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 hold-down jig like the SHOP FOX® W1500 Right Angle Jig shown in the

Accessories section, or you can use rubberized-han- dle push blocks to support or guide the workpiece and protect your hands.

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.

Figure 34. Starting pin operation

(Guard not shown for clarity).

Figure 35. Hold-down jig used to support

workpiece.

Figure 36. A piece of wood clamped to the table can serve as a starting block.

(Guard not shown for clarity).

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Woodstock W1701 owner manual Freehand Shaping, Starting pin operation Guard not shown for clarity