Kirk (KC) Constable
06-25-2003, 8:15 PM
Tool man delivered an Extrema shaper to the mesquite outfit this morning. We got the smaller (and cheaper) one, but added a sliding table. My initial impressions follow if anybody cares... :rolleyes:
It was very nice to have it unpacked already, and essentially set up. He unstrapped it from the trailer and I put a plug on it. Fit and finish seems tolerable. The sliding table moves with fingertip pressure. Our 'test' consisted on cutting a tenon on some cherry and mesquite scrap. Plenty of power for that. The fence wasn't square, but that's a simple adjustment. The dust port is machined as part of the fence housing assembly, and a 4" flex hose slides on tightly. The unit comes with a cool little red toolbox to hold all the things that'll still get lost because nobody will put them away...but it's a nice touch.
Something I'm not particularly happy about is the clamp asembly and the stop block/rod thingy. Since we got the low-end model with the 'add on' sliding table versus the 'true' sliding table model, the clamp head and clamping plate are several inches away from the cutterhead (because the cutter is in the middle of the table). I'd like to be able to clamp the workpiece a bit closer to the cutter. The stop block/rod thingy also is only good if your workpiece extends beyond the fence because it slides in a hole behind the fence...it doesn't actually attach to the top of the fence such that it can be flipped down. I think these two things are serious design flaws...and ones that could be easily corrected.
We'll be giving it a workout in the next couple weeks, but the first impression is an overall 'good'.
KC
It was very nice to have it unpacked already, and essentially set up. He unstrapped it from the trailer and I put a plug on it. Fit and finish seems tolerable. The sliding table moves with fingertip pressure. Our 'test' consisted on cutting a tenon on some cherry and mesquite scrap. Plenty of power for that. The fence wasn't square, but that's a simple adjustment. The dust port is machined as part of the fence housing assembly, and a 4" flex hose slides on tightly. The unit comes with a cool little red toolbox to hold all the things that'll still get lost because nobody will put them away...but it's a nice touch.
Something I'm not particularly happy about is the clamp asembly and the stop block/rod thingy. Since we got the low-end model with the 'add on' sliding table versus the 'true' sliding table model, the clamp head and clamping plate are several inches away from the cutterhead (because the cutter is in the middle of the table). I'd like to be able to clamp the workpiece a bit closer to the cutter. The stop block/rod thingy also is only good if your workpiece extends beyond the fence because it slides in a hole behind the fence...it doesn't actually attach to the top of the fence such that it can be flipped down. I think these two things are serious design flaws...and ones that could be easily corrected.
We'll be giving it a workout in the next couple weeks, but the first impression is an overall 'good'.
KC