Shaper Origin

[Jeremy Nako]

Looking at possibly buying one of these later this year.

I know that there are a few people on here who have purchased, so looking for feedback on how good it is and what you use it for.

Apart from the cost, what it's not good for.

Also.. was it supplied in the UK or from the US. What would be the situation if / when it eventually needs repair ?

 

[clogs]

have I missed something.....?
I dont know what shaper ur talking about.........
I have an as new Kitty and a 1 ton monster.....both great workers.......

 

[Cabinetman]

Spindle moulder?

 

[LJM]

Not a spindle moulder. It’s a router. A fancy one

 

[Jeremy Nako]

The Shaper Origin is a computer controlled router.. a bit like a hand-held CNC machine.

Apologies.. I thought it was a well known product.

https://www.shapertools.com/en-gb/#

 

[Doug B]

Of the people I know who have the shaper they are very happy with it, it’s now owned by Festool so I can’t see a problem with repairs as personally Festool are the best company I’ve dealt with when it comes to power tool repairs.
If you’re in the market for one it would be a good idea to book a demonstration as a rep will come to your workshop or they certainly used to pre covid, give them a call.

 

[Britman]

Interesting that Festool now own them, makes the 3 grand price tag make more sense.

 

[Jeremy Nako]

I wasn't aware that it was now owned by Festool - that's very reassuring.

 

[doctor Bob]

It's a great tool but difficult to justify cost.
For me it's cheaper just to pay the local CNC chap £30.

 

[Droogs]

It's a great tool but difficult to justify cost.
For me it's cheaper just to pay the local CNC chap £30.

@doctor Bob and what if he catches the dreaded lurgy, how will you justify not spending the 3k on one just in case
go on you know you want one and it is only the same expense as a new radiator cap for the JPS Special

 

[doctor Bob]

@doctor Bob and what if he catches the dreaded lurgy, how will you justify not spending the 3k on one just in case
go on you know you want one and it is only the same expense as a new radiator cap for the JPS Special

It's strange Droogs but I can blow a load of dough on a piece of carp for myself, pedal car, JPS, garden building etc but buying woodwork stuff just doesn't do it any more. Don't get me wrong I do do it, just forked out over £1800 on a few sets of drivers for the workshop but I don't feel any excitement when they turn up. Last item which gave me a buzz was the 4 sider, many years ago. I still really enjoy it but in a totally different way to a hobby.

 

[Chunkytfg]

I'm intruiged about these too. I tend to work with full size Sheets of ply and with a single garage sized space to work in i'm not in any position to even comtemplate a 4x8 CNC.

I wonder how well they will work cutting out shapes on full size sheets over smaller bits

 

[Peri]

I'm sure these were going for about £1300 last time I looked - I thought it was steep then

 

[smackie]

As far as I can see, the main issue with the Shaper is that you provide the XY axis drive. That’s fine for small bits of work but complicated designs mean you could be guiding the Shaper router around for an hour or so (as, like a CNC, you’ll need to do multiple passes for precision). The Shaper CNC head will guide the fine accuracy but if you get tired and lose concentration, you could nick an inside edge before the Shaper manages to withdraw the cutting head.

Which might not be an issue but is probably limiting for larger things.

I’m definitely interested in one tho (as I have a very small shop) but the price is a definite impediment to it being an impulse buy. Mind you, I’ve seen very very few for sale used which probably points at people being happy with them.

 

[danst96]

Michael Alm (Alm Fab) has a few videos using it on his youtube channel. It looks like a great tool although as Smackie says, for larger pieces it does seem to take longer and Michael says so himself. However it also lends itself to larger pieces as having a CNC that can handle a full sheet of ply would require a huge workshop.

Another cool feature I noticed from Michael video is you can import designs straight off illustrator or sketchup onto the machine where other CNC's require you to use their software only.

 

[shed9]

Apologies.. I thought it was a well known product.

It is a well known product, it's just that not everyone on here has web access!

 

[shed9]

I too am hankering after one. As already mentioned, no it is not really the tool to machine large designs on large work pieces it is however ideal to machine small designs on large pieces which is one of the areas where it seems to shine.

If you message them prior to purchase and reference your Festool tool registration ID they will add a few goodies to the overall package (not much, but worth the ask). Also be aware that they offer varying degrees of support which is soaked up in the initial purchase price. From what I can tell it dictates the level of response in dealing with issues and gives effective enhanced support. I can kind of see the logic in that but it comes across as bit of a kick in the teeth to those who already shelled out a midge's nad's under three grand and likely £400+ more if you chuck in the workstation which seems a must to extract the most out of the machine.

I have a few flatbed 8x4 CNC's already but can see the benefit to this tool in addition to that. I just can't justify it right now but I'm sure I'll talk myself around eventually.

 

[Britman]

I seem to remember that there a CNC that works vertically and used chains that the router is suspended from.

 

[Chunkytfg]

That’s the Maslow system. Fairly good but very slow.

 

[shed9]

I seem to remember that there a CNC that works vertically and used chains that the router is suspended from.

There is the Maslow open source project.

Edit: Just seen Chunkytfg posted it before me.