Convert shaper table to router table?

[Jason White]

Anybody ever take an old cast-iron shaper table, gut it, and then mount a router in it? If so, how'd it work for you? I see a lot of old used shaper tables on CL. A new cast-iron router table costs a bundle.

Jason

[Rod Sheridan]

It would be a great idea, the only thing you would have problems with are;

1) you would have to make some table insert rings out of wood

2) you might have to drill and tap a couple new holes for the fence bolts as the fence may not go back far enough for a small bit.

I read somewhere that someone did that with a Hammer K3 that had a shaper capable top.

It would give you a large flat stable top, a really good fence with great dust collection, good guards and the ability to mount a stock feeder. The only thing missing would be the ability to run shaper cutters :D

Regards, Rod

[Gary Radice]

I've done something similar with a cast iron scroll saw table. The main issue is dealing with the ribs on the underside of the casting (grind or mill them off) and preparing a land for the router base that is parallel to the top surface.

[Nathan Callender]

A long time ago I got interested in it. I eventually got a cast iron table saw wing extension, but I ran across someone who milled the cast iron out for a router plate with a carbide router bit and a lot of bracing. Personally drilling and tapping cast iron is not a big deal at all. It cuts dry with normal bits and taps. I don't know about rooting it though, but I'm sure there's some way to do it without a large Mill.

If you didn't want a router plate, cutting the wedding underneath down so the router mounts closer to the table surface wouldn't be too big of a deal if you had a drill press. You could use end Mill and plunge down repeatedly to cut back the wedding to get the router mounted properly. It would be worth a try if you had the time.

[Dave Cav]

Yes, I've done this. One of my Delta HD shapers was a very early WWII era model with a small hole in the center. In the late 40s or early 50s Delta upgraded the shaper table to the large hole style. I managed to find a large hole table and upgraded the shaper, and the small hole table was available. I used a vertical mill to machine away the webbing on the bottom surrounding the hole, and drilled it to accept a router base. We then drilled out the side wing mounting holes on one side, and mounted it on my friend's vintage Unisaw (which I had previously restored and sold to him) in place of the right extension wing, and then bolted the extension wing to the right side of the shaper/router table. After fabricating a pair of legs to support the extended width, it worked fine. We had a set of extended fence rails, so he can use his Jet Lock style fence for the router as well.

[Mike Cutler]

I think it's a great idea!
You might have to do a little research to determine which models, based on original mounting design, would work best, but that's easy.

My contribution to the research;;)
A Delta 43-375 would have to have the router drop in from the top. There is a lot of internal structural support webbing, and mounting bosses, just under the quill opening, and I think it would be too thick to facilitate the use of a router without a shaft extension if mounted from underneath.
There is a 6-3/4" cast iron ring in the center that could possibly be adapted. The clearance for the router body would need be about 3-1/2", unaltered, unless you opened up the cast iron hole in the top.

I wonder if the OEM quill support could house a router body, motor only, unaltered?? That would make it really easy.

I know that I have considered modifying one of the cast iron wings I have lying about ( I have three of them) to accept a router, and mount it to my shaper. I just haven't got that far yet. That way I would keep my shaper intact and have a table router for small bits.

[andy bessette]

My router table is a re-purposed, cast iron, table saw top mounted to my Unisaw, so I can use the Unifence with it. I framed it with 1"x1" aluminum and made a custom insert of aluminum.

https://s26.postimg.org/47munt0p5/shop-1.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Bradley Gray]

I'm curious - why not just add a spindle with a router chuck to the shaper? So much quieter.

Could a person change out the pulleys to speed it up?

[andy bessette]

...Could a person change out the pulleys to speed it up?

No. These machines aren't capable of running small bits at router speeds.

[Rod Sheridan]

[QUOTE=Bradley Gray;2738583]I'm curious


Yes you could if the bearings are rated for that speed (which they probably would be).

Felder offers a 17,000RPM router spindle for some of their machines.

My shaper only goes to 10,000RPM...........Rod.

P.S. If you had a 3 phase shaper you could also raise the speed with a VFD.

[Bob Falk]

Jason, I did exactly as you describe. I have had several router tables in the past (both store bought and self made)....none were stiff enough. I also wanted a flat, stable cast iron top and didn't want to tie up my table saw top. I concluded that a Boice Crane shaper was the right size (low profile base with a sizable top). I looked for several years before one came up locally for sale ($300). I bought it and removed the spindle and motor (sold the spindle on OWWM for $100). A machinist friend cut the top to accommodate my Woodpecker router lift and PC 7518 router. It works great and I simply clamp on a fence when needed. The cast iron top is stiff enough to use my 1/4 HP power feeder. I also have a shaper (Minimax), but its great to have a router table that is more like an industrial tool.

370377

[Bill Dufour]

Probably a lot easier to just upgrade the bearings to higher rpm rated units and get the spindle dynamically balanced. Or go whole hog and put it a air bearing spindle but then the rpm would be too fast and the bits would fly apart before any wood got close. Can you say 50,000 - 90,000 Rpm or more?
Bill D.

[Rick Potter]

I use this one all the time with router bits. Works fine with exception of small router bits in soft wood. I have done a lot of raised panels, as well as edge work with it.

I don't care for this fence though, I use a router type fence on it.


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Sorry the pic is twisted, it didn't start out that way.