T & G shaper cutters

[joe milana]

Looking for cutters to do some 1" thick "mission" style cabinet doors & panels, & other general T & G tasks. I'm not finding a "set" per se, and am looking for suggestions. Should I instead be looking at groovers & spacers instead? Must be 1 1/4" bore. TIA!

[Jeff Duncan]

If you already have any component cope and stick sets check them first....all my LRH and Freeborn sets will do a 1-1/8" shaker style door. If not you could try groovers and spacers but may be more a PITA than they're worth in that particular situation?

Alternatively, once you pick up that Euro block you can just get a set of knives for that

good luck,
JeffD

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a set that will do from 1 1/8 down to 7/16. I got them from Ballew Saw and Tool, not positive on the brand. The adjustability is handy. I do a lot of solid wood backs in cabinets so usually have them set for 7/16. 1 1/4" bore.

Larry

[joe milana]

If you already have any component cope and stick sets check them first....all my LRH and Freeborn sets will do a 1-1/8" shaker style door. If not you could try groovers and spacers but may be more a PITA than they're worth in that particular situation?

Alternatively, once you pick up that Euro block you can just get a set of knives for that

good luck,
JeffD

The couple freeborn set I have came with the 1/2" tongue option & won't do T&G. I looked at the corrugated heads from Schmidt and they are very reasonable. I talked to the local knife grinder, and they are extremely pricy. I'll have to look around for someone to help me with the knives.

[joe milana]

I have a set that will do from 1 1/8 down to 7/16. I got them from Ballew Saw and Tool, not positive on the brand. The adjustability is handy. I do a lot of solid wood backs in cabinets so usually have them set for 7/16. 1 1/4" bore.

Larry

Larry, a set of what? Groovers? or a T&G set? i can call them, but I'm not sure what I would be asking about.

[David Peterson MN]

http://www.amanatool.com/shaper/miss...ercutters.html

Check these out. I bought this set last fall and have used it several times. They are adustable using shims so you can get a nice fit with undersized plywood. The only negative is sliding the shims /up the shaper spindle. My shaper spindle is 1 1/4. I keep a separate list handy so I know how many shims I need to use to repeat a cut.

[Peter Quinn]

Have you checked out a Euro block set like the Amana profile pro? They have T&G knives in 6MM tongue, 8MM tongue and 10MM tongue. Its around $45 for two pair of knives from my local seller, so it doesn't get more cost effective than that.

[joe milana]

http://www.amanatool.com/shaper/miss...ercutters.html

Check these out. I bought this set last fall and have used it several times. They are adustable using shims so you can get a nice fit with undersized plywood. The only negative is sliding the shims /up the shaper spindle. My shaper spindle is 1 1/4. I keep a separate list handy so I know how many shims I need to use to repeat a cut.

Now those look pretty versatile.

Have you checked out a Euro block set like the Amana profile pro? They have T&G knives in 6MM tongue, 8MM tongue and 10MM tongue. Its around $45 for two pair of knives from my local seller, so it doesn't get more cost effective than that.

Kinda leaning towards a serrated cutter head. Just haven't priced the knives yet.

[Jeff Duncan]

The couple freeborn set I have came with the 1/2" tongue option & won't do T&G. I looked at the corrugated heads from Schmidt and they are very reasonable. I talked to the local knife grinder, and they are extremely pricy. I'll have to look around for someone to help me with the knives.

If you have the Freeborn sets and the only difference is the tongue cutter, you should be able to just order the normal 1/4" groovers that would go with the set from Freeborn, no? I'm just not familiar with that option and if the other cutters are the same?


Corrugated knives are a bit spendy, roughly figure about $50 per inch. However if you end up with a Euro block you can get a pair of knives for something like $20 or $30. Somebody sells them on ebay all the time. Even if you buy through a retailer I'm sure the prices are still way lower than corrugated.

I know we hit on this a little on another thread, but the corrugated gives you the most flexibility with knives and different profiles. The Euro blocks give you access to inexpensive knives and can offer a lot of options albeit in a very limited height range. Ultimately if you do a lot of shaper work you may end up with both....and that's not a bad thing at all

good luck,
JeffD

[Stephen Cherry]

Corrugated knives are a bit spendy, roughly figure about $50 per inch. However if you end up with a Euro block you can get a pair of knives for something like $20 or $30. Somebody sells them on ebay all the time. Even if you buy through a retailer I'm sure the prices are still way lower than corrugated.

I know we hit on this a little on another thread, but the corrugated gives you the most flexibility with knives and different profiles. The Euro blocks give you access to inexpensive knives and can offer a lot of options albeit in a very limited height range. Ultimately if you do a lot of shaper work you may end up with both....and that's not a bad thing at all

good luck,
JeffD

I had these short tenon knives made by Dave at Oella saw. Can't remember what they cost, but they were not expensive. Adjustable for thickness of the tounge, plus, they can be resharpened. Dave also has groovers. If you have a reasonable sized shaper, these could be stacked.

For anything corrugated (or anything shaper- new or used), I would give Oella saw a call. I know that he ships these knives all over the world, and I think that low prices are part of the equation.



IMG_1630.jpg

[Jeff Duncan]

Stephen, that's an interesting way to get some flexibility on a budget, how do you run you sticking, (or groove depending on the situation), cuts? Do you have a variety of different sized grooving knives, or one narrow set that you offset?

FWIW....I just looked it up and the 2.75" tall tongue and groove knives I had made for some 2-1/4" thick doors ran me $258.

On the other hand this profile for the bolection moldings only ran about $109

.

Not necessarily cheap, then again neither were the custom doors I built with them

[Peter Quinn]

Now those look pretty versatile.



Kinda leaning towards a serrated cutter head. Just haven't priced the knives yet.

I'm paying $40-60/inch of profile, depending on complexity, depth, etc. I think a bit more for a template? The corrugated head is a great investment and will sure get the job done, the euro block will also get this job done at 1/3 the cost, just not capable of running deep profiles and not a real cost effective way to get custom profiles made. It costs nearly the same to get custom knives made for the euro blocks as getting them in corrugated steel. I have both, and for many of the stock euro block profiles its worth it to me, just dirt cheap.

[joe milana]

I had these short tenon knives made by Dave at Oella saw. Can't remember what they cost, but they were not expensive. Adjustable for thickness of the tounge, plus, they can be resharpened. Dave also has groovers. If you have a reasonable sized shaper, these could be stacked.

For anything corrugated (or anything shaper- new or used), I would give Oella saw a call. I know that he ships these knives all over the world, and I think that low prices are part of the equation.



IMG_1630.jpg

I ran this idea by the guys at Ballew & they said they tried it & it didn't work very well for them. Had fit & burning problems. Not sure why.

[Stephen Cherry]

I ran this idea by the guys at Ballew & they said they tried it & it didn't work very well for them. Had fit & burning problems. Not sure why.

I don't really get any burning, Dave at Oella mentioned that this could be a problem if the cutters were not maid to avoid it. For the hole, I use a small diameter carbide cutter, or a hollow chisel mortiser (for small tables). For setup, I use a piece of granite tile and digital calipers and hight. Takes about 3 minutes.



IMG_1746.jpg

[joe milana]

Just found out that Freeborn has an adjustable groover for their C & P sets. With this I can do T & G style doors & panels, and be able to adjust for panel thickness if I use ply for the panel. The groover adjusts from just under 3/16" to just over 5/16". This set is similar to the Amana set, but it's Major Dia. is 4" instead of 3" for the Amana, and it's made in the USA!