I finally purchased a shaper. It is a Craftsman 2hp model with a 1hp motor and a 1/2″ spindle. I need to purchase some spindles and wondered witch to start with.
Amana has some for around a $120.00 with a set of interchangeable cutters.
Woodcraft had carbide cutters that sell individually with one profile.
Unfortunately I only have a 1/2″ spindle and now collet for router bits.
Edited 5/10/2004 3:59 pm ET by lynn
Replies
lynn,
I assume this is a used machine? If new, I would try and get a 3/4 spindle and collets for router bits.
What you get in the way of cutters kind of depends on what your going to be doing?
I try to build furniture. I would like to get acustomed to the shaper. I think I will need alot of different shapes that will see light use.
Thanks
Hi again, Lynn. You might want to order a Ballew Saw and Tool catalog. They have a web site http://www.ballewtools.com but without a paper catalog, it's kinda hard to use. They have an extensive selection of shaper cutters by different manufacturers. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Lynn,
Did you mean spindles or did you mean cutters? The spindle is the shaft that the cutters are mounted on. On some machines the spindles can be changed, but different size spindles are only available from the machine's maker.
If you have the small benchtop machine that seems to be the only shaper that Sears now sells, you will be limited to fairly small cutters, no more than 2 1/2 inches in diameter according to the copy in the Sear's catalog.
The big interchangeable blade cutter heads would be way too large to safely use on such a small machine. Most of the cutters in the Woodcraft catalog are also too big for your machine. Many 3/4 inch bore cutters come with 1/2 inch bushings but that doesn't automatically mean that your 1/2 inch spindle machine can handle them.
The small shapers, like the one you have, are very limited in the size cutter they can handle, your question suggests that you are possibly expecting more of the machine than is reasonable or safe.
Grizzly has about twenty carbide cutters made specifically for smaller 1/2 inch spindle machines. Sears makes about the same number of cutters in high speed steel. I don't know of any other sources for smaller shaper cutters, the smaller shapers aren't very popular compared to years ago, probably because they've been displaced by routers.
John W.
Edited 5/11/2004 12:35 pm ET by JohnW
Edited 5/11/2004 3:59 pm ET by JohnW
It is an older model that is similar to the Delta 43-120. It has a 1hp motor and a 1/2"spindle. It weigh well over 150 lbs.
Lynn,
I know the machine, I bought one used a few months ago but haven't set it up to use yet.
These are light duty machines, I wouldn't use a cutter any larger than 2 1/2 inches in diameter. So far as I have been able to discover, there are few sources of these smaller cutters meant for 1/2 inch spindle machines. The only sources I know of right now are Grizzly for carbide cutters and and Sears for steel ones though between the two there's a pretty complete selection. Grizzly also sells collars and spacers for 1/2 inch spindles.
If you e-mail your mailing address to me I can send you a copy of the manual, but it doesn't say anything about cutter sizes, only that they are available from Sears.
John W.
A non- sequitor. . .
I bought a second hand shaper. It was a great deal. I looked at the size of the cutters and got cold feet.
I ended up trading it to a friend of mine who is a pro cabinet builder. I helped him set it up. He had one with a huge, thick cast iron top in the corner. One corner was torn off. The story was that he had a power feeder bolted to the top. A piece of wood somehow got jammed in it and it busted off the corner o the table.
If you think you need 3 or 4 shots of bourbon to get the courage up to use the tool, you need to rethink what you are doing.
Frank
I have been having medical problems so please excuse my tardiness in replying to your helpful remarks.
I have reworked the Sears shaper and replaced all the major bolts with new bolts. The motor is in excellent condition and is rated at 1hp. I called Amana in New York and taked to a proported technical expert that again stated that the amana cutter head would work with any shaper with a spindle speed of 9000 rpm. I remain skeptical. Another email on the same subject is as follows:
"Hello The cutter head on the picture is made with heavy aloy steel. I thing that it is too heavy for your machine. We have another head for low power machine made with Alluminium aloy. You can use the sames knives and it comes with bushings for ¾’’ spindle. The price is the same.
Thank you !
Patrick Garant
Les Scies Mercier Inc.
50 Delisle Lévis ,Quebec Canada
G6V 6K2
Tel : 418-837-1417
Fax : 418-837-8253"
Have fun with your shaper I love mine, I have the little Jet shaper. I use router bits in it all the time and get good results.
As for those shouting doom about running larger cutters, think about this. Routers are not build as strongly or at least no more strongly than shaper. They are rotating those bits almost twice as fast and hold together.
If your running a big bit, just don't run oak through it at full depth.
I wouldn't bother with a collet for router bits. Your shaper turns to slow to be very satisfactory. The shaper will probably turn no more than 8000 - 9000 RPM. and router bits are designed to turn at 25000 - 30000 rpm.
Michael R.
Go to grizzley.com and check out your choices..
few other places sell small ones except indirectly.. That is I think Jet sells a line of them but they are really pricy..
I suspect they buy them and mark them up according to whatever formula the bookeeper uses.
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