ribo451

I recently received a cutting head from my grandfather that goes into my table saw. You put the dado plate in the saw and put different trim blades into the saw head and you can cut all kinds of different trim as well as t&g and panels. I am interested in purchasing additional cutter sets for it but I can't find them anywhere on the net. There is no instruction manual with it so I don't know for sure what to search for. All the head says is "Sears Craftsman". I will try to attach a pic of the cutting head and some cutting bits. My grandfather made all the trim in his house with this set and I would like to do the same. If anyone has any information at all that would be awesome.

I looked around a little on this site and am pretty impressed. There seems to be a lot of talented carpenters here.

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toolman Steve

I have one of those I think it is called a shaper head for a table saw . If you have not used it .be careful it is loud an scary at first keep the cutters very tight. I haven't used mine in a long time my cutters are dull could not find new ones ether

Steve.

cabinetman

I've always called it a "moulding head".

woodnthings

Does anyone use a tablesaw molding cutter ?
Craftsman molding head question
I have the same set as above and the owners manual. Photos are in the thread at bottom, -10075. Basically only use them in a tablesaw and use a hold down device OTHER than you hands! bill

__________________
Never stand directly in front of a horse or tablesaw that's running!
If you're not making dust, you're gathering it. After I reread my own posts, I agree with myself even more.

ribo451

Thanks for the info. I read the two posts that talk about this and a lot of people seem scared to use it. How many of you have used both this and a router table? How do they compare? I was assuming the table saw would be faster but I also like most of my fingers.

woodnthings

This is old technology as far as cutters go. These are high speed steel cutters which dull more rapidly from particles in the wood and heat. When you talk about a router table to make moldings you are using today's carbide cutters, a leap forward.
The other thing is the amount of cutter head exposed when using them. In a tablesaw a fair amount of cutterhead is exposed when using the factory dado plate. Depending on the depth of cut you should always use a zero clearance throat plate to minimize the gaps around the cutters. On a router table you can get both hoizontal and vertical profile cutters, the verticals leaving less cutter exposed for the same operation.
You can use them but they aren't made for "production" runs. In soft woods like poplar or pine they will work adequately taking multiple passes to get the desired profile.
I personally would never use a moulding head in a Radial Arm Saw, just too dangerous with the full cutter exposed, so obviously a fence or guard is required. Tilting the head so the cutter is horizontal is the only way to make a long pass.
So that's my advice,....I still have all 10 fingers! bill
BTW we have some carpenters here, but a lot more woodworkers.
Carpenters generally frame houses, hang doors and trim. Hence rough, finish and trim designations. Woodworkers generally make the things that go inside, and that falls into cabinetry and furniture, and such. Some carpenters are also excellent woodworkers and can build anything! bill

__________________
Never stand directly in front of a horse or tablesaw that's running!
If you're not making dust, you're gathering it. After I reread my own posts, I agree with myself even more.

Jim Tank

Instead of using the dado insert that comes with your saw, make several inserts from plywood and laminate formica on the top face, now get it to the correct thickness. Use whatever cutter on the molding head in the lowest position on the saw and with the new plywood insert held in place by fence, featherboards, and crosspieces, bring the cutter up slowly with saw running, exposing depth of cut desired. Then it can be used with jigs or feather boards to hold stock from vibrating. The high speed steel cutters are easily sharpened with flat stones & patience and because there are three cutters at a much larger radius arc, the stock will cut smoother with less chance of tearout than many router bits. You can cut profiles on about any type of hardwood with great success. That set looks hardly used compared to mine. Over many years I have used it for whole houses of trim, many fireplace mantles, and all kinds of specialty furniture pieces. With this you can also tilt the head to create other custum profiles using multiple passes with different cutters. Makes custom furniture repair pieces possible in a small shop. Using hold down jigs and spray silicone to assist pieces moving smoothly, makes this a relativly safe tool. Have fun.

GeorgeC

This Molding Head and a router table are two entirely different items and they do not compare. They are probably some shapes that could be cut either way, but I have never taken the time to figure it out.

I use both. Thee is nothing to be scared of with the molding cutter. The allen head locking screws go through holes in the blades. Tighten these screws well as you install the blades and youshould have no problem. If you are making a long run periodically check the screw tightness.

I have never had a screw come loose.

When using the molding head on your saw. feather boards are very important, both for side pressure and for presssure from above. Use a sacrificial fence attached to yur regular fence. I made my sacrificial fence with a Rockler purchased "T" slot installed for use by my feather boards.

George

Just Bill

Have used the one I have for years. If you try to take too big a bite or feed too fast, it can grab the wood. But by that time you figure out what happened, the wood piece is gone and hopefully, you were not standing in front of it.

cabinetman

That's good news.

woodnthings

I just thought of this post from the past regarding peripheral speeds of each, The molding cutter is not a 10" dia but might be a usefull in a comparison here.

The post was entitled "Flying Wood" on www.routerforums.com

A table saw blade at 4000 or so RPM with a 10" blade has a peripheral speed of 4000 x pi D or 125,600 in per min divided by 12 equals 10,466 ft per min. divided 5280 equals miles per min. times 60 equals 118.93 MPH.
A 1" router bit turning at 20,000 rpm has a peripheral speed of 20,000 x pi D or 31,400 in per min divided by 12 equals 2676.66 ft per min, divided by 5280 equals .4955 miles per min. times 60 equals (29.73 MPH) times 2 equals 59,46MPH
Let's say out moulding head is 7" in diameter. 119 x .7 = 83.8 mph

The router is just a little slower at 60 mph. The difference is the cutters are much closer together on the router bit and don't have the gap between therm as on the moulding head where the gap is as much as 3". This is an "opportunity" for the work to be grabbed by the cutters and that's why gradual height increases are recommend to achieve the desired profile. The laws of physics apply here as well as common sense. Just FYI.
We seem to fall into 2 camps on this subject: A few of us have them and use them satisfactorily, and those of us that have them and haven't used them or are afraid or won't use them. So, it may boil down to try it, you might like it or maybe not. Whatever you chose to do, obey all safety suggestions especially the use of holddowns and feather boards and eye protection of course. bill

__________________
Never stand directly in front of a horse or tablesaw that's running!
If you're not making dust, you're gathering it. After I reread my own posts, I agree with myself even more.

rusty baker

Originally Posted by GeorgeC

I have never had a screw come loose.


I've been told many times that I have a loose screw.

Bob Willing

I have a set of these and back around 1973 I used them to make my kitchen cabinets, dining room hutch, and other pieces of furniture up until 1980. They were a real pistol to use. I bought rail and stile router bits and never looked back. I still have them and they sure did a number on birch which tears out very easily. Come to think of it I stay away from both birch and the molding head. If you insist on using them take off very little material at a time. My $0.02 keep them in the drawer. I prefer my router table hands down.

skymaster

http://www.lrhent.com/
today's new version of the same type critter

woodnthings

For those without a shaper or router table this is a great concept and it has carbide interchangable cutters! bill
FYI I just checked out the prices!!! YIPES You had better have a truckload of moldings to make!

__________________
Never stand directly in front of a horse or tablesaw that's running!
If you're not making dust, you're gathering it. After I reread my own posts, I agree with myself even more.

Gerry KIERNAN

Seems to me that it was not very many years ago you could walk into the tools/hardware section of any larger Sears store and find these cutter blades in stock. But, Sears has stopped stocking a lot of items in recent years.
Anyway, I have a couple of these style of moulding cutters. I'm not sure if they are Craftsman, or variations on the theme, but they work very well. I have used mine on my radial arm saw. You definitely want to have the wood well secured so that it doesn't become a projectile.

Gerry

Sleeper

I have part of a set with no cutters, just the head. I would like a complete set so that I can make my own shaper. I was thinking of using an old radial saw and turning the RAS head so the cutters were rotating horizontal. There was a RAS for sale exactly like mine and I was planning on bolting them together with one set up for dado cross cuts and the other as a shaper. I would be able combine the two with one table to save space.
I think it can be done safety with a good solid fence and a cover over it. As with any power tool you have to exercise safety and common sense.

__________________
JohnnyB
"I do what I do well, but I still like to dabble in what I don’t do well"

rrich

I have a molding cutter similar to the one pictured except that mine is a single cutter model. IIRC, Sears sold those things when they were promoting the RAS as the ultimate woodworking tool.

I have used mine, once or twice, to make molding and a very large picture frame. This required using the molding cutter in the RAS and in rip mode. After making the molding, I decided that it was just too scary to use and it has been gathering dust for probably 30 years.

I don't think that the cutter can be used in most table saws today. I seem to think that the cutter blade is about an inch wide. It is not advisable to use the molding cutter without first making a special throat plate for your table saw.

__________________
Use the right tool for the job.

Rich (Tilting right)
Huntington Beach, California
Remember that when we have the "BIG ONE" everything east of the Rockies falls into the ocean.

GeorgeC

I thought the heat index was too high for a sense of humor.

G

GeorgeC

There are cuts that you can do with the cutter that you cannot do with a router. Just look at the different blade selections and you can see the differences.

G