Shapers, what happened?

Projectnater said:
No, actually it was OM "A" school in Great Lakes, 1980. I started out as an Opticalman, fixing Periscopes, Big huge range finders in gun turrets, navigation equipment. 13 month "A" school, the first phase was machine shop, We had a MRC who taught that phase, about 12 weeks long. all of the equipment we worked on was so old it was obsolete and no parts were available so we had to make them. Some of the most advanced nuclear submarines back in the 80's had 2 periscopes, a Navigation scope and an attack scope, the attack scopes were all pre WWII! Most of the stuff we machined was really small gears, racks, lens retainer rings. Was at Subase Pearl Harbor from 81-85 then the USS Prairie AD15 1985-1991 Long Beach Naval Station, was only a OM till 86' went to Dive school, and switched rate to EN.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your service guys, I was MM-A school in Great Lakes 1986, then nuke school in Orlando, and Prototype in Ballaston Spa,NY.
 
My first ship was AS 16.
Started out tending some old WWII diesel boats then switched to Nuc Fast Attacks.
But back to shapers...
Thanks again for the kick in the rear end yesterday.
I went to early Mass then got on that pump.
I have it back in place and pumping good now.
Can get started on reassembling the rest of the machine. No heat in my shop so a fun project to tinker on in my little heated office.
 
Ultradog MN said:
My first ship was AS 16.
Started out tending some old WWII diesel boats then switched to Nuc Fast Attacks.
But back to shapers...
Thanks again for the kick in the rear end yesterday.
I went to early Mass then got on that pump.
I have it back in place and pumping good now.
Can get started on reassembling the rest of the machine. No heat in my shop so a fun project to tinker on in my little heated office.
Click to expand...
Ah, so you know what it's like living and working on a really old ship! USS Prairie AD15 keel was laid in 1938, I spent 7 years on her.
I've been looking for a shaper for a while now, but so far most of what I've found for a reasonable price have been way too big for what I need. To be honest I probably really don't need it, I've got a Well Index 747 Knee vertical mill and a Cincinnati 2ML universal horizontal mill between those two will do about anything I need, but now it's down to "I just want one!"
I heat my shop but it takes about 7-8 cords of wood, but I'm now fully retired and spend 8-10 hours a day there. springs here so it's about time to start cutting and splitting firewood for next year!
 
RJSakowski said:
I don't have a shaper yet but have several jobs that would be difficult to accomplish without a shaper.

Given the apparent interest in them and the resultant scarcity, I am surprised that no one has come up with a modern version for the hobby machinist yet. The early 1900's version relied on mechanical mechanisms to accomplish the various required movement. I would expect that much of that could be done using more modern technology.

It wasn't that long ago that an ELS equipped lathe was the stuff of dreams. A few enterprising pioneers took up the challenge and the ELS was becoming ubiquitous. Now, there are at least two manufacturers offering ELS equipped lathes. 3D printers, virtually unheard of 25 years ago are another device that has exploded in the marketplace. CNC lasers, the same.

Coming out with a new product always has some risk involved as one doesn't know how well it would be received. It takes a considerable amount of investment in time and money to bring a product to market. Perhaps, all that is needed is for someone to get the ball rolling.
Click to expand...
I am going try to do a modern take on the Cincinnati XM-1 all steel shaper one of these days, I keep thinking how modernize the drive system to all electric and electronic controls. I think that today with the available motion controls it would be possible. The Cindy was all weldments, screw driven, high speed carbide capable , but a complicated mechanical/ hydraulic drive system and it was the last of Cincinnati developments as far as shapers go. Maybe something in the 8-11" size perfect, for the home shop.
 
frugalguido said:
I am going try to do a modern take on the Cincinnati XM-1 all steel shaper one of these days, I keep thinking how modernize the drive system to all electric and electronic controls. I think that today with the available motion controls it would be possible. The Cindy was all weldments, screw driven, high speed carbide capable , but a complicated mechanical/ hydraulic drive system and it was the last of Cincinnati developments as far as shapers go. Maybe something in the 8-11" size perfect, for the home shop.
Click to expand...
I've looked at some of the kit plans that are advertised on ebay but my concern is weight! I think because of all the inertia generated by the head going back and forth will there be enough weight overall to a steel machine to mitigate all that movement? Would it still give the same finish quality as a big heavy cast iron machine?
 
The XM-1 weighted 14300 LBS, so I don't think the steel is a problem, of coarse it had a 44" stroke.
 
I'm guessing age and numbers made is a factor in supply and demand.

It seems like shapers went out of production at least a decade or two earlier than the USA made lathes and mills started to be replaced with imports. Sears dropped the 7" Atlas shaper about 1960. Sears continued to sell the 6" lathes into the 70s and 12" lathes into the early 80s.

Shapers were not cheap machines, the 7" Atlas / Craftsman cost as much as a Craftsman 12x36" lathe with QCGB, and more than 3x the price of a 6" lathe.

So likely a lot fewer made than lathes to begin with and then you add a couple decades of them being "obsolete" and many of the existing ones were probably scrapped or left to rust.

Shapers do pop up, but not nearly with the frequency of vintage lathes and mills. Even horizontal mills which seem to have suffered from a similar "useless" tag, turn up far more often than shapers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top