# 12 Inch Whipp Shaper Project



## makerkid (Dec 30, 2016)

Hi guys,
I thought I would share a shaper project I am about to start.  This 12 inch Whipp followed me home.  Needs to be stripped and painted... but overall it seems to be in good shape except for a few warts.  I'm guessing it did not see alot of use. I'm really excited as it's my first shaper!!
Cheers !


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## bosephus (Dec 31, 2016)

that's one fine looking looking chunk of iron .   
and woo hoo for it still having the proper vice on it .   i sure hope you give it some oil and power before tearing it apart .  
just to see how it works and all .    
if that vice was just a little smaller i'd be tempted to send the shaper elves in to your shop  to make it disappear


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## makerkid (Dec 31, 2016)

Thanks Bosephus !  The vise looks to be original, which is fantastic.  Although upon wiping the grime away I discovered the vise had been welded.  Very disappointed to see that.  The good news is the person that welded it knew what they were doing.  Its a very robust repair that looks like a pro did it.  Funny you should mention powering it up. . . I looked it over yesterday afternoon, internals are pretty clean, looks to have minimal wear (was told it came out of a school), and everything moves smoothly.  The ram has some surface rust "cancer" but the majority of it is clean bright metal.  I decided to take the ram off and clear away all rust before running it.  But I may just wire it up and play with it a bit before tearing it down.   Hard to resist giving it some power.  Has a 2HP GE 3 phase motor on it.  Has a nice gearbox and clutch system installed on it.  I would guess its factory based on the way it was done.  But I have not been able to find much info of Whipp shapers thus far.  The tag on it says manufactured by "The Banner Machine Company" Columbiana Ohio


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## Uglydog (Dec 31, 2016)

I'm fortunate to have what might be a Whipp 16inch older brother . Use her nearly once a week.
She was a complete tear down as the scotch yoke was all messed over, and I needed to make some parts. My vise had also been brazed nicely. I polished up the brazing so it's easy for everyone to see. It's a beautiful repair. 
It's interesting to note that the flat belt drive pulleys are on the opposite side of the shaper from mine, and that you have an integrated gear box.
It's been difficult to find any history on Whipps. Here is what I've gathered. It's all directly or tangentially Whipp related.
Have fun, and let me know if there is anything I can help with from a distance.




Daryl
MN

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Memoirs of the Miami valley, Volume 1 edited by John Calvin Hover, Joseph Daniel Barnes 1919

About 1894, at the site of Sidney Machine Tool company's buildings, which now front on three streets, West North, Carey and Highland avenue, the firm of Sebastian & May established a manufacturing business along the same lines, and built the first of the factory structures now in use there. The site was given by the city of Sidney, as were several factory sites about the same time, for the encouragement of new industries. The concern was not notably prosperous, and Mr. May and—later—Mr. Sebastian, were bought out by Allen P. Wagner. Mr. Wagner became involved in dispute regarding patents and brought suit against his superintendent, who, however, was exonerated by the court, after which Mr. Wagner closed the plant and transferred the machinery to Detroit, Michigan, where the manufacture was continued, but under financial difficulties which finally closed it. In 1909, Mr. I. H. Thedieck purchased the plant and brought it back to Sidney, setting it up with enlarged and improved capacities in a new and very modern factory on Oak avenue.

In the meantime, however, the factory of the defunct Sebastian May firm invited the attention of prospective manufacturers, among them Mr. A. C. Getz, who was a sojourner in Sidney for some time, without succeeding in getting serious attention. Mr. Getz then left Sidney for a time, and made a good start in Defiance, Ohio, returning in 1904 with a little capital of "success"; and with this running start "The Sidney Machine Tool company" took over the old Sebastian May site and began a business that has become one of the most important in Sidney. Drills and blacksmiths' forges were the first lines of output, to which have been added various wood-working machines, saws of all descriptions and uses, engine lathes, gauges, vises, bevel and mortising machines, planes and borers, et cetera. A special achievement of the factory is the production of the "Universal" wood worker, Mr. Getz' invention, a machine which combines five to sixteen machines, by supplementary equipment, and at which five men may work at one time without interference, if desirable. This machine is invaluable in the small woodworking factory, where there is not room to accommodate several individual power-driven machines. The machine tools, of course, mean those which are to be power-driven, and the company uses saws, bits, and other details from the Toledo Saw and Supply company, the Forest City Bit and Tool company, and others of the highest grade, in the setting up of their machines. The "Universal" has had an enormous sale, and the manufacture of engine lathes has been equally heavy, government orders for this line demanding about ninety per cent of the company's capacity during the war. The plant and buildings have been repeatedly enlarged, and at present extensive additions are being completed. Beginning with about seven workmen in 1905, two hundred men now answer the roll call, while the annual business of the past few years is not far below a million dollars.

The company as organized at present is: Mr. I. H. Thedieck, president; Mr. E. H. Griffis, vice-president; Mr. A. C. Getz, secretary, treasurer and manager. Clarence Brown is superintendent. The incorporation was effected June, 1904.

When Mr. Getz is not busy at the works, he is resting his mind in agricultural pursuits, specializing in the culture of aristocratic breeds of hogs, which he is having trained to habits of refinement which will eliminate the tendency to vocalization and entirely root out the propensity to wallow. The animals are fed on fresh whole milk and clean grains, shampooed and manicured every morning, and so serene are they that the casual visitor to the Getz country home is obliged to ask the way to the pens. All this has nothing to do with the fact that bacon is 75 cents per pound, as none of Mr. Getz' herd has yet been taken to market. The aim is purely scientific.

The Monarch Manufacturing company, as the re-organized Sebastian-May company was named in the transformation, was transplanted from Detroit to its native soil in Sidney in 1909, where it began after 1910 to thrive phenomenally, the wartime activity causing the most unprecedented growth, in order to fill the government orders for engine lathes, until it claims—with figures to prove —to be the largest engine lathe manufactory in the world at the present date. Two thousand three hundred and fifty lathes were shipped in 1917, and a still larger number in 1918, being used by munition manufacturers, gun makers and air-plane builders. It is said that the company paid 600 per cent on investments during 1918. The equipment of the plant is of the most complete character, both for work and as to working conditions, safety of employees, and general efficiency. Both the Monarch and the Sidney Machine Tool companies operate on the same system with regard to employees, a graduated rate of bonus being paid to the workmen, in addition to their wages.

MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY THE STORY OF SHELBY COUNTY

https://archive.org/details/memoirsofmiamiva01hove  pg474



The company incorporated in 1909, with Mr. I. H. Thedieck, president, and Mr. W. E. Whipp, manager. The directors are I. H. Thedieck, L. M. Studevant, W. H. Wagner, A. J. Hess and E. J. Griffis.

About 1905, William Harmony and Frank Lucas established what was known as the Standard Clutch company, building for their concern a part of the structure now included in the Peerless Bread Machine plant. At first a general repair shop, they added a foundry and manufactured the clutch for some time, but closed out about 1912, at which time the building and plant were taken over by E. J. Griffis and W. E. Wenger, who continued the repair shop until October, when the whole was converted to the manufacture of the Peerless bread machines, a series of machines of practical excellence unequalled in their line, and all of them invented and patented by F. X. Lauterbur, a young man born and educated in Sidney.

These machines, intended for the use of manufacturing bakers, include the Peerless dough mixer, the Peerless loaf moulder, the Peerless double-armed cake creamer and icing beater, and the rotary proofing tablets. The Peerless Bread Machine company was formed and incorporated in January, 1913, with the following personnel: E. J. Griffis, president; William Piper, vice-president; F. X. Lauterbur, secretary, treasurer and manager; directors, E. T. Custenborder, Jennie E. Custenborder, D. F. Mills, Leo B. Lauterbur, and Mary M. Lauterbur. The plant is operated to the utmost capacity, and an addition which doubles the size of the floor space is being rushed to completion, and the factory will then accommodate, in all, three hundred workmen. The site is at the corner of East avenue and Clinton street, and covers all that was left of the locality once included in "Maxwell's mill pond," the west half having been built up years ago. The "Peerless" will have the newest manufactory in Sidney.

The Bimel building has been occupied since July, 1917, by a new, "all Sidney" company, who bought the premises, and have established a plant for the manufacture of power presses, for use in sheet-metal working plants, one of the newest departures in Sidney industries, and well illustrates the facility with which the little city has learned to snatch victory from defeat. The business, still young, employs but thirty-five workmen, but its output is increasing steadily, and at a safe gait. The company incorporated two years ago, with the following personnel: W. E. Whipp, president; VV. C. Horr, vice-president and secretary; P. C. Pocock, treasurer and general manager; is known as "The Sidney Power Press company."



Jan. 24, 1920
"Shareholding of the Whipp Machine Tool Co., Formerly the Sidney Power Press Co., have elected the following officers and directors. W. E. Whipp (general manager of Monarch Machine) president, W.C. Horr, secretary, P.C.Pocock, treasure; directors, I.H. Thedieck (founder and president of Monarch Machine), L.M Studevant, A.J. Hess and Val Lee."
(from out of the past Sidney Daily News)

The above gives the date when the company was formed and the principles involved. Note that this company had no ties to The Monarch Machine Tool Company other than it shared management and members of the board. This was very typical for Sidney, Ohio, for example Thedieck was president of Monarch, Sidney Tool Company and was heavily involved with Whipp Machine. Not bad for a dry goods store owner. Sidney was a very progressive town at this time. The main money men did not like seeing empty factories and worked to bring new business in to fill them. Or, in this case, pool their money to breathed new life into a defunct business.

I know that Whipp machine is primarily known for making shapers. I have found references that they at one time also made band saws. It is unknown if any of these products came from the Sidney Power Press Company (a company I first learned about when finding the above.)

The end of this company had to happen sometime before 1932 by this news clip:

July 9, 1932

The beginning of a new industry for Sidney was to be seen today, when the BreMac Engineering Company, of Detroit, Mich., took over the old Whipp Machine Tool Co. plant, formerly the Bimel Buggy and Automobile plant, on North Miami Avenue, and started making repairs necessary for production. The work will be pushed as rapidly as possible so that the manufacture of automobiles can be started within a short time.
(from out of the past Sidney Daily News)





The Iron trade review, Volume 68 (4-14-1921) 


To take care of all small shaper require • mcnts, a new 12-inch single geared shaper having a maximum stroke of 14 inches has been developed by the Whipp Machine Tool Co., Sidney, O. A feature of the machine, which is shown in the accompanying illustrations, is that the cone pulley shaft has three bronze bearings, one on each side of the bull gear pinion and one directly under the center of the cone pulley. The first two tend to prevent the pinion from springing away from the bull gear under a heavy cut while the third bearing insures shaft alignment under a heavy belt pull without the necessity for an outboard support.

Width of the crossrail guides on the column has been made unusually great to provide a rigid guide, to maintain alignment more accurately and at the same time to put an external rib on each side of the column for stiffness. The column is supported on the base by a three-point bearing which prevents distortion of either the column or the base when the two are bolted together. The machine has an automatic cross feed of 18 inches, a vertical 1048 travel of 16 inches and a key seating capacity for shafts up to 2yi inches diameter.


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## FOMOGO (Dec 31, 2016)

Looks like a great machine. Looking forward to seeing her all gussied up. Daryl, that was an interesting read, Guessing my Sebastian & May lathe can't be much later than the very early 1900's. Mike


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## bosephus (Dec 31, 2016)

Columbiana Ohio huh.... that's just a few miles away . 
There is still two foundries there .  But I think they are both non ferrous.  
One thing that does surprise me is that I don't see a support for the front of the table . 
But it's a pretty beefy machine , it might not need any


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## makerkid (Dec 31, 2016)

Nice 16in Whipp Daryl.  Nice to see another Whipp not many pics out there....Great you use it so frequently.  And thanks for the interesting history...you found quite a bit.  Great read! Good call on featuring the braze repair, I may steal that idea depending on how it looks all cleaned up.

Fomogo, I'm really looking forward to seeing she her spiffed up to.  I may pull the tag to get a look at the original color.  I see 3 colors so far.  A granite gray/black (looks to be first layer maybe original), then a pastel light powdery green, and a topcoat of an off white/very light gray.  Speaking of tags...




Bosephus, it's hard to see but you can make out the columbiana Ohio at the bottom.
I too was surprised by the lack of a table support.
It is pretty beefy for a smaller shaper, but I would guess a support would help.  I'm going to try it without, then decide whether to fab one or not.
I see Daryl's 16 above has no support either, maybe it's not installed in that pic.  His base looks like it has mounting bosses for a base though, The design of the my base does not look like it was made for a support.


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## Uglydog (Dec 31, 2016)

Tomorrow I'll get you some pics of the knee box.
These pics are some I got from somewhere and copied/saved, not mine.


Daryl
MN


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## TomKro (Jan 7, 2017)

Makerkid:

  Glad someone from this forum picked up that shaper.  

  I think I opened the Craigslist add 4 or 5 times before deciding my wife would have a fit if I brought that thing home.  Also, some big cast iron still sitting on my trailer - running out of room for new toys anyway. 

  Super cool old iron - would be interesting to see how deep a cut it can peel off a chunk of steel. 

  Very nice project - congrats.

TomKro


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## makerkid (Jan 7, 2017)

Uglydog said:


> Tomorrow I'll get you some pics of the knee box.
> These pics are some I got from somewhere and copied/saved, not mine.
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing those pictures Daryl.  Interesting table support design.  My machine does not have the center bosses in the base for mounting a support like that.  Bummer.  The the front bottom edge of the table has a machined surface looking like it was intended to interface with a support surface.


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## makerkid (Jan 7, 2017)

TomKro said:


> Makerkid:
> 
> Glad someone from this forum picked up that shaper.
> 
> ...


Thanks very much TomKro.  I think its super cool too, I am very happy with it so far, even though I have not done much with it.  My wife was not happy with my purchase.  She is convinced I "have a problem" .   I disagree !!
I will try to answer the question of how much steel it can peel off with a single stroke...eventually.   The vise was repaired so I don't know how much stress I want to put on it.
I just received some tooling to use with it and some big HSS blanks to grind to shape, I will post some updates as I have something of interest.

Good luck with your projects!


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