Kirk (KC) Constable
08-18-2003, 7:46 PM
A few months ago we got an Extrema ET100 shaper with the add-on sliding table at the mesquite outfit. Although we also plan to use it for running a glue joint cutter, the primary reason was to use two cutters and make tenons in one pass (hence the sliding table). Now that I've had a chance to fiddle with it and actually make tenons, I thought somebody might be interested in what I've found.
First, the shaper itself looks to be a good unit. I think this is the low-end model (don't read that to say cheap, 'cause it wasn't), but it's solid and and the controls and adjustments and such seem well thought out. The sliding table, however, is a different story. The 'clamping plate' thingy is attached to the slider, which by design is supposed to be proud of the main table a bit (20/1000?). The clamping plate is something around 1/2" plate steel, maybe thicker than that...but when you actually clamp something to it, it distorts the clamping plate such that the workpiece is no longer perpendicular to the cutters. You can watch the flex. This obviously means it can't be used to cut tenons, because the one face is cut deeper than the other. I can't seem to find enough adjustment in the way/tube rollers to lower the sliding table enough that the clamping plate rides flat on the main table. I can, however, shim up the clamping plate where it rides the main table and get the faces close...but not 'right'. I'm not sure whether the problem is due to the sliding table being an 'add-on' or not...but I think it's a serious design flaw. I could go the other side and use a miter gauge, but the unit was 'sold' beacuse of the sliding table.
If anybody from Extrema is out there listening, feel free to shoot me an Email and help me out. Anybody looking to buy a shaper with a slider, check this out carefully. I'm not sure if the problem is unique to Extrema or not...
KC
First, the shaper itself looks to be a good unit. I think this is the low-end model (don't read that to say cheap, 'cause it wasn't), but it's solid and and the controls and adjustments and such seem well thought out. The sliding table, however, is a different story. The 'clamping plate' thingy is attached to the slider, which by design is supposed to be proud of the main table a bit (20/1000?). The clamping plate is something around 1/2" plate steel, maybe thicker than that...but when you actually clamp something to it, it distorts the clamping plate such that the workpiece is no longer perpendicular to the cutters. You can watch the flex. This obviously means it can't be used to cut tenons, because the one face is cut deeper than the other. I can't seem to find enough adjustment in the way/tube rollers to lower the sliding table enough that the clamping plate rides flat on the main table. I can, however, shim up the clamping plate where it rides the main table and get the faces close...but not 'right'. I'm not sure whether the problem is due to the sliding table being an 'add-on' or not...but I think it's a serious design flaw. I could go the other side and use a miter gauge, but the unit was 'sold' beacuse of the sliding table.
If anybody from Extrema is out there listening, feel free to shoot me an Email and help me out. Anybody looking to buy a shaper with a slider, check this out carefully. I'm not sure if the problem is unique to Extrema or not...
KC