Help me, I've been window shopping

[MrDan]

So the whole family is sick and therefor I got no sleep last night. I made a feeble attempt at being productive during the wee hours then gave up and started cruising craigslist.

I'm already planning on heading to SC in a few weeks to look at an iron worker and I found this not to far away. http://charlotte.craigslist.org/tls/1904523883.html

It looks rough, from what I can see, but I've seen much worse looking units on here that you guys made look brand new so I'm learning not to judge so quickly by looks. The reason for a shaper is I get a lot of my metal from work from components that we throw away in the metal bin. I oxy/plasma cut them into the sizes I need and end up having to grind down these rough cuts before I can put them on the mill. The appeal of the shaper is that it can clean up these rough cuts without tearing up fragile, expensive bits. Of course, there are other reasons for the shaper as well which have been discussed here before. I'm going to call the guy today and ask him, what? The stroke I'm sure. The model number would help if it's even on there. What should I check on an old shaper to judge it's worth? I am reading about 20 pages of what to look for over on PM right now, so just quick thoughts from experience is what I was hoping for.

My next find was a bandsaw, which I've been looking for for a while. It's here. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/bfs/1930693664.html

It's a Tannewitz. It's not too far away to go look at, and $500 (not 500k) seems like a good price for a working metal bandsaw, which it's purported to be. I'm not familiar with the brand, anybody have any experience? The guy says they've had it in a commerical shop for years and have bought a new bandsaw and just want to clear the space, which I'm saying yeah right to. It's 3 phase, but I have a rotary phase converter just sitting.

And the last thing, I called the company in California that supports my Victor lathe. $700 for a new roller tips steady rest. I know I need it but I'm having heart burn over the price. It was recommended here to buy the factory rest but the siren song of generic rests on Ebay keeps ringing in my ears.

As always, I value your guys opinions. Thanks for helping.

[MrDan]

Update, I called the guy. He thinks the shaper is sold, that the guy is coming by this weekend. Oh well, I'll keep looking.

[randyjaco]

Dan,
Just about anything you can do with a shaper, you can do faster with a mill. Unless speed is not important and you have a lot of time to watch and fiddle with a machine, stick to a mill and perhaps a saw. I have an old Vernon 12" shaper that I restored and love to watch, but it is soooo slow. There is an old line: "You can make anything with a shaper but money" It is very true.

Randy

[MrDan]

Dan,
Just about anything you can do with a shaper, you can do faster with a mill. Unless speed is not important and you have a lot of time to watch and fiddle with a machine, stick to a mill and perhaps a saw. I have an old Vernon 12" shaper that I restored and love to watch, but it is soooo slow. There is an old line: "You can make anything with a shaper but money" It is very true.

Randy

Although extra time is never an issue, I am only doing this as a hobby. You think the time spent scraping some flame cut metal would be better spend grinding and then milling? Although the shaper is slow, it just seemed to me the time spend not grinding would be paid back, especially when the metal is really thick and the cuts are tough. Thoughts?

[Michael Edwards]

Dan,
I have an old Vernon 12" shaper that I restored and love to watch, but it is soooo slow. There is an old line: "You can make anything with a shaper but money" It is very true.

Randy

Nope, your just doing it wrong. Here is a pic of a shaper I had taking a .5 DOC in a piece of mild steel 6" long. Crossfeed is .030" per stroke, 42 strokes per minute. That's 3.78 cubic inches of metal removal per minute. My mill can't come close to that. Oh yeah, the tool bit in that pic is way undersize, only 3/4" square and the shaper was loafing. The proper size it 1" x 2". I think a big shaper is a great companion to a small mill, like bridgeport and smaller.

shaper pic


ME

[john hobdeclipe]

I can't speak to their metal working bandsaws, but Tannewitz woodworking bandsaws have been the saw of choice in the furniture industry for as long as I can remember, and probably for a lot longer.

[MrDan]

I can't speak to their metal working bandsaws, but Tannewitz woodworking bandsaws have been the saw of choice in the furniture industry for as long as I can remember, and probably for a lot longer.

Hmm, that's good feedback. I don't push a bandsaw hard as a hobby shop so if these guys haven't killed it, the price can't be beat.

Thanks

Dan