

Thanks for the responses. I presently use a shop made coping sled that rides in the miter slot for coping door parts up to 1 3/4" thickness. I use the infeed fence as the reference for depth stop and it really has to be pretty parallel to the miter slot to avoid binding up. This is really the only thing I need the fence/miter slot parallel for, but its sort of a pain to get it there when I need it.

Jay, thanks for the info, the Felder rep made it seem like that fence stayed parallel within pretty tight tolerances. I'd love to have a fence with two big pins to locate the hood precisely relative to the miter slot and never have to fuss with this issue again.

Peter, I used to use the Cope Crafter for all my copes. I had good luck setting the fence parallel and the right distance by using the wooden backer that is used to keep the cut from blowing out. Slide the jig back and forth in the slot and adjust the fence to it.

The Felder fence is a nice setup. What I think of as tight tolerances and a sales rep take on it is probably not the same. It only has to be out a couple thousands to make the work peice bind.

You could always step up to the class of shaper like JR's or a Martin

[Peter Quinn]

You could always step up to the class of shaper like JR's or a Martin

Yes Jay, but there would be no room to operate it effectively in the dog house in which I would then be living. Wife says something about not buying any more machines until I have billed enough shop time to pay for them? But maybe some day? In the mean time I can dream, and a PM2700 might come in $22,000 cheaper than a Martin if I can suffer the compromises. My wife loves a bargain!

Fence parallelism is something I would like to take seconds, not minutes. I have a quick jig in mind along the lines of a piece of MDF with a 3/4" dado 1/8" deep, a miter bar in that dado, rip the other edge parallel, use this as a gauge block against which to pull the fence while it is tightened.

[Jay Brewer]

We can dream cant we?. Your jig sound like it would be a fast and foolproof way to set the fence.

[Jeff Duncan]

I don't know if this will make your life easier, but I avoid using the miter slot all together. I made my coping sled so it rides against the fence itself. The rails are clamped aligning the parts to the end of the sled, so it's in the same position everytime and it doesn't rely on the fence being parallel to anything.

As for dreaming....I'm waiting for JR to upgrade to a Martin and put his SCM on the used market I could never justify the expense with the quantity of work I put out, but it sure would be a nice toy

JeffD

[Joe Jensen]

I don't know if this will make your life easier, but I avoid using the miter slot all together. I made my coping sled so it rides against the fence itself. The rails are clamped aligning the parts to the end of the sled, so it's in the same position everytime and it doesn't rely on the fence being parallel to anything.
JeffD

Same way I do it...joe

[J.R. Rutter]

JeffD and Joe - How do you guys get the fence aligned with the cutters for copes, assuming you evermove it?

[Joe Jensen]

JeffD and Joe - How do you guys get the fence aligned with the cutters for copes, assuming you evermove it?

I basically only use the shaper for doors. For copes;
1) Back off the outfeed fence
2) Extend the infeed fence too far forward
3) Put a steel rule on the infeed fence so it extends over the cutter that the point where the cutter would not be removing any material
4) Adjust the infeed until the steel rule just touches the cutter. I do this by gently rotating the cutter back and forth until it just kisses the steel rule
5) Rotate the cutter a little so the steel rule doesn't touch the cutter
6) Adjust the outfeed fence so it's in the same line as the infeed fence by bridging the steel rule between the fences.

Make sense?

[Erik Christensen]

I am considering either the Powermatic PM2700 or Grizzly G8621.

Both are 5HP 1 1/4" shapers and about the same price. I will add a power feed to whatever one I get.

So if you had to choose between digital height gauge or sliding table which one would you go for (green vs yellow paint aside)? My immediate need is for cabinet doors & drawers but as I have never owned a shaper not sure how I will use it down the road.

Thanks.

[Charlie Plesums]

The only thing I currently use my sliding table for on the shaper is the end of raised panels. The 21 inch travel on the Grizzly table seems pretty sparse... Larger doors have raised panels over 16 inches (allowing for starting the panel behind the cutter, and wanting to get past the cutter before removing the panel. On the PM2700 I expect to use the miter gauge to keep the panel perpendicular to the fence.

As several have suggested, getting the fence exactly parallel to the travel of the slider is difficult, so I like others usually use a jig against the fence, rather than the slider or miter fence.

I am not sure how a power feeder would work with the slider close to the cutter, like the Grizzly. I am also planning to use a power feeder with the PM2700.

I do make extensive use of the digital height readout. Great feature.

I don't have a separate router table, so the availability of a router spindle is important to me. I haven't asked Grizzly about router spindles on this machine, but their response on other Grizzly shapers was "who would want to do a dumb thing like that on a pro quality shaper?" Answer, I would, which is why I am looking elsewhere. Real men DO use router bits at times.

[Glenn Frazer]

Anybody that have a PM 2700 (preferably 5HP) care to comment on how they are holding up? Seems to be the best setup under $3500 (and it helps it is one machine that sells for the same price in Canada and the US without extra shipping costs

Glenn

[Chip Lindley]

...I avoid using the miter slot all together. I made my coping sled so it rides against the fence itself. The rails are clamped aligning the parts to the end of the sled, so it's in the same position everytime and it doesn't rely on the fence being parallel to anything.
JeffD

I fear than any coping operation that relies on the workpiece being held against a fence may suffer from being pushed out of perfect alignment by force of the cutter. Without a power feeder, the "armstrong" method would become tedious in a hurry!

A sled running in the miter slot provides perfect repeatability if the workpiece is held down securely. A reference point to index the workpiece is all that is needed. That could be a block clamped to the infeed fence, same as a tablesaw auxillary fence for duplicate cutoffs.

I find very little use for a split fence in shaper work. A big exception would be if used as a jointer. For straight raised panel work, a solid fence indexed to the depth of the cutter's rub collar serves to accurately guide the workpiece with, or without a power feeder.

Sticking of rails or running mouldings is best done using an outboard fence with power feeder or spring-loaded hold downs, insuring constant width of finished pieces.