levelling a shaper?

Before starting to set up my shaper. I have read one or two old books about shaping, in order to get some background information. In two of these old books, it is recommended that you get the shaper level. This is in order to make setting up the work in the machine vice an easy task. Apparently a sensitive spirit level was used to ensure that the work was really flat in the jaws.

I suppose that the same would go for a milling machine too. Levelling a mill should be relatively straightforward, but a shaper is not quite so simple, especially if it is fitted with a with a tilting work table. My worktable is of the unbolt and swivel type, which does make me wonder how accurately I could align it with the vertical axis of the machine.

Looking at the cast iron base, there doesn't seem to be any jacking feet either, or maybe they are inside the base somewhere? Now to get to the point, does anyone level their shaper these days, or for that matter their mill?

Andrew.

Put a DTI on the head and run the table from side to side, if it is tilted then the dti will show. Same to check front to back put a parallel on teh table and run the ram in and out ad make sure the dti does not move

As for setting up the work I'd use parallels in the vice rather than a level

Thanks Jason,

Using parallels in the vice would be my preferred solution as well. Strangely, it wasn't mentioned as an option. So I thought I would check it out on the forum.

Andrew.

Andrew - My workshop floor is dead level and the shaper was just slid in. I have never bothered checking with a spirit level - not a lot of point I s'pose.

Rik

The closest I ever came to leveling a shaper was to shim one corner to keep it from rocking. A truly level machine is only essential if you use a spirit level in setting up a job.

With a digital angle gauge/inclinometer Andrew - you can zero it to the table and reference from that - so I think it's less essential to have the machine level these days. I have a Wixey that apparently is good to 0.1 degrees - probably still not as good as my sensitive engineers level but quite good enough for 'casual' use I think. It's most useful for setting work in the vice quickly for angled cuts. I just stick it to a steel ruler, place the ruler (on edge) on the table, zero the gauge and even thin work can be set up quickly using the rule to get between the vice jaws (you don't want unnecessary work material above the jaws if you can avoid it)...

But generally I just 'indicate' the work with reference to the ram. For small (especially thin) work on the hand shaper, I'll sometimes surface a 'work-table' (a grand name for a simple square of brass or aluminium held in the vice) before super-gluing the work piece to it - just too be sure the work is held flat & true. It's quick and easy to do for small work pieces and solves many working holding problems. A rotary vice (normal for the shaper) is then very handy - as you can true the work to the ram - because it can be tricky to 'stick' it on straight...

Just some thoughts - enjoy your shaper!

Regards,

IanT

The only reason to level any machine tool is to put the machine tool back into the zero stress situation that it was in when made new. Whether it is actually level is not as important as having the references in their zero position if your machine does have them. So like a lathe for example, you want the bed to have zero twist and as flat as possible. With a shaper, front of the ram slide and the back of the ram slide with zero twist. Same with the vertical slide.

Neil

Yes, certainly true of lathes Neil - but (as Andrew states) the reason given for levelling shapers was nothing to do with machine distortion but the ability to set work up easily. The shaper is used to create plane surfaces and where large work pieces had to be attached to the table, the clamping and jacking work involved could be complex. The ability to use a level to adjust heavy/large work being clamped & supported would have been very useful.

Most of my work is just held in the shapers vice (referencing from the bottom of the vice) but not all set-ups are that simple and I'm not machining really large surfaces as would often have been the case in days of old....

(My Grandad used to say "I remember when that only cost a Farthing!" - but I haven't had to explain 'old money' to my grandchildren thus far...fortunately)

Regards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 04/08/2017 08:34:57

My 8" Boxford (fixed table) is bolted to the concrete garage floor & was levelled with a precison level, as I had access to levels through my employer at the time.

The "bolts" are actually lengths of studding locked into the floor using expanding anchors & the machine was levelled with nuts on the studding & locked into position with nuts above the base. The machine sits an inch or so above the floor & was then grouted in - a frame was built around the base & filled up with a specialist machine tool grouting compound. This only happened as I had half a bag of epoxy grout left over after an installation for work & it "went off" quite quickly after the bag was opened. This grout is a form of sand & cement mix, but it expands slightly on curing - probably one of these products **LINK** .

Somebody will have fun taking this out when I depart !

Nigel B