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Thread: Jet JWS-22CS Shaper

  1. #1
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    Jet JWS-22CS Shaper

    I am considering the Jet JWS-22CS Shaper / Router with 1.5hp motor, 7000 to 9000 rpm. I was wondering if this Shaper motor is stronger than the hand held Router like the PC890? I can buy this Shaper at a good price, its in new condition or should I just buy a Router table and lift?
    http://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/jws-22cs-1-1-2hp-shaper-1ph-115-230v-1-2-and-3-4-spindle/708320



    I appreciate your input.


    Thanks!
    Ed

  2. #2
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    I have a shaper and I have a router. I think the shaper has more torque.

  3. #3
    I looked at similar Jet and General models about two years ago and decided that they were neither fish nor fowl - i.e. not enough power for many shaper functions, too much overhead for many router functions.

    On the plus side: they weigh about 200 pounds, so stability is pretty good. With smaller cuts and better airflow over the motor they can handle big workloads; you can use a power feeder with them; they're much quieter than routers; and they're much easier to handle than the 500+ pound, 3HP, delta clone (craftex/grizzly) I ended up with.

    On the other hand.. cutters are expensive. Even using the 1/2" collet cutters cost twice what 1/4" router cutters do - and four times as much for the 3/4" spindle. The lift table idea doesn't apply - and neither do many jigs/tools built for the router table world.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by ed vitanovec View Post
    I am considering the Jet JWS-22CS Shaper / Router with 1.5hp motor, 7000 to 9000 rpm. I was wondering if this Shaper motor is stronger than the hand held Router like the PC890? I can buy this Shaper at a good price, its in new condition or should I just buy a Router table and lift?
    http://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/jws-22cs-1-1-2hp-shaper-1ph-115-230v-1-2-and-3-4-spindle/708320



    I appreciate your input.


    Thanks!
    Ed
    The shaper is a lot more powerful. A 1 1/2 HP induction motor has somewhere around 2.5-3x the power of a PC 890's universal motor, despite the PC 890 being rated at "2 1/4 HP." Induction motors are rated typically at a power level that they can run at indefinitely within their temperature rise, and this is about 1/3 to 1/4 of the power they can temporarily make when maximally loaded and at peak torque. Universal motors are generally listed as making the absolute maximum power they can make temporarily when maximally loaded. A common sense idiot-check on this is that the shaper is able to run 3/4" bore tooling that is much larger than anything you'd dare run on the PC 890.

    I have a router in a table as well as a shaper. My router is a PC 890 in a Norm Abram table and my shaper is an old 4 hp direct drive double spindle shaper that came with 1 1/8" spindles and turns at about 7000 rpm. They can do some of the same tasks but they are very different machines and a task is typically much better suited for one vs. the other. I use the router table to work on smaller pieces (things less than about a foot long that can't be run on a coping sled well), anything that has small radius template work, and anything that requires a colleted bit such as a veining bit, core box bit, or straight cutter. I use the shaper for pretty much everything else and definitely for anything of any size. The shaper is much quieter, much smoother, and the cut quality from its much larger cutters are better than what I get out of router bits. The shaper has an integrated lift that works as well or better than a router lift. It can do things like raise a panel or hog out a rabbet in one pass that a router would take many passes to do.

    You can do a lot of work with a small 3/4" spindle 1 1/2 hp shaper, those were the approximate specs of the original Delta HD shapers that were very widely used. But in general being able to handle larger cutters such as panel raisers and run things with one pass is something that you see with 5 hp+ 1 1/4" spindle units. Shaper cutters can be pricey but not as much as you would think for a similar profile. I see the difference for import stuff is about twice as much for 3/4" bore shaper cutter vs a 1/2" shank router bit. Also remember a 3/4" bore shaper cutter is much more stable and smoother cutting than a router bit, especially the cheap 1/4" shank units. One thing you can do with a shaper that you can't do with a router is use a knife head. Buy the head once for ~$100-150 and then knives are cheap, I can get a set of knives for about $20 for mine and it's great, that's cheaper than many router bits.

    Weight is both a good and bad thing with a shaper. A heavy shaper is solid and has less vibration than a lighter one but is harder to move, but weight in my opinion only really starts to be an issue once you get somewhere well over 1000 pounds as long as you can have the unit on a mobile base. I have a 700 pound planer and a 900 pound radial arm saw on mobile bases and they move easily. The double spindle shaper is somewhere around 2200 pounds and it takes a bit of grunt to get it to move on its custom made mobile base.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Yes, the shaper will be stronger, even though the router has a higher advertised HP rating.
    There is a lot of mass in that shaper motor compared to a router, and all of the parts are significantly thicker and heavier. The mechanical connection to the cutter head is just stronger.

    Yes, shaper bits can be expensive. Sometimes really expensive! However, there are tons of them on eBay, Craigslist, etc. In the "standard profiles" it would probably work out as a wash if you were patient.

    That shaper is a lighter duty shaper than I would prefer, but that's just my opinion. If you look used you can find deals on shapers, complete with many cutter heads, and possibly a power feeder, for about the same price as the Jet new. I bought my Delta Shaper from a fellow 'Creeker and it came with an assortment of cutters, that if purchased new, would exceed the price I paid for everything. It came completely setup to make cabinets.

    Don't worry about finding parts for old Delta Shapers. Many of the parts from model to model are interchangeable and there are tons of them out there. In fact there are eBay stores, and sellers, that exclusively sell parted out machines.
    Last edited by Mike Cutler; 08-19-2017 at 9:45 AM.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  6. #6
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    My shaper is a 160's vintage and is very solid.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    My shaper is an old one, Delta 1960's vintage and is very solid.

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