Thinking about my next tool purchase.

Don Baer

Moderator
Staff member
Well with my new shop just around the corner I'm thinking about my next tool. I'm torn between a Joiner or a shaper. I have been getting along with my planer and TS but a nice 8" joiner would be nice however, I also think that a shaper would be more useful. Right now I have a router table built into my TS that works OK but I know a shaper would quickly be a lot better. And if I needed to edge joint some boards I could do it on the shaper. The only thing I wouldn't be able to do is face join and I do that now on the planer.:huh: So what do you guys think. One of the local machinery suppliers has several old Arn shapers in stock ranging from $650 - $950 less tooling.
 
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To me, it's a no-brainer. You really need a jointer before you need a shaper. Unless you're using sleds of some kind or painstakingly hand-planing your stock before running them through the planer, you won't end up with perfectly straight, square stock. Yeah...a jointer's one of those staples in a shop.

Since you already have a router table, a shaper's a luxury (and an expensive one, at that). Especially when you consider the price of cutters for the thing. Lotsa steel and carbide in those things.

Now, that's my view. I don't run thousands (or more) of feet of moulding regularly. I don't make flooring. My profile jobs are usually under 10 feet of linear cut almost always. What I do make is furniture with mortise and tenon joinery and dovetails and miters that would be lost without truly straight and square stock to begin with. So you have to take your needs into account.
 
don, as you know i haven`t had a jointer in my shop for over 20 yrs...and i don`t miss it.....if my shaper died i`d do whatever was required to have it up-n-runnin` a.s.a.p.
if you opt to go the shaper route do yourself a favor and budgit in a feeder at the same time.....tod
 
Don,

I am fortunate that I have both and I use the jointer far more than the shaper. I would suggest the jointer and if you need more horsepower for the router table then that becomes a dual purpose device that can be used as a shaper when attached to the table. Just my two cents, but it is my opinion.
 
I have both. Cannot do without the jointer.

Shaper is used for raised panels only.
 
I was going to say jointer too. After I got one I wondered how I ever did without one. Got my shaper going and I love it. But I didn't have a router table (or want one honestly). Assuming you have money tied up in bits the jointer seems like an easy choice.

Now you have my curiosity up Tod. What methods are you using? Do you work with saw mill/rough lumber or is your faced? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
Ok. Got me curious. :wave:

How do you edge a 8' board thats been in a shipwreck with a fence on a shaper thats 20" long [Easily] :huh: :huh: :huh:
 
To me, it's a no-brainer. You really need a jointer before you need a shaper. Unless you're using sleds of some kind or painstakingly hand-planing your stock before running them through the planer, you won't end up with perfectly straight, square stock. Yeah...a jointer's one of those staples in a shop.

Since you already have a router table, a shaper's a luxury (and an expensive one, at that). Especially when you consider the price of cutters for the thing. Lotsa steel and carbide in those things.

I agree with Jason and I'll even go a step further. I think you should add up the cost of shaper and an assortment of cutters (plus a power feed) and compare that to the cost of a 12" jointer. An 8" jointer makes little sense to me - it'll leave you wishing you'd gone for a bigger model.

FAS lumber has to be a a certain width - around 10" after drying, I believe. Around here most of the FAS hardwood is just over that limit.

It's usually wise to rip boards that wide to avoid cupping, BUT with a 12" jointer you can make the decision. For that special table-top or other places where seams are undesirable, you'll have the capacity for wider boards.

I have a 4" jointer - my only piece of old iron :) It's a joke for face jointing, but I didn't buy it for that. If I ever upgrade it'll be to the 12"-16" range. The big'uns hold their value a lot better too.
 
I agree with Jason and I'll even go a step further. I think you should add up the cost of shaper and an assortment of cutters (plus a power feed) and compare that to the cost of a 12" jointer. An 8" jointer makes little sense to me - it'll leave you wishing you'd gone for a bigger model.

FAS lumber has to be a a certain width - around 10" after drying, I believe. Around here most of the FAS hardwood is just over that limit.

It's usually wise to rip boards that wide to avoid cupping, BUT with a 12" jointer you can make the decision. For that special table-top or other places where seams are undesirable, you'll have the capacity for wider boards.

I have a 4" jointer - my only piece of old iron :) It's a joke for face jointing, but I didn't buy it for that. If I ever upgrade it'll be to the 12"-16" range. The big'uns hold their value a lot better too.


5" around here on the width.
 
5" around here on the width.

I hate to leave a question up in the air, so I did some reading on lumber grades :bonkers: They tend to speak in percentage of lumber free from defects on the poorest side (FAS= 83.13% FWIW), but I did find on site that has a table including min length and width.

Understanding Hardwood Lumber Grading

Long story short, the minimums for FAS are 8"W x 8'L. And the standards are supposed to be the same in US/Canada. Might be something to bring up at your lumber yard, Steve. All other hardwood grades are 3" minimum.
 
I hate to leave a question up in the air, so I did some reading on lumber grades :bonkers: They tend to speak in percentage of lumber free from defects on the poorest side (FAS= 83.13% FWIW), but I did find on site that has a table including min length and width.

Understanding Hardwood Lumber Grading

Long story short, the minimums for FAS are 8"W x 8'L. And the standards are supposed to be the same in US/Canada. Might be something to bring up at your lumber yard, Steve. All other hardwood grades are 3" minimum.


True on the width. I have a grading book somewhere---:dunno:

You ought to see the amout of 5" boards that are called FAS around here.
They get by with it. If you specify only wider widths, they charge higher per board foot.
 
please save me the effort of one-fingerin` out all the cyber ink and read here for my take on jointers:eek:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=30519

thanks, tod

I remember that conversation... I wonder how many pro shops have slider tablesaws. I've been readin Jim Becker's story on SMC today about him installing his new MM 315 slider... First time I've actually sat down and read all that you can do with a slider. Never seen one in the "flesh" yet, so I've always wondered what was the deal with those funny looking saws.
 
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