On April 6, 2013, in the JLC Tools & Equipment forum, a regular contributor asked if the Copemaster production coping machine was still available after he searched for it and drew a blank. The machine he’s referring to was introduced about 10 years ago by former Connecticut millwork manufacturer Bill Shaw, and it was an instant classic. It weighed 65 pounds (so you could carry it around a job site), could cope crown up to 7 5/8 inches wide at least twice as fast as coping by hand, and cost $2,295. I talked with a finish-carpentry contractor in 2007 who bought three of the machines to cope baseboards and crown moldings for the new Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. After running them hard for more than a year, he said the machines were his company’s most durable power tools by far. Well, I just called Bill Shaw for a heads-up. The bad news? He stopped making the tool when the economy crashed. The good news? He still sells parts for it, and late this year he hopes to introduce a new model that weighs 10 pounds less, copes wider crown, and costs about the same. You can reach him at 800/630-1104. — B.G.
