Replies

1. 
   ErnieConover | Nov 30, 2006 03:27pm | #1

   It is probably worth perusing the shaper market, as it may be little more to get a nice small shaper and there are some dandies out there these days. What is more if you purchase a collet spindle a shaper can run router bits and is essentially a high end router table. A shaper generally runs at a lower speed, traditionally 10,000 rpm, while a router runs at 20,000 to 22,000 rpm. For the table use you describe the router must have speed control to bring it down to the 10,000 rpm area to safely run large bits, however. A shaper runs cutters that can be thought of as a saw blade. This allows the cutter to be turned over on the spindle, the spindle reversed and the stock run backwards. This allows running a mirror image of the profile saving on buying an extra cutter sometimes. (Not a big deal.) Finally a shaper sometimes has a tilting spindle which allows running a profile out correctly if stock thickness is not quite right. Your need for this feature is probably nonexistent. I think we need to do a Ben Franklin of pros and cons of the shaper over the router table with lift mechanism.

   Shaper Pros
   1 Very rigid, level table with highly adjustable fence which can be faced with sacrificial wood.
   2 With a collet spindle it can run router bits adding economy to many tasks and short run jobs.
   3 With a shaper cutter (especially three wing) gives a superior finish to a router in most cases.)
   4 Easy to mount stock feeders and hold downs.
   5 Can reverse spindle direction to get mirror image of profile
   6 Lots of power as induction motor is more real power where the rubber meets the road than a universal motor used in a router.
   7 Generally easier to adjust all things in a shaper reference a router table.

   Cons
   1 Expensive (but maybe not that much more than new router and lift mechanism.)
   2 Shaper cutters are expensive reference router bits.
   3 More dangerous (due to larger diameters of bits, greater horsepower and knowing correct direction to feed reference spindle rotation).

   With best regards,
   Ernie Conover

   
   

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   Edited 11/30/2006 7:29 am ET by ErnieConover