Pattern shaping w/Shelix

[William Addison]

I have a 3 inch Shelix for my shaper that I intend to use to put a slightly concave taper on a leg blank which is 2 7/8 in. sq. The bearing will limit depth of cut to 1/8 in. I've done some pattern shaping and I'm often nervous about it but taking a 3 in face cut is new territory for me. I will be running a template against the bearing to determine the shape.

Anyone tried this and have any lookouts or pointers?

[Joe Chritz]

I can't see how it is any different than a pattern bit on a router. The thickness of stock makes it a little tougher but it should work fine. I would still try to get close so the cutter is just finalizing the profile. An 1/8 cut almost 3" tall is a lot to take off while holding the part by hand.

Joe

[Steve Jenkins]

I have a 6" tall shelix cutter with bearing for my shaper and have used it on a full 4"" of mahogany. It was really sweet. Just make sure that you rough cut close to the line especially if you will be going against the grain on part of your curve. was there a particular reason that you had the bearing made 1/8 smaller than the cutter instead of flush? It seems that would make templates more complicated to make.

[William Addison]

In the past I've always used the bearing to determine depth of cut so if I used a bearing the same diameter as the cutter it'd be pretty safe but it wouldn't remove any wood 8-).

It's possible we aren't understanding each other. I did make a practice cut about 1/8" deep by two inches tall in some scrap Beech and with a slow feed I got a beautiful finish, when I tried to go faster the shaper started acting unhappy and wanted to chatter.

If you have a six inch spindle, you have a shaper much larger than mine. I have a 3HP SF and it's not a very big machine.

[Steve Jenkins]

[QUOTE=William Addison;1016505]In the past I've always used the bearing to determine depth of cut so if I used a bearing the same diameter as the cutter it'd be pretty safe but it wouldn't remove any wood 8-).

I guess we aren't communicating very well. If you are making a pattern and following it with your bearing any part of your material that is larger than your pattern will be cut off if you are using a flush bearing. Just like a flush trim router bit.

[M. A. Espinoza]

I have a 3 inch Shelix for my shaper that I intend to use to put a slightly concave taper on a leg blank which is 2 7/8 in. sq. The bearing will limit depth of cut to 1/8 in. I've done some pattern shaping and I'm often nervous about it but taking a 3 in face cut is new territory for me. I will be running a template against the bearing to determine the shape.

Anyone tried this and have any lookouts or pointers?

Rough cut on bandsaw before shaper. Try to limit your cut to 1/16". Make sure you have plenty of pattern jig before and after the workpiece as a bearing guide.

Try to avoid any handholds on the jig that allow you to wrap your fingers, you don't want to be locked to the jig if something goes wrong. Power feeder even better but a pretty expensive option for a proper type that will feed an irregular shape.

If you are just shaping a concave shape on one side then a pattern jig that holds the entire workpiece is much better than just a template attached to the leg. Can be made with a base wide enough for better stability and keeps you hands further away.

[William Addison]

For Steve-Thanks.

I guess we don't do it the same way. I trim close to the line and then clamp the stock to the pattern roughly even with the edge. With a 1/8 depth I get a copy of the pattern.

For M.A. Thanks also. The legs will be tapered on all four sides so while I'll have a full length template I'll have to make a support for the third and fourth cuts. Instead of using a long template I put a sort of "ramp' that lets me gain control of the bearing before I enter the stock and thn ramps the stock away from the cutter at the end of the cut. I can probably post a photo of what I do on a jig I use to reed a fern stand.

The best description of what it looks like after the guards and fences are gone was made by a friend; he said "I feel like I just turned my lawnmower upside down and am looking at the blade run."

[Jamie Buxton]

"I feel like I just turned my lawnmower upside down and am looking at the blade run."

Maybe, but the shaper is running at 7000 rpm!

[M. A. Espinoza]

For Steve-Thanks.




The best description of what it looks like after the guards and fences are gone was made by a friend; he said "I feel like I just turned my lawnmower upside down and am looking at the blade run."

Familiar with that. Used to frequently use a tall pattern shaper cutter in chair production.

With care, surprises are few. I did happen to see a kickback that drove a hard maple workpiece through a jig stopblock and imbedded itself sideways into the screws that formerly held the stop about an inch or so.

I was a good reminder to always be plan that if something does go wrong the only thing that is trashed is the workpiece and maybe the jig, not your hands.