Oh! Then I take back what I said. ;~)
Yeah, a slippery slope. I think the expense of the shaper cutters is what held my back over my router table set up. Now, in the last 6 years I think a shaper may have served me well for other uses that are not quite right for a router table set up.
On 08/21/2016 9:41 AM, Leon wrote: ...
Hey, "it's only money and last I heard they _still_ won't let you take it with you..."
The larger table for one, although one can always build extensions, to make them rigid and level w/o any catch-lines, etc., and the miter slots, etc., etc., etc., ... while doable takes a fair amount of effort.
Pattern shaping and the larger panel-raising or similar are the real advantages for me; plus simply the bulk makes a much more enjoyable tool to use; it's like a SawStop Pro or PM66/2000 vis a vis the contractor saw--the little guy can get the job done, but the heft simply makes things better, particularly if the workpieces get larger or the numbers get up there, both of which occur regularly in architectural work which what I've mostly done, particularly over last number of years vis a vis cabinet or furniture...
The large raised panels are what I would be thinking.
I do have a question, the last two jobs I had involved 14 raised panel drawer fronts made out of red oak.
While my router table had no issue with spinning a 3+" raised panel bit, I did this in about 3 passes, I wanted to take a very lite final pass.
Do you get better cuts across grain with raised panel tooling on a shaper or is this mostly dependent on how sharp your cutters are? Or is the angle of attack much different on the cutting edge of a shaper cutter vs. a router bit?
On 08/22/2016 9:30 AM, Leon wrote: ...
I'm too chicken to spin a 3" cutter on only a 1/2" arbor at router speeds so I can't really comment that much on the geometry question, Leon.
Sharp is key, of course, as well as what actual tip speed is. I generally only take two passes and am also, as a general rule, satisfied with the cut. On really aggressive profiles I make make a clearance cut using an angle on the TS with the panel upright to remove what extra material can be; presuming the panel isn't _too_ tall, of course.
Oh, and on the question of sharp, there's where there can be a _major_ difference between the top-dollar "name" cutters vis a vis Grizz or other generics...Amana is, in my book the blue standard against which to judge all else in the consumer-priced category. There are, of course, in the shaper market, the manufacturers for the commercial shops but you don't even want to hear what a set is from one of them... but the $300 neighborhood doesn't even get you more than a look-see... :)
I've got to get back to the hay fields right now, while mowing I'll think a little more on the subject and see if have any further to add...
Well unlike a shaper cutter my raised panel bits be gin cutting very close to the shank so they don t reach too far out from the center of rotation. And the cutting edges are about 90 degrees out from the shank. I was thinkin that if the angle of attack on the cutting edge was freater there might be more of a shear action. I crank my router down to about 8K rpm and put the fence even with the front of the pilot bearing so about 1.5~1.75" sticks out. And it is under the piece I am working on. I absolutely use a backer board to push and cover the bit when it exits the work. It really seems kinda slow paced. Nothing really exciting.
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The operation isn't what scares me...it's the part about "crank my router down to about 8K rpm".
Does your router (or any, for that matter) have any feedback control that prevents it starting at high speed with a cutter above certain diameter or mass?
I was permanently scarred many years ago by witnessing the result of "I was _sure_ I turned it down!" and a large bit like you're describing taking off across the shop and embedding in a solid 6x8 column to the full depth of a cutter wing. Fortunately, the operator first hit the switch while holding the router in front of him and to the side and the trajectory happened to miss the rest of us in the shop, but I was "cured-for-life" of using such bits where the mistake could be so serious or fatal so quick...
To tell you the truth it looks about like 500 RPM.
I doubt it, but mine, the bigger Triton, has a great EVS. It seems to not slow down or speed up with load changes.
That certainly makes you think. And another reason I buy higher quality when using these type bits.
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Agreed...far better chances. A small one is bad enough but those monsters are something else again...I see 'em in the catalogs and the shank just doesn't look like enough bulk to my eye...I know they test and all but... :)
Also, I'd surely recommend sticking with the way you're using them; _very_ light cuts.
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