Sunday, September 18, 2011

Shapers: Old School Machines Still Being Used Today

Shapers range from particular head machines with fixed spindles to fully self-operating machines with manifold heads. Most shapers are particular head with a cutter head fixed to a rotating spindle. The spindles are threaded on the end and range in size from 1/2" to 1-1/4" in diameter. Many are fitted with different sizes of spindles, as well as with collets for router bits to be used in them. Shapers vary in size and are typically identified by motor's rated power and by the diameter of the spindle. Industrial versions are 5 horsepower (Hp) or greater.

They are used for shaping solid wood components or the edges of panel components. They can be fitted with a material feeder to feed the stock longitudinally or with a sliding table which clamps the material to be fed straight through the cutter head. This application is generally for shaping the ends of component stock. Some have tilting spindles to allow deeper profiles with less cutter projection. There are also duplicate head shapers, generally with one head rotating in each direction. This is to allow the operator to all the time work that the head that is rotating toward the material when approaching, especially when working the ends of material where escape could be a problem. There are also floating head shapers where the material is fed straight through between 2 floating heads to process 2 sides and size in the same operation. There are also rotary and linear manifold head shapers that achieve more complex shaping and edge sanding of components in only 1 pass.

Clamp Meter

Although they achieve similar functions, shapers tend to be quieter than routers. This is because they are belt-driven and turn slower than a router. The router will have a high-pitched whine while a shaper will have a softer humming sound. Other inequity between shapers and routers is that a shaper is a stationary machine designed for higher volume work while a router is more of a hand tool designed for lighter duty work.

An inviting but risky attribute is that shapers are able to run in reverse to be able to achieve certain cuts. It is very prominent to verify the direction setting on the machine, because if you feed a board into a shaper that is turning the wrong direction, the board could shoot out of the machine like a missile. Scm, Unique, Casadei, and Onsrud are a few of many brands of shapers on the used woodworking machine store today.

Shapers: Old School Machines Still Being Used Today

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