router table v spindle moulder

[tsb]

Hi, Can anyone explain the benefit you get with a spindle moulder over a router table with a decent router in it. They both seem to do the same thing, with the router route being the cheaper option. Looking at the ryobi router table rt6000 at the moment (wife doesn't know yet) so any thought on this table or any others would be gratefully appreciated

 

[tenpin]

Hi tsb

sorry, unable to help with the spindle moulder question...but i have the RT6000 router table and i am very happy with it.
Although the fence adjustment can be very clumsy to set uo for the first cut, after that it stays very stable and the micro adjustment is very good but on mine when you tighten the lock on the micro adjuster it slightly off scews the fence which i have to allow for(a job i must get sorted).....it's a very heavy table 56kg's so if like me it needs moving out of a corner of the workshop to use i would fit a set of good quality locking castor wheels to it.

Nick

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi tsb

Welcome to the forum.

The spindle moulder tends to be used by the Pro's as a cheaper, long term, option than the router. The initial costs for the spindle moulder are much higher as, I believe, is the learning curve in the safe use of the machine. IIRC, there are very few members here who have a spindle moulder.

Have a look here, here, here and here for some excellent posts about spindle moulders, safety and routing.

HTH.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Waka]

Tsb

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Andy Pullen]

I have both, a router is cheaper to initially set up and much safer because of the generally smaller cutters. A spindle is potentially more dangerous but can handle much larger cutters and you can have ones ground to your own spec if you desire. A spindle will run all day and generally give a better finish.
I think people tend to start with a router table and then move on to a spindle moulder once they move out of the routers capabilities or they need profiles that cant be found by way of router cutter without being hugely expensive.
It's a shame that something hasn't been devised that allows a small spindle block to be fitted into a router collet so we can enjoy the best of both worlds

 

[catface]

re Andy Pullen's reply (moulder and router in one package), there are such things now, in the sense that some moulders have removable spindle (ie. where you mount the cutter block). This lets you have several sets of cutters already set up for use on different spindles - swop the spindle and cutters as an assembly instead of fiddling with a new set up each time. And Some of these moulders where you can easily swop spindles now also have a router spindle accessory (ie a spindle which accepts router bits in a collett), so you can use router bits in the spindle moulder. Thats about as versatile as you can get !
regards, CAt face.

 

[curlywol]

Hi
I too have the Ryobi router table. The heavy, cast iron table gives a very stable surface to work on.
I have recently installed a triton TRA001 router which makes adjustment easy and I can change cutters in a matter of seconds
This is a very capable and versatile piece of kit!

john

 

[DaveL]

I have only ever used a router table, currently a big triton mounted in the table . I have seen spindle moulders in use, they are a different class of machine.

With the correct cutters they can remove huge amounts of timber in a single pass and still leave a good surface finish. Think about making a window ceil, with a moulder the slope and rounded front edge could machined in one pass, even the triton would not handle some thing like that. :shock: