Got outbid on an Atlas Shaper today

welderr

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I went to an estate auction today to bid on an Atlas Shaper, it appeared complete on its original stand, but obviously hadn't been in use for a long while,and didn't show any outward signs of abuse but the motor had been changed and the guards were with it but not installed and one of them was either broken or modified, possibly to work with the newer motor. I bid up to $400.00 which I decided was my limit a few days ago, I was interested in it mainly to compliment my Atlas lathe with the milling attachment on it, mainly for squaring up stock and other uses , but it was approaching the price of a bench top mill which I was trying to avoid buying , but may end up with any way. I was just attracted to it from a coolness factor, but mainly from the tooling expense factor as grinding your own HSS bits is a lot cheaper than buying a whole nother bunch of mill tools. T J Ps. If someone from here is who bought it sorry to bid against you but you wanted it more than me :)
 
IMO WE , you lucked out , you just saved yourself $ 400. . Shapers while incredibly cool are limited , yes I know they can do special neat stuff . But they can't drill or bore , and a whole lot more . I think you should concentrate on finding a bench top hor./vert. mill .
 
As neat as the Shaper is the base model Taig mill is $455.00 so that's what I had in the back of my mind. I have a J head Bridgeport and other tools still set up for now at my Dad,'s old shop, but for how long I don't know, if you use your imagination on set up and have patience for lighter cuts you can actually get a lot done with the lathe milling attachment and for me that's part of the fun and challenge of it , but once I lose access to the Bridgeport I will probably get a little one. TJ
 
That's neat probably as easy to find as hen's teeth too :) TJ
 
Light weight shapers have the same problem as lightweight lathes and mills, a lack of rigidity, compounded frequently by poor quality components. Atlas mills are cute, but not in same league as Logan or others IMO. I would get a mill before a shaper. I have a shaper and love to play with it, its great for dovetails, but it gets used about 1/10 or less compared to my mill. My recommendation would be to keep your eye out for a used Mill/Drill, use it till you hate it, sell it and then get a knee mill. Mill drills are highly sellable and buying a used one protects you from much loss if and when you decide to move on.
 
I gather your a sailer , me too I have a Sunfish and a Daysailer, and a project boat, a Jet 14. It won't be long now that spring has sprung. T J
 
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