Shaper saw

[Darren]

On another site but well worth a look

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/showthread.php?t=189036

[raynerd]

Hummmmm.... Seems like a great substitute for a power hacksaw! Could be very tempted to try this one in the near future as my power hacksaw is currently my right arm! I can`t see how it is getting the pressure downfeed. I guess the vertical powerfeed would just be too quick at its lowest setting and the blade would need to fall at its own pace. I have to admit, I haven`t really looked into power hacksaws so I don`t know how they control the down feed.

Chris

[Darren]

Perhaps the clapper falling down gives the down feed? I'm not sure but it might work?

[John Hill]

Yes Darren it certainly looks like he has it mounted on the clapper. 

The one that Nevil Shute made is shown here http://www.nevilshute.org/Engineering/ModelEngineer/convertingshaper1.php  I rather like that story as he had a petite little machine like my "Sally Shaper".

[websterz]

Hummmmm.... Seems like a great substitute for a power hacksaw! Could be very tempted to try this one in the near future as my power hacksaw is currently my right arm! I can`t see how it is getting the pressure downfeed. I guess the vertical powerfeed would just be too quick at its lowest setting and the blade would need to fall at its own pace. I have to admit, I haven`t really looked into power hacksaws so I don`t know how they control the down feed.

Chris

Most usually they are gravity fed, assisted by additional weight(s) placed on the end of the saw arm.

[John Hill]

Not all shapers have powered down feed but I guess it would be practical to mount the saw on the clapper box and allow it to pivot up and down with a weight on it to keep it cutting then it would be a mild talk to occasionally advance the down feed manually to keep the saw more-or-less horizontal.

There was a little tiny one came with my shaper that I have never set up, it has a spring to encourage the cut instead of weights.

[RDL]

On another site but well worth a look

First I would like to introduce myself to the forum members.  I just am newly acquainted to MadModder thanks to the link that Darren made to the Practical Machinist.  Photobucket sent me a traffic report which showed that the traffic generated by ModModder viewers was far supperior to the views originating from the PM site. 

First of all  "Thank you Darren".  Perhaps it is serendipity but I think you should have included a post in that thread that would have alerted other Shaper owners that there is a forum here that will be of interest to shaper owners.  I have tried, unsuccessfully, to get the PM site to open a Shaper Forum but the PM owner has preferred to have forums that reflect his personal tastes.

It would really be something if the MadModder would favour us with a Shaper site where we could post tool profiles and modifications that would benefit all owners.

The Power Hacksaw pictured above was made last week.  The downfeed is via the automatic downfeed.  A new post was made to fit snuggly inside the saw's vertical member.   

I do not believe you can rely on the Clapper to act as the downfeed because at the end of the stroke the angle would be very acute forcing the blade up suddenly and most likely breaking something.

The following is the text that was included in the PM site:
Mr. Admin, the Elliott 24" is not an Antique. Please feel free to move the thread to the Shaper Forum.

This is not a new concept but it solved the problem of cutting material that my other saws could not (not the piece shown). It is a compound mitre saw.

In this case there is a 24" band saw blade. The holes in the horizontal bar are for an adapter that holds 15" Hacksaw blades if required. The holes in the end piece should hold a boxing glove.

A return stroke lifter has not been incorporated yet. The saw has to be watched if the feed is aggressive because the blade will not be able to keep up.

Lubricant was sprayed on for demonstration purposes but a dedicated coolant nozzle and coolant tray should be used at faster speeds.

Raymond

[RDL]

Yes Darren it certainly looks like he has it mounted on the clapper. 

The one that Nevil Shute made is shown here http://www.nevilshute.org/Engineering/ModelEngineer/convertingshaper1.php  I rather like that story as he had a petite little machine like my "Sally Shaper".

Thank you for that link.  Though I have read 1/2 of the books he wrote I was not aware of his shaper interest.  It certainly has not escaped me that he was technically very capable and accomplished. 

Like I said it was not an original idea.  It was meant to encourage others who may not have seen this Shaper adaptation or extension, so to say.  The saw allows me to make use of bigger pieces than I could before.  It is always possible to make a bigger one if need be but I suspect that I would require at least 2" blades to have sufficient stiffness.

Raymond

[John Hill]

Welcome RDL, or as we would say in this part of the world "Yea wull g'day".  I have a small Adept 2 powered shaper, I suppose some shapers are classified as 'bench top', the Adept is more you coffee table size but she (it is only right and proper that such a petite machine should be given a female personality) can get through a useful sized job in quite short order.

Regarding saw attachments you may notice in the Nevil Shute example he got over the acute angle problem by mounting his saw frame on a long arm.

[Bernd]

Hi Raymond,

I don't think Eric would open a section just for shapers, we need to let him decide on that.

If you have any shaper related subjects I would post them in the Shop section of Madmodder. I can't see any reason for not putting the related items there. The machine itself can be disscussed, the tooling and so forth. We try not to make any section to specific to subject since we are trying to imcompass all things that can be "modded".

Regards,
Bernd

[Darren]

Ha, gotcha.....you're trapped now for sure.....

Welcome, glad you found the place interesting.......nice shaper, please tell us more about it......

You know I don't think any forum has a dedicated shaper section....not that I've found anyway....


I like shapers btw....not much exp though....

[RDL]

Ha, gotcha.....you're trapped now for sure.....   ...

I have not found a site either apart from Shaper Forum at Yahoo.com which I feel is more social than technical.  The problem with general forums is that things get buried rather quickly because of the quantity of topics covered.  There is a rather large Practical Machinist (PM) thread which has had 52,000 views.  This activity mostly took place when the thread was located in the General View.  When I asked Milacron to open a Shaper thread he reacted by banishing shaper threads to the Antique section where there is much less activity.

As I previously mentioned, I would like to see a Shaper forum but I am new here and don't know the correct process to achieve such wish.  If possible such a forum would have a few Sticky threads such as "Tools", "Setups", and "Shaper Attachments".  This way a person could quickly find Tool sharpening parameters without the tedious search efforts.  Many people have posted pictures, on PM, of tooling that was made but it is now buried very deeply.

Here is one of my earlier pictures of my 24' Elliott Invicta Major.  Yes we do have some fair size tractors here.  Never popped so many Prozac pills as on that move even though the driver was skilled and very smooth.

Raymond

[RDL]

Oops that was a rather large picture.

Raymond

[bogstandard]

Raymond,

Unlike most sites, this one isn't dedicated to anything. That, I think, is why it is getting so popular, members have a feeling of freedom, rather than being tied down to a particular subject. What you do with your machines, gives ideas for other machines, and vice versa. Or if you get stuck with your own project, we have such a lot of members with specific specialities, they could end up helping you. A lot of the discussion might be pie in the sky, but on the other hand, there might be a little snippet amongst it that pushes your project to conclusion.

It might not be super technical site, as most engineering sites tend to end up being, which in my mind is a good thing, as the members don't feel 'threatened' in any way about discussing things between different 'passions'. I don't like working with wood, but that wouldn't stop me helping a carpenter, if my skills would allow it.

I reckon, if you put a few posts up about the shaper, and make sure that 'shaper' is in the topic heading, for search reasons, then I don't think you will be disappointed with the response.

If it can be 'modded', made, or discussed, then it is truly welcome.

For the number of members we have, shaper ownership is rather high at around 1%, which I think is good for a non dedicated site, and I am sure that figure will grow once they start to see how versatile a machine it is.

Even if it still only becomes a minor part of the site, and it becomes absorbed in the general melee, surely, showing your particular 'passion' off is better than not showing it at all.

Bogs

[raynerd]

Welcome RDL, I`ve just got my boxford shaper up and running - thread is here:

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1314.msg18677#new

I`m a relative noob so you probably won`t find too much of interest on there but it has been an interesting challange!

Look forward to reading more shaper related threads!
Chris

[RDL]

...
I`m a relative noob so you probably won`t find too much of interest on there but it has been an interesting challange!

Look forward to reading more shaper related threads!
Chris

That machine appears to be in great shape.  All that is required is a little "tooth".  There is a chart in my Introduction thread which may help you to shape cutting tools.  The profiles illustrated may not give you a super smooth finish but you will be on the right path.

Raymond