Invicta 4M shaper / Elliott shaper

I recently picked up an Invicta 4M shaper from an auction and thought I would share a few photos.

The Invicta brand was bought out/merged/renamed to Elliott and according to the lathes.co.uk website my shaper dates to around WW2 times. See Invicta shapers which might be worth a look if you are interested.

Here it is arriving at home on the back of a trailer.

I did not really have the correct equipment at home to get the machine off the trailer. I had to resort to using a ratchet strap as a winch to get the machine to the back of trailer. Once the machine was at the back of the trailer,  my Chinese engine crane could slide underneath the trailer for me to attempt a lift.

As I was on my own, I had to lift the shaper (which the little crane could barely accomplish) and then drive the trailer out from underneath it.

Needless to say, this was not an ideal situation and I tried to stay away from the shaper as much as possible in case the crane failed. I could not lower it to the floor due to space constraints so I quickly got some wooden blocks so that I could lower the machine onto them.

I could then get a pallet truck underneath it to move the machine.

The machine stayed under a cover for a couple of weeks until I had the chance to have a closer look at it. Last weekend, I had a chance to have a closer look at the machine.

This is the serial number of the machine.

While looking for some more information on the Invicta 4M I came across an old auction listing and would you believe it, it was the same machine I now own. It appears that the machine came from 'H N Harben Ltd, Aviation Engineering And Engineers in Wolverhampton'.

The ram guards have been lost or damaged between that sale and the time I bought it as the machine did not come with them.

Overall the machine was very dirty and had surface rust on all the machined surfaces. The three V belts were also in a very poor condition.

I cleaned most of the rust off and ensured I lubricated everything that requires lubrication and attempted to run the machine.

See the quick youtube video I made.

I am not super happy about the finish. I will need to experiment and practice to try and get a better smoother finish.

The machine could do with a full strip down and refurbishment at some point. However, with a lack of time and other competing projects, it might a while.

Edited By Jan Raap on 11/06/2023 10:08:58

Nice machine!

Just a heads up: In the video it is running in reverse. It should be slow stroke forward, rapid stroke return.

Thanks.

Yes, I realised the motor's direction was wrong on the first run (first part of the video) and I changed it.

Some of that machine looks to have come from the same foundry as my 18 inch Alba, and yet a few parts are quite different, eg the gearbox. The Alba did end up under the Elliot name as well. I expect that there may have been some badge engineering going on. You have the same vice as mine too, which is good, they are often missing from shapers.

The finish can depend a bit on the material you are cutting too, cast iron and aluminium are easy to get a great finish on, steel can vary a bit depending on the grade, much as it also can with a lathe. Don't let those smoking chips go down your shirt front!

John

The tool has too much unsupported overhang. It will be flexing on every cut. Get a tool with as deep a shank as you can fit in the tool holder. A couple of hours on a Drummond hand powered would teach you all you need to know about shapers.

Roy

Edited By roy entwistle on 11/06/2023 13:49:00

I always felt shapers were a good candidate for a cnc type conversion because of the the high rate of repetition

Like John Ihave found that Brass/Alu/Cast Iron is fairly easy to get a good finish on using lathe style tool geometry but for finishing cuts on steel I use the VERY old scarfing tool which seems to do the trick.

Thanks. I will experiment a little more with different tools and speeds to try and get a better finish.

The steel I cut was also 'mystery metal', it was part of an old 20mm thick road plate so probably hot rolled cheapish steel.