Delta 43-445 Heavy Duty Shaper with Deluxe Fence

by Delta

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Delta 43-445 Heavy Duty Shaper with Deluxe Fence

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 30 x 27 x 34 inches ; 424 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 465.2 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B00004YBVZ
• Item model number: 43-445
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #849,682 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A straight forward, high quality solid machine, June 10, 2004

By 

Thomas J. Wilson "T J Wilson" (Alliston, Ontario CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delta 43-445 Heavy Duty Shaper with Deluxe Fence (Tools & Home Improvement)

If ever there was a piece of woodworking machinery that required precision engineering and solid construction it's a shaper. The spindle must be perfectly balanced, straight, substantial in size, and must be at absolute right angles to the tabletop. In addition to a solid structure for the spindle, the raising and lowering mechanism for the spindle must be very precise and finely threaded. This allows dead accurate motion up and down in measured intervals i.e. one full turn of the hand wheel equals 1/64 of an inch spindle movement with no "slop" in the action of the wheel. The fence on a shaper must also be accurately made and rock solid to withstand the force of a feeder pushing against it.

Of all the machinery made by Delta that I have experience with, this shaper meets all of those requirements with flying colours. This is a well-designed well-made machine that is built to last. Mine has a fixed 1" diameter spindle although I wish I had a 1 1/4" diameter spindle as most shaper heads are made for a 1 1/4" diameter spindle. Delta makes interchangeable spindles from 3/4" to 1 1/4" diameter, but you must purchase the model that allows spindles to be swapped out to take advantage of this. Delta also makes a spindle with a collet on top that allows you to use router bits in the shaper. However, this machine has a maximum speed of 9,000 RPM, which is considerably slower than most routers, so I can't imagine how you would get proper performance out of using router bits in a shaper. I've always questioned the logic of swapping spindles as anything that can be removed is subject to wear and/or damage. Shaper spindles are the last thing I would want to risk damaging for both accuracy and safety. Mine has a "deluxe" fence and since I bought mine Delta has introduced a "micro adjustable" fence. The biggest advantage to the newer fence is the ability to have very fine in/out adjustments on both fence plates; mine has one side fixed and the other adjustable. The fence on mine shipped with removable MDF fence plates, not the greatest but I have made many specialized fence plates over the years for various purposes. I'm not sure if you can attach your own plates on the newer fence or if you're stuck with using only the aluminum fence plates which would be a significant disadvantage.

Two items that I really have to be critical of Delta on relative to this machine. Number one is the "dust collector adaptor". This part is VERY costly for what it is (a piece of plastic that resembles a flange used in plastic plumbing pipe) AND it reduces from the opening in the back of the fence down to 2 1/2". Trust me, your shop vac with a 2 1/2" hose will NOT be able to draw out shavings created by the shaper. So connection to a dust collector on a shaper is essential and I had to buy a second adapter to go from 2 1/2" back up to 4" in diameter. Hello Delta, if your going to make a "dust collector adapter" you might consider making it to fit a dust collector! Just a thought.

Second is the fact that I had to drill holes for my Delta stock feeder myself (I've reviewed the feeder too). As I said in my stock feeder review, I can understand why Delta doesn't drill holes in table saw tops by default, but a shaper? These holes would not interfere with anything even if two sets of holes (to allow for alternate locations for the feeder) were drilled at the factory. Not that drilling these holes was a big deal, it's just one more thing to do and the position I used for my feeder required one of the holes to be tapped (which required the hole to be very accurately drilled).

If you are looking to buy a shaper you can't go wrong with this one, but a word to the wise, put a stock feeder into your budget. Working on a shaper without a stock feeder is risky and in my humble opinion a shaper is perhaps the most dangerous machine you will have in your shop, so do everything you can to lower the risk of accidents. The feeder also gives you the maximum benefit from using a shaper over a router, maximum control and pressure against the table or fence and a consistent feed speed results in dead accurate profiles. If your planning on making frame and panel doors, accuracy in the profiles is essential and the feeder will make your life easier and the quality of your doors much higher. Another word of advice, prepare yourself for "sticker shock" when buying tooling for your shaper... especially if all you have ever bought is router bits. Choose your shaper tooling carefully and try to get maximum benefit from everything you buy. Replaceable carbide is the way to fly, but these cutter heads generally cost significantly more than cutter heads with the carbide brazed on. However, the carbide used in replaceable cutter heads is a different composition than carbide brazed onto cutter heads and in my observations is actually sharper and holds an edge longer.

I have worked on other shapers significantly bigger and more powerful than the Delta, but in a small to medium sized shop that does not run this type of machine everyday the Delta is an excellent choice. Similar to every other machine I've reviewed I would also recommend getting the mobile base. Highly recommended.