Infinity Shaper cutters

[martyphee]

Anyone using shaper cutters from infinity? Impressions?



How about freeborn? I know, apples and oranges, but I'm just curious. I'm thinking of buying another panel raiser and was considering a freeborn cutter. I figure spending the money for a quality panel raiser is money well spent. I know I'll be doing a bunch of panels in the future.


I just got a lock miter cutter from woodline. Couldn't beat the price of $40, but I sware it was dull before I even started. Got a lot of chatter and needed to use more pressure to push the stock than I think should be necessary. I used it to make 4 legs using 3/4" stock for my son's bed. Even got a little burning in the walnut.

[Jim Hager]

I have a set of matched style and rail cutters that I'm using for my main set right now on my shapers. I have run a bunch of doors on the set since new, I know over 300 and they are just now beginning to need sharpening. I finished a set of doors for a house today and I noticed some darkening on the stick cut on the arches where I slow down to exit the cut. I have been impressed with infinity's cutters. I have a classical edge and a couple others that I have used a good bit but not like the matched set. I haven't tried their rp cutters yet but no doulbt I will in the future. Pretty good stuff in my estimate.

[Dev Emch]

Two observations....

1). Panel raising bits need to have **EITHER** a shear angle or an extremely high hook angle. The majority of them out there have neither! This will lead to blow out on the end grain depending on wood, figure, and dullness/sharpness, etc.

2). There are tons of patterns to use. One size does not fit all. Detail on an entry door will be larger than the same pattern used on say furniture or a kitchen cabinet. In the end, the detail must be in proportion to the frame details or it looks out of scale. So the ability to change patterns is important. It helps to also be able to get reasonable patterns custom made.

The only cutter head to meet these requirements is the Schmidt Innovator. It has extremely high hook angles along with no shear angle. After all, it has three knives and they are of the corregated type. You can get all sorts of patterns and you have a choice in the knives... carbide or HSS corregated steel.

[Paul B. Cresti]

Ditto on what Dev said. I have invested in a lot of insert tooling from Schmidt. I had a custom made head for "regular" insert knives and bought the raised panel & cope and stick set. It allows me to use a bunch of styles and knive types (hss, carbide....) I do own a couple of Freeborn cutters though for simple tasks (lock miter, tenoning)

[martyphee]

If I owned a cabinet shop I would invest in the Schmidt. I've seen that cutter head and it is very nice, but also very expensive.

[George Robin]

I just received some Infinity cutters this past Friday.

IMHO, they are very well made cutters. Shipped in well made cartons (each had there own small box). Very nice people to deal with (I had several questions being that this is the first shaper I ever used.) They took plenty of time to answer all of my questions.
I ordered a lock miter cutter, cope and stick set for interior doors, raised panel cutter, and 2 rub collars.
I set up and used the lock miter this past weekend, and found the cuts to be very smooth (in red oak). I don't have any other cutters to compare these too. However, I will buy my next cutters from Infinity again.
HTH
George