Small Shaper

[Matt Meiser]

I may have an opportunity to purchase a small shaper (1.5HP) with a Delta 1/4HP power feeder for as little as $300. It has all the spindles (1/2, 3/4, 1/2" router) and no tooling. I currently have a nice, mostly Woodpecker, router table with Porter Cable 7518 router and a baby power feeder. I'd keep that (maybe not the power feeder though.)

Potential uses would be cabinet door making, running a spiral cutterhead (something like this Grizzly (http://www.grizzly.com/products/3-1-8-Spiral-Cutterhead/H2876)) for template shaping, and other router table-like functions. This would be for hobby use, not a production shop.

I'm trying to decide if its worthwhile? This isn't a "should I get this one or get a bigger one?" question--its "should I get this one or none?"

[J.R. Rutter]

The 1/4 HP feeder is pretty nice, much more robust than the mini feeders. Any chance you can run the shaper to see how smooth it is? That might be all you need for a "pass" answer. If it is a quiet and smooth runner, then I would go for it. Good luck!

[Kevin Presutti]

I would think only you can truthfully answer that. But! There are times when the router table isn't the BEST option, it's the ONLY option. Myself at this time I don't need a shaper but there have plenty of times I wish I had one. $300.00 for a small shaper with a power feed sounds reasonable to me, tooling on the other hand can be expensive unless you are going to use it for specific purposes and need only certian bits. You have better options with a shaper and will probably find yoursellf using it more than not. Look around for tooling before you decide, just to see what you may be looking at for money, if you do get it you will always have the option to sell it to finance the bigger one you may one day want.

[Stephen Cherry]

First, Dave at Oella saw will sell you a byrd head a little cheaper than the grizz (as well as tons of other nice cutters). I just paid a little less than that for a 4 x 4 with 1.25 spindle. Next, you need to check the height under the nut on the spindle- max usable cutter height to make sure it fits. don't forget the bearing and spacer between the bearing and cutter, also. THat cutter may be too high for a small shaper.

Is this a Delta HD shaper? THey can be very old, but still servicable machines.

Should you buy this machine? Of course you should. Soon afterward, you'll have your Eureka moment, and realize what you were missing.

Also, with a 1/2 spindle, you could get two 1/2 arbor saw blades and mount them up for tenon cheeks. THe spacing would match up with the mortising tool for speed tenons. (Imagine the capability of tenon cheeks that fit right, first time, every time).

[Matt Meiser]

Its the small Jet.

[Peter Quinn]

I'd want to see the shaper first to give a solid answer, but based on the info you have I'd consider it a maybe if it suits your present needs. The price is sure decent. I'd guess cabinet doors will be no problem and much easier than a router table. I have a small shaper in my shop set up for coping only (1 1/2hp) and it's a productive tool for that. I feel that a 1 1/2hp machine is a bit small to run a cutter like the spiral head in steel. You may be better off with a 2" head on that tool, possibly in aluminum. Despite which specific tooling matches the machine best I would think you could certainly use it for pattern work if you limit depth of cut and the height to match the machines power. You can limit the depth using secsessively smaller bearings with each pass.

[Matt Meiser]

Next, you need to check the height under the nut on the spindle- max usable cutter height to make sure it fits. don't forget the bearing and spacer between the bearing and cutter, also. THat cutter may be too high for a small shaper.

Good call--from Jet's Site:
Spindle Size Under Nut: 1/2 (2 1/2) and 3/4 (2 15/16) “

So that cutter wouldn't fit anyway.

The shaper pretty much looks like new. I'd be buying from a friend, who bought it from a friend who sold off all his equipment.

[Van Huskey]

The shaper pretty much looks like new. I'd be buying from a friend, who bought it from a friend who sold off all his equipment.


That is enough for me, go check it out and haul it home.

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Matt,

I have that exact same shaper and I've been VERY pleased with it. I primarily use it for making doors (raised panel/stile and rail). That's where that particular machine stands out best! I haven't done much template work on it as I use the router table for that stuff, but being able to form RP doors and R/S work in literally one pass sure earns its place in my shop. Besides, you'll be saving some wear and tear on your router motor for those types of applications. I've also wired mine for 220V as it has the capability of switching it over to that voltage. I don't do any production work, so that size has been perfect for me. For $300 bucks, I wouldn't hesitate -- as long as its a smooth runner. The price for one new is like $900 bucks for the shaper alone these days. I paid $500 for mine when it first came out, so you can see just how much that machine has appreciated in value in the past 7 years or so. If I had one complaint, it would be that the table is a little small, but other than that, it's been a true performer! The only additional accessory I would suggest would be a good coping sled - like the one Infinity sells. It's a must for that machine. I honestly believe you won't be sorry in that purchase.

[david brum]

I have one of these. It's a good compromise between mobility and power for a small shop. Mine rolls into a corner when I'm not using it. I just finished a bunch of template routing with a tall rabbeting bit and rub collar. I got much better results than I usually get with a router--no burning or tear out. It's nice that you can flip over the cutter and reverse motor direction for cutting downhill on both sides of a curve. I've made full size doors using a 3/4" aluminum head with insert cutters. There were no power or stability problems at all. I would personally be spooked by using any heavy 1 1/4 cutters on one of these though. I'm pretty sure that you'd get some spindle/arbor flex.

The only thing I really don't like is the bizarre cabinet door latch. Otherwise, it's a surprisingly capable machine.

[Peter Quinn]

That's a great little shaper at that price for sure. Byrd makes a 2" tall 3" diameter shelix head in 3/4" bore that would be perfect for pattern work on that machine. You could do nearly 4" tall work in two passes with that by changing the bearing orientation, and unlike a router table you can flip the cutter over, reverse rotation, and always come at a curve from the best advantage.

[Matt Meiser]

Thanks for the info. I told him I'll take it and I think he's going to give me some extra cutters he has as well. He said I could probably even twist his arm and get him to deliver it.

[Jeff Monson]

Sounds like a really sweet deal Matt, you can't go wrong for $300.00. I'd be owning it if given the same opportunity.

[Matt Meiser]

Well, it's sittining in my shop. I actually used it tonight to put a bevel on some trim using a router bit.

My friend suggested adding some weight to the bottom. There's not a ton of room in there as its 15-3/4" square on the outside. One thought I had was to add a floor and actually pour some concrete in. Obviously that's not reversible. If I add sand or dry concrete it would have to be sealed in a bag for dust reasons as the motor's fan would stir it up.

[Kurt Cady]

Granite rock?

[david brum]

I put a sand-filled plywood box inside the cabinet on mine. I used a ply base and one of these mobile baseshttp://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=22209&filter=mobile base because I had a spare. These shapers don't weigh much even with sand inside, so you could probably use most anything for a mobile base. I don't remember exactly how much weight I was able to add, but I think it was in the 40-50lb range. It made a big difference in stability.

A woodworker with better forsight might make two smaller boxes which would actually fit through the door. I wouldn't personally know about that, but I've heard of other guys who had to lay the shaper on its side in order to fit the box in. Then they had to figure out how to attach the ply base and mobile base after the fact.

[Matt Meiser]

Mine came with that exact base but without the caster wheels. In that configuration its aweful. I've got a design for mobile bases I've been building and I'm going to do one for this. The nice thing is that they have 4 swivel casters so I can move them in any direction. I'd actually planned to work on it yesterday but didn't have the casters so I got side-tracked.

Your sand-filled box idea gave me another idea--just use concrete paver bricks, and loading them in, maybe using some constuction adhesive to make them more solid?

[Van Huskey]

Matt, come on now, we know you don't have the shaper yet since there are no pictures!!! :p

[Peter Quinn]

My minimax has a cast iron ballast attached to the side wall of the cabinet to add some mass down low, comes that way from the factory. Has me thinking animal pile of old cast iron weight plates might add some good mass in a compact format assuming you could find them cheap at a tag sale or such.

[Van Huskey]

My minimax has a cast iron ballast attached to the side wall of the cabinet to add some mass down low, comes that way from the factory. Has me thinking animal pile of old cast iron weight plates might add some good mass in a compact format assuming you could find them cheap at a tag sale or such.

Mike Cruz started a steel weight thread recently, lots of responses. If you have some old workout weights sitting around it might do the job.

[Matt Meiser]

Yeah, that thread caught my eye earlier this morning. I'd thought of steel plates but that costs $$$ I'd probably have more in steel plates than the shaper :D

[david brum]

Your sand-filled box idea gave me another idea--just use concrete paver bricks, and loading them in, maybe using some constuction adhesive to make them more solid?



I think that would work fine. I thought of another important consideration with a ballast. It's really easy to drop a spacer or washer into the cabinet while changing cutter configuration. They will naturally lodge in the narrowest, lowest available space between the ballast and cabinet. Just sayin'.

[Matt Meiser]

Oh, good call.

[Steve Kohn]

Am I missing something? Why can't you build a mobile base with the ballast/weight on the base? Then bolt the shaper to the base. A couple of holes in the base would be the only change required. Then you can add additional weight inside the shaper cabinet or not.

[Dave Zellers]

Plus just the act of bolting the shaper to the base gives the shaper a wider base by maybe 3" in all directions dramatically improving it's tipping point.

[Matt Meiser]

Here's the shaper to satisfy Van. I sold the "baby" power feeder I had on my router table yesterday for $175 so net, I'm into this $125 so far.
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I probably could build a base with a built in weight box but that would raise it up which I'd rather not do.

Someone posted 36x48 1/2" steel plate on CL today for $90 that would have been perfect for making a stack of weigths at about 250lbs, but cutting it up would have been a nightmare.

I'm leaning toward just using sand. I would just line the inside with a heavy plastic bag and fill that with the sand, tape it up securely, and maybe top with piece of 1/4" ply just to protect the bag from wear and tear. By my calculations I can add right about 125 lbs of sand. Doing that would block 1-2 of the louvers on the back but with louvers in both side and the back I think there will still be plenty of ventilation.

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[Van Huskey]

OK, now my mind is at rest! YOU SUCK!!

[Peter Quinn]

Wow, $125, maybe the best shaper deal I've ever seen! Sweet. But I have a sneaking suspicion that photo is a fake...I don't see ANY dust on that tool. Its really hard to add realistic dust in photo shop....I'm going to want to see some dust before I believe it.:D Enjoy that tool.

[Matt Meiser]

As posted in another thread I made a nice mobile base and then added the weight. I ended up using sand in a contractor trash bag and that worked out great. I cut about 1/2 the bag off, fit it in as best I could and started pouring in the sand from a tube sand bag. After the first 60lb tube I worked it into the corners and then added a second 60lb tube then fold the rest of the liner and taped it with some tape meant for sealing vapor barrier.

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[Rod Sheridan]

Sounds like a good solution Matt, how are you enjoying your new machine?

Regards, Rod.

[Matt Meiser]

I really haven't done much with it yet. I ran the baseboard for my shop on it one night last week but using a router bit. I played around a little with a raised panel cutter I was given with it but haven't gotten the hang of how much a cut I can take.