Choice of small shaper

[Stepside]

I have an AMMCO 7 inch shaper. I have an oportunity to purchase a Shaperite 8 inch.
I would be interested in opinions on Atlas, South Bend, Shaperite, Ammco and any of similiar size.
Thanks
Pete

[lathe dog]

Step side,

I owned a Atlas 7 inch shaper , I now own a South Bend 7 inch. I have looked at Ammco Shapers at swap meets and they look like they are built very well.
As for a comparison between the Atlas and South Bend it's a toss up.(imho)
I think the Atlas has a more user friendly table as it has t slots verses tapped holes and on the South Bend.
I believe that the South Bend's power feed Mechanism is more robust than the Atlas.
The biggest problem with I had with both shapers is that they only had a capacity of 7 inches.
Lathe dog

[Ian B]

Pete,

Before you buy an 8" shaper, have you considered getting a much bigger one altogether? Bigger ones are often cheaper, and don't take up *that* much more space.

Ian

[BillB]

I have an 8" Shape-Rite. It's a great machine, short on frills (no clutch, for instance, thou one could be added) but far heavier & more solid than the others you mentioned. The footprint is not much more than that of a South Bend, but the machine weighs a lot more. Less likely to go walking about the shop IMHO. Not that bad to move either, took mine apart to get it down the right-angle stairs into the basement by myself.

[panchula]

I'll vouch for the Shape-Rite. I got one last fall and it's *much* more heavily built than the AMMCO. It's a small footprint industrial machine weighing in at about 700 lbs. Not many frills, but very solid and smooth. As far as I've been able to find out, there were two models of the Shape-Rite the origninal model HD and the Model B.

There are two shaper groups on yahoo: Metal_Shapers and the auxillary Metal_Shaper_Pix. The pix group has the manual for the Model B in .pdf format.

There's a metal shaper FAQ at http://home.att.net/~kayfisher/shaper_faq.html

-Mike

[chip's]

I too, have a shape-rite. It is a heavy well built machine. I used to have an atlas and I like this one much better. Do any of you fellows have a shape-rite manual?