Educate me on Shapers

[Mike Cutler]

Go get it!

It looks like it either sold, or got pulled. I don't see it any longer. I wouldn't have been able to move around a 1400lb. machine, let alone have the space.
It had a $2900.00 price on it. Looked really cool though.
There are a lot of shapers for sale in the North Atlantic/New England region right now.

[Jared Sankovich]

Nobody should get the impression you need a T150 class shaper to do shaper things but they also shouldn't think that any machine called a shaper opens the whole catalog of shaper tooling.

That is the missing info with most of the available (online) shaper / spindle moulder content. You can open a catalog and see all sorts of tooling and have no idea your delta home craft 1/2" 1hp LD shaper can't spin a 12" tenoning disc..

That might be a stretch, but when I bought my delta hd all I knew about shapers was I didn't have one and it was likely better then the router table I had.

The quill information is really interesting to me as I almost didn't look at the bridgewood I bought because I thought it was another off shore clone (exactly like the grizzly 5hp I already had) not realizing the machine was 2 to 3x more massive / rigid / substantial in the quill assembly. Just looking at the cabinet and table they look almost identical in build. I had been casually looking for that $800 t130 that never seems to be there when I call.

[David Kumm]

When Wilke was in business, they did a good job with their imports. They seemed to have some QC and their stuff always had a little better reputation than some very similar clones. The ACM bandsaws they imported under their name were very stout. Delta Industrial put their name on some of the same shapers as Bridgewood. Dave

[brent stanley]

That is the missing info with most of the available (online) shaper / spindle moulder content. You can open a catalog and see all sorts of tooling and have no idea your delta home craft 1/2" 1hp LD shaper can't spin a 12" tenoning disc..

That might be a stretch, but when I bought my delta hd all I knew about shapers was I didn't have one and it was likely better then the router table I had.

The quill information is really interesting to me as I almost didn't look at the bridgewood I bought because I thought it was another off shore clone (exactly like the grizzly 5hp I already had) not realizing the machine was 2 to 3x more massive / rigid / substantial in the quill assembly. Just looking at the cabinet and table they look almost identical in build. I had been casually looking for that $800 t130 that never seems to be there when I call.

I guess that's sorta what I was getting at with post #121, wondering if a bit of a reference could be cobbled together so one could offer some advice if only very general...

B

[ChrisA Edwards]

A quick side question, Power Feeders: do these normally wire straight into the electrical contacts on the Shaper or do they use a separate power plug/power source.

If I go new, seems there are about 4 brands, all with similar pricing, Extrema, Powermatic, ShopFox, Grizzly, all about the same price.

And second question, is the mounting bolt pattern pretty much standard spacing across all units.

If I go new, I'm leaning towards a Jet 5HP 1P unit. In its price range, it seems to have the best features and capacity and Jet/Powermatic are headquartered 15 minutes away from where I live.

[Darcy Warner]

I prefer them to be wired to a source so that I can run it without having the machine running. Yes, mount bolt Patterns are basically universal now

[Mark Bolton]

If your looking to buy once and the work will do affords it dont forget to look at the Comatic DC line of feeders (DC30, 40, etc). coupled with their smart stand its pretty much the ultimate feeder. The price will choke you but they are pretty much unbeatable for versatility.

[brent stanley]

A quick side question, Power Feeders: do these normally wire straight into the electrical contacts on the Shaper or do they use a separate power plug/power source.

If I go new, seems there are about 4 brands, all with similar pricing, Extrema, Powermatic, ShopFox, Grizzly, all about the same price.

And second question, is the mounting bolt pattern pretty much standard spacing across all units.

If I go new, I'm leaning towards a Jet 5HP 1P unit. In its price range, it seems to have the best features and capacity and Jet/Powermatic are headquartered 15 minutes away from where I live.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but all of mine have their own plugs which means I can move it easily if I have to to another machine without having to do any wiring. Also, you'd have to look at electrical compliance WRT tapping into existing control infrastructure on the shaper itself. You will be adding a load to a system that may not have been engineered for much more than what the shaper is expecting to draw.

Believe it or not, I have three different feeders and they have three different bolt patterns, though I expect the powermatic, ShopFox and Grizz share a pattern on their smaller units. Certainly worth verifying though!

Good luck!

B

[David Kumm]

The units you named should all be sourced from Comatic and differ only in fit and finish. There are still feeders made by Steff and Pertici, both Italian. The Comatic bolt patterns should be the same depending on the type of stand. The smart stand is really nice on a shaper but very expensive. Dave

[ChrisA Edwards]

Thanks, looks like I'll probably zero in on the Comatic DC40 in 110v. I can't justify the smart stand for the small about of time I will put this to use.

[Mark Bolton]

Thanks, looks like I'll probably zero in on the Comatic DC40 in 110v. I can't justify the smart stand for the small about of time I will put this to use.

They hurt real bad until you start using them. Youll probably still be impressed but coming from the standard 3 and 4 wheel feeders up until these they are a major improvement. For me personally if I had a feeder that was going to be doing pretty much fixed operations I'd stay with the AF style or equivalent but having the ability to adjust your feeds in 1' increments on the fly is very handy when you do varied work. If you get the DC 40 its a beast (big) when it comes out of the box but its worth every penny in my mind if your going to move any amount of material over time. You'll be able to move it to your saw, jointer, etc as needed as well which is a massive labor saver.

[ChrisA Edwards]

So I'm raving an older thread I started a few months ago.

I've decided on a new Hammer F3 230V Single Phase. It's just a tad over $5K delivered.

It has a sliding table, Tilting Arbor, Forward and Reverse, 4 speeds.

I can't find any reviews on it, is there any reason I shouldn't buy this machine for light hobby use?

[Mike Cutler]

Chris
I'm not familiar with the machine, but for light "hobby use" it looks more than adequate.
Nice looking machine.

PS
It was a good thread you started off. A lot of information came out in it

[David Kumm]

I'd look for a used Felder 700. Way more machine and shapers get light use so little risk if you are careful. The price difference is much less than what you gain. Dave

[Patrick Walsh]

I would just assume buy a router table than anything less than a 700 series Felder shaper.

More often than not and by comparison to a industrial machine I think to myself that my 700z is pretty much just a really nice router table..