Good deal on shaper/feeder?

[Matt Roth]

I have a line on a delta shaper (43-379) with a 1/4hp delta feeder. It has lived its life in a hobbiest shop and seems to be in excellent shape. I'm interested in upgrading my router table to better able myself to make cabinet doors and raised panels. Now that I'm learning about shapers, I'm quickly realizing how little I know about shaper setup, especially when it comes to spindles, cutters, etc. Clearly $$$ adds up quick with these extras. I know this setup doesn't come with any spindles. $750 is price. Knowing I'll at minimum need tooling to run rails and styles/raised panels, is this a good deal or should I keep looking? I'm not opposed to using my existing router bits, but it appears a 1/2" collet is damn near impossible to find. Thanks for any direction!

[Jim Andrew]

What size shaper is this? You would want a 3/4" spindle to run door parts.

[Matt Roth]

This shaper is 3hp.

[roger wiegand]

If it really doesn't have a spindle, I think that would be a no-go. There are extras around, but not cheap. Mine came with both a 1" and 1/2" spindles, I've never used the smaller one.

Since I acquired feeder I've been using the shaper a lot more, and would not go back to a router table for the bigger cutters and bigger jobs. I made all the cherry mouldings for our house, a task I wouldn't have wanted to do on a router table. There's a learning curve to using one, but well worth it, I'm finding.

I paid about $400 for the same shaper, but it came with three stile/rail carbide cutter sets, a half dozen carbide panel raising cutters, and a whole box full of spacers and adapters. I've added an Amana insert cutter that gives a lot of flexibility for a reasonable price. You will quickly spend more on cutters than on the machine itself if you buy them new.

[Mike Heidrick]

That is a tiny feeder for a 3hp shaper. I also think that price is high for that shaper. I am also not a fan of the fence on that shaper and would look for a replacement there as well. Just my .02.

I would keep looking personally.

[Darcy Warner]

1/4 hp feeder is not very powerful.

[Cary Falk]

No spindles -No Go. The spindles are hard to come by and very expensive. I also like to run router bits on mine. A while back I was looking for a shaper and found many Deltas that looked reasonably priced until you look at trying to find spindles and router collets. If you want a Shaper now then look at the Grizzly G1026. I started out with one. The fence is not that great but neither will most of the ones on CL at that price range.

[Bob Falk]

+1

1/2" spindle shapers are not worth much as a router will do most everything they can do. 3/4 spindle minimum....

[Matt Roth]

Thanks. So looking at eBay, it appears a used 3/4" spindle is about $100. After another $200+ for cutters and panel bit, I'm at $1050. 1/2" router collet appears another $1-200, if I can find one.

I'm guessing for less than $1250 I could find better deal on used shaper and more powerful feeder if I'm patient?

[Darcy Warner]

Feeders are expensive. At least good ones. Minimum 1hp I have some that are bigger.

I will never go back to anything smaller than a 1 1/4" spindle.

[Cary Falk]

Be careful. There are 2 different spindle tapers. I don't know which one your machine uses. There was somebody over at OWWM that would make spindles for the Delta using a Grizzly spindle. I don't know which taper he was doing. It was to much hassle for me to go the Delta route when I was looking. I got a 1hp feeder(3phase) on CL of $200 so deals do pop up from time to time. I would also look into the Amana, CMT, etc insert cutter heads. The heads are about $120 and the different knives are about $20 a pop.

[Matt Roth]

Thanks for the feedback. Going to pass on this one for sure.

[Rod Sheridan]

1/4 hp feeder is not very powerful.1/4 HP is actually lots of power for the feeder, the issue with 1/4 HP feeders is that they have smaller wheels and les hold down force than 1/2 HP feeders and above.

1/4 HP is 8,250 lbft/minute which means neglecting losses, that a 1/4 HP feeder at 20 feet/minute could lift a 400 pound object.

It will certainly be able to push a piece of wood across a table..............Regards, Rod.

For light use (almost all work) a 1/2HP feeder is the perfect balance.

[Jared Sankovich]

Passing was a smart decision. I picked up my 3hp delta shaper with collects, spindles and a large pile of cutters for $450. My grizzly 5hp slider with tilting spindle and 1/2 hp feeder was 1k.

For anyone lookong the grizzly spindles have the correct taper, the issue is minor diameter is too large. Easy to fix if you have a metal lathe.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/jar944/rps20150804_220000_144_zpsnhssj3w9.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jar944/media/rps20150804_220000_144_zpsnhssj3w9.jpg.html)

[George Makra]

Its not a bad deal.
This guy has spindles, cartridges and also a collet assembly for your router bits he is a good guy and reasonable prices. Also very knowledgeable on Delta shapers.
http://ae-tool.com/
And the power feeder is plenty adequate.

[Jeff Duncan]

FWIW I believe CG Schmidt carries Delta and Powermatic small shaper spindles in stock. Not sure the pricing, but possibly better than trying to find someone to machine down a spindle of suspect quality to begin with;)

good luck,
JeffD

[Matt Roth]

FWIW I believe CG Schmidt carries Delta and Powermatic small shaper spindles in stock. Not sure the pricing, but possibly better than trying to find someone to machine down a spindle of suspect quality to begin with;)

good luck,
JeffD

Thanks for sharing. They do have the router collet and 3/4" spindle. $99 and $150 respectively. Not bad when comparing to eBay for used. It's hard to believe a Made in USA Delta is that difficult to obtain parts.

[Mike Cutler]

Matt

You've gotten a lot of good advice, but I'm going to go against the grain.
I have a Delta 43-375, so I know the shaper you are looking at.
-For a hobbiest, a 1/4hp feeder will probably do most everything you will need. Yes ,it is not a "big" feeder, but it will do it. You start doing more production line moulding, or big heavy architectural work, then yes, it will be too small, but so too will be the shaper.
- The OEM router collet adapter is expensive simply because they were not shipped OEM with the machine. They had to be ordered. Their availability is very limited. The good news is that I have one and their really not very nice at all. The link you have been provided is a much, much, nicer adapter than OEM.
- The 3/4" spindle should be easy to get, and not that expensive. An OEM 1" spindle for your machine can cost big $$$$. Last time I saw one for sale it went for close to $600.00. You won't need it though.
- For the majority of cuts you may need to do, Delta made Cutters. They made them by the zillions and they can be had for $30-$50 bucks all over eBay. They won't last in a production environment, but they will last you for years.
-The 1/2" router collet adapter is easy to find. The link was already provided.
- If it really comes with no spindles, that's odd??? How was the person using it? Definitely something to factor in, because that's at least a $100.00 for a 3/4" spindle.
- Don't bother with buying a 1/2" spindle. It's too limiting.
- Parts for this shaper are available all over eBay and Craigslist. The Delta Shapers were made for over 50 years, and many of the parts are identical. They even have the same part numbers. There isn't a single replacement part you cannot find for that shaper.
- The fences for the Delta Shapers are uhmmm, junkie. All of them. Plan on either making a fence, or buying a fence. Fences can big $$$$
-Sometimes you can luck into good deals on the Delta's, like folks have stated, sometimes not. But, you're not going to buy a new shaper, with feeder, that is better than that Delta for the same money. It's not going to happen.
-It does seem a little high, lack of spindle(s), so adjust your offer if you decide to go for it.

My .02 fwiw.