I am looking to replace a 5hp Powermatic PM2700 that I have never been happy with since the day I first pushed the power button. It’s leaving a rippled finish on everything that is going through the machine lately. I was, and still am considering replacing it with a 5hp Baileigh Industrial sliding table/tilting spindle shaper, the price is what I like most about it.
Because I am limited to single phase power there is not much to choose from buying used so I would most likely be buying new, and since I don’t want to make another mistake with a low quality machine, I am also considering upgrading to a few other machines.
Looking at Laguna S45T 5hp
MiniMax TW 45C 4.8hp
Or a Felder F700Z 4hp
I can’t find much information on any of these shapers listed, but especially the Laguna. The only thing I do know about is that it is made in Italy.
Most of the work I do on my shaper is cabinet doors. I also do some custom molding work with a steel corrugated head and custom knives. I feel this head beats the hell out of the bearings on the Powermatic, especially when I have large knives installed in the head. Also, the Powermatic only goes down to 7500 rpms, I’d like to run this head a bit slower. I also do some final dimensioning of square stock for face frames,and beveling. I don’t ever see myself using tooling designed for cutting large tennons.
The reason I am leaning towards the sliding table versions of the European machines is because I have noticed that they don’t provide a miter bar slot. Sometimes it nice to just grab the miter gauge when you want to make a full cut and a narrow board instead of making a sled.
All opinions welcome, thanks!
https://www.felder-group.com/fg-en/products/spindle-moulders/tilting-sp
indle-moulder-f-700-z.html
https://www.elitemetaltools.com/tool-shop/products/
laguna-tools-s45t-shaper-mshaps45t-5-0167?sku=MSHAPS45T-5-0167#
https://www.sc
mgroup.com/en_US/scmwood/products/joinery-machines.c884/spindle-moulders-shapers.
898/minimax-tw-45c.764
https://www.baileigh.com/heavy-duty-shaper-ss-3528-st