[How do I?] Atlas 7B Shaper Restoration - advice needed

[Elmojo]

Hi all,
I just picked up an Atlas 7B metal shaper today. It's in pretty solid condition, but super nasty, and has been sitting unused for close to 10 years according to the previous owner. My intent is to do a fairly complete restoration and add it to my shop.

I'm certain I'll be needing lots of help along the way, but for now I have just a couple main questions if anyone can offer some advice:
1) What's the best and safest way to remove the grime from the machine without damaging the existing finish? I haven't decided if I'm going to repaint it or not, so I don't want to destroy whatever paint may exist. I'm not really planning to do a full teardown right away, so the old soap and water in a bucket method probably won't work for me. I'm looking for suggestions of cleaners or solvents that are effective, but not too harsh. I've heard good things about Castrol Super Clean. I also have used the "Totally Awesome" stuff from the dollar store with success on other projects in the past. Thoughts?
2) The power cord (and likely other internal wiring) is totally rotted. The outer sheathing is that black woven stuff, and it's nearly gone. What would be a suitable, nice looking replacement? I believe the motor to be a 1/2HP, 120V single phase. I will confirm that once I remove enough grime to read the plate.
3) What's the best way to remove/flush the old grease and oil, and what should I be replacing it with? I know modern lubricants are far superior to what was available 40yrs ago, so if I can re-lube it with something better, I'd like to.
4) The handle that fits every major adjustment on the machine is missing. Anyone know a source for a replacement? It has a 3/8" square drive, and is about 6" long. There's one for sale on eBay (can't post the link), but they want $100 for it!
5) The little balanced ball crank on the top vertical adjustment is broken. I have both parts. Is there any way to fix it, or do I need to find a replacement? If it must be replaced, anyone have a source? I can't seem to find any that small on eBay or my other common sources.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm super excited to dig into this machine. This will be my first restoration, and it's also my first American iron machine. I have a Jet 1236ps lathe that I love, but this thing is on a whole other level of craftsmanship. I've included a couple photos to begin documenting the journey...

-Mike

 

[DAT510]

Welcome to H-M
Nice fine.
I've had good results with cleaning Simple Green or WD40 on painted surfaces of machine tools.

 

[Elmojo]

Thanks for the welcome. I've been around for a while, just never had anything useful to post.
I sprayed it down with a little WD-40 already, since it got a bit damp during the move today. I'll try some Simple Green if I can find it locally.
Do you use it full strength or cut it?

 

[DAT510]

I use it full strength.

Btw, I have the baby brother to your lathe, a Jet 1024. Though my Shaper is a Logan 7" vs an Atlas.

 

[C-Bag]

Mine was pretty close to that dirty. More old oil and dust. I used WD40 and what it couldn't do I used kerosene sparingly. Awesome is great too. For whatever reason Simple Green didn't seem to cut it, don't know why. Be sure to clean all the ways on the ram and table and the cross lead screw before trying to pull it through. I worked my way around it and did a side at a time. There is a lot of mechanisms and details to a shaper and mine had sat for probably 20yrs buried in a tool hoarders barn. All that oil is what saved it as to my surprise there wasn't any rust.

I didn't pull the bull gear or countershaft as both being close to sealed in the case weren't dirty. The gears inside the case use tacky grease and way oil on everything else like the bull gear bearing, ram ways, ratchet box and gears and the cross feed screw. I think you'll find the manual to be little help for trying to disassemble. The parts blowup is a little vague like how to get things apart.

Of course if you are looking to keep yours as "restored" as possible you can probably find a stock handle for the cutter head but truth be told the original is tiny(along with the scales on it and the cross feed) and mine is a little chewed and plan on replacing it with a bigger one. It's a double edged sword, the cutter head gibs need to be tight so it doesn't get pulled down after several cuts causing it to cut a taper. But with the little handle there's not much leverage. So I modded mine after another user here adding a couple of handled screws to the gib so it's easy to lock down.

The hard thing to get used to with the 7b is it's a oil loss type machine. If it's not dripping oil, it's not lubed correctly. You were supposed to lube it several times a shift so I always give everything a squirt of oil and some grease on the bull gear everytime is use it. It also has a drip pan.

Good luck and hope you have fun with your shaper. I use mine as much as my mill and lathe.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

Item Nr 2:
I am more related to electrical than machining, so my responses are tailered to that perspective. In the "old" days, I would have called for "16/3 SO" cable but that has been superceded by something else.
(outlawed?) Probably SJO or something similar.

So, my suggestion would be go to the home store, Lowes, HD, or even the local hardware store and buy a good quality 16/3 extension cord. Get at least a 16/3, a 14/3 is better, an 18/3 is too small. 16/3 for a short cable would handle 3/4 HP for steady use. Twenty(20) feet should be more than enough.

Cut off eight(8) to 10(10) feet of the male cap for a line cord. Cut each piece as you need it for the interconnects. I recommend at least a foot longer than needed, if for nothing more than restripping an end in the future. The only moving part on a shaper is the ram, with no electrical connection. And the motor mount with some small movement. If any is left, stash it in case you need a female end some day. If a line cord is too long, it can be coiled up. If it's too short, the only solution is to move the machine or wire in a new receptical. Neither is easy~~~

Item Nr 4:
My S-7 came with a 3/8 drive, 7/16 socket welded to a handle. Several bolts, especially the motor, were replaced with larger fasteners so the homemade wrench got set aside. I happened to have an old fashioned tank wrench (acet, I think) that fit 3/8 square, so used that for the shaper and milling machine as I "updated" it as well. (Atlas MF something)

Whatever the case, a 3/8 drive socket of whatever size suits your shop welded to a handle is the simplest solution for the square drive. Alternately, a 3/8 open end or whatever size box end 12 pt wrench will do. Cut off the other end and grind smooth and drill for a split ring so the wrench is dedicated to that application. Every town has a pawn shop where individual end wrenches and sockets are plentiful.

.

Bill Hudson

 

[Elmojo]

Thanks for the responses so far, especially the details on the lubrication, cleaning and wiring. That helps a ton!
Bill, that's exactly what I was planning to do if I couldn't find a suitable replacement square drive wrench. In fact, I was digging through my toolbox last night, deciding which sockets and wrenches were candidates for sacrifice to the welder gods in the name of fabricating a new wrench for the shaper.
That's a great idea also to buy an extension cord an use it as material for the wiring. Having the finished plug end is a nice plus.
I hope to get out there today and begin doing some initial cleaning and investigation. Once I get the first major layer of crud off it, I'll post a few more shots of the progress.
Any additional thoughts on the other questions in my original post appreciated.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

You're probably refering to "Vulcan", the patron of the city of Birmingham(Ala). There is a statue on top of Red Mountain, the "red" from the iron ore below. Of course, iron and steel has about fallen from (environmental) favor and most of the mills are now closed and/or torn down, except for a few "museums".

.

 

[Elmojo]

Success!
Well, progress anyway. I said success because my goal for today was to prove to myself that this wasn't a total waste of time, and I've done that. I can actually see the original color of the machine in places, and I've been able to confirm that all axes move by hand. I've even driven the ram with the manual feed after cleaning the ways and checking the grease. The internal stuff is in pretty good shape, not crusty or died up at all. I'll probably still clean it out and replace it at some point, if I can figure out how. The next step will be replacing the wiring, power lead, and drive belts. Then I'll be able to run it under power and see if she cuts.

 

[NCjeeper]

Fun little machine. I had an earlier version (1939 model) for awhile. Looks like the original vise is on yours. That is a plus. As for the wrenches they do come up for sale on E-bay from time to time but as you mentioned the prices are usually high. Other option as mentioned is make your own.