Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | Feb 08, 2006 03:23am | #1

   Nelson,

   The conventional answer, that you will see mentioned whenever this question comes up, is that a standard shaper turns too slowly to be used with router bits.  But during the 1920's through the 1950's, before hand held routers became popular, router bits were regularly used in small bench top shapers and drill presses that turned at only moderate speeds and they worked quite well.

   You will probably find that small diameter router bits are slower cutting and leave a slightly rougher finish when used in a shaper, but that the larger profile bits and panel raising bits will work quite well and will be more economical to buy compared to conventional shaper tooling.

   If your shaper has a three phase motor, you can hook it up to an inverter speed control and run the motor at higher than its normal speed, though not without some risk of excess wear and tear on the motor and the shaper's bearings.

   John White 

   
   

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   Edited 2/8/2006 8:42 am ET by JohnWW

1. 
   Nelson | Feb 08, 2006 07:45pm | #2

   John:

   Thank you for your timely reply.  I calculated the surface speed of a 1.0" router cutter at 2618 ft/min and my 3 wing shaper cutters at 7690 ft/min; quite a significant difference at 10,000 rpm.  By comparison, a 10.0" saw blade in my Unisaw spins at 10,472 ft/min.  Wishful thinking on my part that I could get by without building a complex router table with lifts and an adjustable fence.

   Norm Nelson 

1. 
   JohnWW | Feb 08, 2006 09:30pm | #3

   Norm,

   I am not convinced, based on what I know about the older woodworking machines, that a router bit spinning at 3,000 to 4,000 rpm can't give a decent quality cut.  I would have to do some experimenting to be sure though, which I can't do at the moment, though I may try next week.

   If you wanted to try out a router bit at lower speeds, try chucking one in a drill press with a simple fence on the table and do some experimenting.  The fact that several manufacturers over the years have made router chuck arbors for their shapers would suggest that they must work at least reasonably well.

   Another thing you can try is to post your question in the Tools section of this site and see if someone answers that has actually used a router arbor on a shaper.

   John

   Edited 2/8/2006 5:50 pm ET by JohnWW

   Edited 2/8/2006 5:51 pm ET by JohnWW