At least that's what I'm telling my wife when she gets back to town....
I was talking to Scott last week about getting a shaper vs. building a decent router table. What he said made a lot of sense (usually does), this is the result. Seems like whenever my wife goes out of town I spend a lot more $$ on some new shop item than I probably should have. OTOH, this was a great use for the Corian countertop that I saved from the island in the kitchen when we put in granite.
I've only done a few test cuts so far, but already am soooo glad I went this route. I was considering a shaper because I got so turned off to router tables by the lift that came with my old Jet cabinet saw- it was such an extreme pain to set up and use that I rarely did. The Woodpecker lift (Sidewinder) and the Incra fence (LS Super System) are so easy and accurate they're fun to use instead of a nuisance. This also was the first chance I've had to use the Paolini bench rules I got from Woodpecker; these are simply beautiful in both concept and quality of manufacture. All of the components I used were all made in USA, and are of an exceptional quality you just don't often see any more; the kind of thing that makes "Made in the USA" proud.
Total $$ spent including a new router was around $700 (not including the Pinnacle sled, I've had that for some time). For now it's just clamped to the top of my table saw, next project will be building a cabinet base.
On a separate note, I was amazed at how easy the Corian was to work with. It cut and routed beautifully, and checking with a straight edge showed it was extremely flat with no evident bowing or irregularities.
I was talking to Scott last week about getting a shaper vs. building a decent router table. What he said made a lot of sense (usually does), this is the result. Seems like whenever my wife goes out of town I spend a lot more $$ on some new shop item than I probably should have. OTOH, this was a great use for the Corian countertop that I saved from the island in the kitchen when we put in granite.
I've only done a few test cuts so far, but already am soooo glad I went this route. I was considering a shaper because I got so turned off to router tables by the lift that came with my old Jet cabinet saw- it was such an extreme pain to set up and use that I rarely did. The Woodpecker lift (Sidewinder) and the Incra fence (LS Super System) are so easy and accurate they're fun to use instead of a nuisance. This also was the first chance I've had to use the Paolini bench rules I got from Woodpecker; these are simply beautiful in both concept and quality of manufacture. All of the components I used were all made in USA, and are of an exceptional quality you just don't often see any more; the kind of thing that makes "Made in the USA" proud.
Total $$ spent including a new router was around $700 (not including the Pinnacle sled, I've had that for some time). For now it's just clamped to the top of my table saw, next project will be building a cabinet base.
On a separate note, I was amazed at how easy the Corian was to work with. It cut and routed beautifully, and checking with a straight edge showed it was extremely flat with no evident bowing or irregularities.
