Shaper --Learning Part 2

[Bob Vavricka]

OK, I'm feeling better about this project. I tried shimming the sticking cutters and was able to eliminate the gap I was getting around the shaped edge. So, I guess the moral of this story is that if you shim one cut you may need to shim the other. I had ran some test cuts and knew the tongue was not going to be thick enough and thought I could just shim those cutters to fix the problem. Shimming the cope cut moved the top cutter making it fit poorly around the shaped edge. Here is the final result with both pieces shimmed. The tongue is slightly too tight since I have to tap it with a mallet to make it fit, but I haven't ran the cope cuts yet so I will adjust it slightly to make it fit a "little looser". While I had already ran all my sticking cuts, I made the stiles 2 1/4" wide and was able to recut them and only lose 1/8". Since the rails are not cut to length yet, I can make that adjustment and still end of with doors the width I had planned. Thank you to all who commented and particularly Malcolm and Kevin who got me headed in the right direction.
IMG_0051.jpg
The cope cut is in a piece of scrap and not quite the right thickness so it is a little shy of the rail top. The tongue is tighter than the picture appears. I have to tap it pretty good to make it fit.

[Peter Quinn]

Looks like you figured it out Bob, I was trying all day to post form my mobile, couldn't get enough service! If I'm seeing this right you have to cope face down and stick face up with this set? It is much easier to set that type of set up all else being equal if both test pieces are the same thickness exactly. Eliminates one thing to track down. Then you have to shim the sticking so the molding/coped profile is tight, then you shim the stub tenon. Sounds like thats pretty much where you wound up. None of these problems exist with a 6 cutter set that runs all face down cuts in standard rotation, but that costs you a lot more.

[Bob Vavricka]

Looks like you figured it out Bob, I was trying all day to post form my mobile, couldn't get enough service! If I'm seeing this right you have to cope face down and stick face up with this set? It is much easier to set that type of set up all else being equal if both test pieces are the same thickness exactly. Eliminates one thing to track down. Then you have to shim the sticking so the molding/coped profile is tight, then you shim the stub tenon. Sounds like thats pretty much where you wound up. None of these problems exist with a 6 cutter set that runs all face down cuts in standard rotation, but that costs you a lot more.

Peter, I ran the stick face up in a clockwise rotation and cope face up in a counterclockwise rotation. Normally, I would try to run face down and not sure why I ended up choosing to do it this way. Face down makes more sense since the good face would be more consistent. I did buy my stock 7/8 skip planed and then ran all the pieced down to 13/16 at the same time to make sure everything was as close to the same thickness as possible. I think a set like you are talking may be in my future. Depends on how many more doors I decide to make.

[Peter Quinn]

Face down makes more sense since the good face would be more consistent.

This is exactly the point of doing it that way, not sure why any manufacturers would do it any other way but they do. Its a fun exercise learning to make a cutter stack work, understanding its geometry, getting it to go. The how many doors part is an important part of the value equation. I do this professionally, we do custom work, and sometimes I'm only making a few of a given door and cant get authorization to buy a cutter stack on such a limited run, you have to figure out how to make it go with what you have. Presently I'm doing a set of doors and will be doing an entire house behind it with the same profile, so we got a brand new freeborn set to handle the work, and its really a joy to deal with. Not the brain teasing how am I going to do this kind of fun, just the perfect doors came out really fast kind of fun.