A wood shaper, usually just shaper in North America or spindle moulder in the UK, is a stationary woodworking machine in which a vertically orientated spindle protrudes from the machine table and can be spun at speeds typically between 3000 and 10,000 rpm. Cutter heads may be mounted on the spindle. As the workpiece is fed into the machine, the cutters mould a profile into it. On some shapers, router bits can also be used using a special mounting adapter. The machine normally features a vertical fence, against which the workpiece is guided to control the horizontal depth of cut.
Wood shapers do essentially the same job as the router table, with the main difference being that a wood shaper is a stationary machine designed for larger volume work while a router is a hand tool for lighter duty work. Routers can also be mounted on a router table, and used as a stationary tool. However, routers run at considerably higher speeds than shapers, and the use of large bits can be dangerous. Also, shapers can be used to cut much larger profiles than routers and custom-made shaper bits can be readily ordered or fabricated.
Wood shapers come in two main variants: one with the spindle on the side, so the bit cuts into the workpiece from the side, and one where the spindle assembly is mounted in the bottom of the table, so the bit cuts into the bottom of the workpiece. Of these two, the latter is more common. On some shaper models the spindle can be tilted.
Shapers can be adapted to perform specialized cuts through the use of a wide variety of accessories such as sliding tables, tenon tables, tilting arbor, tenoning hoods, and interchangeable spindles. Spindle shafts come in a variety of sizes with the most common at 3/4" for small shapers, 1ΒΌ" for most shapers, and 30mm on European shapers. Most spindles are tall enough to accommodate more than one cutter head thereby making tooling changes much quicker. Interchangeable spindles make this process much quicker as additional spindles can be fitted with other cutter heads that are pre-spaced.
Shapers range from simple units with fixed spindles, to high-end units with tilting, interchangeable spindles with reversible capabilities. European combination machines feature shapers along with sliding tablesaws, jointers, planers, and mortisers.
Read more about Wood Shaper: Using A Wood Shaper, Safety Devices
Famous quotes containing the words wood and/or shaper:
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—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man.”
—Martin Heidegger (1889–1976)