Since there’s been a bit of Shaping Machine talk as of late I thought I’d post and ask if anyone has seen or used or bought one of the Precision Shape machines from Ewaliko?
I did a Swaylock search but either don’t know how to use the search function properly or there aren’t posts on Swaylock’s about the Precision Shapes system. Is the APS 3000 machine the go to set-up for entry into the pre-shape realm for budget minded builders for viable 25+ weekly production?
I can't say much about the APS since I have never owned or operated one but I do own a Precision Shaper. I have had it for about a year and a half and had not worked with machines before. It was a little freaky since I was going in blind but one thing that was a relief was how simple the design is. Setup was straight forward and so was getting started cutting.
Mike’s support is solid. You might think that this is standard but I have heard the horror stories from others with machines not getting any support at all. When you need some help, and you will, you can count on your call being answered or returned in a timely fashion. Believe me this is huge!
Design is solid and so is construction. A real strong point about this machine is that there are really no exotic parts or construction methods. Belt driven means easy to service and repair and fewer problems with dust jamming things up.
The software is solid, simple and straightforward, and has been updated about 4 times now. Updates were free and came from machine owner feedback.
So far I have cut well over 500 boards with no issues, other than operator mistakes, and no downtime. I am super happy and, for the money, I can’t believe how much machine I got. I have had a few guys roll through and want to check out the quality of the cuts, guys that have been working with other cuts, and they are always a little surprised.