Be afraid, be very afraid

[SteveF]

I bought a large lot of tools a couple of Sundays ago. In that lot was this shaper head and cutters. I do an awful lot of shaper work. I'm very familiar with corrugated back and lock edge cutters.

I had heard of these, but had never seen them before. Truly frightening, I can't imagine ever using one of these. Widow maker for sure.

[Jeremy s]

I used to work in a shop where this is all we used for shaper cutters. Mainly the oldest guy there is the one who usually set these up on the shaper. He would always have another guy check his setup. And he still wore a piece of plywood as an apron. Never any accidents if you know what you are doing. I paid very close attention to setup. When they went out of business i bought an entire lot of cutting tools and a huge lot of knives and heads. I never used them and sold them to a guy on here....a guy who knows his stuff.

[TGW]

Some have a tiny tab in the slots in the collars with a corresponding slot in the edge of the knife. Then the knife cannot be thrown out if the spindle nut isn't loosened a full turn. That is said to make them a lot safer. I have a pair of such collars and don't dare to use them anyway.

The oldest and most dangerous model had flat bottomed slots in the collars and square edged knives. They were very dangerous. Not even the old men dare to use them.

[Paul K. Murphy]

I've used those before.
They're not monsters trying to hurt you. They're not that bad. They are potentially very dangerous though. I even had an accident, though I got out of it without a scratch. The year was 1987. Using a much larger cutter than any of the ones you've got there, I was milling a swan neck pediment in white oak. I had a lot less experience then than I do now. I was taking it all in one cut. The workpiece was wrested from my hands and flew across the shop, possibly twenty five feet or so. In moments like that, everything really does move in slow motion.
I wasn't hurt at all.

[K. L. McReynolds]

I have one of these

The first time I used it, I triple checked all the set screws/arbor nut and still bent over and hid when I turned on the TS.

I've used it extensively(have several zero clearance inserts for the different inserts) and the sound it makes is still scary evil.

[Paul K. Murphy]

I have a Craftsman molding head cutter too.
The sound...
I know you have one. I know you're telling the truth, not that you would lie.
Anybody who has used one would undoubtably mention the sound.

[Bob10]

Funny I got that set up with a shaper and had no idea how they worked as it was scattered in a drawer with several other cutters

[Bob10]

these

I have one or 2 of those seemed everyone that got rid of a RAS because it scared the chit out of them had one in the drawer to go with the saw

[Grandpa Dave]

Paul K. Murphy said:

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I have a Craftsman molding head cutter too.
The sound...
I know you have one. I know you're telling the truth, not that you would lie.
Anybody who has used one would undoubtably mention the sound.

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Yeppers, What he said!

My first Craftsman was single cutter head...came with the used RAS 35 years ago. I used it once on the RAS...never again on RAS...to scary!

Second molding head came with TS purchase...I've picked up several for 'cheap' since mainly for the cutters.

Even though the retaining screw passes through the cutter on these, I use a Sharpy placing a mark next to each retaining screw after tightening; 2nd mark as I recheck screws...then check for 2 marks after head is mounted on arbor and rotated. Never had an issue, but I always treat any rotating mass with due respect.

[Kudzu]

Paul K. Murphy said:

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I've used those before.
They're not monsters trying to hurt you. They're not that bad. They are potentially very dangerous though.......

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Yup! It's just like the fear of a Radial Arm saw jumping it's track and ripping your heart out of your lungs.