Shaper Cutter Quality

[tom cooper]

3 years ago I bought a used shaper for the specific purpose of cabinet door making. I invested in the Freud RS insert cutter and although this thing has a steep learning curve (for me) I am glad I went this route.

The raised panels are a different story. I have a Woodline raised panel cutter and a MLCS raised panel cutter which both ran about $60 each. I have gotten REALLY good mileage and the cuts are smooth and clean on MDF, oak, poplar and maple. I can't find any fault with these cheap cutters. But profiles are limited. On the other hand - Freeborn, Freud, LRH & Amana all have some neat profiles that I would like to use and be able to offer to customers or for my freelance work but I cannot justify the cost at 2x to 4x the cost of the imports.

QUESTION: Does anyone at SMC use these higher end shaper cutters? what do these higher cost shaper cutters offer that the cheaper Taiwan imports lack, other than profiles?

[keith ouellette]

I can't speak to shaper cutters or say a lot about high priced cutters but I would like to say i have had an excellent experience with my mlcs cutters and my woodline cabinet set so far. I don't know how much better something can work and when I was at a woodworking show I compared the amount of carbide on a frued to my cheapest bits and it was the same thickness to the eye.

[Joe Chritz]

I have a pair of the old three wing Freud RP cutters. In fact I am just in for dinner after raising 32 panels with the cove cutter.

Most likely unless you are doing production any of the decent manufactures will be fine. I have used MLCS stile/rail cutters and liked it. This project I purchased a Katana stacked set and it is top notch. (I couldn't get round over profile in the cheaper version) It had better be at $175 but it did nice work on all the pieces for 32 doors. All single pass climb cuts with not a problem one.

I just buy a cutter when I need it and generally try to factor the cost into the project.

One thing to watch for those is if the cutter will make full profile and still take a back cut so the face and back can be flush. My ogee cutter won't but the cove does pretty well.

Joe

[Jim Becker]

I would think that the bottom line is going to come down to the profile. If you can't get the profile you need in the value priced products, you'll have to go to the higher end. That might be another opportunity for an insert-type cutter head as you may be able to have new knives with those unique profiles ground for less money than buying a full cutter every time. But I'll say that it's nice to know that you have been getting good "mileage" from the value priced cutters you have been using. Always a good thing!

[Peter Quinn]

I'm using the freud RP-2000 right now. Have used it on one set of cabinet doors and I like it. Clean accurate cuts, very little sanding, back cutter/shims/bushings all highly accurate. It offers most of the profiles I like. The insert tooling gives my little start up shop a lot of flexibility without breaking the bank.

I have a few freeborn RP cutters and they are really nice. The carbide is thick like a Dagwood sandwich, the profiles are crisp and elegant, and they are perfectly balanced. The cost for my small shop is horrifying! ($325 for the last one) I typically only buy freeborn when I cant find the profile I need anywhere else. My freeborn panel raisers are large diameter for double sided interior/exterior doors. The large radius gives them a deeper tongue and more subtle exit angle that works better on chippy woods like walnut and maple than smaller cutters

I used freud, amana, freeborn and LRH at my last job (production custom door shop), all were industrial quality. They last a long time between sharpenings and come in a vast array of profiles. If your business is more industrial the high end tooling starts to make sense because they can be resharpned many many times, they can be rebuild (new carbide braised on) etc.

I have some basic cutters from mlcs and they work fine. I like Infinity quite a bit too, and their prices are reasonable. I have never used either's panel raisers so I can't offer you any comparison. If your getting good results and the price works for you I'd stick with that. Sounds to me though like you ought to pick a profile you really like and want to offer, buy it, sell it on a job to recover part of the cost. Then you'll have a basis for comparison and a tool that will last a long time.

[Peter Quinn]

Forgot to mention...specifically Freeborn. If you browse the freeborn catalogue, they offer panel raisers for every profile in almost every concievable panel thickness. 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 7/8", they have profiles the scale is 'correct', depth/width of cut is apropriate. Not every company has their selection. Also their door sets are extermely flexible, most offering options for T&G, a standard profile and different door stock thicknesses. Can prove to be a value depending on your needs.

[Jay Brewer]

Hi Tom, The short answer is they are built to higher tolerances, better sharpening, and possibly better carbide. I have cutters from Grizzly, Woodline, MLCS, Amana, Freud, and Freeborne. The Freeborne cutters I have keep there sharpness alot longer than the imports. I dont know why, but I have a Freeborne door edge cutter that just wont dull. I have switched my most used cutters to insert tooling. These are not cheap by any means, but offer alot of benefits.

A good middle ground is Freud and Amana, these are good cutters and not near as much as Freeborne and LHR. Amana offers a lot of different RP profiles and are about $100 each. I have 2 of the Amana RP and they preform well.

[Steve Clardy]

I run Freeborn panel raising bits.
They have a good selection of styles.
Been a while since I've bought a new cutter, but seems cost wise they were around a $100.00

I'll run 300-400 panels before sharpening. Mostly oak panels.

Seems I got less mileage out of the cutters before I got around to mounting my power feeder on the shaper.