Like/Dislike Shop Fox W1812 Moulder

[Wayne A Hall]

Anybody own one of these moulders? Do you like/dislike it? I'm looking at buying one to make door casing.

[Peter Quinn]

I own the older version which has everything the current incarnation has minus the long iron table. I had to build a long bed board with stock guides, so that is taken care of for you. It is a good basic mini molder that works as advertised. The shop fox manual is a bit weak, you can learn more about how to use these molders from reading the W&H PDF manual on their site..

Likes? Its an inexpensive way to produce moldings that would be difficult with a shaper due to width. I'm told the wood master is a bit better at straights, a bit more complicated for producing curves, and of the two only this style of mini molder will produce an ellipse. Further, you can get knives made that will fit both this molder or a corrugated back head on a shaper, which gives you great flexibility should you need it.

Dislikes? It is quite noisy, it doesn't handle stock that is not fairly flat very well (not enough hold down pressure), and it is not designed for multi pass use which might be a bit easier. I do multi pass but they don't recommend it. A second light pass can reduce chatter considerably if the profile will allow it to be held down adequately.

[Chip Lindley]

Wayne, I own the older W1739. Besides the fact it was a gloat, purchased for less than half price, it works quite well for mouldings. Even at list price, a new Shop Fox if about half the price of a W&H.

For short runs of moulding, I think you will be quite happy with the results you get.

[Trace Beard]

I have the older model and it works as advertised. Last winter I ran 1800 lf of 6 1/4" wide pine for some #117 siding and it worked great. First pass took 90% and then a clean up pass. I also use it to duplicate old moldings. I would buy it again

[William M Johnson]

+1 on older model. Looks like the new one fixed the major shortcomings. The biggest is the loose guide bars. I cannot live without it. It has paid for itself several times over.

Bill J

[Neal Clayton]

generally seems pretty well thought of, i have the woodmaster, but no matter which small molder you wind up with, a few things....

1) as peter said, they're loud. and not just kinda loud, like 130+ decibels loud on wide profiles (like casings). not for use in the driveway next to the neighbors.

2) you will make a metric buttload of sawdust. 200-300 gallons a day isn't a problem, if you run it for 5 or 6 hours.

3) cutting molding is about the most violent thing i do to poor old boards ;). the stresses and vibrations are much more than even a shaper, since molding stock isn't typically flat and square, you rely on the pressure from the rollers and the cutter itself to 'force' the board through whether it likes it or not. flaws and stresses in either the board or the machine can turn 16 foot baseboards into chewed up scrap. so it'll take some trial and error with each species/density of wood to figure out the proper set up (feed rate, in/out feed support, depth of cut limit, etc.), and the limits of the machine.

if you don't mind figuring out and dealing with all of the above, making molding is great. but all of the above are why seemingly simple moldings cost as much as they do.

[Glen Butler]

I have one. Don't know whether its older or newer. Probably older. I love it. I am amazed that the finished product comes out as nice as it does considering the awful noise spewing from the machine as it does its job.

[Wayne A Hall]

Thanks for all the informative replies.

[William M Johnson]

I forgot to mention, you have to have a real dust collector. A shop vac will not work (well). I used the shop vac until I picked up a HF DC a few weeks ago. Big difference. They get choked with cuttings.

Loud and violent is a fair description.

Bill J