Shaper best book

[Brian Deakin]

Can anyone please advise on the best book to purchase on the subject of shapers

I did purchase Shaper (Missing Shop Manual) (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shaper-Missing-Manual-Edited-Kelsey/dp/1565234944/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312102418&sr=1-1) by Edited by John Kelsey (Paperback - 12 Jul 2011) but found this book disappointing

Further can anyone direct me to any information on the web which would be useful

I have identified the following links in the United Kingdom provided by the UK. Government

www.hse (http://www.<strong>hse</strong>).gov.uk/pubns/wis18.pdf

www.hse (http://www.<strong>hse</strong>).gov.uk/woodworking/spindlemoulder.ht

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis37.pdf

http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/index.htm (http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis37.pdf)

The home address of the above site contains a wealth of information http://www.hse.gov.uk/

regards Brian

[Carroll Courtney]

Brian,I have this book.It covers the basics and how to make and use jigs,its pretty good but nothing like learning from making mistakes using the shaper.Remember to just take small cuts until you get the hang of it.I haven't got the hang of mine yet. Good luck----Carroll
http://www.amazon.com/Shaper-Handbook-Roger-W-Cliffe/dp/0941936694/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312115554&sr=1-2

[Chris Fournier]

I have to say that I looked around for a book on this subject matter about a year ago. I was looking for an insight filled book that would be exhaustive on the subject. From looking around I found most books were really aimed at the beginner level and often times they were published quite awhile ago and didn't reflect the current equipment and tooling we now have. I didn't buy a book after all. I did go to my library and took a peek at what they had. One hour and I was out of there.

I have spent a few days on my shaper just playing with set ups and different tooling to see what my new tilting arbor machine can do. These "professional development" hours were worth it. With careful set up work (which I have recorded) I have been able to use my glue joint cutter as a locking bevel cutter. Things like this aren't going to be in the books from my research.

As has been said, take multiple light passes as you learn to use your machine and you will figure out your set ups safely. A power feeder is very nice to have, almost a must have depending on your usage. Good hold downs against the table and the fence are a bare minimum when making heavier profiles. Making a dial indicator base taht allows you to accurately set up your cutter really speeds up set ups and gets you the profiles that you are after quickly rather than the nudge here nudge there method.

[Paul Symchych]

I'm fairly new to the shaper game so basic books did and still do do fill a need. After pricing out a quality router table setup a used shaper seemed like better value to me. For my hobby shop I haven't even thought of looking for books on production shop shapers.
I have The Shaper Book by Bird and have found that good reading.
A useful resource for me is from the router table world. The machines are different but techniques are much the same. Hylton's Frame and Panel Magic has plenty of tips and techniques that have been helpful for me. I have browsed but not bought a couple of other router table books.
The more i use the shaper the more I respect and appreciate it.

[William Addison]

I read Bird's book and thought it was so basic as to be almost useless. The only good shaper book I've ever seen was a small book published as part of a series by Delta many years ago. I lost my copy but it had advanced jigs and techniques I've never seen anywhere else. It might be worth the time to find a copy.

[Anil Kalagatla]

This is an excellent book (focused on European shapers though): http://www.amazon.com/Spindle-Moulder-Handbook-Eric-Stephenson/dp/0854421505/ref=pd_sim_b_19

A (http://www.amazon.com/Spindle-Moulder-Handbook-Eric-Stephenson/dp/0854421505/ref=pd_sim_b_19)lso, an excellent video by Roy Sutton "Basic spindle moulding" (if you can find it).

[Peter Quinn]

The Byrd book is a good starting point. He covers the basics and some things about curved set ups. The Stephenson book doesn't really spoon feed you the details of shaper set up but it is a serious visual introduction and explanation of professional production shaper use from an EU safety perspective. If you look closely at that book you can see some good set ups in use for curved work and straight work alike, as well as tennoning set ups and other end grain operations. There is a bit about pattern work in both of the above books. There is a part about the technical calculations for achieving the proper chip load, feed rate, knife angle, etc which is aimed more at the high volume production environment than the small shop user, so it may not be particularly relevant and can actually be a bit confusing Don't take that too heavily.

In reality the shaper is not a complicated tool which may explain some of the lack of literature. Its also mainly the tool of professionals, or perhaps one of the most scarce tools in the hobby shop which tends to be the biggest market for literature in this country, which may explain more of the lack of literature. Its really all about stock control which can be achieved with a variety of hold downs, power feeds, fences or jigs, or some combination of the above. I've seen a lot of variations to achieve the same tasks in the shop where I work, often each tailored to the task at hand by the individual responsible for the work. But all set ups on the shaper must be designed to keep stock fed in a controlled manner and hands well away from the knives should something go wrong. You need a place to start the cut safely, a place to end the cut safely, and a consistent pat of travel in between at a controlled feed rate. A dry run or "walk through" without spindle powered is a very good idea for many set ups, particularly new ones with which you are unfamiliar.. I'll often remove the cutter or spin the knives out of the way and use my feeder to send the stock on its path just to insure it will be heading the direction I had intended, such as for power feed assisted curved pattern work. Keep this in mind should you engage in a shaper home self study option. What path will the stock take past the knives and where will my hands be at every step in this path. Keep your hands out of the path.

[Dave Cav]

I read Bird's book and thought it was so basic as to be almost useless. The only good shaper book I've ever seen was a small book published as part of a series by Delta many years ago. I lost my copy but it had advanced jigs and techniques I've never seen anywhere else. It might be worth the time to find a copy.

"Getting the most out of your shaper" by Delta. Free PDF download here:
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=1060

[William Addison]

That's the one. It's got more information than the rest combined. Thank you

[Dave Cav]

Plus it's got great pictures of well dressed shaper operators in action.

203706

[Richard McComas]

I have this one and thought it was worth while.

http://www.amazon.com/Shaper-Handbook-Roger-W-Cliffe/dp/0941936694/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312185893&sr=1-1

[Rod Sheridan]

This is an excellent book (focused on European shapers though): http://www.amazon.com/Spindle-Moulder-Handbook-Eric-Stephenson/dp/0854421505/ref=pd_sim_b_19

.

The book that Anil provided a link for is the only modern shaper book I've found.

Peter Quinn provided some good points about it in his post as well.

The Spindle Molder Handbook is more technical than the other books, and is the only one that covers the new EU safety requirements for cutters. The EU requirements cover the safety aspects of the cutters including projection and chip limitation, all extremely important aspects when the shaper is being fed by hand.

The book also shows typical accessories that you could purchase from Aigner, Felder etc, or make your own versions to match your machine.

This book gives you a different perspective on safety, setup and operation through the use of accessories...........Regards, Rod.

[Mike Heidrick]

Rod, do you have David P Best's Survival guide?? Best Euro shaper resource I have and I own the t1002S Laguna.
Good shaper info tutorials here too on his site.

http://davidpbest.com/Publications.htm

[Rick Lizek]

http://www.stobartdavies.com/
"Spindle Moulder Handbook" by Eric Stephenson is the best shaper book I've seen and there's only less than 10 I've ever seen in the last 40 years. It's a tool in the industry that the info is handed down from operator to operator.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Mike, no I don't own that.

Obviously you found it an informative book. Is it worth purchasing for the shaper portion?

Do you have the Spindle Molder Handbook?

Regards, Rod.

Regards, Rod.

[Brian Deakin]

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and comments The advice given by Chris to take light cuts makes sense and the links given by other members has been a great help I have decided to purchase Spindle Moulder Handbook [Paperback]Eric Stephenson (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Eric Stephenson)a and I hope this will improve my understanding and re inforce the knowledge I already have

many thanks again to everyone

regards Brian