what shaper to buy

[Jim Kountz]

well guys thaks for the help this would be for production runs of doors and cabinets.

Man if you could pull it off a shaper is the tool for the job when you're talking production runs. You wont regret it!

Jim

[Greg Funk]

Greg, Just curoius; are you talking about a molder head setup for a tablesaw?

No, I was thinking more of a Williams & Hussey or clone. At the time I didn't want to spend the money on the W&H but I believe you can get similar performance from a ShopFox for much lower cost.

Greg

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jason, I have a 3HP General international shaper for home use, no router table.

The shaper in my opinion, is better than the router table, less vibration, cast iron top, induction motor, good fence etc. My shaper has two spindle speeds 8,000/10,000 RPM, which works OK for router bits, however router bits do not have as good cutting geometry as shaper cutters.

Bottom line is the shaper cutters make much faster, smoother cuts.

GI have a promotion in the US now for the shaper I have 40-250M1 for $1,349.

They also have larger shapers 40-450 which is 5 or 7.5HP for $3,490.

A feeder is a must for panel raising as it's too difficult to push the panel at a constant speed and provide sufficient pressure onto the table and into the fence. Not to mention it keeps your fingers out of harms way.

Regards, Rod.

[Dick Sylvan]

As to feeders, it is MMHO that a shaper without a feeder is an incomplete machine. However, the small feeders you can buy for a few hundred bucks are really not substantial enough for a 3hp shaper.

David,
I just took delivery on a Hammer combo which has a 4hp shaper. What would you reccomend as an appropriate power feeder?
Thanks,
Dich

[David DeCristoforo]

"...What would you recommend as an appropriate power feeder..."

Any good quality "full sized" feeder will work. Delta, Felder, PM, whatever. The variables are speed range, number of wheels, HP, etc. I would look for a 1 hp 3 wheel reversible feeder for as good a price as you can find. For a "bit" more dough you can get a 4 wheel feeder which is sweet because you can have 2 wheels on both the infeed and the outfeed side. Also, you need a special bracket to mount a feeder on the Hammer:
http://usa.felder-gruppe.at/?page=shop_node&node=1345
Trust me on this...you gotta have this bracket!. Otherwise you will have to unbolt the feeder base every time you need to clear the machine table.

[Mark Duginske]

One thing you don't mention is your budget. There are any number of good machines out there in the 3hp range which, in spite of many opinions to the contrary, will simply blow away any router table setup. In this range, you should look for interchangeable spindles, usually 1/2", 3/4" and a router collet. In addition, many machines in this class also offer a 1" spindle option but this is not a particularly useful size.

Going to a larger machine would get you 5-7HP and a 1.25" spindle and maybe even a tilting spindle but the investment will be much greater and will probably prove to be "overkill" for your use. The smaller machine will mean a couple of passes for "full" RP profiles in hard woods but that's not the end of the world. In fact, it is often much better to run RPs in two passes anyway, the first to "hog off" most of the material and the second to clean up.

As to feeders, it is MMHO that a shaper without a feeder is an incomplete machine. However, the small feeders you can buy for a few hundred bucks are really not substantial enough for a 3hp shaper. Unfortunately, the larger feeders are much more expensive and a small feeder would be better than none at all.

I would not presume to tell you which brand of shaper to buy but I will tell you that if I were buying a new 3HP shaper today it would be a General.

THIS IS WELL WRITTEN AND TO THE POINT. The shaper is not just a larger router. If one is going to get serious especailly about production, ie, doors chairs, etc. a shaper is a better choice. I was in a store recently and watched a "newby" spend $1,500 on a shiny red router table. That same $1,500 would have bought a shaper with router collets.