William & Hussey Molder

[Bryan Froden]

I recently been looking to purchase a new molder and was wandering if anyone knew of another type of molder similar in price and quality to the William & Hussey.
I love the Hussey, but before I purchase another one I need to shop around.
I typically make moldings for smaller projects like home bars and libraries. This new molder does not have to have the capability to make arched moldings. The old Hussey will do that. Here are some photos of what we’re building.
Thanks, Bryan

80170

80171

80172

[NICK BARBOZA]

my old boss has two W&H molders. one set up for full time circle/ellipse runs. i think shop fox just came out with a similar piece. not sure on the price of it. but i'd stick with the W&H i would just trust it more.

I am not familiar with the new W&H model, it won't do circles/arches???

[Bryan Froden]

Yes the new version will cut radiuses moldings. I’m just wandering if there are other options besides the W&H. I’m not sure about the Shop Fox either.

[NICK BARBOZA]

oh ok. I know that the new is also variable speed too which would be a nice feature. i keep trying to talk my old boss into selling me one of his but he wont budge. he wants to be buried with those things. they are great machines!

[Paul Greathouse]

Bryan, Thats some beautiful work. I'm sure you've heard the saying "Don't mess with perfection". If your doing this kind of work with a W&H molder there sure ain't no reason to change. I agree with Nick, it would be hard to stray away from something thats proven.

I have been looking also, and to answer your question I don't think there is anything much better out there in the W&H price range.

[Bryan Froden]

Thanks, I having a feeling you’re probably right.
I have a Jet molder/ planer combo that is dedicated to just running moldings and this has been a good machine also. Don’t buy the elliptical jig, it’s a waste of money and time. Thanks I posted some more pictures on my site

[Jim Becker]

If you have an W&H and are planning on keeping it, it may make sense to get a second one so you can share tooling.

[Paul Greathouse]

If you have an W&H and are planning on keeping it, it may make sense to get a second one so you can share tooling.


Good Point, Jim.

[Dave Bureau]

i've got a newer version of the WH moulder with the multi pass feature. I dont think the shop fox has that. its a definite plus

[Jim Holman]

I have the Shop Fox, quality is very good and it works great. Tooling is interchangable with the W&H. I routinely do 2 passes on my non-variable speed Shop Fox, one heavy and a clean up pass. The Shop Fox also has a circle/ellipse jig available which I own but have not used to date. I have successfully run 5 3/4" crown in walnut and poplar using the 2 pass method.

I had a W&H for many years and just flat wore it out. The Shop Fox is a good lower cost replacement.

[Dave Bureau]

A little off topic but i have to ask. what is the advantage of the 38-52 degree angles on crown moulding rather than than just 45? I ran some crown on my WH and 45 the back and worked fine.

[Gary Keedwell]

I just thought I would through this out there even though it might be immaterial to OP's question. Many, many years ago, I worked as a machinist for W&H and they manufactured parts with nice tight tolerances. I heard recently that my old boss is still working there after 25 years.:)

Gary

[Keith Outten]

I also own the ShopFox moulder and can attest to its quality and value. I have also ordered knives from vendors who sell W&H supplies and they fit perfectly so the two machines are certainly comparable and I have heard from others that they have found attachments to be interchangeable.

Assuming the two machines are close in quality but not price then I also offer this;

The ShopFox stand is the best quality stand I have ever seen on a manufactured tool. Most of the equipment stands in my shop I made myself because I am rarely impressed with the quality of the stands that ship with tools. I can't improve on the ShopFox moulder stand, it is rock solid and excellent quality stuff which is really nice to see these days.

I purchased the best value and the money saved went a long way toward purchasing knives for the machine.

.

[Don Abele]

After much debate, I bought the Shop Fox based on reviews here. We have a W&H at work and I truly believe it's a quality made machine but expensive. That said, side by side comparison - they are equal in performance.

Keith's comment about the SF stand vs the W&H is spot on. The SF is much better. The casting on the W&H is much smoother than the SF, but this does not affect performance. The dust hood on the SF looks like it belongs there, where the W&H looks like an aftermarket HVAC boot.

The SF does come in a variable speed model (which is the one I got) which produces a dramatically smoother finish than the one speed W&H.

The blade format is the same for both. To test the variable rate vs standard rate I used the same set of chair rail knives.

I don't own, nor do we have one at work, the elliptical jig so I can't comment on it's interchangeability, but I would wager a guess that it is. SF does sell their own though (and at half the price of the W&H IIRC).

So with all that, yes I would recommend the Shop Fox. The W&H is a great machine but the only thing it is better than the SF in is name (IMHO).

Be well,

Doc

[Paul Simmel]

I'll second Keith and the SF. Virtual clone of the W&H. All things considered, with he variable speed which I have, roughly half the cost. Tooling is identical.

[Gary Keedwell]

Just curious. I am not in the market nor do I have any affiliation with either product but was wondering about longetivity. Has the SF been around very long?

Gary

[Bryan Froden]

The only difference is on a 45 the crown beds a little higher up the wall and I think is a little easier to cut. This is how I run all my crown, works fine

[Bryan Froden]

Thanks for the review on the shop fox; I think I’m going to check more into one of these before I purchase another W&H.
I believe the Shop Fox has only been on the market, since the W&H patent has run out. I read this somewhere