Shaper... about time!

[Bob Farr]

*** Shes clutched, 2 speed with an 8 inch stroke (I was told it was 6) with auto feeds on both axis. ***

She's a beauty Artie. I have a Sweedish made machine called a "Torpex" currently undergoing a restoration which is very similar to yours. It also seems to have the two-axis auto-feed capability. Would you mind sharing some more detailed images or videos of how yours operates?

Congratulations on the great tool find!

Bob Farr

 

[Artie]

Hi Bob, that'll be a fine thing when youve finished. Im happy mine is in such great condition but it must feel fantastic to resurrect an ole girl like that.

It may be the pics as I cant see the gear set at all. I hope its not all missing, but is there a set of toothed gears linking one feed shaft with teh other?

without it the machine will still auto feed cross ways but not up or down. Its common for these to strip and then possibly not refitted after thay are taken off for inspection. They strip when both feeds are engaged at the one time. Apparently the loads are far too high for the small gear section. I know all about this as Ive just discovered mine are! I looked when I picked it up but the 3 broken teeth were sitting in place and it 'looked' ok.

Ill take more picks today and post up tonight.
Rob

 

[don-tucker]

I love shapers,well I did until one bit me,I remember using one similar to yours Artie way back in my apprenticeship days,I put my hand at the back to check if the parallel under the job was loose and she had me,I had great respect for the shaper after that.It was 54 years ago and taught me a good lesson.
I love the finish that comes with a sharp tool and plenty of top rake.
Don

 

[Artie]

Pics of the action for Bob

The repairs needed are

Feed ratchet pawl... (already dealt with)

Hand bump wheel (broken off, shaft ok)

Motion rod adjusted split (over tightened and split teh cast iron)

Missing teeth on feed gears...

The hand wheel is cast iron and I decided to replace it rather than repair... So I chucked a lump of brass (my very first brass casting project about 10 years ago, finally!), trued it up, knurled it and then shaped it.

One down....

The adjuster...

Can you see the replacement emrging from the lump of steel?

 

[Artie]

And thats as far is I got today apart from making the brass height adjuster nuts for the qctp tool holders (6 of em)... been a busy afternoon in the workshop.... ;D

 

[Artie]

I love shapers,well I did until one bit me,I remember using one similar to yours Artie way back in my apprenticeship days,I put my hand at the back to check if the parallel under the job was loose and she had me,I had great respect for the shaper after that.It was 54 years ago and taught me a good lesson.
I love the finish that comes with a sharp tool and plenty of top rake.
Don

I hope it didnt bite you too badly Don.... all things mechanical deserve our respect.... Ive got the scars to prove that theory.... ;D

 

[Bob Farr]

Hi Bob, that'll be a fine thing when youve finished. Im happy mine is in such great condition but it must feel fantastic to resurrect an ole girl like that.

It may be the pics as I cant see the gear set at all. I hope its not all missing, but is there a set of toothed gears linking one feed shaft with teh other?

***

Artie,

Thanks for the detailed pictured of your ratcheting feed pawl castings. They are very helpful, as was your video. Your repairs are made to a high standard and I'm sure the previous owner would be happy to know his machine is in capable hands.

My machine only came with one such device for the horizontal feed. The cast gear teeth were stripped , so I suspect it originally also had a second one for the vertical feed that was tossed out after it was damaged. My small parts are burried in a storage box at a moment, but here's a picture from another Torpex with stripped table gears. It looks like a common problem:

My shaper was literally a barn find, including free straw and chicken poop. I was surprised that it disassembled so easily. It seemed a bit top heavy and tipsey, so I'm making a wider thick oak base to give the column a little more stability:

Other than that it's just a matter of stripping, repairing some minor damage, and putting her back to work. I suspect this machine may be a copy of an early Elliott or Alba design that was exported under many different brand names.

 

[dsquire]

Artie,
.......
My shaper was literally a barn find, including free straw and chicken poop. I was surprised that it disassembled so easily. It seemed a bit top heavy and tipsey, so I'm making a wider thick oak base to give the column a little more stability:
........
Other than that it's just a matter of stripping, repairing some minor damage, and putting her back to work. I suspect this machine may be a copy of an early Elliott or Alba design that was exported under many different brand names.

Bob
Here is a link that may help you with rust removal on your shaper.

http://www.madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1651.0

Cheers

Don

 

[hopeless]

and now in ebay (Oz) another 1 surfaced. Looks like the same model as Artie has but now $500. Might just watch it though freight might hurt me.
Pete

 

[Artie]

Well the resurrection is about done for now....

Wanna see some smokin chips? Watch tonights vids! I had to make a tool holder as I couldnt find the ones I had... theyre here somewhere.... but hell yeah....

The motion link aduster worked out well, I still need to find a roll pin for the ratchet pawl and get rid of the split pin temporarily in use and the final suspect bit is the stripped gears. I was able to adjust the rod link to a minimum fine feed and re time the gears so the damaged teeth arent in play.. not ideal but enough to get by until I can remake them...

Click on the pics to start the vids. In the first one the noise is the power hacksaw cutting the stock for the tool holder, noisy but pretty good old machine ..(like the older stuff ;D)

 

[don-tucker]

With the broken teeth on the feed gears,we used to drill a row of holes along the tooth push MS pegs in then braze over,turn the od and file the gear profile.Used to last for years.
Don

 

[Deanofid]

Smokin' chips!
Thanks for the vid, Artie. That's great.

Dean

 

[Bob Farr]

Impressive work Artie, well done!

Bob

 

[Artie]

My machine only came with one such device for the horizontal feed. The cast gear teeth were stripped , so I suspect it originally also had a second one for the vertical feed that was tossed out after it was damaged. My small parts are burried in a storage box at a moment, but here's a picture from another Torpex with stripped table gears. It looks like a common problem:

Bob, the good news is that yours look like they can be (relatively) easily replaced, particularly once you have the machine up and running... in essence, she can repair herself. If you have one of the gear set its not too dificult to use it as the register to help you make the other set.

When I get round to actually doing mine Ill post pics, might be a while though as the 'bodg' seems to work well. Last night we cut lots of metal just getting a feel for the ole girl, seeing what depths of cuts can be used etc. Havent even started experimenting with the various tool shapes yet...

One thing I hadnt counted on is...its bloody messy! Throws hot chips everywhere... might make a small drop in place curtain to contain the chips in the immediate vicinity of the machine.....

Rob T

 

[Artie]

Found some interesting stuff re: Royal Shaper, well I found it interesting anyway.... A description of the Royal...

"Royal Shaper



An especially well-made shaper, the 10.5-inch stroke, 4-speed "Royal" was ideal for use in the smaller professional workshops and training establishments. It's only drawback - though common to similar sized machines from several other makers at the time - was the lack (on early models only) of a support bar under the front edge of the box to stiffen the structure under heavier cuts.
Manufactured by Realm Engineering of Croydon, Surry (not to be confused with the Relm lathe makers) the machine stayed in production until the 1960s - a decade that was the last to see the installation of such machines in schools and colleges.
Fitted with a clutch as standard, the machine had square ram guides with the stroke rate controlled by a combination of a 2-speed gearbox and 2-step V-belt drive. Both automatic vertical and well as horizontal power feeds appear to have been fitted - though the vertical may well have been an extra-cost option.
With a box table 10.125" long, 6.875" wide and 7.375" tall the Royal could tackle work up to 10.75 inches wide and accommodate a job up to 8 inches high. The tool slide had around 2.5 inches of travel (it accepted tools up to 5/8" square) and the ram stroke could be set at, 43, 58, 88 or 118 per minute.."

And the sales advert.... although a later model than mine with a different pedestal and a support bar. If you think about exchange rates.... I paid 'new' price for mine :

 

[ieezitin]

I would pay 159 pound now and a 159 pound shipping if the offer was still available.