Multi-use drill press...

Phillip,

No, you cannot use a drill press as a shaper. First, it doesn’t spin fast enough, so that eliminates any other concerns of which I’m sure there are many. It does fine as a mortiser (Grizzly has a complete kit for about $50. Very satisfied with mine) As a drum sander, not so well. For less than what you spend on drums, a kit to stabilize the bottom of the drum (Lee Valley), you can buy a Harbor Freight oscillating drum sander (95088) that does a amazing job, hooks up to a shop vac for dust control, and can be had on sale for about $80.

For profiling, a good router is the tool. Look at www.cpooutlets.com/recon.html? for every brand worth having. Recon is a valid and safe way to extend your buying dollar. By the way, I have one drill press and seven routers. Hope this helps.

Steve

-- Steve in KY. 44 years so far with my lovely bride. Think I'll keep her.

I use mine with a drum sander, a Wagner safety planer, as a clamp, a vertical lathe. I have made a good table that supports my work and has a cut out for my collection of drum sanders, which have not yey ruined the bearings.

Most shapers (besides small benchtop models), are far more powerful than any router. They are typically powered with an induction motor and drive belt and produced way more torque than the universal motors in a router. That said, much larger cutters can be used on a shaper. In fact, multiple cutters can be used simultaneously on a shaper. Neither are necessarily advantageous to the casual woodworker. But in a production setting, such as when large amounts of custom trim need to be made, a router would be the wrong tool for the job.