Shopsmith Forums

I am trying to put a nice, pretty edge on some wood for a project my wife has for me...

I'm trying this on pine but when I do the ends, and get to the last bit of the end, it rips out the side.

I've tried it on poplar, too, with the same ripping, just not as bad.

Plus, there are "bumps" along the new edge, presumably from where I've not kept the piece up against the shaper fence well.

How do I avoid the tearing, or is this a common soft-wood issue? Also, how do I avoid those bumps? That shaper spinning at 10,000 RPM scares the crud out of me..

Your assumption about the reason for the "bumps" along the edge is correct. You just need to concentrate on keeping the stock against the fence as you're feeding it past the cutter. Perhaps a couple of featherboards would help in this regard as they will keep the stock pressed against the fence. Make sure a featherboard isn't placed in line with the shaper cutter, otherwise it may force your stock into the cutter and result in ruined stock and possible harm to you.

As far as the tear out you're experiencing on the end grain, this is normally what happens as the wood exits the cutter. One remedy is to attach a "sacrificial" piece of wood to the part you are shaping which results in the tear out on the "sacrificial" piece, not your project. Depending on the project, it may be possible simply to hand hold the sacrificial piece tightly to the project piece as you push it past the cutter, or you could clamp the pieces together.

Another possibility is to shape the four sides of the piece in succession, starting with the end grain edge. Then rotate the stock 90 degrees and shape the long grain, then end grain, then long grain. The idea is that you remove the tear out of the end grain when you route the long grain. But, this doesn't always work.

Another possibility involves climb cutting, but if you're already nervous about using the shaper, I'll not explain the process.

As Art said, featherboards are the answer to the bumps. Also, multiple passes will help smooth a piece.

The easiest and best solution to end tear out is to ALWAYS prepare extra length on workpieces before shaping.

This extra length thing not only applies to shaping, but also to all other operations. Turning, routing, shaping, are especially appropriate.

A good woodworking rule is to reserve cross cutting of length to the final cut.

Another solution might be to put the profile only along the edge. Then miter the return.