Power feeder question

[Ole Anderson]

Don't have a power feeder and most likely won't ever get one, but as I was getting a fair amount of chip out (Hickory rails and stiles on my router table) I started wondering if with a power feeder and a shaper, you could climb cut the material and minimise the chipout problem? And wondering if that is how the cabinet factory gets perfect mouldings without any chipout. I was able to climb cut my door/drawer edges and avoid the problem, but I was sure if I tried it on a more agressive bit, I would be launching boards left and right.

[Jeff Duncan]

Short answer is yes. In addition to getting a better quality of cut from a feeder, larger diameter shaper cutters will also greatly help in getting good cut quality. Not to mention having a large honking industrial shaper that runs smooth as butter. And of course if all else fails one can run a climb cut. I don't use hickory, but I do run most other domestic hardwoods and I rarely have any problems with tear-out running a normal cut.

good luck,
JeffD

[J.R. Rutter]

Another part of the secret, beyond what Jeff mentioned, is to remove the entire edge, not just the groove and profile. So you would need a cutter that cuts the full profile, no bearing...

[Mel Fulks]

Never seen climb cutting routinely done on doors .Most find removing a whole 1/16th when sticking a big help when using door sets. Don't know any thing about using router bits for that purpose. Carefully picking face side helps too.

[Peter Quinn]

Hickory is a tough one, but I doubt climb cutting would be neccessary. I've climbed things like cedar and Doug fir with ropey grain that pulls out easily, occasionally some maple gets cranky With lots of switch backs and I'll climb that. But as noted above by Jeff and Mel rarely is climb cutting required with a shaper. And yes, the shaper/ feeder results in an infinitely better molded edge, in less time and with less effort than a hand fed router. And you can dimension precisely and shape in a single pass, so that's another benefit. Try putting some 1/16" shims on your router table for the first pass, then taking a second light finish pass, may help clean things up a bit. Big cuts and steep exit angles dont work well together, so take light multiple passes on the router.

[Mark Wooden]

There's the little 3 wheel "Baby" feeder from CoMatic- Grizzly and others private label them- to use on a router table. I have one I use on both my Delta LD shaper and my router table. Really does a nice job, makes things like cabinet sticking a breeze. Don't climb cut by hand- big danger there.

[Stephen Cherry]

Plus, with the power feeder, your hands are somewhere else. Not really chip out related, but it's always a good idea to think about ways that operations could be made safer.

[David Kumm]

I wouldn't climb cut Hickory with a small feeder. Hickory puts a lot of stress on the machine, the cutters and the feeder. Speed into the cut and angle help as you can get a glass smooth cut and all of a sudden chip out for what seems like no reason. Dave

[Rod Sheridan]

All good information above.

Using an outboard fence and a feeder you can take the entire edge and dimension precisely to width in one pass on a shaper. Do not attempt this on a router.

Climb cutting is also possible for tough grain situations, and since cutters can be flipped over and run with reverse spindle rotation, you can cut patterns always with the correct grain direction.

Shapers aren't simply larger routers, they're far more versatile and capable.

Regards, Rod.