Adept No.2 Shaper

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

For info.

There is an Adept No.2 on ebay

MichaelG.

[davebParticipant @daveb17630]

Posted by John Stevenson on 27/12/2013 23:07:04:

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 27/12/2013 21:51:18:

I have purchased a very tidy Adept No.2. Hand Powered

As for using it … any advice would be most welcome.

MichaelG.

.

Spinach ???

Seriously, can anyone answer the question why a hand cranked shaper will fetch more money than a powered one ?

Edited By John Stevenson on 27/12/2013 23:08:26

John, because they are small. Even the smallest powered shaper takes a fair amount of space. Some people work indoors, small, quiet tools are worth paying extra for. I got rid of my fly press and fly cutter, I now use one of those electric tennis racquets, it works just as well and I don't have to catch the things first.

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

How does One get the correct surface speed when running one of these shapers? : I have a Rhoades and like it very much.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

The rate is quite slow Mark (think of rowing a boat) and also try to take longer strokes, as this will also slow you down and help to get a uniform speed as you pass over the work. It's something I'm still training myself to do and does require a bit of hand co-ordination as well (small advance on the feed with the left hand as you push back with the right (e.g. feed on return stroke).

I imagine a metronome would be useful (or maybe singing some form of Sea Shanty?)

And Dave B – you are right to say that they are good 'inside' machines, just the click of the clapper when working them and they don't need too much space either. Not sure this justifies the price but none of these machines are made any more, so if someone wants one, then it's build it or pay whatever the going rate is….

Just been unloading a McMaster Power Hacksaw from the boot (where it's been sat for a few days!). I say unloading, I really mean dismantling, as it was far too heavy to lift out in one piece on my own. The baseplate was just about possible to lift into my wheelbarrow. I paid what I felt was a very reasonable price for it and although it clearly needs work, the nearest Chinese equivalent would have cost me around £400 and won't be as solid as this beastie is. You wouldn't be able to buy the main casting for what I paid for it – so maybe we are not thinking about the "price" of these machines in quite the right way, especially in relationship to the cost/quality of modern alternatives or indeed the cost of just the raw materials to build one.

Regards,

 

IanT

Edited By IanT on 15/01/2014 16:33:14

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Two weekends ago I needed two flats on an alloy collar. 5 minutes on the mill but because of this thread I thought I'd have a go on the hand shaper.

Each side took 1000 strokes. Downfeed about 1/16 x 1/10 on the dial-less tool slide, x 1/18 x 1/10 on the auto feed. I didn't like to take a deep cut for fear of moving the workpiece on the clunk as it starts each cut. Lubrication – cup of tea between sides. Strokerate 60 per min. (queue his Lordship to say Oxford stroke at 120 per min) .

I tried to go faster but there is a rythm due to body mas, lengths, breathing rate etc that is hard to break.

Zero stress felt to arm then or the next day. Actually my right foot felt more stress owing to pad posture balancing over workshop 'stuff' which I couldn't be bothered to move away.

Edited By Bazyle on 15/01/2014 19:11:23

[Kenneth LindemanParticipant @kennethlindeman32408]

Hi Guys Was a my model club which is based is Cape Town last night and was given a Adept no2 powered shaper. Its pulleys are missing. Could somebody give me the pulley sizes. It will save a lot of trial and error on my side

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Motor pulley as small a possible, shaft pulley 8in picador. However a bigger pulley wouldn't hurt as that is still fairly fast even with the gearing as well probably faster than 1 per second.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Bazyle on 20/02/2014 13:17:10:

Motor pulley as small a possible, shaft pulley 8in picador. However a bigger pulley wouldn't hurt as that is still fairly fast even with the gearing as well probably faster than 1 per second.

.

… Sounds like an ideal application for Poly-Vee belts.

MichaelG.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

There's a rather unusual Adept conversion on a well known site at the moment. Item number 251453082410

[Gordon AParticipant @gordona]

It looks to me to be a Cowells Hand Shaper motorised in a most ingenious way, including the use of a Myford clutch!

Some serious thought has gone into this one.

Gordon

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Gordon A on 20/02/2014 14:24:16:

Some serious thought has gone into this one.

.

It certainly does look very tidy !!

MichaelG.

[Kenneth LindemanParticipant @kennethlindeman32408]

Well this is my latest idea. I have a 8-1 reduction gearbox which I am thinking of connecting between the motor and the shaper. This would reduce a motor with a speed of 1450 rpm to about 180 rpm. It taken 4 turns of the feed shaft to complete 1 stroke on the shaper. This would then give me a speed of 45 strokes per min. Would this be acceptable for mild steel

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Kenneth,

Mild steel is cut at between 40-70 foot/minute.

The actual cutting 'speed' on a shaper is a function of several things. Most 'crank' shapers move the ram more slowly on the forward (cutting) stroke, compared to the faster 'return' stroke. I'm not clear if your 'stroke' is linear or not. Cutting speed is also function of the length of the stroke (for the same number of strokes/minute). So a very short stroke would be cutting more slowly than a longer stroke (assuming the same strokes/minute) – in other words the tool is travelling further in the same time on the longer stroke, so cutting speed must be faster.

Your 45 strokes/min sounds like it might be in the right area but you might want to think about the various things that effect the actual cutting speed of the tool in your design to get to a "foot/minute" number. This is what you need to know.

Regards,

IanT

[Kenneth LindemanParticipant @kennethlindeman32408]

Thanks Ian You have given me a lot to think about. I am going to put on a pulley with at least 3 steps so that I can have a selection of speed. The Adept seems to have the same speed for both the forward and back stoke, which is not the same as the bigger machines which do have a quicker back stoke. Yes the length of stoke will affect the speed so I will also have to remember this.

Regards Ken

[IanTParticipant @iant]

It's very useful to be able to vary the speed of a Shaper Kenneth.

I have a simple spread sheet that I use to work out my pulley ratios vs. cutting speeds. If you know your motor speed, length of cut and can estimate the percentage of time that one full 'crank' rotation is actually cutting – then you can work out the best pulley ratios given the foot/min required. I'll paste my ft/min table below. Use it as a rough guide to get going. You will soon find a speed that seems to suit particular materials on your machine.

Regards, IanT

Material	FPM
Aluminium	100-MAX
Set Plastic	100-MAX
Thermo Plastic	60-80
Yellow Brass	80-100
Cast Iron	50-80
Soft Steel	40-70
Low Carbon Steel	30-70
Hard Steel	20-50

[MICHAEL WILLIAMSParticipant @michaelwilliams41215]

Just a few thoughts :

(1) Small powered shapers don’t like spongy drive systems or drive systems with low flywheel effect .

Reasons are obvious .

(2) An inventive old timer that I once new didn’t have much money but did have advancing arthritis .

He had a little hand powered Adept and when he wasn’t fit enough to power by hand he took a drive off his ancient lathe – bolt in the faceplate , several feet of steel tubing and some string was all he needed .

MikeW

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

I have been looking at small shapers like the Adept on Fleabay recently but preferred a powered unit. I found a Corbetts 7" XL powered shaper which is nicely made and has a small footprint. It has had the motor drive modified slightly from original but if I can find a suitable motor I am tempted to change back to original as it will make the machine a few inches shorter. I have put a picture below. The http://www.lathes.co.uk has pictures of an original layout Corbetts shaper. Just need to source/make suitable vice and tooling now.

I can see how people say they are quite calming to watch.

Have fun with your Adept.

Regards,

Colin

[John OlsenParticipant @johnolsen79199]

While you can calculate the cutting speed, bear in mind that it actually varies during the stroke, eg starts out slow, accelerates to maximum, then slows down again. Also the quick return makes less difference as you shorten the stroke. I generally set it to what seems about right, which I guess comes with experience. These are not machines that you would use if you are in a great hurry. If the chips are coming off blue and smoking you are going a bit fast for HSS tooling. This is for power shapers of course.

John

[Author]

Posts