Most motors are rated in horsepower or kilowatts as a measure of the output power. 1 HP is about 745 watts.
Some motors, though, are made to sound more powerful by using a different method. They lock up the motor shaft and measure the power just before it stalls. It takes a lot of watts that way and sounds better in advertising brochures.
It's like I said before - the screaming you hear from a universal motor is the sound of the excess horsepower being sucked through the interdimensional vortex.
Shaper bits are *expensive*. Most shapers can accommodate router bits as well, but remember a shaper only spins at about 10,000 RPM (you don't need to go any faster when you're spinning those big bits), and that's almost painfully slow for something like a 1/4" straight bit.
The only benefit I can see is a little bit of portability and being able to use the router out of the table. Not much benefit as far as I can see.
It never occurred to me and leads me to ask ~ is there *any* reason to buy a router and stick it in a table when one can get a decent shaper for the same money?
Oh well, guess I have nothing to worry about then. I've got my own interdimensional vortex power tap.
Her name is Lucy...
The best primer I've seen on that subject:
1 HP = 746 watts.
When you're talking about AC motors, the "real" horsepower output of the motor, regardless of the marketing hype, will be fairly close to:
HP = (.75 * Amps * Voltage)/746
Where Amps and Voltage are the dataplate values on the motor or appliance. The .75 fudge factor is a ball park estimate to account for electrical and mechanical efficiencies which are always less than 100% and for the AC power factor which will vary with the load on the motor. High load, higher power factor. Low load, lower power factor.
Overall motor efficiencies vary from type to type, and from model to model within the same type, but when comparing two similar motors, it's usually a good assumption that the higher amperage motor will be the more powerful of the two.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
Are there any decently priced shapers on the market capable of router speeds? Or, is that a conflict of usage?
If there are, I'm not aware of them. My impression is that the ability of a shaper to accommodate router bits is a "nice to have" feature, but shapers are designed for the big jobs and router bits will either work for you or they won't depending on the job at hand. As much as I'd
*love* to have a shaper, I only have room for so many machines and most of what I do can be handled by a router table. I'd have both if I had the room.
Bingo.
Shaper cutters have maximum tip speed ratings that would be exceeded at the higher rpm of a router. I can't imagine a manufacturer supplying a drive speed approaching that of a router w/ a shaper as it would be quite a complication to prevent it from being used w/ the normal spindles, not just w/ the router collet.
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I'm sure it's my lack of engineering comprehension, but I don't see why a shaper could not be manufactured that would be capable of the faster speeds when using router bits. Obviously there's some reason or someone would have marketed one already.
That brings me to another question along the same lines. You've got nailers that run on compressed air and now, you've got battery rechargeable nailers coming on the market. Why has there never been nailers manufactured that run on 120v power, bypassing the need for a compressor? What am I missing?
It's not that it couldn't, only that it would be more expensive for a (relatively) minor purpose of the machine.
In previous post I was mostly thinking of the liability issue of the simple solution of a simple variable-speed drive of then using the high speed w/ large cutters. As above, a solution for only the collet would be more complicated; ergo, expensive.
Airlines/tote-able compressors less pita factor than extension cord/genset is my guess. Weight could at least initially have been a factor as a secondary even more WAG...
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Product liability? Some fool sticking a shaper head in the thing and cranking it up to router speeds? Interlocks would be expensive and an unwanted complication.
My guess is that nailers are commonly used by carpenters where there isn't yet electrical power. Gasoline powered compressors are pretty common on job sites.
BTW, what is a gas nailer? I just ran across them on the Hitachi site, but there is no explanation.
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: ...
Paslode was original. Use a combustible gas cannister (propane/butane, I think?) w/ a battery-powered electrical discharge to power the drive piston. Eliminates air hose at somewhat higher operating cost.
I think the Paslode site has good info; I didn't look but I presume
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My first guess is the 3/4 HP is OK, particularly compared to the "3 1/2 HP routers. I have a small Rockwell 1/2" shaper with a 1 HP motor. If you made a 1hp router out of it (the motor) it would take 2 guys to handle it.
Anyway, I never had a power problem with the shaper. 3/4 horse may be a little light but only for something like a large panel raising bit but I'd bet my 1 hp shaper will strain less than a 3 horse router doing the same operation. I'd be doing more than one pass for this anyway.
I tend to look at my shaper as a heavy duty router. I hate using a router for anything, they scream at you and sound totally obnoxious. Any time I turn on my router I understand why the hand tool fanatics stay away from power tools.
I'd buy the 1 1/2 horse for other reasons than HP rating though. Read the specs, you get two speeds - 7 & 10,000rpm, 1/2" and 3/4" spindles, larger spindle openings. These things are good, and if I were buying one, I'd surely go for the 1 1/2hp.
The router is the only power tool I hate, because of the sound. A shaper sounds great, a router screams. Before I got a shaper I made a router table, which works fine but ties up my router, and it doesn't have all the fancy lift and bit changing stuff like the routers people are buying now specifically to stick in a table.
Mostly now, I use my router for what it was designed, as a portable shaper, or if you like, my shaper is a stationary router. Both are good at there respective jobs, but mixing them up should only be to save money, one tool, two jobs. Buying a second router specifically for use as a shaper seems foolish, particularly when spending about the same amount of money... might as well go with the tool designed for the task.
A woodworker needs a router, he doesn't need a shaper. Sticking a router in a table works, lugging around a shaper is tough. Shaper cutters are a good bit more expensive and harder to find. I can go to rockler or sears store and buy router bits, but not shaper bits. If you already have a bunch of good router bits, well, they won't work well in a shaper which generally spin less than 10,000 rpm. My recommendation for the home workshop is only get a shaper if you already have a router. A router is an ok shaper, a shaper doesn't work well with your dovetail jig...
Good info is this and your other post, Tom. Thanks.
I rented the Paslode to build my house. The thing would jam up after it got too hot. I hope they fixed that. When it worked, it was incredible-- powerful and very light.
Thanks. I can see where that would save time/money. The fuel cells aren't cheap though. As little as I use a framing nailer, I'll stick to air. ;-)
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