Sell router table or keep?

[Patrick Kane]

I recently moved a used KF700 into my shop a 1.5-2 weeks ago. I started a new job last week and have been swamped. It's unfortunate, but i have only wired plug on the machine to confirm it runs. It isnt even completely assembled in my space, because i had to break i down to the main body to get it through my door. I purchased it with the curiosity of trying out a slider, but also to replace my kapex, MFT, and jessem router table to consolidate shop space and subsidize the purchase. Im confident i wont miss the kapex or MFT with the slider in place, but i havent sold the jessem table yet. I havent touched the shaper and have no idea if ill miss having a router table setup for some operations. The felder has the high speed router spindle, so in theory it should be able to replace my jessem. Is there any reason to keep my router table setup in lieu of recouping $800-1000? Thats a fair amount of cash to put towards shaper tooling(have none) or put back in my pocket after buying the felder. I also recognize i dont know enough to know and dont want to let the router table go now only to realize i should have kept it 2 months from now. Replacement cost for the setup is probably $1600+, and im not hurting that badly for cash to rush and sell it now. What does the group think? Start using the shaper and i wont ever think about the router table again, or keep it around? For reference, ive primarily used the table for templating and fast round overs on small project parts the last 6 months. I need to go back atleast 9 months to think of a time where i was making cabinet doors etc.

[Don Jarvie]

Sell it and put the money towards shaper cutters. The shaper can handle bigger jobs and the Felder does have a router.

Keep tabs at IRS Auctions. I see quite a few shaper cutters in some of the auctions.

[Rod Sheridan]

Patrick, sell the router table and buy some cutters for the shaper................Regards, Rod.

[James Zhu]

I have KF700sp in the two car garage, and I keep the router table. Felder router spindle is not cheap, about $1000, and rpm is still low compared to router.

Besides, the changeover between saw and shaper still takes some effort, not so easy. Shaper is a very versatile tool. Saw/shaper combo is a compromise to me. If I had space, I would definitely buy a separate shaper.

James

[Cary Falk]

Since getting a shaper 5+ years ago, I haven't touched my router table. Router table is a home made bench top without a lift. Shaper is a stand alone.

[Patrick Kane]

I have the router spindle already, so that isnt an added cost. I didnt realize it cost that much though, thats a thought to sell the router spindle and maybe keep the table...

Im sure ill find out all about the downsides to a saw/shaper combo. For me, the shaper is something i wont use too often, and i have a unisaw for the times the shaper is setup and i need to make a quick cut because i botched something.

Alright, i think i will move forward on selling the router table. If anything, i might add a really cheap router table in my unisaw's extension wing and leave a roundover bit in it. I shouldnt need a precise lift, fence, or miter slider for something simple. Quickly learning that $1000 wont get me too far in shaper tooling so that will be another discussion for another day.

[Mark Bolton]

We dont have a router table in the shop but if you have a fair inventory of router bits I'd never get rid of the router table. Small diameter router bits perform horribly in a shaper even when you feed slow as molasses. When I say we dont have a router table, we do have a few sheets of ply that we bolt a router to when we need a table but if I had a decent router table, and wasnt desperate for the space, I would definitely keep it and dedicate it for certain tasks, small round over work, pocketed pattern cutting or pattern cutting in general, and so on.

[Jim Becker]

I'd consider keeping the router table setup if you plan on using any of the smaller bits for projects...for the reason that Mark mentioned. Shapers are really good at what they do, but handling small cutters well isn't one of them.

As an aside, you may very well miss the Kapex, too. I've found that I still use my miter saw a lot for breaking down boards to more manageable lengths for processing, even though any precision cutting gets done on the slider.

[Patrick Kane]

Yeah, i still have a grunt 12" dewalt on a stand i keep in the garage for rough work. I feel like it has a lot more power for cutting 8/4 hardwood, which i primarily work with. I didnt have a good dedicated miter station for my kapex, and overall the performance didnt match the price tag, in my opinion.

Im going to see how the router spindle performs, but i see myself eventually replacing my router bit tooling with shaper cutters down the road. Like I said, i primarily use the router table for template work and doors. If i can get a good price on the jessem setup, ill sell it and then keep my eye out for a basic lift setup down the road. I wouldn even need a fence, because all its work would be bearing guided bits.

[Jim Becker]

Sounds like a plan, Patrick. The fact that you have the DeWalt saw available will fill the "cut down" need. (Mine's an old 12" Delta). If you don't use the router table for things like grooving (dados, etc), then you may be good with the shaper for the kind of work you describe. It's the smaller bits that are the real issue.

[Mike Wilkins]

I would vote for keeping the router table since shapers normally do not run fast enough to spin router bits, especially the smaller ones. And some operations are best done with a router set up in a table, such as grooving (for drawer sides) and stopped cuts. If you can, search the Creek for the set up that Jim Becker created for his slider using a cast iron Bench Dog router table. Great idea for a space saving router table set up.

[Joel Wesseling]

I'm in the same situation as OP.

I purchased a Hammer F3 shaper(1-1/4" spindle) and will pick it up in near future. The felder rep suggested that I replace my router bit profiles with shaper knifes (including 1/8" round over knifes) and dont use a router table. I could purchse the router spindle at $300 and continue using my $1k worth of bits, some are large and should work well with F3 but will they perform as well as equivalent knifes mounted in the shaper cutter head.

I'm leaning toward buying knifes, saving $300 for router spindle, ditching the router table and opening up the space that it occupies

[glenn bradley]

This is a somewhat similar consideration that comes up often when folks buy a larger bandsaw . . . "Should I keep the smaller saw?". I was one of those who immediately sold my smaller saw only to go out and buy another one about a month later. Even though I am hard up for shop space, I made it work and real the benefits. Only you know your foot print and work flows well enough to determine if your space will allow you to reap the advantages of having both. Sorry about that ;-)

[Bill Adamsen]

I use my router, both in and out of a router table, frequently. And it is not unusual in my workflow to cut a profile, and then rip off that profile to expose a fresh face for shaping. So I would want to have both router and saw functions setup. Admittedly, the saw function could be a big bandsaw, but let's assume it might be the tablesaw/slider. This is the infrequent drawback to combination machines (though expecting to use it for crosscuts would likely exacerbate the problem). Fence conflicts make it inconvenient to cycle between saw and shaper/router on a combination machine with rare exceptions. Keep the router table. I'd also suggest keeping the Kapex, but if you are adamant about selling it, please consider dong it here on SMC.

[Patrick Kane]

Sold the router table last week a day or two after this thread discussion. We'll see if i get another cheap router table setup in the future, but in the mean time the high speed router spindle in the felder seems to do a good job. I didnt crank up the digital speed control all the way, but i still got a great finish from 1/4" and 1/8" roundover bits. I need to test some other bits, but it looks like this will serve in the meantime without shaper tooling or a router table.

As far as the other tools go, I cant say i was ever satisfied with the kapex. I originally purchased it with aspirations of making domino work pretty quick--finish cut off the kapex and domino the joint. However, the kapex wasnt giving me absolutely perfect cuts. There was some vibration from the blade that caused minor chatter, and it was out of square a tiny bit. I bought it used, so this didnt surprise me too much, but after calibrating it, i still wasnt blown away. After all the time and money, i ended up going back to my unisaw and incra miter gauge. If i did a lot of painted trim work, i would probably love the kapex. I wont have need for that work again until i buy another house. Selling the table and kapex paid for 45-50% of the felder, so it seemed like a no brainer to me. Plus, im out of room and needed them gone to fit the slider. I will miss the kapex for when i need a finish cut on a piece longer than 7', but those situations are pretty rare.