Shaper cutters again

[Philip Johnson]

Can anyone recommend some good shaper cutters or where to buy em? I need to order soon and just can't make up my mind. I am looking for a good cabinet set to start. I was all set to buy Freud and then read a negative post in another thread, Are Freud pretty good or is Freeborn worth the extra money, or is Amman just as good. I prefer to buy decent quality tools rather then the cheapest available.This is also for a home shop

[Philip Johnson]

I forgot to add this in my first post...will a glue joint cutter make a good joint for gluing up panels or do you still need biscuits or is it better or easier to joint the edge and use a buscuit

[Rod Sheridan]

I forgot to add this in my first post...will a glue joint cutter make a good joint for gluing up panels or do you still need biscuits or is it better or easier to joint the edge and use a buscuit

Hi Philip, I don't own any Freud cutters so cannot comment on them.

I have a CMT 40mm insert head, some Dimar tooling, some FS Tool and some others.

Purchase good tooling and it will work well and last a lifetime.

It may also be possible to purchase used tooling at significant savings.

A glue joint cutter will produce a joint that doesn't require biscuits. I have one, don't use it that often.

Most of my flat panel glue ups are simply edge to edge with no mechanical alignment methods. Modern glues are pretty amazing.

Enjoy your shaper, great tools...........Regards, Rod.

[Ed Labadie]

No complaints with my Freud panel raising cutter. Excellent quality and results.

I use the a Freud rail & stile bit set on the router table also, same results.

Spent a good chunk of my income with Freud over the last few years, never had any issues or problems. Charles is redially available to answer questions and handle problems if you should have one.

Ed

[Frank Drew]

A glue joint cutter will produce a joint that doesn't require biscuits. I have one, don't use it that often.


Ditto; the miter version is a very good joint for mitered corners but setup is a bit tedious so it makes more sense for a production run than a one-off.

[Philip Johnson]

I think I will go with the Freud any recommendations for a good dealer

[Ed Labadie]

I think I will go with the Freud any recommendations for a good dealer

With nowhere to buy locally, I usually order from Amazon.

Ed

[Mike Heidrick]

Amazon for Freud Sets when they are on sale. Last years sale was on a UC900 set. This years was a Cassette 65. Both boxes came damaged though but Charles a new uc900 box out last year and we are waiting on a cassette 65 box to be sent out this year!

Freeborn and LRH are kings in the shop though for many folks.

Amana sets are nice.

[Erik Christensen]

I have a 12" fine cut blade on my RAS & one of their 10" dado sets and they are as good as anything I have ever seen.

All their stuff is made in NJ. I will give a few of their shaper cutters a try & let you know what I think. They offer custom profiles very quickly.

I like to buy US made where the quality is 1st rate. I do NOT blindly buy american made if the product is inferior as I do not believe in financially rewarding a poor company but when it is made here & is as good or better than off shore I buy it even if it costs a bit more.

[Bill Orbine]

Freeborn's the pros choice! As always. For many people like me, Freud is a fraud. Amana shaper cutters..... I don't know, but they make nice router bits and saw blades. Avoid glue joint cutters.... glue is stronger than the wood if you can join the wood properly... otherwise go with biscuit joiner if your boards turn the corner.

[Peter Quinn]

Philip, I use both Freud and Freeborn at work, mostly Freeborn. We have a few Freud cabinet and passage door sets. The freud sets do a fine job, nothing wrong with their performance. I do find that the Freeborn sets are more flexible. One set handles doors from 3/4" to 1 1/8", you can get cutters to shim the groove to match plywood panels for flat panel doors, and they are a LOT easier for making divided lite doors. The freeborn's are a little bit larger in diameter, and they let you leave a stub tenon on the bars with a solid coping fence. With the Freud sets it is a struggle there, and they make what they make. So yes, the Freeborn's are worth every penny in a pro shop that makes a lot of custom door thickness over years.

Are you talking 3/4" bore or 1 1/4"? It was my impression that the Amana door sets were 3/4" bore? I know Freud and Freeborn make both. In my home shop, I use Infinity 3/4" bore cabinet sets, they work great and saved me a lot of money, so look at them if you need 3/4". I also use a freud RP2000 for raised panels which works as well as any panel raiser I have used and is a great value for 5 different profiles. I buy my Freud stuff from Amazon. Freeborn I buy from Connecticut Saw and Tool.

[Steve Clardy]

I've been running Freeborn panel cutters for 7-8 years now.

That's what I'll stay with as I've had excellent results with them.

[Rick Fisher]

I have Freud and Shop Fox/Grizzly cutters, so I cannot say anything about Freeborn.. I can however say that the Freud cutters are miles ahead of the Taiwanese Grizz cutters..

I have about 5 Freud cutters and would not hesitate to buy them again.

[J.R. Rutter]

Freeborn has a new insert system for cope and stick that looks like a winner, although I have not used it myself. You get a basic set of bodies and change out the profile detail insert. they are 6 piece sets, so they can be shimmed for plywood panels. They do a good job with basic geometries.

I think that you can get better performance from multi-shear angle bodies with the profile broken up and optimized for each part of the cut. But these cutters (Garniga is one example) are expensive, so maybe best for making money in a production shop. I recently went from a brazed rebate cutter to an insert head with spur knives. Absolutely no comparison in cut quality - wish I had done it years ago...

[Philip Johnson]

Well I put in an order for about a dozen Freud cutters to get me going. I suppose for a business the insert head would be the way to go but I was mainly interested in one profile to match my existing cabinets. There are a couple amana ones I would like to try but seems most of theirs are 3/4 bore, I would like to stay 1 1/4 just to avoid changing spindles all the time. They should be here in a couple days so should be able to have some fun by the weekend.