Boxford Shaper Motor

Hi chaps I've just got myself a lovely little Boxford Shaper, I need some advice with the motor I would like to run it of one of my inverters, but not sure about the wiring on this one , any advice would be welcome.

Thanks in advance Alan.

Hi Alan,

Wire it in what they term as Mesh, more commonly termed Delta and it should run fine from an inverter of the correct KW rating. Not sure what that would be as my boxford had its motor replaced with a single phase when I bought it.

Does yours have the auto vertical feed fitted? some did some didn't.

As Graeme says, remove the wires from the N terminal and reconnect them as per diagram, leaving N terminal unused.

This will wire it in Delta and it will run from your inverter. I used an inverter on my shaper and it was fine.

I've repaired your batty Al😇

Thanks chaps I did reply last night but for some reason my phone didn't complete , Greame yes it does how power feed on the Z as well as the X , can you use power feed in both directions on the X? I'm not sure but I hope to have a play with it over the weekend, once again thanks chaps.

Alan.

P's nearly for got thanks Rob I have three others for you to look at also seeing as you have a talent for it.

Alan,

IIRC there is provision for movement to both left and right in the X plane, controlled by a knob on top of the feed housing (right hand end of cross slide, where the push rod attaches)

Can be set for right, left or 2 neutrals in between.

Movement is done on the back stroke of the ram.

For a manual see here **LINK**

I've been asked if I can cut a couple of key ways with the shaper and I think I will, my question is I don't have a tool made to do it yet any advice on style would be handy or a photo even better, I have an idea how to go about it but the more info the better me thinks, By the way Robbo I have the wiring done on the motor just need to connect the inverter wires into the back then it will be time to play? I mean test of course.

Alan.

Stefan Gotteswinter (spelling?) has a few Youtube videos showing his shaper, including cutting keyways. I think he locks the clapper box, and makes a point of demonstrating how he cranks the machine manually before switching it on, to avoid a crash (a wise move). Well worth watching.

Hi Steve I've seen Stefan's films and must say he a very talented guy, his shaper looks to cut on the pull stroke when he doing normal work but different again when cutting a keyway, I also see its ridged for keyway's also is that the way to go, I don't know but suppose it must be, what's your thoughts.

I guess you are talking internal keyway. The usual tool is like a boring bar but with the tool bit turned at right angles. It needs to be mounted suitably near the bottom edge of the clapper box, and there are a number of ways to do this. It is probably less likely to dig in if you cut on the pull stroke, and this will require locking the clapper. Ideally you should also reverse the motor since the return stroke is faster than the outward stroke.

The motor direction is also relevant to Alans original query... for normal cutting the bull wheel should rotate clockwise when observed through the door. Or to put it another way, the crankpin should be on the top as the ram goes forward on the cutting stroke.

You can also do keyways in a shaft with a shaper, but you need to drill a hole at the end for the tool to drop into, or both ends if it is a blind keyway in the middle of the shaft. Some shapers are arranged so that a shaft can go right through the machine so that keyways can be done on the middle of a shaft.

regards

John

If you only need a quick small keyway then the lathe system is the simplest

A parting tool for the correct width on the toolpost and the workpiece on the lathe and then wind the carriage to and fro a few dozen times

(edit: cut the slot at 3 0'clock or 9 0'clock so the carriage can be adjusted)

Edited By Ady1 on 26/05/2016 03:57:21

Regards BarryHi Alan,

Heres the setup I used on my oxford to cut some gear keyways.

Not shown, but made a plug to fit the gear bore to align the cutter bar

Regards Barry

This might be of interest - a refurbishment of a boxford, and making the tooling for cutting keyways - **LINK**

No mention of locking the clapper box, which I think is probably a necessity for working inside a small bore.

Ady I think you are referring to an external keyway on a shaft, whereas the original query was for an internal keyway.

If you are cutting on the forward stroke (as seems to be the case in Barry's picture) then you don't need to lock the clapper box. That is provided there is a little clearance in the hole. The edge is supposed to last a bit longer if it is not dragged back across the job, although I suspect that for the amount of work we amateurs do with keyways it would not matter all that much. The clapper box is more important for facing jobs, where the feed will move the uncut part of the job into the return path of the tool.

regards

John

It depends on the hole. I cut an internal and external keyway in my backgear yesterday with a parting tool, then dremeled off a small section to use as a key because it was 3/32 and not 1/8! (aarg!)