Home Made: Doing a lot with a little.

[Don B]

Home Made Metal shaper built by Walter Majusick

Years ago when first starting to learning machine work and was taking a machine shop course I developed a fondness for the shaper, though there was always a large lineup at the newest and shiniest machines the shop metal shaper could be had for use at any time, I found it to be a fascinating and very useful machine tool, I've always wanted to make a miniature one but for one reason or the other I have never gotten to it, and though I've never worked on one since, 30 plus years later I still have a fondness for the shaper and every now and then I do some searching for picture and info.
This is something I stumbled on several years ago, the shaper in the picture was made by a man named Walter Majusick (this is a small bit of the text from the site) "He hack-sawed all CRS material by hand. He drilled the holes with a hand drill. He didn't even have a drill press until he made one"
I think what this man did was just amazing, and it's a wonderful example of what can be achieved with little tooling and a lot of imagination and with what I can only assume was a lot of hard work, go to the site to see more pictures and the full writeup, have a look it's time well spent.





Home Made Metal shaper built by Walter Majusick

If anyone else has pictures or info on vintage builds like this, or imaginative ways of overcoming the lack of ( so called ) proper equipment, I'd really appreciate it if you'd post what you have ( photos and any story that might go with it ) I think it would be good to show this stuff off, just to demonstration to some of younger and fledgling home machinists that it's not always necessary to have the newest and the best machines or even the ( so called ) proper ones to accomplish a machining operation, as just one example there's been a good many very fine IC Engines that have be built completely ( milling and drilling operations included ) on lathes, the most useful thing you'll ever have in your shop is your imagination.

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Antique Home Made Metal Shaper.



This is a another fine example of old time craftsmanship and ingenuity though it seems to be unknown what resources the builder would have had at there disposal.

Antique Home Made Metal Shaper Part 1

Antique Home Made Metal Shaper Part 2

Antique Home Made Metal Shaper Part 3

 

[cjtoombs]

Wow, that's a sweet little machine. Just right if you are limmited on space and work on small items.

 

[283v8]

A great reminder. I have many tools and plenty of equipment now which I enjoy thoroughally. I do however remember the days of making do with what I had and making tools to accomplish tasks.
I agree that imagination is our most valuable tool.
Thanks for this great reminder.

 

[Don B]

A great reminder. I have many tools and plenty of equipment now which I enjoy thoroughally. I do however remember the days of making do with what I had and making tools to accomplish tasks.
I agree that imagination is our most valuable tool.
Thanks for this great reminder.

Your welcome, sometimes I think I was actually more productive when all I had was a Drill press, hacksaw and a file, and no Internet..! I now sit surrounded by machine tools that I'm constantly thinking up ways of improving or making fancy attachments for, one thing about a file you don't daydream about how to make it better you just pick it up and use it.)

 

[tertiaryjim]

I find that the more tools I get the faster I can mess something up.

Those examples of craftsmanship are just amazing.

 

[itsme_Bernie]

Hey Don- what an awesome post- good find there on the Nemes site. I must admit that it had that site in my "reading list", and hadn't really gotten to it until you posted this, and now I can't stop digging around!

That little shaper is just amazing... What an amazing guy, to make that with no big machine tools???!! Absolutely astonishing. I want to make one now.

I habe to watch those videos you posted when I have time tomorrow!

Bernie

 

[Holescreek]

It was kind of funny to see the pictures of my grandfathers shaper show up while browsing the net. DzaDza was quite the inventor. I have a large folder of his later work from his days at Wright Field (Wright Patterson AFB). FYI he also invented the flairing tool similar to whats used on copper pipe these days.