Replies

1. 
   oldusty | Oct 31, 2007 06:26am | #1

   Dave , 

              I think for the type of work you do a good router and table with a nice assortment of tips and bits will serve you better on the job especially .

      Many router bits can do more then one thing .

        If you were doing a lot of case work with stile and rail doors it would be different .

                 dusty

2. 
   potomac | Oct 31, 2007 08:22am | #2

   I agree with Dusty and do the same kind of work as yourself. Extremely useful on rabbeted shelves dado sides style of bookshelves among other countless uses that we get used to doing freehand or with the help of other jigs and guides. Now that I have it, I have become a rabbet snob and will never rip one on the table saw again. (never say never) I bought the Rousseau table, fence and router base for it's size and portability. Like anything I buy these days I was not totally satisfied. The table chipped out the first day I had it, but the base and fence have served me well so far. To their credit, Rousseau replaced the table, which could be shop built better and bigger anyway and sent some accessories with it that were better than the ones purchased with the set. I find myself using it all the time now for trim work, stairs and railings,picture frames and cabinets. The service was excellent as well in the end.
   Hope it helps
   John

3. 
   Routerman | Oct 31, 2007 04:45pm | #3

   Short take.

1. 
   potomac | Nov 01, 2007 05:02am | #6

   Thanks, I have only been a subscriber for a week and have learned mountains from you and others already.
   john

4. 
   WillGeorge | Oct 31, 2007 07:55pm | #4

   What is better ? A router table or a shaper ..

   Shaper but it is really hard to carry around! I'd get BOTH if I had the money...

5. 
   brad805 | Nov 01, 2007 02:59am | #5

   One thing to keep in mind, is the shaper cutters are not as readily avail as router bits, well at least in Canada anyway.  If you buy the insert style, many have lots of diff profiles in the 40/50mm profiles.  When you get into custom grinding, it adds up quickly.  I have a 3" insert style head for the shaper (Scrit suggest I was looney not to have one) and All Blades cuts profiles for me.  Min. charge is $160 for a pair of 3" blades for a very basic profile.  I really like my shaper.  Its quiet, never gets hot and a 6" cutter spinning always impresses me.  From your description of work a power feeder may be of benefit sometime for a shaper, so try to find a fairly heavy one.  I have a 3hp 3/4" spindle shaper and with the power feeder mounted it would be easy to get it too tip over when I move it out of the way. I would suggest a 1 1/4" spindle moulder and if you have any idea of using it for MT joinery and see a need for a 10" cutter (tenons longer than 2.5"+-), make sure you can dial its speed down to 3000rpm.

   Good luck.

6. 
   ring | Nov 01, 2007 06:24pm | #7

   There's no way you're going to take a shaper along to a jobsite. The router table is the versatile and mobile choice. On the other hand, if you need to prepare 1000' of molding, a shaper will do a cleaner and faster job. Or, if you are cutting rail and stile joints to make cabinet doors, no question that the shaper is the preferred tool.

   You can usually make do with a router set-up but if the quantities get demanding or the profiles get large, you need a shaper.

   David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e

1. 
   philip | Nov 07, 2007 08:58am | #12

   David, how is the Angola project going?
   (Sorry, off topic).Philip Marcou

1. 
   ring | Nov 07, 2007 06:36pm | #13

   Hi Philip, 

   (with apologies for completely hijacking this thread)

   The project is moving along with unexpected twists and turns.  Let's see...

   The original architect left the project and sued all of us for using "his system".  I had a few days in court trying to prove that actually it was I who invented all the details of the "system".  Before the trial ended, the guys behind the project settled it out of court and we could move on.

   I've packed up two 40' containers with parts for the first model house, and am now about to pack the 3rd and last container.  In parallel there are 2 containers leaving the US with other stuff (OSB sheets, jobsite tools, camping equipment, etc).  All the windows are being made to order in Italy and will be shipped directly to Angola.  At some future date we will have to set up a window production facility, but for now it was just too much to get off the ground at one time.

   We should be going to Angola around January to assemble the first house.  I expect about 6-8 weeks of work, but who knows?  The house is some 800 sq. meters with another 150 sq. m of decking.  Right on the beach some 30 km north of Luanda. 

   The major headache right now is trying to think of every eventuality - what tools and materials will we need?  My working assumption is that I need to ship every single nail and every piece of wood, not to mention surfboards for the guys...

   I've been so busy lately that I don't get on the web much, but I promise to update with pics when I can.

   regards,

    David Ring

   http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e

7. 
   cigarmike | Nov 02, 2007 04:12pm | #8

   You may have answered your own question, when you stated it needs to be portable. This would rule out any shaper, including the 1 1/2hp Grizzly that I just sold. This is the small one w/interchangeable spindles. I never used it enough to justify keeping it over a router table.

   Shapers are meant for stationary use in a shop, cranking out large amounts of moulding and raised panels. These can be done on a router table, just slower and not large parts. Look into the bench top models on the market now from companies' such as Bosch, Bench Dog, Kreg or your own design.

   Good luck and watch those fingers.

8. 
   CanadianGrizzly | Nov 02, 2007 05:40pm | #9

   Dave, a while back there was an article on constructing a benchtop router table... if you can find it you could adapt to suit your portability issue as you could clamp it down at the worksite. A shaper would really shine in your workshop especially if you are making your own trim.

   Good luck,

1. 
   DAC747 | Nov 07, 2007 05:27am | #10

   Thanks for all of the replies. I think I am going to construct my own router table. Is Rockler a good source for the parts I will need.

                           Thanks Again Dave

1. 
   oldusty | Nov 07, 2007 08:49am | #11

   There are no parts needed that you can't pick out of your scrap pile most likely .

       The table does not need to be fancy to produce quality works .

       The fence can be made of plywood , with auxillary zero clearance fences added as needed .

                   dusty

1. 
   WillGeorge | Nov 09, 2007 03:17am | #15

   DITTO...The table does not need to be fancy to produce quality works .

   Just flat! and as big as possible for the room you have!

2. 
   stephen_A | Nov 07, 2007 10:38pm | #14

   I just built a workbench based on plans from the website something like Bobs plans.  He has a free workbench plan which includes a router table and some other neat features. He must have developed the plans in two passes, because some of the parts don't fit together and the drawer.  The concept is great just redraw the plans to eliminate the errors.  I also change them to use roller drawer slides instead of friction slides.

         Stephen Anderson