Woodworker's Journal Summer-2008, страница 41

cope-and-stick style window parts or frame and panel door rails.

Curved Shaping

You can shape both concave and convex curved edges on the shaper using a rub collar to guide the cut. Equivalent to using a pilot bearing on a router bit, a ball-bearing rub collar fits onto the shaper's spindle, either above or below the cutter, and it bears against the edge of the work as the cut is made. To help you start and stop a cut safely, install a starter pin in the tabletop. This small metal dowel provides support for the stock so you can start a cut without the cutter grabbing the work and chewing it up. A ring guard or spindle-mounted cutter guard should be mounted above the cutter to surround it and prevent accidental contact.

The rub collar method is ideal for rounding over the edge of a curved tabletop or raising the edge of an arch-topped panel for a stylish cabinet door. You can also use a rub collar for trimming multiple parts to an identical shape, using a straight cutter and a template. The template, cut from MDF or Masonite®, is temporarily attached to the surface of the work, which is precut

A rub collar and starter pin can shape curves. (Guard removed here for clarity.)

A power feeder lets you "climb cut" stock — which you can't do by hand feeding.

slightly larger than its final size. The rub collar rides against the template as the work is trimmed to final shape.

Using a Power Feeder

If you've always been squeamish about using a shaper because you

don't like the idea of getting your fingers too close to those big, meat-eating cutters (a healthy concern), you should definitely consider buying and using a power feeder. With its variable speed motor and grippy skateboard type urethane feed wheels, a power feeder smoothly guides stock past a cutter, while your hands remain out of harm's way.

Besides providing safety, there are other significant advantages to using a power feeder: First, the device feeds stock past the cutter at a steady rate of speed, assuring a smoother, clean cut. You can adjust the feed speed to suit the heaviness or lightness of the cut, the hardness or softness of the wood, etc. Second, a power feeder allows you to "climb cut" stock — feed it in the same direction as the cutter is rotating — something you cannot do with hand feeding. Climb cutting generally produces cleaner cuts, especially on highly figured woods, than feeding stock against cutter rotation. Since a power feeder will run in either direction, you can work with clockwise or counterclockwise rotating cutters. £

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Multi-profile cutters (left) produce many shapes, while rail and stile cutters (right) assist in cope-and-stick joinery.

Rail and stile cutters: For making cope-and-stick joints for door and window frame construction. Available in single and two-cutter styles, these require careful setup and adjustment for tight, accurate joints. Panel-raising cutters: Used for shaping the raised edges of panels, these single-profile cutters come in a variety of shapes (ogee, tapered, etc.)

and in both vertical and horizontal styles. The latter can shape both straight and curved edges. Multiple-profile cutters: These versatile cutters save the expense of buying dozens of different individual cutters.

A single multi-profile cutter shapes several different profiles. You simply set the height of the cutter to the area

of the knife you want to use. Insert-knife cutterheads:

Another style of multiple-profile cutter with a single cutterhead that accepts interchangeable knife sets. You can buy sets designed for general shaping or specifically made for cope cutting or shaping raised panels.

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summer 2008 41