Tilt arbor shaper

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Hi All,
I'm in the market for a shaper upgrade. Mine is a 3/4" spindle size max with a 3" travel. I want to buy a machine with a 1 1/4" spindle capacity. I need the additional cutter diameter available to the 1 1/4" spindle. In conversation with a gentleman from whom I buy custom ground cutters, he discussed tilt arbor shapers. A little research makes it appear the main advantage of a tilt arbor shaper has to do with shaping radius moldings. Since I don't expect to do much of that, I am asking those of you who own a tilt arbor shaper to tell me if it is worth the additional expense. I see Grizzly has a couple models but the less costly of the two has only a 3 1/2" spindle travel. Is that a limitation to be concerned with?
Faust Ruggiero

[Jeff Duncan]

The decision your pondering is really something that only you will be able to answer depending on use. A tilting spindle is great for someone who does a lot of different profiles as it allows you to really customize your pieces. The amount of spindle travel will determine how big a cutter you'll be able to use. You have to figure what you'll be doing with the shaper day to day and buy for that.
The 1-1/4" spindle, or more accurately the cutters that go on it, will make a difference in the quality of finish. That's an upgrade which I think is well worth the additional expense. My recommendation would be to go with a minimum of 5 hp with the 1-1/4" spindle.
I have 1 fixed spindle machine and 1 tilting spindle and I have yet to use the tilting feature for my work. I'm glad I found the tilting machine as it adds flexibility to my shop. But if I had to buy new I'm not sure I'd spend the extra money on it as I do mostly door work. Last thing I would recommend is to look your potential purchase over closely. On a tilting machine you want to know that spindle is dead on everytime you bring it back to zero. Not sure I'd want to go with an inexpensive bargain machine for this purchase. But that's just me.
good luck,
JeffD

[Brad Shipton]

One thing to keep in mind if you are interested in a tilting spindle is the opening size in the table. With mine I have a 7.25" opening and the max diameter cutter at 45deg is 4" below the table. Thats really not that big of a cutter for an 1 1/4" spindle. Some shapers tilt backwards so the stock is not pinched in the space, but many tilt forward so if you are concerned about safety that might be something to keep in mind. The tilt feature is good for edge easing sometimes or if you do many unique pieces that involve odd angles, but I have not really found this feature that beneficial for many pieces. You can get an adjustable angle chamfer cutter if you ever need one.

Brad