Which shaper cutters to buy?

[Bill Reed]

My new shaper has both 3/4" and 1 1/4" spindles. I'm planning on buying several new cutters for it. The larger bore cutters are quite a bit more expensive than the smaller ones. Is it worth paying the extra money for the larger cutters? Do they provide a better cut? Also, I'm curious about what brands people think are best and where to buy them.

[David DeCristoforo]

Yes, it's worth it. The larger cutting circle and ("rim speed") will produce much cleaner cuts. The only disadvantage to having the larger diameter cutters is that you cannot get into as tight an inside radius. My favorite sources are Freeborn Tool

http://www.freeborntool.com/

and Nordic Saw and Tool.

http://www.nordicsaw.com/

Nordic has a huge catalog of profiles and are also one of the best for custom knives. Also, for small runs, don't ignore the lock edge high speed cutters (like this)

http://www.wmooreprofiles.com/shapcol2.htm

These knives are much less expensive than fixed profile carbide tooling, can be shaprned "in house" and will produce superior results with small runs (50 - 100 LF)