Shaft shooter vs Veritas dowel maker

[episaacs]

I've been reading the dowel maker post and don't think these questions have been addressed, but pardon me if they have and I'm just too dense to see it

If you have, or have used a shaft shooter like the one from 3 rivers, please give me feedback on how well it works; i.e. how difficult is it to adjust? Is the cost justified by the outcome vs the Veritas dowel jig (the more expensive one)?
For those of you who have the $169 Veritas dowel maker from Lee Valley Tools, do you have any trouble adjusting it to cut to 11/32 or 23/64? Is the finish decent? I already have the less expensive one, but want something a bit more precise. It's either this or the enormously expensive shaft shooter, as I'm not familiar with using a router and am not a machinist

thanks!

[jamie]

the veritas will only cut 16th of an inch like 5/16th or 3/8th. i had a friend make me an 11/32 bushing. any machine shop or tool maker will make one for a cost. im sure one could even be made from hard wood. all it does is guide and burnish the shaft. veritas uses knives so the grain is more likely to tear out if you are not careful.  before i had the bushing i mentioned made i made 3/8th shafts and barrel tapered them to what i wanted.

the shaft shooter is obviously a better machine as it uses a router type bit to remove wood rather than knives. the only thing keeping me from buying one is cost. if you have the money id get the shooter.

both of the machines require setup and some tricks to use properly but you figure those out quickly. i mentioned the m in the other post.

one other thing is wood. you need to be able to read wood. if not you can buy lumber that will give you only 30lb shafts. arrow wood should be just like bow wood. the better the grain the better the arrow. peace

[episaacs]

Thanks Jamie.  That's exactly what I needed to know!

[ridge]

 Like Jamie says you can make bushings for any of the shaft sizes. I make mine from hardwoods. The knifes can be easily adjusted and usually have to be for each kind of wood you use. If you make enough shafts to warrant the cost it iis in my opinion the only way to go. Hope this helps    Ridge

[Badger]

     I built the router type several years ago and like the finish it gives me but kind of a hassle to set up, now I just use the 3/8 dowel maker and then chuck the shafts up and spin them while sanding down to spine and weight. One thing I like about the router type is that you can build one to exact size in less than an hour from a hardwood block. They wear down after a few dozen arrows but thats usually enough for me. Steve