W1701 1HP Shaper
Freehand Shaping
OPERATIONS
Freehand shaping is shaping without the aid of the miter slot or fence. The most dangerous part of shaping free- hand is beginning the cut, where the cutter first contacts the workpiece. Often the workpiece will tend to jerk or kickback, catching the operator off guard.
To reduce kickbacks and maintain workpiece control when freehand shaping, use a starting pin or starting block. The pin/block allows you to maintain workpiece control by anchoring and slowly pivoting the workpiece into the cut- ter as the cut is started (see Figure 34).
Freehand shaping often requires you to remove the fence resulting in reduced protection from the cutters. ALWAYS use an auxiliary jig and take extreme care when shaping with the fence removed.
To set up the shaper for freehand shaping, do these steps:
1.DISCONNECT SHAPER FROM POWER SOURCE!
2.Remove the fence assembly from the shaper.
3.Insert the starting pin in the best suited hole on the table so you can feed the workpiece into and against the rotation of the cutter.
4.Install the cutter so it will cut in the correct direc- tion, and adjust the spindle height.
5.Install the safety guard. DO NOT use the shaper without a guard.
6.Use a supplemental
Accessories section, or you can use
7.Place the workpiece against the starting pin.
8.Slowly pivot and feed the workpiece into the cut- ter. Avoid starting the cut on the corner of the workpiece as kickback could occur. Once the cut is started, the workpiece should be pulled away from the starting pin.
