Return of the Shaper

I'm struck by the number of postings over the last year about shapers.

It seems that they are having something of a renaissance, or perhaps it's just that more people are finding the confidence to admit to owning one!

It's possible to pick up a manual shaper for relatively modest investment, and there are powered shapers available second hand for prices comparable to bench mills.

I think it's time to have some shaper coverage in MEW.

Is there anyone who has (ideally) both a manual and a powered shaper who could write an introduction to shapers and their uses for the magazine?

I'd also be happy to receive shorter OMAHL-style articles on shapers (as well as other unusual machines).

Neil

What does OMAHL mean

Old man and his lathe

Lo and behold The return of the shaper !!

Never even saw one,never mind used one.

Will I be drummed out?

Although a shaper is mostly used to produce flat surfaces, one of our apprentice tasks was to manually adjust the tool slide while in motion to follow a contour, a good test of hand and eye coordination. Of course as with any machine the only limitation is how imaginative your setups are.

Mike

Don't these things need to be super heavy to work well? Most of the ones I've seen look pretty big to be a bench top machine. I'd be impressed and perhaps even tempted if someone could demonstrate one no bigger than one of the smaller Sieg mills.

Michael W

One Man although quite happy to print an OLAHL article as well!

Neil

This is an Adept number 2 shaper, like I've got. The Number 1 is smaller:

Will/does it cut steel Neil or is it non ferrous metals only?

Anything you want, with 16" lever I can put more force on the tool tip than most hobby lathes. Even the Adept 2 is pretty solid compared to a lathe with a compact saddle/cross slide/topslide arrangement or a typical bench mill with three dovetails again all smaller than the shaper dovetail.

Neil

Wow. never seen anything like it so surprised at the capabilities!

What sort of 'depth of cut' would you use on EN1A or similar if you were say putting a flat on a cylinder?

I used to work at a sugar mill. We had a planer, which is like a shaper but the bed moves not the tool.It had an eighteen foot bed, we used 2" tip tools and could take 1/4" cuts in steel and 1/2" in cast iron. Sometimes the chips would fly everywhere.

Shapers are good for shifting lots of material quickly and can be left unattended when running.

We also had a new very large milling machine that could take 6" x 6" cut out of 12" square bar!

They can't be making that much of a comeback as I know someone who dug a hole in their garden and buried one quite recently as they could not get any takers for it. This person is also a bit of a machineaholic so likes their tools!

J

PS I could probably draw a map if anyone wants to go looking for treasure.

Hi Guys
I have a Drummond hand shaper . At work in the 70s there a 36" shaper I used to machine circular grooves in a mould for round components,

Edited By Nobby on 07/08/2017 15:41:21

I picked up this Perfecto 7-inch stroke motorised shaper at the weekend. I haven't cut any metal with it yet as I'm waiting for some adjustable feet to arrive so that I can level it up on the uneven garage floor. It seems to be a well cared-for machine. The slides and feed screws are all smooth in operation with little, if any, backlash. To say I'm pleased with the purchase is an understatement, having failed to buy a similar one through the classified ads on here, earlier in the year.

I have a few small projects planned to "get my eye in", notably more toolholders for the new wedge-type lathe toolpost. First, though, I have to source a suitable vice, the one from the mill is going to be too big, I fear.

John

Have a little Boxford 8" with a rotatable table. It'll do things the milling head on my Warco WMT300 won't contemplate. It is a very, very slow machine, but fascinating to watch. Don't use it anywhere as much as it deserves. But then don't get as much workshop time as I deserve either.

If someone can do an article, it'll be good to read.

Regards,

Richard

Lathes are obviously going the same way as someone rusted a Myford up and bolted it to the ceiling of his narrowboat...

I don't know yet, as for steel I've only played about with some thick structural tube.

Neil

I used to have a really old ALBA 10" shaper and decided to sell it when I got a bigger milling machine, I regretted it and a couple of years later bought a Boxford 8" shaper, I ran out of space in my workshop again and decided to sell it.

I always regretted selling it and when I moved house and ended up with a bigger workshop, I bought myself an ATLAS 7" shaper which I still have.

When used for suitable jobs it is a brilliant bit of kit and I would not be without it.

It is not a substitute for a milling machine but when you need to cut some internal slots, or produce a nice flat face on something, it is very easy to set up and you can often leave it to get on with the job whilst doing something else.

Phil