Shaper Stand Ideas

[craniac]

I would think casters would only work if they could be retracted or stationary legs extended, otherwise the machine will be walking around the shop. It's not stainless, just galvanized sheet metal over plywood, this was done by the previous owner (who did a nice job).

I was thinking of something retractable.

A recent post linked to a doc in downloads section from Atlas showing the cabinets they sold for lathes and shapers, that's given me something to think about.

Tim

 

[Dabbler]

@crainiac THere is a lot of moving mass in a shaper. Your stand has to contend with the force of a heavy ram going back and forth at enough speed to tip over if the stand is too narrow frint-to-back.

On my shaper to run quickly, I needed a 'foot' that extended about 10 inches to the front of the shaper, and reached the ground, to stabalize it.

all the best!

 

[cjtoombs]

As for bolting it to the floor, probably not necessary as long as you have some high friction feet on it. I have a 24" Cincinnati shaper whose ram probably weighs more than your whole machine. It is on a roller stand with screw down feet with 3x3" serrated steel pads and it has never moved even at the highest speed/stroke combinations recommended for the machine. Same setup on a 16" G&E, also no problems. I have a 7" Atlas that is sitting on an old metal desk that has wheels on it, and I can't use it on the highest setting because it moves too much. I intend to build a dedicated stand for the Atlas, but it's not at the top of the list yet.

 

[cjtoombs]

As for bolting it to the floor, probably not necessary as long as you have some high friction feet on it. I have a 24" Cincinnati shaper whose ram probably weighs more than your whole machine. It is on a roller stand with screw down feet with 3x3" serrated steel pads and it has never moved even at the highest speed/stroke combinations recommended for the machine. Same setup on a 16" G&E, also no problems. I have a 7" Atlas that is sitting on an old metal desk that has wheels on it, and I can't use it on the highest setting because it moves too much. I intend to build a dedicated stand for the Atlas, but it's not at the top of the list yet.

Forgot to mention that neither of these machines moved during a 7.1 earthquake back in 2019, which is way more of a test than running them, as it felt like the entire world was moving back and forth about 2 feet. Interestingly enough, my surface plate stand, surface grinder and T&C grinder which were on rubber feet moved. I use the shaper with a 90 deg tool to put a flat "knurl" on the bottom of the steel feet.

 

[craniac]

I use the shaper with a 90 deg tool to put a flat "knurl" on the bottom of the steel feet.

Good idea. Now that I'm retired I am ready to build the stand. Just took a welding lesson and will practice making a welding cart with scrap materials on hand before springing for new stuff.