can router bits be mounted in reliant shaper table?

[andy photenas]

i need to buy a new shaper table to make my shop smoother when making raised panel door. i dont have a lot of money atm and i see a few reliant models i can buy near me on craigslist for around 300.
i know this company is out of business but if this did the job till i can buy a real one i would be happy. the problem is that i have close to 1k worth of router bits at least and no shaper bits.
so my question is can i use a router bit on this machine?

[Loren Woirhaye]

Probably. There are some different ways to mount a collet on a shaper. I have one mounted on a shaper. Many shapers have removable spindles and the spindles are centered using a conical shape on the end, just like the router collet below. A drawbar (threaded rod sort of thing) pulls the collet down. I use an extension collet mounted in the shaper router collet. It sticks up a little too high (meaning an auxiliary table may be needed for some cuts) but it makes bit changing easy. I suppose spacer bushings could be installed between the spindle mount and the underside of the cast iron table to make the extender collet retract further into the table

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/370970163695?lpid=82

[Graham Hutchinson]

RPM is something to take into account. Routers can easily run at twice the RPM of a Shaper, so when you put a router bit on a shaper it runs a lot slower. Shaper cutters are much larger in diameter which means tip speed is fast.

[Ralph Boumenot]

I used to be a ass't mgr at a woodworker's warehouse and most of the reliant brand tools are barely a step above harbor freight. If it was me I would avoid them.

[Richard Coers]

i need to buy a new shaper table to make my shop smoother

To make a shop smoother, I would suggest a really big sander.................LOL!!!!

[Sam Murdoch]

Why not consider something like this? http://pocket-hole-jig.com/prs2000-kreg-precision-benchtop-router-table.html?___store=kreg&___store=kreg&gclid=CI3X4K-V97sCFYlDMgodvk4AlA If you have all those router bits you must have a router so you just need the table. This Kreg unit might not be the best but it would be a good and reliable start.

[andy photenas]

i need pro tools i have a table like this and there is simply no comparison of my table mounted router and my shaper table from jet. the jet is a small shaper for a shaper but the moter alone is 2x the size of a 3hp router. the major upgrade u get when u use a shaper is a system of gears that raise and lower the bit. tht is the major weakness to the table mount ones and by the time u spend the $700 to buy a good router and a table to go with it u can nearly buy a tool thts like 5x as good. maby im sour too it as i bought the portacable router and table setup from rockler and the router raiser broke 2 days after i got it i send it back they bitched and bitched but finnaly fixed it. sent it back to me it broke in 2 days again! then they disscontinued the item and told me its no longer covered and too bad for me ! needless to say i dislike rockler a lot and no longer buy anything from them.

[david brum]

To answer your question about router bit interchangeability, you would probably do best by calling Woodworker's Supply. They somehow inherited Woodworker's Warehouse's domain name and the responsibility of supplying parts for Reliant machines. I have ordered shaper spindles ( for a different machine) from them and got good service.

http://www.woodworkerswarehouse.com

BTW, the site doesn't do a very good job of showing parts availability, so you really do have to call or email them.