Shaper snipe troubleshoot

[Joe Calhoon]

JR, I have always admired your setup for cabinet doors. It’s smart.

Yes, interesting discussion and we might have overwhelmed the OP with information. It is possible to get good results using the split fence removing the whole edge. Shaper is like a jointer with the fence and table reversed.
1-Outfeed fence set to the zero of the cutter.
2- Fences perfectly coplaner. Check with a straight edge and feeler gauge.
3- Fences perfectly square to the table.
4- workpieces not straight or prepared well.

if you are getting snipe at both ends and the outfeed is set to the zero diameter it a indication of a fault with 2, 3 and 4 Or the feed may not be set right.
With all these things needing to be set properly you can see the advantages of using a outboard fence.
A zero fence will help with shorter pieces. It does not have to be perfect zero you just want to close the opening as much as possible.
Pictures of one I use for outside cuts on doors and sash. It is a little hacked up as it has been modified for different cutters and wood pieces added to raise it up. This is used with a large diameter cutter to close the opening. Otherwise short pieces will tend to tip in. We get the offset by running the fence through the planer and dropping the bed halfway through. 1mm in our case but could be 1/16” or whatever you use. This one is plastic because we use it on a NC shaper and do not want to deal with wood movement. Wood is fine for this in most cases though.

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[Martin Wasner]

I some respects, using the split fence is better since you can oversize your material greatly, then use the split fence as you say like a jointer. I've thought about setting a separate shaper up just for sticking cuts and doing this. Oversize them more like you would with a moulder with a good sized straightening table. You'd want to have some sort of block though to force a dimension if the crook was greater than the amount you could remove and maintain width. I should just get my moulder going....

JR and I have talked about tracking batches of doors to see what is a better use of time. I haven't delivered any valuable data. I'm certain he's coping faster, but I wonder if the time is made up on my end in the handling when doing the sticking cut though. I also wonder if one of those double headed copers would be faster than doing 4 at a time as you might loose it on the load/unload, whereas the automatic machine your hands are free to stage the next set, and put away the previous set. That's what I discovered about the automatic dovetailer. It doesn't machine any faster, but my hands are free while it's cutting to keep my house in order.

I do think the best way is to run sticking through a moulder hitting all four faces at once, then a double headed coper. That's what I'm working towards. Oversize a 1/4" on the rip saw, then let the moulder straighten and flatten everything out. Still not as good as busting up material, face jointing, planing, edge jointing, sizing, then profiling for straightness, but I don't think I can charge enough for that small gain in waste.


JR can you play with the cycle speed on your jump saw? We tried a couple of different blades and slowed ours way down and that helped a bunch. On stiles tear out goes to the outside of the door( Face up or down doesn't seem to matter), when cutting rails I like to cut face down and tear out towards the profile so the back edge is clean against the backer while coping.


I looked into a defecting saw. Buckle up expensive. I was surprised at the $135k price.

[Patrick Kane]

Interesting discussion. Ive never made cabinets, but sooner or later thats going to catch up to me. We finished our complete gut of a starter home prior to me getting involved in true woodworking. Otherwise, im sure i would have made the bathroom vanities etc. One aspect of woodworking i enjoy is increasing efficiency of the build process. Its how i justify overkill tool purchases. Does anyone have a link to a video or step by step showing a typical kitchen build from the ground up? There are videos out there showing this old house or whatever making cabinets with a router table and a unisaw, but im more so interested in the exact steps people use that have a slider, proper shaper, ripsaw etc. Things like an outboard fence and using the shaper to dimension and profile are tricks of the trade im looking for. Basically, things i would learn by working in a respectable pro shop for a month. Are there resources for that sort of education, or more so its just taught by apprenticing/doing? Ill never be in the position you all are in as far as building a door in 3 minutes, but it sounds like there is the right way of building cabinets and the stumbling and bumbling way.

[Darcy Warner]

I some respects, using the split fence is better since you can oversize your material greatly, then use the split fence as you say like a jointer. I've thought about setting a separate shaper up just for sticking cuts and doing this. Oversize them more like you would with a moulder with a good sized straightening table. You'd want to have some sort of block though to force a dimension if the crook was greater than the amount you could remove and maintain width. I should just get my moulder going....

JR and I have talked about tracking batches of doors to see what is a better use of time. I haven't delivered any valuable data. I'm certain he's coping faster, but I wonder if the time is made up on my end in the handling when doing the sticking cut though. I also wonder if one of those double headed copers would be faster than doing 4 at a time as you might loose it on the load/unload, whereas the automatic machine your hands are free to stage the next set, and put away the previous set. That's what I discovered about the automatic dovetailer. It doesn't machine any faster, but my hands are free while it's cutting to keep my house in order.

I do think the best way is to run sticking through a moulder hitting all four faces at once, then a double headed coper. That's what I'm working towards. Oversize a 1/4" on the rip saw, then let the moulder straighten and flatten everything out. Still not as good as busting up material, face jointing, planing, edge jointing, sizing, then profiling for straightness, but I don't think I can charge enough for that small gain in waste.


JR can you play with the cycle speed on your jump saw? We tried a couple of different blades and slowed ours way down and that helped a bunch. On stiles tear out goes to the outside of the door( Face up or down doesn't seem to matter), when cutting rails I like to cut face down and tear out towards the profile so the back edge is clean against the backer while coping.


I looked into a defecting saw. Buckle up expensive. I was surprised at the $135k price.

You can find a good Dimter for under 10k. Great support from weinig. I have set up a couple for local shops. Great machines when you can take advantage of their capabilities.

[Martin Wasner]

You can find a good Dimter for under 10k. Great support from weinig. I have set up a couple for local shops. Great machines when you can take advantage of their capabilities.

I just looked up the price of a new OMGA. I haven't really paid any attention to anything like that used. I need more space to add a defecting saw. I just don't have anywhere to put it right now.