I don't own a tilting shaper (yet), but have been doing some research and one of the topics that comes up regularly is the tilt direction.
What I've never seen suggested or cautioned against is...
In a pinch, could you rotate the fence 180 degrees and use a shaper from the backside - making a front tilt machine into a rear tilt machine?
There are shop layout, dust collection, on/off/height controls, fence alignment and other considerations - like on my Northfield the back mounted motor would be a pain to work around.
Might not be very practical, but would it work without damaging me, the machine, or the wood?
mark