Shaper Fence "Upgrade"

[Bill Adamsen]

Silly thing really, but my shaper fence fastens to the shaper top with these two long "bolts" that drop two-and-a-half centimeters (ok, an inch) below the bottom the moment I lift it up to move it, and make it really awkward to set the 45 kg (ok, 100 pounds) down easily. I glued up these little wedges and they work great. Put the plywood on so they wouldn't split apart. Don't know why it took so long for me to think about doing this.

Any other little ideas like this? What about a cart that moves the fence at the same height as the shaper top?

[Erik Christensen]

clever - must be a burly shaper if the fence is 100#

[Jim Andrew]

Why are you posting in metrics? Greek to me. Thanks for adding in the inch and pounds.

[Bill Adamsen]

My shaper was build in Austria and most of the bolts and measures (and instructions) are in metric - fortunately not German - though there is some of that too (the electrical). However it is an 1-1/4" spindle! Crazy!

Wasn't there a Metric Conversion Act (signed into Law by Congress in 1975) and an Omnibus Trade and competitive Act (signed into Law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988) that made metric measure the Law?

I was looking for a new chain chisel and a mentor suggested getting a paired set of chain/bar and chisel for the mortiser from a British supplier he uses. I was looking at either 10mm (= 0.394” which is ~25/64” pretty close to 3/8”) or 11mm (= 0.433" which is very close to 7/16 ) Thought about it, and realized I'd also have to get new metric hand mortising chisels (where would you get that?) and I just didn't have the willpower to make that leap. Probably why I'm still sawing things instead of using a CNC.

[Rod Sheridan]

Why are you posting in metrics? Greek to me. Thanks for adding in the inch and pounds.

Consider it an educational moment of things to come :-)

Remember most of the world is metric.........Rod.

[Rod Sheridan]

Silly thing really, but my shaper fence fastens to the shaper top with these two long "bolts" that drop two-and-a-half centimeters (ok, an inch) below the bottom the moment I lift it up to move it, and make it really awkward to set the 45 kg (ok, 100 pounds) down easily. I glued up these little wedges and they work great. Put the plywood on so they wouldn't split apart. Don't know why it took so long for me to think about doing this.

Any other little ideas like this? What about a cart that moves the fence at the same height as the shaper top?

My shaper fence isn't that heavy, probably 25 Kg.

Have you considered a swing away arm for it instead of lifting it yourself?

Regards, Rod.

[Bill Adamsen]

I was likely exaggerating. I'd have to get a scale to weigh it. But it is very heavy - much heavier than I ever think it's going to be, and awkward. But much less so with the bolts not dangling down.

I'm in the process of building (finishing the design actually) of a swing arm for the power feeder (mocking up in wood first to make sure the mechanics work). But I don't think it's necessary for the hood/fence.

[ian maybury]

It's pretty basic, but my Hammer F3 has no fine or any other fence positioning adjustment (the latest model has), and the thought of tapping it about to hit fine adjustments (e.g. to set up a mitre lock cutter) didn't appeal. The forst three photos show some DIY adjusters. It lifts off and drops back on repeatably now, and the option is there to make tiny adjustments if required. Knowing the pitch of the thread (M10 x 1.5 in this case - could use the fine pitch version) it's also possible to make larger movements by counting bumps/turns on the hand knobs. The holes in the bracket have steel threaded inserts fitted, the one nearest to the fence is drilled through to give a clearance fit over the jacking screw. The wing nut locks it when needed, the tip is a dome nut.

The next photo is a DIY mobility kit from stock hardware store parts - the bracket on the cabinet is a cast iron hinge socket sold for garden gates and the like, the pin is the type used to hinge the tailgate on a trailer, the arm is is a spade handle attached to a birch ply bracket using coach screws. (lag bolts?) The wheels to the rear are also stock parts - nuts, M 18 threaded bar and stock nylon wheels.

The final two shots show a DIY 160mm dia big bore dust connection soldered up from galvanised ducting fittings, with a shot of the enlarged opening in the hood to suit.

ian

f3 diy fence adjusters 1 5-7-14.jpgf3 diy fence adj 2 5-7-14.jpgf3 diy fence adj in situ 5-7-14.jpgf3 diy mobility kit 5-7-14.jpglow res f3 enlarged dust outlet.jpglow res f3 160mm dust conn fitted.jpg

[Jeff Duncan]

My shaper was build in Austria and most of the bolts and measures (and instructions) are in metric - fortunately not German - though there is some of that too (the electrical). However it is an 1-1/4" spindle! Crazy!

What's wrong with German….some of the best equipment you can buy is German. And there's not a whole lot in the instruction manual of a shaper you really need anyway…..well except maybe maintenance

Companies that export equipment to the states almost always supply inch spindles….just kinda goes with the territory.

As for the lock down bolts….I just remove them altogether. They're just 2 loose bolts after all, pull em' out, move the fence, drop em' back in

good luck,
JeffD

[Peter Quinn]

I was trying to lift a shaper hood today....I moved the SAC into place today, wired it up....WOW. Real quiet, soft starting motor, super smooth. No perceptible vibration! Spindle had no measurable runout. At north of 2000# (or 907kg for the SAE challenged) thats a lot of mass to dampen vibration. Funny part was i had loosened the hood to move it back, or I was pretty sure I had, I was doing a lot of little things before the initial test firing, wanted to make sure all was clear, no foreign objects in the way or fallen into the hole in the table etc. So believing I had fully loosened the hood bolts, I reached down with one hand to shimmy the fence further from the spindle.....didnt seem to want to budge. Figured I hadn't loosed the hold downs all the way....nope, checked that, plenty loose. Hmmmm....hood rusted to the table? Not at all...turns out that monster hood is just plain old heavy! Or I'm losing muscle mass as I advance in age? With a solid leg lift and a lot of grunting I can hoist the hood off the SCMI T-130 when I need a clear table for curves.......I think I'll need a cart for the SAC, or a helper, or a fork lift with a pallet, or a gantry.....I haven't measured the under nut height....but if you look at the picture, notice there is a fair bit of spindle sticking up, there is a fair bit of spindle still under the table, and that is a 5" fence in between!

[Bill Adamsen]

Peter ... that is awesome! I'm tickled that worked out ... jealous perhaps a bit ... but definitely thrilled someone in "the Creek" is getting to use it. Moving the fence is one of those moments when you take a deep breath, make sure the belt is tight, and there's nothing under foot. Keep me posted on the power tilt and spindle lock!

[Peter Quinn]

What's wrong with German….some of the best equipment you can buy is German. JeffD

I read Bill's statement to mean fortunately the Manual was not written in German, as that would make it harder to read, not fortunately the shaper wasn't German. I can't think of a single German made shaper I would not be thrilled to own. On the bolt thing, the bolts on my minimax shaper don't actually come out of the hood, they have this annoying little ring clip somewhere inside the hood sides that lets them float but not fully detach. Not sure if Bills is the same, every other shaper Ive used the bolts come loose and I just put them aside before moving the hood.

Funny thing, when I bought the minimax, I unbolted the hood to keep it safe for transport, then I did the deep knee bend getting ready to lift some weight, grabbed on tight...and fell over backwards with the hood in hand, right on my bum. The hood only weights about 20#, its a cast aluminum unit, its rigid enough for that little shaper, just doesn't way anything. The seller laughed, he had two of these T-40's for sale, I was buying the second one, and apparently the other buyer had done exactly the same thing! Nobody expects a shaper hood to be light!

[Jeff Duncan]

Peter, hope you got all the spindle spacers with that beast! I just had to buy 2 sets for my T-160 which has about 7" under the nut. The 2 sets cover about half the distance Better than constantly steal in them from the other shaper or stacking multiple heads

Not sure what the hood weighs, but guessing 40 lbs minimum. I like heavy though. Reassuring to have a bit of cast around that spinning head

JeffD

[Peter Quinn]

Peter, hope you got all the spindle spacers with that beast! I just had to buy 2 sets for my T-160 which has about 7" under the nut. The 2 sets cover about half the distance Better than constantly steal in them from the other shaper or stacking multiple heads

Not sure what the hood weighs, but guessing 40 lbs minimum. I like heavy though. Reassuring to have a bit of cast around that spinning head

JeffD

We did get a spindle full of spacers! I took them off to spin the machine, found the bottom spacer is actually an interesting t-type spacer that bridges a gap between the the bottom of the spindle and the top of the quill, not sure why this comes out but its pretty much required to stack the spindle. I could see a single 3" sleeve bushing coming in handy with this one!

[Larry Edgerton]

My Uni has several long bushings, they are handy. They are about 2 1/2" long, so for a thin cutter I can use two. Nice.


The hoods on my shaper are heavy. I went down to the barn to get the other one and was wishing I had taken the truck by the time I got back up to the shop, about 150' away. I had a bad catch that tweaked the aluminum hood on my Minimax, thats not going to happen with this one.

I keep looking at that one with the tenoning table.........