To Spindle Mould or not to Spindle Mould?

[kinsella]

Colleagues
Some help please. I'm picking up a SIP hobby spindle moulder shortly as part payment for oak garden furnite. The supply of oak is excluded and not an issue. So its just a trade for labour. My issue is do i actually want a spindle moulder?. I've been looking on eBay for years, but thats because i think "I want one!" But now i have one, i'm thinking. What am i going to do with it that i can't do with my purpose built 1/2 router table. I don't use moulding extensively. My style of furniture is modern, Art Deco, Art Nouveau which don't really have moulding that one would create with a spindle, you could just as easy do with a router table.
i'm a weekend DIY'r making tables, chairs, general small items of house furniture for friends and family for non profit. I love my woodwork hobby dearly. I have a fully kitted out workshop, table saw, lathe, dust extraction, bandsaw, drill press, thinknesser, radial arm etc. Space is a premium.
If your an amature like me, what do you use one for? Will it just sit there as a tool holder if i'm not making mouldings or skirtings? is that what its really for?

 

[custard]

It's easy to think that a decent router table set up pretty much does everything a spindle moulder can...but that's like saying a jig saw removes the need for a band saw!

It's not just the extra power that makes a spindle moulder such a superb tool, it's things like the larger flight circle of the cutters (which makes for cleaner cuts), the larger table, the weight and accuracy of the machine, the lack of scorching, the utility of a sliding table, etc.

 

[Giff]

Get a rebate cutter with a bearing guide ring and it is great for following templates. You need jigs to hold them but it can handle thicker timber that the router table. Grooving and scribing are good as well. If it has a sliding table (the SIP does) it can cut tenons as well. Useful and powerful machine if used with respect. Geoff

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I don't use woodworking machines, so I can't offer any sensible thoughts on the spindle moulder vs. router table question. However, there is little more frustrating in a workshop than being unable to move for equipment, materials and projects. You can't put a price on space to work in. How useful is another machine if it's just going to be a shelf or hazard to be dodged 95% of the time? If you install the spindle, can the router table go?

 

[RogerS]

Kinsella....in a word...no.

I have both..I've used the spindle moulder when making windows and doors, running big chunky stuff past the cutters. I use a cill block for putting the chamfer on a window sill. I use it for speed..for hogging out most of a glazing bar in one pass.

I rarely make windows any more and focus on furniture. Most of the work is done on the router table BUT and a big BUT the cross-section of the material is quite small. And so lends itself to using the router table.

Why not take it (does it come with any blocks...they push the price up) and if it doesn't work for you sell it and with the money buy yourself a small powerfeed for your router table.

 

[MARK.B.]

Kinsella i hate to see anyone put into such a predicament,let me have it and i will keep it safe for you until you make your mind up

 

[kinsella]

Roger, Ta some usefull ideas.

Mark, Nice try can't blame a man for trying.

 

[eribaMotters]

I have a few routers including a 1/2" Elu 177E set up permanently in a big router table. This gets used most, but I do also have a small Elektra/Metabo spindle. I have limited tooling for this but would not be without it. I use a wobble saw set up for grooving doors for 9mm mdf panels, a rebate block, and a euro block with 4 sets of cutters and limitors for the bigger stuff the router is at its limit machining.

Colin

 

[billydruce]

I now wouldn't be without my spindle moulder. Haven't even considered a router table for my makita router. I would say however that a power feed is essential with a spindle moulder, I've got two spindle moulders one with a power feed the other without. i used to hate using the one without the power feed because i never felt 100% safe and any slight incorrect movement on longer pieces can ruin the piece. Therefore in my opinion if is got a power feed keep it if it hasn't sell it or get a power feed

 

[kinsella]

Chaps
You have convinced me, I hadn't considered the dado functions which is something I'd use more than mouldings. Will let you know how I get on.