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Thread: What size power feeder

  1. #1
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    What size power feeder

    I recently bought a small Grizzly G1035 shaper and would possibly like to get a small power feeder for it and possibly for use at the table saw. I have been a hobbyist wood work for 25 years but recently have started to do more and more business outside of friends and family. I don't envision myself being any kind of a full time woodworker any time soon but a small power feeder could maybe be justified if I found a used one for a good deal. What is the smallest size you guys think I could go with to use mainly on the shaper that is really small and possibly to mount to the table saw but I don't have to use it on the table saw at this point. What are the draw backs of the smaller feeders as opposed to the larger ones and are there any must have features to look for in a power feeder I may not be aware of?

  2. #2
    In my opinion, keeping your fingers away from the blade or cutter is justification enough for a feeder. I have a delta 3 wheeler 1 hp on my small delta hd shaper, and it is fine. A few bags of sand or gravel in the machine base would make it better. I have the machine near my jointer so that it can swing in place over the jointer as well.

    Wax on the table, and western roller rollers are a big plus.

  3. #3
    Keith,
    I wouldnt skimp on the feeder especially if you thinking of running it on the TS. A 1HP feeder, even if your doing intermittent work, will be something you will never regret buying. It feels like it hurts up front, but once you get to using it you'll wonder how you ever did without it. Saftey aside its just like having a second man in the shop with you. Think of it like the difference between hand nailing, and having a framing nailer. Same deal.

    We put a feeder on our saw for breaking down and one man can break down twice the material in less time. You can be walking to the pile while your current board is running. You blades will last longer due to higher and more consistent feed speeds. Your material off whatever machine will be far better. Its a win win.

    It stinks to look at dropping a chunk of change on something most see as a luxury but once you get one youll see its a necessity.

    Mark

  4. #4
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    Well the shaper is the main concern right now and it is a tiny 1.5 horse shaper thats just barely a step up from a router table maybe even a sideways step. If all I am going to use it for is the shaper, which is probably true at this point, could I get away with less. I am thinking I am going to have to mount the shaper on the wall because the table top is so small there will hardly be room to mount it on the table top of the shaper. What are the downsides of a lesser horsepower shaper? I would assume you are going to have slower feed rates and probably less options on feed rate if there is such a thing as variable speeds on a power feeder.

  5. #5
    I have 1/4hp, 1/2hp & 1hp feeders. A 1/2hp feeder is the biggest I would mount on your shaper. There is a huge difference in size between the 1/2hp & 1hp feeders. The 1/2hp feeder will handle anything you will be able to do on your shaper. As you stated, a slower feed rate is the down side to a low power shaper, but that will only be an issue with large cutters, stacked cope & stick sets & raised panel cutter.
    You will be able to do all of these cuts on your shaper. But, depending on the type of cut being made & material used, you will need to feed slower or make the cuts in several passes. All of the feeders I have, have 2 or 4 different speeds.
    Last edited by Chris Rosenberger; 12-09-2012 at 7:22 PM.

  6. #6
    Kieth,
    With regards to real estate on your small table, the configuration you have it in currently with the router bit installed has the fence in an extreme rear position. This is a fence location that will likely happen less often once you start running shaper cutters and seeing the advantage. Even with that, you still likely have enough room in the rear corners for the feeder.

    We have router collets for one of our 5HP shapers and I can honestly say I have chucked a router bit in that shaper perahps 5 times. This isnt to say you wont use router bits but it may become less common. They are great for fill-in's when you have some router bits that can bide you some time but again, if your doing any volume of work at all I would guess you will slowly and steadily build a library of affordable cutters that can serve many purposes. At places like Ollea you can often find cutters that will serve a multitude of uses from rebating, to coves, round overs, easing edges, and so on all on a single cutter that may run only slightly more than a high quality router bit.

    I for instance have picked up several large odd ball panel raising cutters in the mid $100 range that I often use for plowing out big rabbets, finger pulls, door edge profiles, and so on. All from a single cutter.

    All that aside, my guess you will likely have no problem table mounting a feeder but I could be wrong..

    Mark

  7. #7
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    As stated, a 1/2 HP feeder is an optimum size for your machine, or a larger machine.

    I have a 1/2 HP feeder on a Hammer B3 Winner, it's perfect.

    You should look into a Euro block cutter that takes HSS knives for about $20 a pair. Be sure you get the chip limitation head, and use it with the feeder as it's not MAN rated.

    Purchase The Spindle Molder Handbook by Stephenson. It's the ony up to date shaper book I've found, the others are decades out of date with respect to machines, accessories, safety devices etc.

    Enjoy your shaper, regards, Rod/

  8. #8
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    I have been wondering about why the fence is almost at its farthest back position and it just barely clears the center of the spindle. I understand that shaper cutters are generally much larger then router bits but this only uses a 1/2 inch or 3/4 spindle and looking at the cutters they aren't going to be that much bigger. I am getting ready to start a whole other thread about the damn fence if I can get some more time to mess with it. It sounds like a 1/2 hp feeder is probably the biggest and maybe the best option but after doing some reading on the web site I am starting to think I might try and pick up a used 1/4 hp and see how things go. This whole shaper thing is a little bit of an experiment for me so for the time being I really will be using it almost like a router and less like a big shaper. Edge profiles and a new rail and style set will be the biggest thing I run through this for the time being. I have had a raised panel bit for my router for 5 years and have never used it once. I am not a big fan of raised panels. If I see a use for this machine I will probably upgrade to a 3 hp power machine and get a 1 horse feeder and sell all this stuff for about what I paid for it.

  9. #9
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    I'd think a 1/4hp feeder would honestly handle most of the things that size of shaper is capable of and not tip the machine over doing it. A full 1HP is overkill for that shaper and excessively heavy, though if you see yourself growing, you could certainly grow into the bigger feeder. The "baby" feeders (1/8HP?) are not much use IME, maybe for a router table or some very small cutters? They aren't stiff enough to give consistent results over a range of processes. The 1/2HP feeders are pretty close in terms of size and utility to the 1HP, often they are equipped with the same bases as the 1 HP models by the manufacturer, but the smaller motor cuts a bit of weight. Looking in the grizzly catalogue, with 3 wheels, 1 HP feeders ships at 140LBS, 1/2HP 107LBS, 1/4HP 79LBS.

    If the table has no space you might consider a mending plate approach, which basically involves bolting a 1/2" steel plate or angle iron to the top/sides of the table, this extends off the edge of the table, you bolt the feeder to this. Down side, you are cantilevering the weight, so caution must be used when swinging the feeder off to the side on a smaller machine so as not to flip it over if you go with a larger feeder. My larger shaper has a version of this, but it weights close to 900#, so no flipping over. But it does buy some valuable real estate on the table. You could consider bolting some angle irons to the base to act as outriggers for stability if you have the space and it doesn't creating a tripping hazard in your shop, and some bags of rocks in the bottom of the base would't hurt either.

    I use a lot of router bits but honestly prefer using them in my router table, I've never bothered to source a router collet for any of the shapers I've had. I'd rather have a basic router table than make special accommodations to use router bits on the shaper. I see the appeal getting started, cost wise, but I guess I had a router table before I had the shapers, I had the space, so I kept it in service

  10. #10
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    I think a 1/4 hp will fit on the table and probably fit my needs for now. One thing I don't like is the height adjustments and the horizontal adjustments on the 1/4 hp feeders looks pretty rinky dink and I hope it doesn't take forever to get the thing set up properly.

  11. #11
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    Keith.. I have a 3 wheel 1/4 hp mounted on my router table and I think it would be more than capable for your requirements. I also have a 4 wheel 1 hp model that would be overkill. I am confused about your comments on the adjustments on the 1/4 hp adjustments as they are the same on the 1/4 and up to the 1 hp models that I have seen. I suspect you are referring to the 1/8 hp models that have a much lighter frame for the motor. Good luck with your venture.

    brian

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Ross View Post
    Keith.. I have a 3 wheel 1/4 hp mounted on my router table and I think it would be more than capable for your requirements. I also have a 4 wheel 1 hp model that would be overkill. I am confused about your comments on the adjustments on the 1/4 hp adjustments as they are the same on the 1/4 and up to the 1 hp models that I have seen. I suspect you are referring to the 1/8 hp models that have a much lighter frame for the motor. Good luck with your venture.

    brian
    On the base height adjustments, my experience has been the same. 1/4 HP through 1 HP have very similar bases,,all,of which are quite rigid. I know a small shop pro who uses a 1/4 hp feeder regularly on his TS, no issues, the smaller motor/gear box is easier to adjust. The 1/8 hp baby feeders are a bit flimsy in comparison and IMO best avoided for this application.

  13. #13
    I just ordered a 1 hp feeder and 3 hp shaper from Grizzly. Called and asked the tech which size to order, as my neighbor has the same 3 hp shaper and a 1/2 hp feeder. The tech said he always has recommended the 1 hp feeder because the 3 hp shaper is a beast. But my neighbor likes his 1/2 hp just fine. He says the feeder holds the parts much steadier than he can with his hands, even with the fingerboards you have to use.

  14. #14
    I have a 1/2hp Co Matic four wheel and power wise I don't see any functional difference in it and the 1hp feeders I have used. It has never hesitated and I like the fourth wheel.

    For some reason the manufacturers put a different base and arms on the 1hp unit and it works better.

    An old mill man told me that you can bend the shaper spindle with a large cut, fast feed rate, and powerful feeder. I'd guess your shaper has a half, or possibly 3/4 inch spindle so this may be of interest to you.

  15. #15
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    Hi Keith, the smallest cutters I've seen have been around 2 inches in diameter.

    If that's the smallest cutter, then the fence doesn't even need to go back more than 1/2" in FRONT of the spindle centre line.

    For most shaper cutters that start around 4" in diameter, the fence wouldn't have to go more than 1 1/2" in front of the spindle center line.

    Regards, Rod.

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