New Atlas 7B Shaper

ErichKeane

Making scrap at ludicrous speed.
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
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As many of you know I have been in the market for a shaper for a little while, and even considered building one! In the process of looking around, I found a 7B on facebook marketplace that was WAY overpriced. I made an offer, and got no response so figured it was a dead end. Today I got a reasonable (to me :() counteroffer: $1200 which just managed to be my top-limit. SO, I told the seller I'd take it, and picked it up today! Turns out it was a guy's wife making him sell off the few tools he had, so I felt better about my ~50% overpay.

Loading it into the truck was an adventure, but unloading with the Kubota BX pallet forks made unloading super easy! I got it into place, and snapped a few pictures. I ended up hitting it with WD40 spray and wiping it down, as it is pretty dirty. I also need to make a vise at one point, but I probably have to buy steel to make it happen:

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While cleaning, oiled everything that looked like it could use it, plus oiled some other things fairly indiscriminately. The zerk above the atlas plate wouldn't take any grease, so I might end up disassembling and cleaning that to add fresh grease.

The table itself looks like it has been shaped with the tool, but not all the way back. At one point I might see if I can indicate/square this up on the surface grinder and clean it up.
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This was one... oddity. When the previous owner was testing it, the clutch handle rubbed against the back of the pulley. It took me a while, but I figured out this had a set screw. That said, this clamp on the 3/4-20 (??) thread in front of the pulley was odd. I might turn a bushing for behind it, but getting the pulley off seems like it require pulling off the length adjustment plate and all that is involved with it. For now, the setscrew seems fine. Anyone have an idea what this is for? Also, what goes in the section that you can see removing that flat-head headless-bolt thing?

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Finally a quick video of it running:
 
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Nice find, and you got a universal tool holder to boot! Those alone are not easy nor cheap to come by. Manual or user guides aren’t that hard to find if we don’t have them here in the Downloads section. Have fun!

-frank
 
Getting the guards and a tool holder is nice, at typical ebay prices that could have added up to half of what you paid by themselves.

There are some drawings for a small shaper vise posted in one of the shaper threads.
 
As the others have pointed out, good score on the toolholder. I have not yet been able to acquire one for my Ammco, and may have to resort to making one.

I didn't realize the table on the Atlas is so poorly-featured. Isn't one side supposed to have vertical slots, preferably with a V-slot worked in, and the other horizontal? Also don't see the usual mounting holes, but maybe they are hidden by the shadows of the slots.
 
As the others have pointed out, good score on the toolholder. I have not yet been able to acquire one for my Ammco, and may have to resort to making one.

I didn't realize the table on the Atlas is so poorly-featured. Isn't one side supposed to have vertical slots, preferably with a V-slot worked in, and the other horizontal? Also don't see the usual mounting holes, but maybe they are hidden by the shadows of the slots.
The top is just t slots as far as I can tell. The left side slots are through holes from what I remember, as is the right side.

One interesting thing that I didn't mention. The table foot was STUUUCK when i got it. I didn't want to remove the table in order to get it out, but it was COVERED in burrs. Someone at one point used some pliers to twist it, so there were teeth marks all over it. I used a 1 7/16 wrench that I have for my lathe to turn it 90 degrees at a time and cleaned up the top half with a file and some scotchbrite. Then I used a punch and mallet on the foot part to get it to go lower and did the same on the bottom. It isn't perfect, but at least moves reasonably easy.

When/if I take the table off to surface grind it, I'll likely toss the foot into the lathe for cleanup.
 
When you square up the table reference off the column not the ram. The ram usually will be the wear item and will drop off in the front. That was probably why someone tried to correct it by shaping off the top of the the table. The table wasn't out it was the wear in the ram side causing the problem.
 
There is a cap that goes on the pulley to load grease into the bearing like other side bearing.
Ah! That makes sense. There WAS grease in there, and I was considering seeing if I could put a zerk on the inside thread. What ends up being in the inner-threaded portion?
 
When you square up the table reference off the column not the ram. The ram usually will be the wear item and will drop off in the front. That was probably why someone tried to correct it by shaping off the top of the the table. The table wasn't out it was the wear in the ram side causing the problem.

I was likely going to use the ways of the table as my reference when setting up on the surface grinder. Probably something I'll do in the future. Once my hit/miss engine build is done, I'll likely be doing a vise project for this guy.
 
When you work on the table, mill the front edge flat to accept a angle plate to make the work area bigger.
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