Originally Posted by
Mark Wooden
While the quick preview of the video in very informative, I'm betting he did not make the swan neck molding on that shaper, or any shaper in that class. More likely a W&H molder or machine like it.
It's disturbing that they put things like that in sales brochures and videos, prompts people to buy the wrong thing.
Yes, most rub collars are based on bearings so they don't burn the pattern and are less prone to kickback.
The shaper is a mainstay in any custom cabinet or millwork shop; I have 3 and can't imagine being without one.
The fences on many of those machines really could use some refinement but before you decide it's no good, do the reading and if you can, visit a cabinet/millwork shop and ask to watch a shaper in action. This will give you a much better understanding of what the operations of a fence are. One problem I've seen more often than not on those machines is the fence halves aren't coplanar. This can be corrected with a jointer. Other refinements can usually be made with a little tweaking here and there.