Hasta La Ideas

The Shaper Origin, the self-correcting router that we looked at in-depth here, will soon have a new accessory. Shaper has announced they’ll be releasing the Shaper Plate, a universal template that clamps to your workpiece and allows you to quickly cut inlays, recesses for hardware, corner treatments etc., with a minimum of set-up time.

The design of the Plate is clever, with below-surface clamping points that remove the single biggest hassle of a router template. Set-up looks to be quick too, with a retractable fence that you align with your mark to set the cutting area (see video, further down).

And if you’re installing any of the commonly-available hardware pieces whose recesses are already digitized in Shaper’s Hub database, you can get started immediately.

Here’s a demonstration of the Plate’s applications:

(You surely noticed the amount of Festool products in the background of the workspaces. As it turns out, Shaper has been acquired by Festool parent company TTS, joining stablemates Tanos and Saw Stop.)

The Shaper Plate will launch on September 14th, with a list price of $375. Purchased together with the Origin, the bill comes out to $2,874, which includes a $100 discount. You can learn more here.