# Sheldon 12 Inch Shaper I wasn't looking for, but found!!



## itsme_Bernie (Mar 22, 2014)

Well Guys,

I promise I WASN'T looking for a shaper.  I already LOVE my Ammco 7 inch Shaper!   I was looking for Sheldon Mill parts for a project machine I picked up.  Well, on my local Craigslist, a wonderful-original-condition Sheldon 12 Inch Shaper popped up only 1/2 hour away from me.  I gazed at it, and flipped to the next listing.

Well, it was already working in my subconscious.  I have already been so happy with my Ammco Shaper I purchased last year!  I'm not looking for another machine!  So, of course, I went back to the listing, and wrote them hah hah hah...  And today I end up driving to go LOOK at it. (Oops)

Well, looks like I now have my Ammco Shaper for sale, because I bought the Sheldon!  Thank goodness for my incredibly understanding girl who is fine with my fronting cash for one machine while selling the other things to pay for it 8))))  

This Sheldon shaper has all the original "frosting" on all the ways, and besides a lumpy belt thumping it runs smoothly and quietly!  The thump is from sitting unused for 15 years, there is a single lumpy spot from the part of the wide-Reeves-belt sitting in the V pulley - the second pulley is flat.
It even has the original vice.

One big difference- the Ammco Shaper weighs about 225 lbs, maybe 300 lbs with the stand, TOPS.  This Sheldon Shaper weighs in at 1500 lbs!  

When I move this, it's going to be the heaviest single object I've had to move in one piece.  It is not quite as top heavy as other machines I've moved at 900 and 1100 lbs, and has a pretty wide base (27 x 44 inches).  But I am surely building up a plan to get it safely in place.

I bought it from a group of New Jersey Live Steamers I didn't even know existed.  Looks like I'm going to join up!  
They are giving some a few weeks to make arrangements (and space!  Hah hah).   

Yes, here are some pics 

Bernie

Original frosting!





In it's current home (now "previous" owner), the NJ Live Steamers:





Original Lamp? :













And a handful of shaper tools!


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## mattthemuppet2 (Mar 22, 2014)

congratulations! Can't see the pics though


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## pineyfolks (Mar 22, 2014)

No pics here either.


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## itsme_Bernie (Mar 22, 2014)

Wow, I tried to upload to the site server- I will try again... 



Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Mar 22, 2014)

Ok- I edited the original post with the same pics- 

It has a backgear which I can't imagine needing, as it goes down so slow with the variable speed anyway.


Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Mar 22, 2014)

Anyone have any affordable sources for this really wide Reeves-pulley belt?  It's almost 2-1/2 inches wide and 3/8inch thick..



Bernie


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## valleyboy101 (Mar 22, 2014)

Looks very good - unusual to see one with its original paint and scraping in good condition!
Michael


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## mgalusha (Mar 22, 2014)

That looks really sweet, congrats!


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## cjtoombs (Mar 23, 2014)

Nice score.  You know, owning more than one shaper is not a crime...


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## itsme_Bernie (Mar 23, 2014)

cjtoombs said:


> Nice score.  You know, owning more than one shaper is not a crime...



Hah hah CJ! 

It is a bit if a crime when you can't officially afford the new one without selling the old one!  Hah hah!

I have to make room for it too!

Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Mar 23, 2014)

Does anyone know of affordable sources for the really wide V belt for this Reeves drive?  It is around 2 inches wide, "V" tapered on the sides, and about 3/8 inch thick?

Or advice on how to work the lump out of this thing?  Heat?  My experience is that these lumps -never reeeeally- leave the belt just by running it... 
..... THUMP.....  THUMP..... THUMP..... THUMP.....    Hah hah

Thanks guys!  

Bernie


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## Senna (Mar 23, 2014)

Very cool Bernie.

That thing looks mint!

You and I have a lot alike.

Hard to pass up deals on this wonderful old iron.

- - - Updated - - -



itsme_Bernie said:


> Does anyone know of affordable sources for the really wide V belt for this Reeves drive?  It is around 2 inches wide, "V" tapered on the sides, and about 3/8 inch thick?
> 
> Or advice on how to work the lump out of this thing?  Heat?  My experience is that these lumps -never reeeeally- leave the belt just by running it...
> ..... THUMP.....  THUMP..... THUMP..... THUMP.....    Hah hah
> ...



Here's a place which sells these belts and the pricing isn't too awfully terrible.

http://www.vbeltsupply.com/ecommerce/variable-speed-belts/variable-speed?limit=100&p=2


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## Thomas Paine (Mar 23, 2014)

hey bernie, how much for the Aamco 7" shaper?  haha.


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## itsme_Bernie (Mar 23, 2014)

Senna said:


> Very cool Bernie.
> 
> That thing looks mint!
> 
> ...




You are right Ken- Those frosting marks had me..   Thanks for the belt source- I'll let you know what I do..

B


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## itsme_Bernie (Mar 23, 2014)

Thomas Paine said:


> hey bernie, how much for the Aamco 7" shaper?  haha.



PM sent Thomas



Bernie


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## OlCatBob (Mar 23, 2014)

Congratulations on the score Bernie! That is a very nice looking machine! Just an FYI, somebody on the "net" had suggested that a Lovejoy 
1922V544 was the proper belt. I found one, bought it, and was very disappointed. It just isn't wide enough to work properly. You definately need at least 2" wide for the sheave system to work properly. I was wandering though the scrapyard one day, and found a belt that is  about 1.5 inches wide, and it too is really too narrow to work.
I don't believe that the belt is spec'ed in the manual, but I will look tomorrow to verify.
Good luck with your Sheldon, it's a very nice piece.
Bob


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## Terrywerm (Mar 23, 2014)

Nice find Bernie!!  I guy needs to get lucky and have a great find once in a while.

Sorry, no interest here in the smaller shaper, you are just too far away.

And, since no one else has said it as yet here is your YS award:   :yousuck3:

(In good fun, of course!)


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 24, 2014)

Quick update here- I finally picked it up! 

For the heaviest machine I have ever moved in one piece (1600 pounds) it went more quickly than most 

I was lucky that the machine was already mounted on two 2x4's on the edges, leaving 1-1/2 inches in the front to get to work prying it up 1/2inch at a time, until I could get some really heavy (1/2 inch thick) angle irons just in front of the pivot point.
At this point I could start to shove the pallet under the front.  Pallets and pallet jack are the BEST way to move machines, hands down.  

Next I hooked a boat wench to the pallet jack, and the other end to an engine lift strap around the machine and simply dragged it up onto the pallet: 





Moments later, successfully placed on the customized pallet I made this morning.  
This is the machine shop at the New Jersey Live Steamers, where I purchased the shaper.  It was purchased from the navy 30 years ago, and stored here unused until they sold it to me:  8)





Once done, I just wheeled it around the room to the big garage door waiting with the 5x9 for uhaul trailer I also always rent for this kind if thing.  While on the pallet and jack, I used the same hand-crank boat wench to drag the whole machine up the ramp, and onto the trailer.  Piece of cake!  

And here it is making the narrow straight, with just inches to spare, into my little garage-entry-shop.




I will show pics of it in it's new home in the next day or so!


Bernie


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## jpfabricator (Apr 24, 2014)

Glad it went well for you bro. We are lookin foward for more pictures! 

Jake Parker


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## Dranreb (Apr 24, 2014)

To me those tool holders are almost as desirable as the Sheldon ! 

Very nice score....enjoy!

Bernard




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## chuckorlando (Apr 24, 2014)

That thing is awesome


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## Brain Coral (Apr 24, 2014)

Congratulations, Bernie... 

Wow... !!! What a nice score..... I think that you have found the " Goldilocks " shaper.... not too big and not too small..... and in such fantastic condition.

I'm glad that the move went without a hitch, but I expected that it would, as you had everything well planned.

I am looking forward to more pics...

Here's a link to a brochure on the Sheldon shaper. There are two pics...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/skytop19/MISC/03r.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/skytop19/MISC/02r.jpg

Best regards... 

Brian


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## aztoyman (Apr 24, 2014)

I'm a TOTAL newb to machine tooling so forgive me but, I gotta ask.

What the heck does it do? It looks like a bad ass multi axis mill.


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## jpfabricator (Apr 24, 2014)

Aztoyman, serch youtube for "metal shaper". Be warned though, you may get bit by the "shaper bug"!

Jake Parker


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## aztoyman (Apr 24, 2014)

I'm sure I would but, then I'd get bit BAD by a divorce lawyer!

I AIN'T GONNA YOU-TUBE IT!!! It'll be BAD!


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## chuckorlando (Apr 24, 2014)

They are certainly worth a youtube. I love watching them go. So mechanical in how it does what it does, and does it well. Like a steam engine running down a track. 

This may be really incomplete, but they scrap metal. Just shave it right off best I can tell


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## GK1918 (Apr 24, 2014)

chuckorlando said:


> They are certainly worth a youtube. I love watching them go. So mechanical in how it does what it does, and does it well. Like a steam engine running down a track.
> 
> This may be really incomplete, but they scrap metal. Just shave it right off best I can tell



They "lap it too"


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 24, 2014)

GK1918 said:


> They "lap it too"



Sam, I canNOT wait to try this- what a great idea!
I wonder if I put a shaft down through to allow the lap to rotate while going back and forth?  Hah hah hah...  I love this shaper lapping idea you came up with! 


Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 24, 2014)

aztoyman said:


> I'm a TOTAL newb to machine tooling so forgive me but, I gotta ask.
> 
> What the heck does it do? It looks like a bad ass multi axis mill.



Here are a few of my favorite videos of big shapers...  
You are right.  You shouldn't watch!  You will be hypnotized into finding one.

Ok.  Enjoy watching 

http://youtu.be/PnE_h5qmjpk

http://youtu.be/Bz7TMHfhrHs

http://youtu.be/Omsyy-RiaqU


Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 24, 2014)

Hey Folks

No shots of it running yet, I'll need a few days for that- 
BUT I couldn't help but visit and oil her up and crank the handles a few times hah hah...

... And this is what I found when I cranked the table all the way up:









Man-oh-man, I'm a sucker for those flaking marks!  8)

I can't wait to wire this baby up!  It won't take long, but I'm busy as a beaver!
I promise to shoot some video as soon as she's up and running

Bernie


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## jpfabricator (Apr 24, 2014)

We are waiting.......................patiently..........

Jake Parker


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 25, 2014)

Hey Everybody!

I uploaded two terrible videos for now hah hah
This is not a sample of the quality of video I will be shooting soon, but here are two short, terribly shot, handheld phone videos of the first cut with the Sheldon Shaper! 

I did not expect to get to cutting today, but was fortunate to have a few minutes to steal away to the shop and at least wire this thing up.  Then I got to throw a block of steel in there yessss

The shop is a bit of a wreck, trying to get this giant machine in here, so I grabbed a 1/2in bit from my grinder table, which means it wasn't finished and honed yet, but good enough for removing scale and test cuts hah hah.  The finish changed quite a bit with some Tap Magic Gold poured on there.

There is still a lot of lubing to do in the drivetrain which should quiet it down a bit, and I am hoping a few weeks of running the machine will soften the belt and work out the thunk-thunk-thunk...  It is getting quieter already.

Next I'm going to try some BiG cuts!! 


Bernie 


http://youtu.be/oNl92DP3a4s


http://youtu.be/rv9YAv-mgLI


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## clevinski (Apr 27, 2014)

Bernie,

Finally found your posts; I had been looking in the wrong place!

The new shaper looks great; what a find!  Glad you got it home ok.  I'd be happy to give you a hand next time you're making a machine move; just let me know.  (Insert obligatory but patently false claim that you won't be buying any more machinery any time soon here.)

I never saw the attraction of shapers until I saw your current one working at your shop.  It's completely mesmerizing!  I could just watch it for hours...

Best of luck with it!

Charlie



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 28, 2014)

Here are a few more videos I stole away today!
I am getting a hang of the machine and had more time today to tune and lube...  I am looking forward to getting the shop back together to get my support tools (like grinder etc) back into the mix.  I need some custom tools for this!  


http://youtu.be/0xtdSCrNwoQ

http://youtu.be/wQF6vJDcSB8

http://youtu.be/4W_ACecZ-Hw

http://youtu.be/TDLSWe-D2Ds


Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 28, 2014)

Just to be clear- I only "stole" the time to shoot the videos from my busy day- I did not steal them from anyone else, hah hah.

My next project is to try to get this thing off of the pallet in my small space...  Hmmm...

Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 29, 2014)

Today was more cleaning and getting this darn thing off of the pallet.  I'm getting pretty good at handling these heavy machines safely and without working so hard hah hah

I used this little bottle jack to slide it straight off of the pallet.  I kept adding blocks in between the bottle jack and the pallet jack and pumping again:




With 5 inches left before the shaper was off the pallet, I lifted 1/2 inch and put blocks under the runners of the shaper, and let the shaper rest on the blocks to take the weight instead of the pallet, and slid the pallet away.

Then I took a scissor jack (name?) and lowered the front of the machine down to the ground.  Finally home!






Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 29, 2014)

Update videos!

Slow motion!  And with a nice finish!


.003 feed at .100 depth of cut:
http://youtu.be/mB-WgUTvN-s



Slo mo!
http://youtu.be/ix4IJG57oHA



Super Slow Motion!  
http://youtu.be/_LcpIGlLU5c



Finish on Aluminum:




Bernie


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## cjtoombs (Apr 29, 2014)

Bernie,
Nice videos, I love seeing those things cut, the slo mo was great.  Just a tip, if you rotate the clapper to the left a bit, the tool will rotate away from the cut on the backstroke.  That's why the rotation is there to begin.  Probably wouldn't make much difference on that cut, but there are times when it will.  

CJ


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## jpfabricator (Apr 29, 2014)

I hope Im not the only one who made sound effects when the chips took off on the super slo mo!

Jake Parker


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## Andre (Apr 29, 2014)

What a cool machine, and that flaking!

I wonder if you could make a motorized lapper with the shaper, have the lap rotate on a subspindle and move with the ram. Sorta like a blanchard grinder, but lapping not grinding.


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 29, 2014)

Hey Andre- are you pulling my leg?  Hah hah... Sam (GK1918) came up with a non-rotating lap and posted somewhere on HM, then earlier in this post!  Hah hah.. and I asked what everyone thought of a rotating one!  

If this many of us are coming to it (Thanks Sam!), then it sounds like something to do! 

Bernie


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## Andre (Apr 29, 2014)

itsme_Bernie said:


> Hey Andre- are you pulling my leg?  Hah hah... Sam (GK1918) came up with a non-rotating lap and posted somewhere on HM, then earlier in this post!  Hah hah.. and I asked what everyone thought of a rotating one!
> 
> If this many of us are coming to it (Thanks Sam!), then it sounds like something to do!
> 
> Bernie



No, I didn't read previous posts about a rotating lap (I did read about the non rotating lap). I guess we think alike


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 29, 2014)

Thanks for the reminder CJ- I need to think of that clapper tilt more often when I am setting up cuts...  Plus, I think I was so excited to pull that clutch lever and see it going that I didn't go back over everything!  Hah..

I also forget, sometimes, to make sure the support foot is down at the end of the table hee hee


Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 29, 2014)

Alexander Graham bell had to rush to the patent office with his idea for the phone because someone else had almost beat him to it- so I guess great minds think alike! 



Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 29, 2014)

jpfabricator said:


> I hope Im not the only one who made sound effects when the chips took off on the super slo mo!
> 
> Jake Parker



Jake- I made cool sounds while I was watching it in person, so I know what you mean!  



Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 29, 2014)

For the videos I just posted, I had just finished actually shimming the corners of the machine to prevent shimmy, as the ram alone weighs at least 100 lbs and is going back and forth at quite a clip.

I am trying to sort out the look of wobble in the slow-mo videos with the little point and shoot camera.  I don't think it is the floor, but is perfectly possible considering it is standing right in front if the camera.

All that's left is to properly and officially level the whole machine and clean, clean, clean!

Bernie


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## Mister Ed (Apr 29, 2014)

You guys are sick ... but I like it.:lmao:

That being said I think Bernie sounds thrilled with the shaper. Hmmm, I think just stumbled on a 12" Sheldon for $250 .. should I think about buying even if I don't have the room?:whistle: Waiting for pics and may be starting my own thread, LOL.


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 29, 2014)

Ed- YES.  

You will be a happy clam!  You can make room later! Hah hah!  

And $250 is an absolute STEAL.  yes.  Start a new thread and post post post!  8)


Bernie


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## Mister Ed (Apr 30, 2014)

itsme_Bernie said:


> Ed- YES.
> 
> You will be a happy clam!  You can make room later! Hah hah!
> 
> ...



That would be kind of neat, ironic, funny ... something like that ... three 12" shapers coming to the forum at basically the same time.

This add does not sound all that much different from the one you bought:
"came from a school shop many years ago. works well, only used a few times here in 20 years."


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 30, 2014)

Andre said:


> What a cool machine, and that flaking!
> 
> I wonder if you could make a motorized lapper with the shaper, have the lap rotate on a subspindle and move with the ram. Sorta like a blanchard grinder, but lapping not grinding.



Andre- that flaking is the exact reason I went to buy this thing...  It is hard for me to pass up original flaking like that!

...plus, it is the perfect size for my shop- perfect meaning it is as big as I can fit!  Hah hah

Bernie


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## GK1918 (Apr 30, 2014)

Bernie, nice vidios, the question?   somewhere you said its a Cannon S 100.  I got a Cannon S110,  will that thing make vidios?

sam


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## clevinski (Apr 30, 2014)

Great videos, Bernie! The slow-mo is fantastic!  I love watching these things work...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 30, 2014)

GK1918 said:


> Bernie, nice vidios, the question?   somewhere you said its a Cannon S 100.  I got a Cannon S110,  will that thing make vidios?
> 
> sam



Darn right Sam!

Yours is almost the same camera as mine.  On the back here is one little red button on the right side.  That is a dedicated video shooting button.  You can also do slow motion!  You just have to go to your "Func Set" button (right in the middle of the circle in the back) and change the video setting from "1280HD" to the little pic of a guy running.

Cool Sam- write me anytime with questions!

Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 30, 2014)

clevinski said:


> Great videos, Bernie! The slow-mo is fantastic!  I love watching these things work...
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk



Thanks Charlie!

More to come as I figure this thing out hah hah!


Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (Apr 30, 2014)

Tonight's project- testing the capacity of the shaper by cutting the scale off of a 16 inch long steel bar I had sitting here.

Hey CJ- I listen to people's advice, see?  Hah hah ...  Big difference in the clapper movement-




Bernie


UPDATE:

I am happily surprised to report that this purportedly 12 inch Shaper seems to have a 13 x 17 inch total capacity, giving a more usable 12-1/2 inch by 16 or so effective capacity in cutting area...

I was sure it would have been more like 12x12 or so!  As you can see by the way I have the piece held in the vise, accuracy was NOT tonight's test, hah hah.  I will do the other side tomorrow and see how much thicker the ends are with the deflection that must have occurred.

I don't think the Lufkin ruler was very visible in the first shot, so I used a bright yellow tape measure in this shot:





Bernie


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## Mister Ed (May 14, 2014)

I think we need more videos.)

FYI - The guy here selling the shaper still has it listed. He won't sell it until he sell a horiz mill (can't get the shaper out until the mill is gone). He has a lot of guys asking about it. Told him I'd send him a $250 check (his asking price) and would pay him another $200 when I picked it up. And that I wasn't in a hurry. Still waiting for reply.anic:


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## cjtoombs (May 14, 2014)

The sizes that shapers were rated at was a bit arbitrary.  The actual stroke was usually about an inch or so longer than the shaper was sized, and the cross slide capacity seems to have no relationship to the stated shaper size.  I think it was just a convenient measure to classify different general sizes of shapers.  I have 4, and all but one of them stroke about an inch longer, and the tables are length wise about what the rating was.  The one exception is a Lewis, which was sold as a casting kit.  It's was advertised as a 10" shaper, but strokes only 9 3/4", and is built about as heavy as a 7" Atlas, just much taller.


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## itsme_Bernie (May 15, 2014)

Well, it's time for another installment...

This is more of a test of a new microphone and putting my nice camera in the shop hah hah...

If you are interested, as you watch you can hear that i start the video with the camera microphone.  It is "stereo", but not great for some things.  I at around 15 seconds I switched to the boom mic, and then clap my hands for sound-sync later.  The boom Mic is only one channel, not stereo.  So if you don't hear sound, it is your speakers!  Hah hah.  I didn't remember to make it "mono".  I then pass in front of the camera around 1:45 and take some sound from the ratchet wheel on the table feed.
Near the end I took some sound from the slight "clack" in my bull gear.  Apparently, according to the manual, this is "adjustable for wear", but cannot find instructions on how!  
At the very end it went back to the camera sound again.

I needed a new boom mic for a job next week, which isolates the sound from very specific direction- that's why it is use on movie sets etc.  you may have seen one peek into a frame of a cheesy movie you have seen!  Hah hah.  


http://youtu.be/xJJ1WpkbhWY


Some if the next videos should be more of a tour of the machine, and other features like the backgear and heavier cuts.

Enjoy!

Bernie


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## GK1918 (May 16, 2014)

Nice job Bern, by the way I tried what you said with my S110, but it will only do about 10 sec and shuts down.  Gotta read the book again.
sam


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## clevinski (May 16, 2014)

Nice video, Bernie!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## itsme_Bernie (May 16, 2014)

Thanks Guys-  

For some reason, YouTube didn't upload an HD version of my video, even though I shot it in full HD.  I'll have to work on that. I have a Vimeo account that DOES let me, so I may have to upload there on the next one.  

Bernie


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## itsme_Bernie (May 16, 2014)

GK1918 said:


> Nice job Bern, by the way I tried what you said with my S110, but it will only do about 10 sec and shuts down.  Gotta read the book again.
> sam



Hey Sam

I think there is a time limit on the super-slow-motion.  But my camera has another slow motion setting which is 1/2 the effect, but less of a limit on time

Bernie


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## Mister Ed (May 16, 2014)

It sounds like it is quieting down quite a bit. Did you end up changing that lumpy belt or has it just worked itself out?


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## itsme_Bernie (May 16, 2014)

Wow Ed!   

  You picked that out!!  To my complete surprise, it worked it self out over the past few weeks (maybe with a little help from me).
  I may have inadvertently helped it along by a great mechanical sacrilege (hahhah) - there had also been a belt squeal which was making me crazy too-  so I started spraying that belt with a light CRC penetrating oil of some kind, and I think that also softened that belt up.  
  I turned on the RPC, turned on the Sheldon Shaper motor, left the clutch disengaged, a quick spray on the belt to kill the squeal, and let it run for a few hours at a time.
  I do believe the thump is about 98 percent gone.  Not 99, but good enough for me!  

Bernie


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