Should I buy a Shaper?

If you have the space and the money, why not?
A shaper is far more useful than an ultra-large flat-screen TV with huge Bose speakers, and a lot funnier too!
With a shaper you can always start a business into planing and dovetailing… or in the worst case into beer can smashing :biggrin:
 
I use my SB shaper every chance I get, the finish it produces exceeds any other tool in my shop. Post pics when you pick one up.

Shawn
 
I'd buy a shaper if I could, not cause I think it would be usefull, only cause I love tools & would like to have something that might not exist anymore one day, like a classic car. Seems like most anything that can be done on a shaper can be done on a mill in much less time. A mill so is so much more useful than a shaper. I think of a shaper as a horizontal bandsaw. Set, power on & walk away to do something else. Probably not as likely to be true but it remknds me of that. I'd rather buy a surface grinder next rather than a shaper even though I may not use very much at all. But a shaper is not even on my want list.
 
Although I have written this a thousand times. I have changed my long winded opinion to "lets have a mill v/s shaper showdown" a simple
no brainer... lets machine some simple shelve stock out of the most rusted bad free junk you can find. Quite evident who won with a cheap
HSS tool bit. Why because I value my expensive end mills. On a shaper just about anything can be used from a ground allen wrench to a twist
drill for a tool bit. Shapers do not care about rust. A common job of a gear tooth implant, again its a shaper. No waiting for an expensive
mill cutter from UPS, just sharpen a profile tool for the shaper and go at it. Amazing parts can be made with a rotary table on a shaper.
Ya just gotta understand the thing.... I think the whole thing comes down to mastering tool grinding. Once mastered the results are truly
amazing. Even more since I put a DRO on my shaper.......




once you buy it you cant keep your hands off it....
 
I've had a 7" Ammco shaper for several years. The machine came out of the Badger Army Ammunition Depot in Baraboo WI, and is in like new condition. It's main job is to cut internal keyways. I've used it for other jobs, but most are done quicker on the mill. It cost less than a good broach set so it's paid for itself many times over. I also have tentatively purchased a 16" leuter and Gueis floor model in storage. It's a great machine, but has a fairly large footprint. It also weighs a couple tons, so I have to be sure I have the proper place for it before transporting it to the shop.

To me a shaper is one of those specialized machines that can do things a mill and lathe can't without special attachments. It takes time to setup and longer to make most parts than on a mill. The great thing is that it's versatile. They've long fallen out of favor in the production business. In shops where per part fabrication time is measured in tenths of a seconds they wouldn't stand a chance. To those in the repair business or hobbyists they still can be useful tools.
 
I advise against buying a shaper. Go for a planer :) :)

So I thought about this. Maybe it should be another thread, but which one? I dont have space for both.

I have both a verticle mill and horizontal with verticle head attachment. For some reason I prefer the horizontal mill and my verticle is more of a giant drill press. Lathe and surface grinder is my shop as well.

Hhmmm.......
 
What a silly question, of course you should buy a shaper. You want one, don't you? :biggrin:

Sorry, this is the wrong bunch to ask that question to. The "sickness" runs rampant here. :eek: :thumbzup:

-Ron


+1 Here Ron, could not have said it better myself!!!!

:roflmao:
 
I enjoy working with older machinery. I don't have a specific need for a shaper nor have I ever used one. They just look like a machine to have so I can watch it do its magic.

The purchase of a shaper would be because I want one.... or at least I think I want one. :dunno:

I have the space, a few extra dollars, and the desire to use one. What i don't have is a good reason to get one.

So, I would appreciate any comments on having or not having a shaper. I have read many post, not many disappointed shaper owners out there. But, I see them for sale all the time and they seem to go quick. Owners want to clear space, never use it, want to purchase something else, bought it but it sat for years, etc....

I don't have a specific shaper in mind and not in any hurry to get one.

Thanks in advance.



You answered the three basic questions already, #! You have the space, #2 You have the cash, and #3 You want to operate one. IMHO you asked the wrong question. It should read "Where can I buy a Shaper?"

I want one also but intend to build one, the Acto Super 8 Shaper.

http://www.machineryplans.com


"Billy G"
 
Just now I'm looking on eBay for "shaper".
I don't post links, since many of the results would not be allowed here… but take a look anyway.
Better to add many "excluding words" in the query if you are at work… specially "-lace"
:roflmao:
 
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