Hey all,
I'm a hobbyist rigging up a basement shop and I'm evaluating the router table vs. low end shaper debate. Since nearly all of the router tables on the market seem to be cheap MDF tables that'll warp over time it seems crazy to pay $300-500 for a router table. Seems like it's best to but a good fence/lift/plate and build. But Grizzly offers a 1.5 HP shaper for only $515 which seems temping. Is a 1.5 HP shaper to small for all but the smallest projects? Is it beefy enough for anything a hobbyist would throw at it? It'll never be used for production work. Shop Fox also has a 2 HP shaper for $800 and the Griz 3 HP is $1000.
Also, given the low spin rates of shapers will it cover most or all of my routing needs or will I need the router table eventually, anyway? Thoughts?
TIA,
Michael