Hi Brett:
You mentioned the Profil 45Z (presumably X-motion) under a heading which included: ¡°CNC (or at least programmable)¡"
Regarding the Profil 45Z X-motion, here are some details. I¡¯ve had this machine for approximately 5 years. And channelling David Best¡¯s post from yesterday: Sorry Felder.
1. The Profil shaper will not hold calibration, not for the fence, not for the spindle. Period. I have more than a dozen cutters ¡°set up¡± and ¡°calibrated¡± in the machine, and another dozen cutters that I use manually and have not bothered to enter. I can calibrate one cutter perfectly, only to find that it is no longer calibrated a few weeks later. In such instances, the cutter is always out, by 0.1mm to 0.3mm. Always. (I have an Aigner Distometer for calibration purposes.)
2. At first various users thought this was a programming or user error. I certainly thought this. There is a ¡°calibration page¡± in the programming which ¡°no one¡± knows what to do with. Certainly no one in Australia. I believe John F. and Joe D. took the matter direct to Felder at a trade show in Europe but also did not get to the bottom of it. You¡¯d have to ask them for details.
3. I believe at least one user has done repeated testing (Joe D.) to see if the calibration issue is hardware rather than software. I recall that he found inconsistencies with the hardware (e.g. repeatedly moving the spindle up and down and then measuring for deviations). I think his comments are in the archives.
4. I am a professional woodworker who has only used a shaper for the last 5 years. I admit that I have a lot to learn. But I should also point out in my defence that I use my shaper for complex joinery and not as a glorified router table. So while I don¡¯t have the cred of someone like Ultimate Joe (I bow before you Joe!), I am speaking from first hand experience.
5. At the price I paid, I love the Profil X-motion. The interface is outstanding. But that interface controls what is essentially a manual shaper. If I want to use a previously calibrated cutter, I test the current settings (fence and height), make a test cut, and enter the discrepancy to re-calibrate the cutter. That¡¯s it: a very nice manual shaper.
6. I have recently participated in the installation of a T27 Martin shaper with all the boxes ticked. At more than twice the price of the Profil 45Z X-motion, it had better be good. I was blown away by the machine. To be clear, I don¡¯t know whether it holds calibration any better than the Profil, but ¡ :-)
7. I understand you desire a longer sliding table like the one Joe D. had. I would love that too, precisely for oversized doors. The T27 has a tenoning option which is very large and very robust. I think it is exactly what you want, but it comes at a very significant cost. (I¡¯m not sure what you mean James when you say that Martin do not have a sliding table on their shaper¡? I assume you mean across the front of the machine?)
My personal opinion: if you want a CNC or programmable shaper, I¡¯m confident you will be disappointed with the Profil 45Z X-motion.
Warm regards,
Lucky
All,?
I am considering the cost/value proposition of investing in a shaper setup that has automated programmable?setup capacities (or more?). I am curious what your recommendations may be for shopping brands, models,? and options. I'm becoming less convinced that a used machine will show up on the market as I've been looking for a while and what I've seen has pretty much only been Joe in N.O.'s Profile45, but admittedly I was looking for a larger sliding table to run oversized door setups, and I'm not totally convinced the Felder offerings are the only ones I should be looking at.?
Currently I'm invested in the 700z-class of shaper and not sure I'd want to give them up. I'd even consider putting on an upgraded fence module that can give me the automatic adjustments, but not sure if it is possible or if I can do it feasibly compared to adding another machine.?
With tedious manual setup inefficiencies switching back and forth on small projects I'm assessing the opportunity cost of all those nickels and dimes per se.
--
Brett Wissel
Saint Louis Restoration
1831 S Kingshighway Blvd (at Shaw Blvd)
St Louis, MO 63110
314.772.2167
brett@...
David Luckensmeyer