Shaper Problem

[Jim]

I recently acquired a small shaper with no manufacturer's name. It may have been a "casting kit" from the 1940s. Anyway, it was a gift so I'm not complaining. Here's the problem: I set the stroke, advance the work, but when the cutter starts making contact with the stock, the stroke gets smaller with each stroke until it's not cutting. I would like to think that there is a loose connection between the rocker arm and the main gear. However, I do not have a clear picture of the driving mechanism. Do any of you have any suggestions?
Jim

 

[Hawkeye]

Jim,

Does it look anything like this one? This is a Lewis 10", made from a casting kit in the late 30s, early 40s. Excellent small shaper.


If the nut holding the slider in position on the main gear isn't tight enough, it can slide in closer to the centre of the gear, shortening the stroke.

 

[Jim]

Mike:
It looks very similar. I found a casting manufacturer's name today (Bellville Tool & Die, Bellville, IL). The table adjustment is quite different however. The slider nut is oddly shaped almost rounded. I will look at it more carefully in the morning and see if I can tighten it. Thank you for your imputs.
Jim

 

[Hawkeye]

I've never found any casting labels on the Lewis. Sounds like yours is fully manufactured.

Probably worth trying to replace the nut with something easier to work with. Check the thread size and pitch. Might turn out to be something common.

 

[Jim]

I inherited this shaper from my wife's cousin who passed in his late eighties. He had been a tool and die maker during World War II. In the late forties he left a job shop in Evansville, IN and started a vocational program in Peoria, IL. There he turned out high school graduates who were probably journeymen machinists. His shop must have been something as the government outfitted it with equipment which had been used in the wr effort.

Each of his students made a drill press, a jointer, a band saw and he was developing a shaper and a small mill when the school closed. I wonder if this shaper was a prototype. Essentially the student made the smaller castings and machined them while larger assemblies were farmed out to specialty shops. Perhaps Bellville Tool and Die was one of the large casting providers. If this seems improbable, I'm only going on family traditions shared with me in the 80's. Anyway, my jointer/planer has no logo on it and I was told it was made by students. When I took Machine Tool Technology in college, I made a meat tenderizer, a bunch of simple parts, and some square blocks to a variety of tolerances. Nothing like hat these kids turned out.

Anyway, I will attempt to replace the slider nut.

Thanks for the pictures and the suggestions.
Jim

 

[GK1918]

Interesting Jim I too would suspect the block nut or the lockdown on the ram, something is slipping,
myself Id get or make a nut.