We recently bought a freeborn cope and stick cutter for shaker doors with an angled bevel. Since the profile is angled when I cope I can't support the angle end with a straight backer block resulting in tear out. How do you guys prevent tear out during cope cuts on cabinet door profiles with angles?

The profile we have is custom but it's very similar to the one I posted

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I do the cope cuts first.

Left and right tooling is the easiest solution using two shapers and opposite rotation.

Another option is to cut a backer stick using the coping head. Run it once, the adjust the height just a freckle, and run it again. Now you have a profiled backer. I did this for years before having multiple shapers dedicated to coping.

Even easier, get an automatic coper with counter rotating heads.

I prefer doing the sticking cut in full lengths.

I do as Karl does. It works very well
Jr

Thanks guys, I'm just an employee trying to improve our process and hone my craft, so buying anything over a few hundred bucks is a no go.

Cutting a backer is a great idea and what I'm going to do.

Not sure if it helps but our shaper (7.5 HP powermatic 28) does have a reverse switch. Could you please explain left and right tooling and how it prevents tear out?

Since we order all our doors except rush jobs or remakes I doubt they would go for another shaper but I'm still curious.

Thanks again, this site has taken me to the next level.

Left and right tooling with a single shaper is a nightmare unless you have enough spindle height to stack and even then it can be fussy. The way it prevents tearout is your backer is on the back side of the cope. I run sticking in long lengths like Karl mentions but on tough profiles when you dont have left and right tooling Rich's solution of coping your parts first is best in my opinion. I dont like it and it seems slower and more fussy to me when we do but you do get flawless parts.

Cut your rails (parts that get coped) to length, after ripping to rough width. This makes both ends parallel and square to the long edges. Set into your cope jig, whatever that is, and cope one end, release and swap ends, cope again. Now your rails are coped. Then run the sticking along one edge, making sure you take off enough net width to clean up any tearout made in the cope cuts.

As for spending a few hundred dollars. Your labor is sold for over $50 per hour. If you and coworkers spend a total of 5 hrs per week filling, sanding or otherwise cleaning up the tearout, that will equal 250 hrs a year, or $12,500 per year! That will buy a very nice new shaper and tooling also.

It is important for even employees to understand costs and labor savings. Normally, a 5 year payback is calculated. That justifies a $62,000 investment.

"It is important for even employees to understand costs and labor savings."

For sure.

Every single dollar that goes up in smoke with waste is a dollar bossman can't put in the employees pocket. Never mind his own.

I do as Rich does. Cope first then run the stick.

Or run a stick on the coping cutter and use that as your backup on your miter gauge.