Shaper accuracy

Pete301 said:
So if this came off your shaper would you figure it’s about the normal?
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For that depth of cut, assuming .5084 is against the column and .5104 is on the outer end, I would not be surprised but I also would not consider it "normal". Clearly the 0.020 depth of cut only takes place by the column, and sort of peters out by the far end of the workpiece. That could be resolved by tightening ram gibs, positioning the ram so there is less stickout at the end of the stroke (you only need 4" out of 7" or so), sharper tooling, etc.

If I am misunderstanding the numbers, and the .5080-.5084 is the taper you are talking about, perhaps the tool got pushed up into the toolholder *or* got pulled out of the toolholder when it dug in. I've had both happen; thinking of making a better toolholder than the lantern for bog-standard stock trueing.
 
There's no sense in wasting your time trying to improve the accuracy of that old machine. There's one just like it listed on eBay for a mere $10,000.00. This one however is "RARE". The owner is also offering to trade. I would be careful and ask the right questions before meeting with the guy. Part of his listing includes the following text: "it’s best if the trade happens on site as you can view mine and I can view yours"

www.ebay.com

Shaper South bend 7 metal shaper heavy duty type cabinet trade only update | eBay

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ThinWoodsman said:
For that depth of cut, assuming .5084 is against the column and .5104 is on the outer end, I would not be surprised but I also would not consider it "normal". Clearly the 0.020 depth of cut only takes place by the column, and sort of peters out by the far end of the workpiece. That could be resolved by tightening ram gibs, positioning the ram so there is less stickout at the end of the stroke (you only need 4" out of 7" or so), sharper tooling, etc.

If I am misunderstanding the numbers, and the .5080-.5084 is the taper you are talking about, perhaps the tool got pushed up into the toolholder *or* got pulled out of the toolholder when it dug in. I've had both happen; thinking of making a better toolholder than the lantern for bog-standard stock trueing.
Click to expand...



Yes, you are correct in assuming .5084 is by the column end. From reading your response and the other responses, it sounds like this small shaper is indeed capable of cutting more accurately at a .020 depth. Right now it’s off by .0024 over 4” at a .020 depth of cut. At a light cut of .003-5 is off by .0005. I just didn’t know if this was typical or not. So thanks to all for your help and you may hear more from me as I try to get it to cut more accurately on deep cuts.
 
projectnut said:
There's no sense in wasting your time trying to improve the accuracy of that old machine. There's one just like it listed on eBay for a mere $10,000.00. This one however is "RARE". The owner is also offering to trade. I would be careful and ask the right questions before meeting with the guy. Part of his listing includes the following text: "it’s best if the trade happens on site as you can view mine and I can view yours"

www.ebay.com

Shaper South bend 7 metal shaper heavy duty type cabinet trade only update | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Shaper South bend 7 metal shaper heavy duty type cabinet trade only update at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
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Reading that description gives me the creeps. The guy sounds like a total whack job.
 
It has be listed for awhile, so I guess he has not had much luck
 
Have you tried putting a dial indicator on the table and watching for deflection during the cut ?

How is your tool ground ?
 
stupoty said:
Have you tried putting a dial indicator on the table and watching for deflection during the cut ?

How is your tool ground ?
Click to expand...

Being new to small shapers, I wasn’t focused on what was wrong, instead I was trying to ask if something was wrong. From the responses I now understand that the depth of cut shouldn’t influence the accuracy as much as I’m experiencing.
I’m going to start looking into the issue tomorrow and the table deflecting down whole cutting will be at the top of my list. I appreciate your help.
 
Pete301 said:
Being new to small shapers, I wasn’t focused on what was wrong, instead I was trying to ask if something was wrong. From the responses I now understand that the depth of cut shouldn’t influence the accuracy as much as I’m experiencing.
I’m going to start looking into the issue tomorrow and the table deflecting down whole cutting will be at the top of my list. I appreciate your help.
Click to expand...

I have only a little knowledge of shapers , I have a hand shaper which is more of a fun toy than useful tool , The grind on the shaper tools makes a big difference to the cut force (using a handle to pull the tool through the work helps find this out :) ) so it's worth playing with noes radius etc. maybe very small radius for roughing and a shear bit for a final pass on a flat surface with a very small depth of cut.

Stu
 
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