Usually there is no difference seen in a shaper and router table. Both are identical in the way they work by projecting a cutter or slightly through a hole in the table. The work material is directed along a fence and through the cutter, developing a profile on the component.
In various other ways, although they are totally different, a major question considered is the type of woodworking it can do, requirement of a shaper and a simple router table can do the work. You need to find the size of profiles you need to create. You don’t need to have a shaper and router table as most shapers can also spin router bits. But you cannot spin shaper cutters on a router.
If you are habitual to use routers and router tables, the first thing to notice is the peaceful operation. The high pitched whine of the router has been replaced by the peaceful whirr that is a feature of the shaper. The reasons are: many shapers start at slower RPMs as compare to routers. Additionally when you consider the tip speed of the larger shaper cutter unlike to the router bit, there cannot significant difference in speed at the real cutting point. Moreover, routers are direct drive whilst shapers use the peaceful belt-drive system of rotation.
As shaper cutters are considerably bigger than router bits, they are connected to the shaper in different manner than router bits are connected to a router. Shapers use heavy metal spindles that are rigidly connected to the shaper at the bottom of the spindle. Spindles are often introduced in various sizes – 0.5 inch, ¾ inch, 1 inch and 1 ¼ inch diameters. Most machines only include single spindle however others include two or more. Spindles are often solid and interchangeable types. An interchangeable spindle comprises of a hole in the top end that permits you to configure smaller diameter spindles and uniform router bit collets. An interchangeable spindle also holds shaper cutters.
Solid spindles are used for shaper cutters. The capacity of a shaper spindle is described in available space. Larger capacity needs more cutters and spacers. Another essential factor to consider is when buying a shaper is the magnitude of spindle travel. This factor associates spindle in context to the table top. It associates to the maximum thickness of the work material that can be shaped with a profile.
Tags: Shaper Shaper Cutter Shaper Machine Shaper Machine Operation