I bought a shaper---now what?

[toolmiser]

I have one, but not an expert so take my words with a grain of salt. I don't use mine a lot, but there are some tasks that it seems to do better than other tools I have. I also suggest a stock feeder. I am a little intimidated by mine, which just means I try to be extra careful. In reality I could get hurt with any machine. Just seems there are more "variables" with a shaper.

[oakey]

The 1/2 inch spindle removes from the bottom of the main spindle with a nut then the 3/4 spindle fits in its place I have that same shaper you could not pry it from my hands
There is some one that converts grizzly spindles to delta for the life of me I can not remember the name of the guy I thought it was something like Richard and Jamie's store but I belive
That is not quite right hopefully some one will chime in for the correct info he also rebuilds the spindle bearing cartrages
I belive you will defiantly want the 3/4 spindle as it is a very popular size in the lower priced cutters not that there is anything wrong with 1/2 inch its just to limiting
And a power feeder is almost a must to get full use of the shaper

[EdL]

The fellow that rebuilds the spindles is a member over at owwm.

Ed

[jasfrank]

Nice buy on that Delta! But as others have said, its just the down payment. Now comes spindles, cutter sets, and a power feeder. But hey, steel Coreb cutters, feather boards and being careful can get the wood through it too. If just occasional use, that's how I'd go.

[Huxleywood]

Well, you have now bought the cheapest part of the shaper equation.   The next thing is a feeder, while you can hand feed some cuts on a shaper it should be the last resort, even on a relatively small shaper.  Aside from coping cuts there aren't many cuts I would hand feed on a shaper, even one with small tooling.  If you do insist on hand feeding you will need MAN rated cutters.  For a hobbyist insert cutterheads make the most sense, I am a fan of the Whitehills Combi head which includes rebate cutters and knickers but there are a ton of options.  

Don't view the shaper as simply a more powerful router they require a different more analytical approach.   You need to educate yourself beyond the scope of a forum.  The Eris Stephenson book mentioned is good but I also suggest his later book Spindle Moulder Handbook as it covers the more modern approach to machine guarding.  

Have fun and be safe, a shaper, even a 3hp one, is a different beast from a router and demands respect and a different approach from a router table.

[Papa Jim]

I see I came to the right place. Thank all you Woodneters for getting me off to a good start. I think the best thing I learned is that it's a beast! So respect it! So far all I have done is clean the rust off the table. Next I'll get into the cabinet and try and clean and lubricate everything.

[EightFingers]

The Bad Dog cast iron router table bolts right on to that shaper. I did that with mine and with a power feed it was great.
When I moved to Hawaii, I sold it.



I regret it, but I had to downsize a bit!

[Bob Vaughan]

My 1989 price list shows that shaper to list for $2086.00.  $2086.00 1989 dollars equals $4340.oo in 2018 dollars.  You got a good buy for sure.

I still use shaper cutters I bought in the mid 1980s.  Shaper tooling is a long term investment.  I've gone through several shapers over the years, but the tooling stays.  Point being, tooling is a long term investment.  A good raised panel setup actually costs less not (adjusted for inflation) than it did back when I was buying them.

Using a shaper is a game changer for a hobby wood shop .... or not.  It will depend on your woodworking commitment and ambitions.

[FrankAtl]

Look around on Ebay for cutters too. Sometimes you can find good deals there.

I got a deal I couldn't refuse on my shaper. Like some others have said, I don't use it a lot but when I need it can't be beat. I see a lot of people on different forums bashing shapers but I like having one myself.

[TGW]

Congratulations to entering the world of spindle moulders!

I have found that the spindle moulder (called shaper in USA) is one of the most important machines in a small (part time or one man full time) professional workshop. For instance when making windows I have found that approximately half the number of machine operations is done on the spindle moulder.

However I am not a fan of small spindle moulders. This is one of the cases when bigger is better. Hovewe we don't all have space enough for a monster sized Bäuerle or l'Invincibile and even smaller ones are useful though not quite as useful as the big ones. Yours seem to be the smallest size that is worth buying in my oppinion.

The adwantages of a spindle moulder over a router table are:
-More versatility
-More work efficiency as you can take deep cuts and use high feed speeds.
-More tooling on the market
-Possibilities to grind one's own knives for custom profiles.
-A heavy solid frame and big cast iron table makes the work accurate.

The disadwantages are:
-Expensive tooling. Very expensive compared to router tooling.
-Has a steeper learning curve.
-Useless for small workpieces.
-Requires a feeder which also costs money.

I think you should get a bigger spindle of you only have a half inch spindle. Here in Europe 30mm (almost 1 1/4") spindles are standard on almost all spindle moulders manufactured from the 1930-ies and onwards regardless of machine size and bent spindles are both fairly common and rather dangerous.

I also think you should look for a power feeder. I worked without a power feeder for several years but both the cut quality and the work efficiency suffered and I had a few scaery moments. Finally I found an old Elu in terrible condition which I could afford and managed to rebuild so when I start again I will get better results without risking my fingers. Recently I found another power feeder for my other spindle moulder but it is still in a box in my girlfriend's parent's garage awaiting transport home and rebuild. Even if I have hand fed a lot myself I don't recomment it except for pieces on which the power feeder cannot be used efficiently.

Good luck with your new machine!