Router table vs shaper?

[mrojec]

What are y'all's thoughts on the pros and cons of router tables and shapers? I've seen shapers come up on Craig's list pretty cheap from time to time and have thought about getting, one, but is a router table a better way to go?
Mark

[RayintheUK]

Difficult to make a comparison between a router in a table and a shaper, as they're really two different animals. Short answer is that if you're frequently going to want to run profiles taller than the majority of available router bits, or make a load of replacement sash windows, for example, then a shaper will get some use.

I've managed, so far, with a good powerful router in a table - and the one time I needed something larger, I was able to buy a precut moulding that did the job. I can use my router for a number of different jobs, including morticing, dovetailing and hand-held work, but a shaper is a shaper.

If you've got the space, the shaper price is right and you foresee a need ........ Otherwise, the router is going to be more useful and flexible. Take the price of cutter heads and knives versus router profiling bits into account too.

Ray.

Ray.

[JTimmons]

Maybe this will help you determine which is better for your needs.

http://www.patwarner.com/router_or_shaper.html

Shapers are essentially for edge or end cuttings. They are cabinet shop and millwork tools, and as such are heavy handed, heavy duty and heavy weight. They are designed for all-day door, drawer or molding operations. Duty cycles are measured in "shifts" not minutes. They are production animals. Their cutters are big (way over 2" in diameter), expensive and last for hours. The set ups are not particularly difficult but once in "spec" they are not touched for the length of run. Although capable of experimental work, shapers are usually set up for routine big jobs of long duration. Shapers spin slower than routers, usually in the 7-14,000 rpm area and their power demand starts where routers leave off, (around 3 HP). Router tables are welter weights by comparison. It takes two routers to equal one shaper.

Router tables give up production for versatility. In my view, the router table not only performs edge, face, and end cuttings. In addition, inside work is also possible. Dados, mortises, and other blind inside excavations are not possible with shapers, nor are dovetails, a distinct advantage for the router table. Router bits for all sorts of woodworking are common and there are probably more router bits than shaper cutters except for door, drawer and window applications. The router is an offshoot of the shaper, not a substitute for one. Its price range is well within the reach of most woodworkers; shapers of any nobility start at $1500. You can make a router table in a weekend; the shaper is a factory product made with many sophisticated assemblies. Router tables are easy to fixture, and they fill an important need for a wide range of cabinet and furniture responsibilities. They are great for short run solutions but don't expect shaper performance from one.

[Pappy]

Shapers are the best tool for the job but the cutters are expensive and have no other use, where the router bits can be used in the table or hand held.

[drumpriest]

Not too much to add, if you are raising panels all day, get a shaper. If you are going to do that once in a while, a router will do the trick for cutters smaller than that.

[LarryG]

I'll take a slightly contrarian view, but only for the sake of completeness. More than once I've read that by the time you build a nice, full-featured router table, buy the big 3+HP router, buy the lift, etc. ... you probably could've paid for a very nice shaper from the used market. Some (maybe all?) shapers have collet adapters that allow you to use router bits in them, so if a guy found a good deal on a used shaper and used only router bits in it, he'd actually have a pretty nice and arguably superior "router table."

That said, while there are still a few more large tools I will someday add to my arsenal, a shaper isn't one of them, because my router table does all I need it to do and I cannot envision that situation ever changing. Also, it probably says something that while both David Marks and Norm Abram have build a lot of very nice projects over the years, to my knowledge neither of their shops includes a shaper.