Replies

1. 
   frenchy | Mar 05, 2005 06:36am | #1

   That has been discussed at length here but with the modest cost of a shaper and it's abilities compared to the cost of a router table and router with it's limitations In my mind there simply is no question.. The shaper has too many advantages.....

2. 
   forestgirl | Mar 05, 2005 07:54am | #2

   Here is the link to an excellent article covering this topic.

   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" .... :>) 

3. 
   bobJackson | Mar 05, 2005 08:33am | #3

   I belive, in the end a person will be better equipped with both a shaper and a good router table setup. I feel that the jobs I do with each do not overlap a whole lot. They each have their purpose and they both do it well. If you are going to expand, well then by all means expand, in tooling, and in skills and possibilities. Each door you open leads somewhere new.  Enjoy your new tools. Bob

4. 
   mudman | Mar 05, 2005 07:57pm | #4

   Mr. Nu,

   I seriously debated the same delima for about a year. I ended up going the highend router table/ lift/ 3.25 hp router route. The deciding factor was that I replaced my old saw (which had a router table in the wing) with a Unisaw. Then I got a commision where I needed a router table, not for doors just for simple trims and profiles. So I ran out and dropped something like $800 on a  Master lift, Master fence and the big PC router. I didn't want to spend all that money because I could have bought a shaper for the same money. However in retrospect I now understand that you need both tools. Shapers excell at large profiles and doors, but you still need a good router table to cut coves and other common profiles. It seem a little absurd to buy shaper cutters for a 1/4" round over!

   Mike

   please excuse my spelling.
1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 05, 2005 09:24pm | #5

   "It seem a little absurd to buy shaper cutters for a 1/4" round over!"  No kidding.  Don't know if you read the article I linked to above, but in the summary paragraphs, there is this sentence:

   In reality the question isn’t which machine to use but which cutter to use. If high performance, more versatile, or special cutters are desired (or for a lot of heavy cutting) a shaper is the tool to use. For pierced work, and “finger type” joints, a router table is preferred.

   And, of course, there's this:

   For reasons stated above, even if a woodworker had a shaper available that would not make a router table setup redundant.

   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" .... :>) 

1. 
   patternmaker | Mar 05, 2005 11:40pm | #6

   F.G.
   In my shop I have both the shaper and the router table setup.The shaper at one time was the only small tool of choice for the production of mouldings and duplicate parts. The router,as we know it,had not yet been introduced. My main use for mine in the early years was in the reproduction of special mouldings for period furniture pieces.
   This required the use of special grooved collars and bevel edge shaper steel.The patterns were ground into the knives to suit the shapes needed.This produced mouldings that were so smoothe as to require a minimum of sanding for finish.I still use it on occasion. Now let me say that I DO NOT reccomend this for a person who is not well versed and skilled in shaper set up and use. My router set up uses a variable speed unit that can be slowed down when using some of the solid cutters with the half inch bores. This is the set up that I use most of the time.This sometimes makes the feed more ticklish if burn marks are to be avoided on the finished edges. Before I had the variable speed router,I had a variable speed unit that could be plugged in between the router and the electrical source. Using this,any standard routers speed could be controlled.
   Work safely ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Thank you,Mr.Croney,where ever you may be.
   Work safely ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

   Edited 3/5/2005 3:44 pm ET by Pat