my new toy

[werowance]

finally got my first metal shaper. Atlas 7. just got it unloaded and did a small test cut on a scrap cast aluminum ingot last night. still needs some adjusting and the power cord ran properly. right now the motor is hard wired, you plug it in and it runs.

looking at the pictures i need to get rid of the ropes on hanging on the wall behind it.......

anyone have any schematic or info on wiring the switch back to the motor properly? looking at the manual and some videos i see where the wire is supposed to enter into the base of the machine to get to the switch but thats all i can find on it.

 

[Lloyd-ss]

Now THAT is a serious CHUNK of IRON.

They were all built before the introduction of indexable carbide. Do you think you can find an insert made for interrupted cuts that is up to the task?
You'll have to post a video when you get it up and running with the chips rolling off of it. They are mesmerizing to watch.
Lloyd
P.S. It has a bunch of levers and knobs, but just a single little on/off switch. That says a lot!

 

[werowance]

i have hss bits that i can use, actually was using hss to roll the chips off that ingot of aluminum. i was as you said mesmerized. i didnt want to stop but alas the list of chores at the house were greater than the time i had for play time.

 

[ShopShoe]

If you haven't seen this link before, you can probably find information at:

http://vintagemachinery.org
--

Usually a "plug it in and it starts right up without the switch" indicates the switch is bad and someone did not want to take the trouble to find a replacement switch.

Since it looks like a simple toggle switch, You can probably find a switch that will work and look right, too. I can't tell if your switch plate is attached by screws: If it is you can probably take out the screws to get to the back of the switch.

--ShopShoe

 

[packrat]

I have one just like yours, I need to get out in the shop and clean it up and get it working..

 

[werowance]

If you haven't seen this link before, you can probably find information at:

http://vintagemachinery.org
--

Usually a "plug it in and it starts right up without the switch" indicates the switch is bad and someone did not want to take the trouble to find a replacement switch.

Since it looks like a simple toggle switch, You can probably find a switch that will work and look right, too. I can't tell if your switch plate is attached by screws: If it is you can probably take out the screws to get to the back of the switch.

--ShopShoe

actually pulled the switch last night. its rated at 6amp. the motor plate says its 7.3 amp. it appears to be original motor with atlas super power name plate still on it. i found a parts diagram. looks like it originally should have had flex duit installed on the inside with some screw down brackets but that has been removed. no problem a trip to the hardware store for that. i did not test the switch last night but do plan to. but worried about that 6 amp switch vs 7.3 amp motor. switch does appear to be original and so does the motor but is that 7.3 amp rating just a split second peak or startup amp?

 

[werowance]

here is a diagram of what i found missing

 

[Lloyd-ss]

actually pulled the switch last night. its rated at 6amp. the motor plate says its 7.3 amp. it appears to be original motor with atlas super power name plate still on it. i found a parts diagram. looks like it originally should have had flex duit installed on the inside with some screw down brackets but that has been removed. no problem a trip to the hardware store for that. i did not test the switch last night but do plan to. but worried about that 6 amp switch vs 7.3 amp motor. switch does appear to be original and so does the motor but is that 7.3 amp rating just a split second peak or startup amp?

The motor will draw 2 to 4 times that current (so 14 amps or more) on start-up for a second or 2, but a decent toggle switch will handle the current spike ok. The 7.3 amps is when the motor is loaded up to full power, and I doubt you will do this (except just before it crashes, ha ha).

Lowes lists some 10 and 20 amp toggle switches on its website.
You can go to the trouble of the BX armored cable, but I don't know if I would. But definitely make sure you have a proper ground.

On the silly/dangerous scale of 1-10. with 10 being call the rescue squad, using Romex instead of BX is probably a 3. Having a bad ground is a 10.

 

[awake]

Nice! I lusted after a shaper for many years, and finally acquired a 7" Southbend about 8 years ago. I wasn't sure if it would be a toy I just admire, or one I really use ... turns out that I do use it quite often. The Southbend is set up in such a way that it will stop advancing the table when it reaches its limit (once it runs off the thread of the feed screw - this is by design); that lets me set it up to flatten a part and do some work on the mill or lathe, not worrying about any crashes if I don't get back to it before it finishes a pass. Hopefully your Atlas is set up in a similar fashion.

 

[werowance]

Nice! I lusted after a shaper for many years, and finally acquired a 7" Southbend about 8 years ago. I wasn't sure if it would be a toy I just admire, or one I really use ... turns out that I do use it quite often. The Southbend is set up in such a way that it will stop advancing the table when it reaches its limit (once it runs off the thread of the feed screw - this is by design); that lets me set it up to flatten a part and do some work on the mill or lathe, not worrying about any crashes if I don't get back to it before it finishes a pass. Hopefully your Atlas is set up in a similar fashion.

awake, if you have pictures of that auto stop mechanisim on your shaper i sure would like to see it. maybe i could adapt something like that to mine.

 

[pete]

It's not an auto stop although in a way I guess it is. The table side to side feed screw is purposely shortened so the feed nut runs off the feed screw threads if it travels too far. A whole lot of the industrial sized shapers were also set up in that way. I've no idea if your Atlas is the same, but that would be something I'd want to check by running the table fully to the left. It will either come to a hard stop or run off the thread. Crashes with now hard to find and expensive replacement parts are something you most definately want to avoid.

Luckily it appears you got the OEM vise with yours, those are now pretty costly to obtain. Other than that missing conduit and clamp, yours seems to be complete. Another savings for sure. Buying anything with a lot of missing parts can quickly turn into a serious money pit. These machines were intended to use HSS tooling, in reality they just don't have the surface speeds to properly use carbide. Yes it can be used, but most of the advantages of using carbide are lost simply because the machine can't and probably shouldn't be driven that fast.

 

[krypto]

The much larger shapers that were setup to use carbide tooling had an automatic tool lift so the carbide wasn't drug backwards over the work. Without this feature, the tip will quickly chip. Not that it matters for these tiny shapers as they already have enough trouble attempting to fully utilizing HSS much less carbide.

If you are looking for a shaper use guide search for "Suggested Unit Course in Shaper Work 1944 PDF" for over 300 pages of shaper HOWTO information.

 

[Steamchick]

Hi Werowance, I am just learning here, as I only ever used a shaper once - back on a college course in 1975..
In the photo, it looks like the vice has been rotated 90 degrees from the best orientation? (Maybe just to make the machine narrower for transit shipping?).
- What I mean is, that on a workpiece that is not tightened enough, the shaper could simply rotate, or work the piece out of the vice jaws....?
I vaguely recall that the jaws should be like solid walls resisting the cutting forces from the tool, so the vice should be rotated to have the handle sticking out to the left, as viewed, not to the front? Anyone with any other comment on this?
K2

 

[Chiptosser]

This Shaper has the anti-back drag feature on it.
Its called a clapper box.

 

[krypto]

This Shaper has the anti-back drag feature on it.
Its called a clapper box.

Uh, the clapper box doesn't help for this. The later hydraulic shapers actually lift the tool from the work on the back stroke.

 

[werowance]

Hi Werowance, I am just learning here, as I only ever used a shaper once - back on a college course in 1975..
In the photo, it looks like the vice has been rotated 90 degrees from the best orientation? (Maybe just to make the machine narrower for transit shipping?).
- What I mean is, that on a workpiece that is not tightened enough, the shaper could simply rotate, or work the piece out of the vice jaws....?
I vaguely recall that the jaws should be like solid walls resisting the cutting forces from the tool, so the vice should be rotated to have the handle sticking out to the left, as viewed, not to the front? Anyone with any other comment on this?
K2

i rotated it just to hold the test piece of aluminum for a quick test cut. when it arrived it was sticking out to the side.

 

[werowance]

this weekend i almost got the switch replaced. man i see why it was missing the wire and coduit. its a very tight fit inside there. once i got the bolts that hold the wire clamps in place i quit. i fought trying to get 1 bolt fished in the hole for at least 2 hours. thought i was going to have to do major dissasembly to get it. but finally using stick pins, forceps, picks and every little tiny tool i could find to move it, it went in. i quickly put a nut on the other side and walked away.

hope to finish it up in a day or 2.

 

[werowance]

The much larger shapers that were setup to use carbide tooling had an automatic tool lift so the carbide wasn't drug backwards over the work. Without this feature, the tip will quickly chip. Not that it matters for these tiny shapers as they already have enough trouble attempting to fully utilizing HSS much less carbide.

If you are looking for a shaper use guide search for "Suggested Unit Course in Shaper Work 1944 PDF" for over 300 pages of shaper HOWTO information.

fortunately im using HSS not carbide. yeah i could see chipping carbide easily.

 

[awake]

awake, if you have pictures of that auto stop mechanisim on your shaper i sure would like to see it. maybe i could adapt something like that to mine.

Sorry to be slow in responding to this. I will try to get a picture and post it ... but as Pete says, it is not a mechanism; it is just a feed screw that is purposely designed to run off the threads at either end. The shaper keeps going, the feed screw keeps turning, but the table just stays in place.

 

[werowance]

Sorry to be slow in responding to this. I will try to get a picture and post it ... but as Pete says, it is not a mechanism; it is just a feed screw that is purposely designed to run off the threads at either end. The shaper keeps going, the feed screw keeps turning, but the table just stays in place.

well, that would be a fairly easy modification to make. dont know how much travel i might loose though but thats an easy thing to measure. shoot i might even have a piece of acme threaded rod that i could use so i wouldnt have to modify the original one. sure would be better than a crash