Shaper cutters, 2 wing, 3 wing...pros and cons.

[chris del]

I have a 1973 cast iron Canadian made Poitras shaper. It is a single speed 8500 rpm and leaves a fenomanal finish with my first and only cutter, a Freud 5" 2+2 raised panel cutter.
I am looking at buying a good quality rail and style set and have seen both 2 and 3 wing Freeborn cutters. Why should I buy one over the other?

[Bob Dodge]

Hi Chris,

I'm glad to hear you had good results with the Freud 2+2 cutter. I've heard many similar comments over the last while. Where did you buy it?

I'm presuming the 3-wing cutters would leave a smoother finish since you'd have 50% more cuts-per-rotation. Also, you could increase your feed-rate.

Still looking for a shaper here. Found a very nice 3 HP Delta, at a fairly reasonable price, but it'll have to wait a bit longer. Also went to see a 5 HP King Industrial. Very nice machine.

Bob

[Stephen Morrison]

Chris,
I have a Delta 3 hp shaper with a 3/4" spindle and use the Freeborn 2 wing rail and stile set along with a Freeborn 2 wing raised panel cutter. I have been extremely pleased with the results of these cutters. Clean cuts with no burning what-so-ever. I do not have a power feeder yet, so everything has been pushed through by hand with great results.

The Freeborn cutters are the only cutters I have used to this point, so I can't compare to anything else, but I can't imagine anything better. The Freeborn tooling is quite an investment and you'll definately be able to find less expensive cutters, depending on your budget.

Good luck with decision.

Steve

[Steve Clardy]

Three wing.
Smoother finish, less tearout

[Phil Pritchard]

Three wing.
Smoother finish, less tearout

Only if the same feed rate is maintained , alternatively

Three wing.
Same finish at higher rate of feed