Seeking advice from the Shaper Gurus
Help!!!
My new toy has just arrived from Grizzly, in the form of a 3hp Shaper G1026. Still in the box. The last time I worked on one of these were with my Dad as a kid, 20 years ago, so please help with some questions.
1.) How do I decide what spindle speed to run, 7,000 RPM or 10,000 RPM?
2.) Where do I find the best selection of shaper cutters and also knives as well as knife steel for a 3″ corrugated head?
3.) For cabinet doors, are the rail and stile joints strong enough or do I remain old school and do these with mortise and tenon joints, as in the old days?
4.) How effective is dust collection on these machines?
5.) With the ability to reverse direction, does this mean I can install a shaper cutter any way up, or must the relief side of the cutter always face upwards?
Thanks for any advice in advance.
Willie
Replies
Jellyrug ,
Congrats on the new tool . The spindle speed is not as critical as some may think, I would use the higher speed except perhaps on large diameter cutters , routers spin closer to 20,000 rpm . There are so many sources for cutters , many of them have basically the same selection. For cabinet doors a stile and rail set is commonly used , most have a 1/2" deep tenon or tongue , you can also dowel the joints before you shape them , but this could be considered overkill. Dust collection can be almost totally effective capturing all the dust and chips before they become airborne at the source, my fences have a dust collector box and hose on the back side 4" hose works well. As far as the reversing of directions you can run most cutters up or down , in effect you may want to either run face up or face down on your stock , depending on the cut you are making. An example is when running stile and rail for door parts I run face down so any minor differences will be on the back side of the door. Remember you also will feed from the opposite direction, also .I have never felt as comfortable feeding from my left , being right handed. Cutters for spindle sizes 1" and up seem to be much heavier duty , and larger diameter and do cost a bit more , but I would stongly reccomend buying 1" cutters and using sleeves to fit on a 3/4" spindle if that is what you have.
hope this gives you a bit of info be safe dusty
This may be overkill,however when I reverse the spindle on the shaper,I always place a jam nut on top of the nut holding the cutter to the spindle flange. Looking down on the spindle,counter clockwise spindle rotation tends to tighten the spindle nut.The reverse rotation might tend to loosen it.Thank you,Mr.Croney,where ever you may be.
Work safely ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Edited 11/6/2004 6:23 pm ET by Pat
As to your questions. the speed does make a difference, mainly as to the thickness, feed rate and diameter of the cutters. I hope a manual came with it to help you "guestimate" speeds/feed rate.
Yes to dust collector. I have a 1100cfm single bag with a canister filter made by Jet and love it.
I would recommend a power feeder. 8 speeds is better. Three rollrs is minimal(4 roller even better) I had a Jet 4 roller and it was more than sufficient and the price was more than affordable.
Talk to your local saw sharpening shop. Hopefully they make custom cutters. As for off the shel, King Cutter in Socal is on the high side, and I prefer Freeborn. Try looking up Ballew Saw on the internet. They have good pricing. I believe that Sunhill Machinery is still selling shaper cutters. I think they have a sale going on right now, or did a few months ago. They aren't too far from you.
I prefer to run all my stile/raile face down and raised panels face up. But then, I don't usually run clockwise, unless I need a special set up and then I'm very carefull
Cope and stick is fine for cabinet doors. That's how Decorative Specialties make their's. Iv'e been making my own or using them for 20 years and I have never had a a joint fail...
Congratulations on your new purchase.In answer to some of your questions ;
1) The speeds you use are a function of cutter diameter ,size of cutter and profile,hardness of material being cut,feed rate of material etc.This makes a specific recommendation unreliable.As miagraine suggests read any books ,manuals that you can find from the manufacturers of both cutters and machine.
2)Freeborn, Freud,Wisconsin Knife Works for knives or cutters
3)Rail and stile cope and stick joints work very well and are the industry norm
4)Very good control of dust using pick up off the dust port .
5)Use caution when reversing rotation.I have had the nut spin off and don't foget to change feed direction ,in/out fence differences,feeder toe in etc.
6)Buy a power feeder
7) Lastly remember that unlike a tablesaw which generally only kicks you in line with the fence,eats hands within the table area a shaper will do all of the above and give added thrills by launching shrapnel in an effort to kill you anywhere in the shop.We run 5 and 3 hp machines daily with tenoning knives,serrated cutters etc,and have had knives shatter.Largely through inexperianced operators or careless set up.My strongest recommendation to you is be very cautious with the setup no distractions from kids ,wife,phone etc or you will not stay intact to enjoy them.Don't be put off by this just tread lightly and you will find it a great asset
www.stobartdavies.com
I suggest you get a good book and the best book on shapers is available at Sobart Davies. The old Deltagram books had an excellent book on shapers.
http://cambiumbooks.com/books/woodworking_machines/0941936694/
Roger Cliffe's book is OK.
The shaper is a very sophisticated tool. In most mill shops there would be one guy who was in charge of it. It takes a lifetime to learn all that can be done with one.
I suggest you look at the magic moulder head by LRH for the best bang for your buck. The shaper is the cheap part...the tooling is what costs in the long run.
http://www.woodtechtooling.com/Magic_Molder/magic_molder.html
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