I have a SECO 3 HP shaper and can hardly imagine needing more power. I have
had to slow it down for some interlocked grain hickory crossgrain cuts, but
generally it swings a 5" panel raiser in a full cut effortlessly. If you
want to do doors, I'd grab it immediately!

160 lb is a lot. Is there a stand?

Our club auction has a C'man shaper or two most every year. They sell for
&5-125, often with several cutters. I have one I use for rails, stiles, and
drawer front edges. It is 3/4 HP and has more than enough power for those
uses. It only takes up to about 2" cutters, but has plenty of power for any
of those.

A handheld router excels on warped, ringed, or twisted boards.

Wilson
"David" wrote in message
. ..
Toller wrote:

My router table is a POS, and I have been planning a new one for some
time now. While I love my Bosch 1617, I was going to buy a new 15a
router for the new table.

I just saw an ad for an old 1hp shaper. I haven't seen it yet, but they
claim it is in good shape, takes all router bits, has a 1hp motor, and
weighs 160 pounds.
I am thinking it might make a good substitute for the new router/router
table. It will certainly be cheaper. But I have never even used a
shaper, so I would appreciate some advice.

Do they take router bits and work well with them?
The 1hp motor sounds weaker than my 2hp 1617, but I suspect they can't be
compared like that. How will a 1hp shaper perform compared to a router?
Can you just compare amps, or do they not compare since the motor types
are different?
modern shapers come with 5 HP motors...

Dave