Helping woodworkers online for over 20 years
Shapers
There
comes a time when a router table is just not beefy enough to get the
job done, to really hog some wood off you need a shaper. Shapers are
built stronger and heavier to swing a larger cutter than any router
will handle, they are usually found in production shops. They run
slower than a router, usually 7000 to 9000 RPM, most have a collet to
accept router bits, however they are really too slow to use smaller
diameter bits so will not replace a router. Like a router there are interchangeable cutters for specialized jobs, most offer at least two speeds, they vary in power from small 1 HP units up to what ever you want to pay for.
Probably the best and also most expensive safety device would be a power feeder. The benefits to using a power feeder, in addition to keeping your hands far from the cutters, is the fact it will hold both down and in towards the fence with a great deal of force. This in addition to controlling the speed at which the board is fed past the cutter is critical to
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1.5 HP
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| Wear safety glasses or faceshield.
Wear hearing protection that is suitable for the level and frequency of the noise you are exposed to. Use the cutter (and spindle speed / RPM) suited for the job. Use sharp cutters only and keep them clean. Remove all wrenches and tools used in the set up from the table. Make sure all guards are in place. After changing shaper knives make sure spindle turns freely by hand before turning on machine. Do not use single cutter knives in shaper heads. Ensure that knives are balanced and correctly mounted. Use a push stick when necessary. Adjust cut depth before turning the machine on. Do not leave machine running unattended. Keep area around machine tidy. Turn off power, lock out a machine when doing set-ups or any other operation on or about the spindle. Shape only one piece of stock at a time. Use extra care in machining stock that contains cross grains or knots. Shape stock only if longer than 10 in. Support long pieces of wood with extension tables or roller supports.
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