Running 5" Raised Panel bit on 3/4 hp shaper

[Travis Fatzinger]

I'm pretty new to woodworking (< 2years) and am planning on building a set of kitchen cabinets for my own home.

I picked up a used 3/4 hp Grizzly shaper with a 1/2" spindle on Craigslist about 6 months ago with the kitchen cabinets in mind. Truthfully I haven't used it yet because I was doing smaller projects with my router table.

Last weekend I discovered MLCS was only about 15 minutes away from me so I took a ride over there. They had a 5" Roman Ogee raised panel Katana bit. It is 3/4" but came with 1/2" spacers so I figured it would work on my machine and bought it. After doing some reading on this forum I realize I might have made a mistake buying such a big bit for my toy of a shaper. I've read comments about how scary a 5" bit can be. I've also realized that running a bit this big will stress the bearings in the shaper pretty bad.

So I'm looking for some realistic advice. If I go slow and take a few passes will I be able to get a good product and keep all my fingers with the bit I have? I'm not too worried about the bearings in the shaper. Keep in mind this is my only kitchen and don't have any other projects like this planed for the future. Otherwise should I try returning it and look for another raised bit? Any ideas?

Thanks for the help.

[Peter Kelly]

Yeah, return it. A 5" diameter cutter on a 1/2" spindle in that shaper isn't a real good idea. Another option would be to get a rabbeting cutter and make flat panel doors instead. Should work okay in that shaper.

[Peter Quinn]

My guess is it will do it using multiple passes taking light cuts. Actually I'm not guessing, I have a friend who has raised an entire house full of panels for wainscot using a similar machine. I have a 3/4HP 1/2" craftsman shaper, and I can tell you it WILL NOT raise panels in one pass in any event. I'm pretty sure that would stop it dead. I use my little shaper as a cope cutter for cabinet doors, and it does a great job for that sort of work. Take your time, do three or four passes, it should go fine. That said I'd probably look for a vertical panel raiser for a shaper that size if they have one in the profile you want. Its a lot less steel to spin on a machine that size which may give the bearings more life. You would need to fashion a tall fence to guide the work accurately.

On the safety front, what is going to keep you safe is a hood to protect your hands from the cutter head. This goes for any shaper operation. You need to keep your hands far away from the cutters. Take a look at the one in Lonnie Bird's book for a panel hood. I've copied it, it works well, it nearly eliminates the potential for hand contact with a panel raiser. Also, you don't want to have a shaper cutter nearly stall then regain momentum in the middle of a pass. This is the recipe for a kick back, and shaper kick backs aren't pretty. So take very light passes until you get a sense of this machines capabilities and try not to discover its limits by exceeding them.

[david brum]

I gotta agree with Peter. Another idea, if you have the router bit adapter for that shaper, would be to run a router bit. A panel raiser for a router is more like 2 -3" and should work perfectly. Even if you don't have the router adapter, it should be pretty inexpensive thru Grizzly.

[Jeff Monson]

A panel raiser for a router is more like 2 -3" and should work perfectly. Even if you don't have the router adapter, it should be pretty inexpensive thru Grizzly.

That would be my suggestion also. I have a friend that uses the panel raising router bits in a small shaper, works great.

[Travis Fatzinger]

Thanks for the suggestions. I do have the router bit adapter for the shaper, but it was my understanding that the shaper ran to slow to do a router bit justice. This option would definitely be the cheapest though, excahange $250 worth of shaper cutters for $115 of router bits. If you guys think that would work well that might be the bes route.

Another option I was thinking about was to sell the shaper, get my money back and invest it in one of the 3hp Porter Cable routers and exchange the shaper bits at MLCS for the katana kitchen router set. That seems like I'm going backwards though, and it seems silly to invest that much money in a router table. At the same time having one tool in my tiny tiny shop would be nice too.

Thanks guys.

[Curt Harms]

How fast does your 3/4 h.p. shaper run? Panel raising router bits should run around 10,000 RPM I think. One place I see a shaper being suboptimal would be running small bits like 1/8" roundovers or 1/4" straight bits. It seems like you'd have to feed pretty slow to not get scalloping or rough cuts.

[david brum]

A larger router bit should be great. It will be about the same diameter as a typical 1/2" shaper cutter, so it will be within the specs of what your shaper was designed for. Your shaper looks to operate around 8500 rpm, about the same as the low speed setting on bigger routers.

The main thing you give up by using a router bit is versatility; you can't stack a router bit upside down and run it backwards. Otherwise, the smallest shaper cutters and the biggest router bits are essentially the same cutter.

One thing you might want to consider before you exchange cutters, is to check the diameter of the insert hole in your shaper's table. The current manual shows a 2 7/8" hole, so if your's is the same, it might limit your diameter choices.

Regarding the shaper vs router table question, you will find plenty of threads about that subject. The consensus seems to be that they are different machines and lots of guys have both. Your smaller shaper though, is a design from an era before powerful routers, and could definitely be replaced by a big Porter Cable router and table. It won't be cheap, but it will give the ability to use smaller router bits. If you do a search for threads on that subject, you can read for hours!

[Peter Quinn]

A router panel raiser on the shaper will work fine. You can easily adjust your feed speed to optimize for that size cutter. I'd much rather run the shaper cutters though for the cope and stick doors, even that size of machine should perform better than a router, mine sure does. I run 3/4" bore cutters bushed down to 1/2" with very good results, the diameter is 2 3/4"?

[Travis Fatzinger]

Well I guess I've made a decision. Last night when I posted my question on here I also posted my shaper up on craigslist to test the waters. The guy just left the house and I got what I paid for it.

So the shaper is gone and its time for a whole new set of decisions. Which 3 1/4 hp router to replace my 2 hp craftsman?
Which three piece set of bits? I think I've narrowed it down to the Freud's or the Sommerfields.

[Peter Quinn]

A Milwaukee or the big PC, the rest are toys in comparison. On the cabinet sets, I like Amana the best. Also check out infinity. I tried a freud set and found it was not as flexible as I like, not enough thickness range, no adjustable groovers available for plywood panels, etc. I do like the Freud panel raisers for routers quite a bit, the 2+2 quadra cut type are great. Congrats on your decision.

[Rod Sheridan]

Travis, I agree with your sale of the shaper, however if it were me I would now buy a larger shaper, with a feeder.

I wouldn't be without my shaper............Rod.

[Chris Hedges]

Have you tried the Freud P.A.R.S system?

[Jeff Monson]

Do yourself a favor and pick up a PC7518, that is a great router for panel bits and general table routing.

[Curt Harms]

Well I guess I've made a decision. Last night when I posted my question on here I also posted my shaper up on craigslist to test the waters. The guy just left the house and I got what I paid for it.

So the shaper is gone and its time for a whole new set of decisions. Which 3 1/4 hp router to replace my 2 hp craftsman?
Which three piece set of bits? I think I've narrowed it down to the Freud's or the Sommerfields.

It sort of depends on how much $$ you want to devote. Some 3+ h.p. routers come come with above-the-table bit change and height adjustment. The alternative is a lift which can cost about as much as the router. I'm sure an after market lift has advantages over the built-in height adjustment so it comes down to perceived value. I have a 10 y.o. Freud FT2000E with router raizer installed. It does what I need it to do.

[Travis Fatzinger]

While I would have liked a shaper, considering this is a hobby I don't have enough time for as is, and money is limited, I think the router table was a better choice.

I returned the shaper cutters to MLCS last night and bought the Freud PARS system and a raised panel bit. They were having 25% off their freud bits so it worked out to be cheaper than Amazon.

The Milwaukee 3 1/2 router will get here Monday. I chose it over the PC because of the more speed variations, thru table height adjustment, and the fact that it looks more manageable if I ever want to use it freehand.

Thanks for dealing with my newbie questions and steering me down the right path.