Shaper forum??

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Glenn Brooks
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Shaper forum??

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Anybody on Chaski have a Shaper? We have no forum for shapers, and I don’t recall any discussion about shapers recently. Other forums typically have a group of shaper participants one can ask questions of....

I just bought an old Atlas 7” shaper, and am looking for advice on old school methods to make parts. How to determine how to stop the table from moving left to right when making a series of depth of cuts in the work, etc.

Glenn
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Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
Bob D.
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Re: Shaper forum??

Post by Bob D. »

I second the shaper forum idea! I have a nice Ammoco 7" that I mess with on occasion. Squared up odds and ends off the aluminum stock shelf. Love the finish you can get with it. Been wanting to set it up for internal and external key way cutting but haven't tried yet. Hard finding proper size no rake toolholders. Neat little machine that is quiet in operation and interesting to watch. Wish I knew more about using it.......

Bob
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Harold_V
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Re: Shaper forum??

Post by Harold_V »

This is likely the best possible place (General Discussion) for discussions about shapers, as there's way too little interest in them to dedicate an additional forum. Sadly, while they are interesting to watch and run, they are a relatively poor cutting tool that is rarely found in industry these days. They are, truly, a dinosaur.

That said, I wouldn't mind having a nice 12" or 15" shaper.

H
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SteveM
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Re: Shaper forum??

Post by SteveM »

The only thing you can't make with a shaper is money.

Steve
n2xd
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Re: Shaper forum??

Post by n2xd »

For some reason I have two shapers. One is an Atlas 7(not a B) and the other one that I just acquired is a Whipp 16". I use my machines, all of them. I'm really not interested in the money making potential as I am not in business. I grew up in a machine shop as that was my fathers business. He had a shaper that he setup and run while he was doing something else. Life is short and none of gets out of here alive, so enjoy what you like and if that is a hobby that includes a shaper in your shop than go for it.

John
chief
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Re: Shaper forum??

Post by chief »

There used to be a shaper fourm on yahoo, but I don't know if it still exists, I don't visit yahoo much any more, but I'm sure you could search for it there.

Terry
Russ Hanscom
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Re: Shaper forum??

Post by Russ Hanscom »

I have a 12" Gould & Eberhardt that is old enough to have poured in-place babbit bearings. I put a new gear rim on the bull gear many years ago. One of those tools that is nice to have but rarely used.

I have been offered 24-36" shapers just for hauling them away as shops needed the space for modern machines - I passed - just not equipped to be dragging 6000+lb from place to place.
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mcostello
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Re: Shaper forum??

Post by mcostello »

splines - Copy - Copy (2).jpg
splines - Copy - Copy (2).jpg (14.48 KiB) Viewed 5689 times
Drool people- :mrgreen:
Glenn Brooks
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Re: Shaper forum??

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Costello,

OK. Great pic. Brings up the exact question I’ve been wanting to ask. How do you rotate the part/align the tool bit properly for each succeeding tooth in the bore? AND, how do you make depth of cut, of each tooth a uniform depth at the end? I can’t see a way to dial in DOC or index the part without an unobtainium shaper indexer.

If we had a shaper forum, hint, hint, we could keep track of all sorts of lost-art shaper technology threads :D

Glenn
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
Glenn Brooks
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Shaper f

Post by Glenn Brooks »

And here is the Atlas 7” that followed me home on Thursday. After a quick clean up, it appears to be another grand Barn Find. Serial number 1014 stamped into the body. And the table advance gear housing is cast iron - which Atlas only produced in 1939. Also the same SS clad 1/3 hp motor as mounted on my 1939 delta DP 220 drill press.
C1A3BCDF-A119-4014-A968-C5C3823DBEA1.jpeg
175961B7-534F-4D5B-A23B-A4A827815F0D.jpeg
98031022-493F-42AE-9956-D48C44A6B351.jpeg
BBE99701-D754-4B50-8CBE-9912CB2A8842.jpeg
So guessing the machine may be the 14th model to roll off their production line.

I do need to replace or repair two broken parts. Picture below shows stress breaks on the back side of the table gear housing. ( left side of photo). It’s pretty well shattered and repaired, possibly twice.
CD26B033-E0C9-4DF4-8653-9B40DE096EDC.jpeg
F1B42118-D26F-44B4-AFEE-C1C1559596A6.jpeg
Question is, what is the most likely path to repair or replace? Iam thinking of milling a new one out of some 1.5” plate. Anybody have a spare part hanging around??

Thanks
Glenn
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
Bob D.
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Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:43 pm
Location: Saco, ME. USA

Re: Shaper forum??

Post by Bob D. »

I work at a large machine shop, defense contractor. One of the manufacturing cells has state of the art equipment, wire edms, huge CNC horizontal machining center with pallets and 5 axis, a few vertical CNC mills and the parts end up going on a 1939 vertical shaper to do what only a shaper can do. It has digital readouts and an in house made auto stop when depth of cut is reached but is otherwise original. Still earning its keep!
They don't do them on the 12 axis CNC mill/turn either!

Bob
3/4" Juliet II 0-4-0
3/4" Purinton Mogul "Pogo"
3/4" Hall Class 10 wheeler
3/4" Evans Caribou/Buffalo 2-8-0
3/4" Sweet Violet 0-4-0
3/4" Hunslet 4-6-0
3/4" Kozo A3. Delayed construction project

1 1/2" A5 Camelback 0-4-0
Patio
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Location: Centralia Wa

Re: Shaper forum??

Post by Patio »

Hello Glenn, I have a Logan 7" Shaper.
20180511_205013a.jpg
Some of the first post I made on the forum, were when I was learning to use the Shaper. Looking back, I had not idea of how cluless I was, and I have learned a lot about machining, in general, since then. I need to fix, or get a better vise for it, to use it for anything that would require any accuracy. I am not a machinist and am learning as I go. I have to many balls in the air at the moment to mess with it and nothing I have done lately has required it. I am glad to have it, and would love to give a go at cutting an inside, anything, with it. :)

There is a shaper group, that get some 50+ post a month.
You can find it here.
https://groups.io/g/Metal-Shapers-and-Planers
Hope that helps a little.
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