TECHNICAL PUBLICATION

THE SHAPING MACHINE

book together with The Drilling
Machine and The Grinding Machine forms

This

a triumvirate by Ian Bradley dealing with

machines used in the workshop which have

hitherto been neglected by writers. The
shaping machine has for some years
increased in popularity in both amateur and
professional workshops. In this book the
author gives an historical account of the
machine, followed by a general description,
then goes on to detail its components.
Various types of machine and their tools are
described and a later chapter deals with
additions to the machine. The book concludes with a description of

some

rep-

resentative machining operations.

2.00 net

ISBN 0 85242 323 3

in

UK

only

The
Shaping

Machine
Ian Bradley

MODEL & /ALLIED PUBLICATIONS

LTD.

MODEL & ALLIED PUBLICATIONS

LTD.

Book Division
Station

Road, Kings Langley

H ertfordshire,

1973

Model

&

England

Allied Publications Ltd.

First Published 1973

ISBN

85242 323

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY

PERCY BROTHERS

LTD.,

THE HOTSPUR

PRESS,

MANCHESTER M60

1PB

CONTENTS

Contents
1

HISTORICAL ASPECTS AND GENERAL

DESCRIPTION
The Shaping Machine - General
The Main Casting

Description

The Ram

The Tool

9
Slide

The Clapper Box

10

The Knee and Work Table

11

Locking the Clapper Box

12

The

Self Act

HAND POWER MACHINES

*5

The Drummond Hand Bench Shaper

The Drummond Machine Vice

18

The Cowell Shaping Machine

The Clapper Box

21

The

21

Perfecto

Hand Shapers

POWER DRIVEN MACHINES

The

Perfecto Automatic Feed

24

Power Shaper

25

The Automatic Feed

25

Operating Speeds

27

The Acorn Tools

Adjusting the

7 in. Shaping

Ram

Stroke

Adjusting the Position of the

Automatic

Work Table Feed

Work Table Adjustment

Electric

Motor Drive

Machine

27
29

Ram

32
33

33

THE SHAPING MACHINE

SHAPING MACHINE TOOLS

5

35

The Roughing Out Tool

36

Keyway Cutting Tool

37

Surface Finishing Tools

38

Special Purpose Tools

39

Tool for External Key way Cutting

40

Tool for Cutting Internal Key ways

Tools for Sawing

42

ADDITIONS TO THE MACHINE

43

The Feed Screw Handle

44

Gib Strip Lock Screws

45

Automatic

The
The
The
The

Down Feed

for the

Tool Slide

Connecting Rod
Driving

46

47

Arm

48

Quadrant Gear

48

Quadrant Gear Bracket

49

Rack Bracket

The Ratchet Wheels and Accompanying

The Detent

51

Details

SERVICING THE TOOLS

53
53

54

Tungsten Carbide

55

Grinding and Honing

56

Grinding Swan-neck Tools

57

Grinding Wheels

58

Grinding Wheel Speeds

59

Grinding Tungsten Carbide Tools

59

INSTALLING THE MACHINE

61

Ferro Concrete as a Mounting for the Shaper

62

Levelling the Machine

64

Electrical Installation

65

Connecting Plugs Correctly

66

CONTENTS
8

MOUNTING THE WORK

67

The

68

Perfecto Vice

The Offen Vice

69

Parallels

75

Work

to the

Machine Table

Securing the Machine Vice

75

77

SOME REPRESENTATIVE MACHINE

OPERATIONS
Setting the

10

67

Holding the Work

Securing the

Machine Vice

78
79

Squaring the Ends of Shafts

80

Machining the Ends of Shafts

81

Cutting Keyways

84

Cutting Racks

85

Cutting Gear Teeth

89

V-Blocks

89

Machining T-slots

91

Shaping Machine Slides

91

THE LATHE AS SHAPING MACHINE

92

PREFACE
some years past the shaping machine has been finding
increasing popularity in both amateur and small professional
workshops. While the lathe itself has always had intensive treatment
from many writers, little information seems to have been forthcoming
about the shaping machine and its use.
for

In an attempt, therefore, to redress the imbalance the author

addresses this book primarily to the amateur reader, in the hope
that the professional

and value

worker

also will find

something of interest

in its pages.

Hungerford, Berkshire.
1972.
I.B.

THE SHAPING MACHINE

CHAPTER

Historical Aspects

and

General Description
at the beginning of the 19th century, the only way to produce a
flat surface other than by hand, was to mount the work in the
lathe, preferably bolted to the faceplate, and turn it; a cumbersome
business. Industrial needs soon led to the introduction of independent

machines that would do the work, the first of these being attributed
to Richard Roberts 1789-1864.
Roberts invention was really a planing machine designed to deal
with relatively large surfaces being followed by designs from
Matthew Murray (1814), Joseph Clement (1825) and others who
were gradually improving the machine. It was not until the Great
Exhibition of 1851, however, that the shaping machine, substantially as we now know it, was introduced in a collection of machine
tools such as had never been seen before. Both in design and finish
their quality was outstanding. The producer of these machines was
Joseph Whitworth, whose name and whose firm was to remain in
the forefront of engineering progress for the rest of the 19th century.

The Shaping Machine - General Description

The

machine is an iron casting supporting

slides in which a ram can move backwards and forwards, the ram
carrying a cutting tool to machine work mounted on a work table or
knee also attached to the main casting. The ram itself has a slide
that permits the tool point to be brought into contact with the work
surface and the depth of cut to be adjusted. These basic elements
basis of the shaping

are depicted in the illustration Fig.

1.

The Main Casting

For the most part the main casting provides a seating for the ram
and another for the knee supporting the work table. In addition,
when the unit is power-operated, the casting contains the mechanism used to drive the shaping machine, whilst the components

HISTORICAL ASPECTS AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION

TOOL

CLAPPER

that comprise the automatic feed for the

SLIDE

work

slide are bolted to the

outer surface of the main casting.

Ram

The

The main moving element

machine is the ram. This

carries the tool slide, moving in ways machined in the main casting
which is provided with a series of adjusting screws to enable any
shake in the ram itself to be taken up.
In the majority of power-driven machines both the stroke of the
ram and its position in relation to the work may be adjusted. When
in a shaping

the shaper has a variable speed

facility,

stroke adjustment

is

of

great importance. It will be apparent that, supposing a narrow wddth

7

component

is

being machined, one can cut

dowm

the length of the

embraces the work in hand. For example, let us

suppose the work is but a quarter of an inch wide. Then the stroke
of the ram would be set to f in., leaving an overlap of
in. each
side of the w ork, a setting that w ould probably allow the shaper to
be used at its maximum speed. This matter will be dealt with in
stroke until

it

just

greater detail later.

The Tool
At the end of the ram
tool slide.

This

directly

Slide

above the work table

is

fixed the

slide is similar to the top slide of a lathe in that

it

THE SHAPING MACHINE

10

may be set at an
way work may be cut

carries the cutting tool and, again like the top slide,

angle each side of the normal zero. In this

any angle within the machines capacity. In large machines

the tool slide may be powder operated.
The tool itself is mounted on the face of the slide in a special

down

to

fitment called the clapper box.

The Clapper Box

While the cutting tool in a shaping machine must be rigidly
mounted, it is essential for many purposes, that, on the return or noncutting stroke, the tool point should be relieved of load. This is the
function of the clapper box seen in a typical form dismantled in
Fig. 2. It consists of an assembly consisting of a box fitted with a
hinge pin, usually tapered so that any shake can be taken up, and a
clapper that hinges on the pin. The clapper is provided with a
seating for the tool, which in the example illustrated is held in place
by a pair of set screws. There is another form of tool holder used
with the clapper and this will be described in a later chapter.
In the illustration it will be observed that a curved slot is machined
in the backplate of the box. Its purpose is to permit the box to be
swung a few degrees either side of the vertical. This provision is

Fig. 3

Bench Shaper

circa 1912

HISTORICAL ASPECTS AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION

necessary in order to prevent the tool from jamming on the return

stroke when machining overhanging work such as a machine slide.

screw passes through the slot into the body of the tool slide
and is used to clamp the box which pivots in the slide itself.
set

The Knee and Work Table

This

is

The knee

the second main slide assembly of a shaping machine.

on the main casting, a jack screw

being provided to control its movement. The knee also contains the
horizontal slide upon which the work table moves under the action
of a feedscrew. This feedscrew is the most important in all shaping
machines. Even in the simplest of machines this feedscrew is used
to move the work under the point of the tool, and, for the most part,
is made to work automatically.
There are two forms of shaping machine. In the first the w ork
travels on a moving table past a reciprocating tool, in the manner
already illustrated. In the second the w ork table is stationary, and it
is the ram assembly that moves along to allow the cutting tool to
cover the work surface. A typical example is the machine illustrated
in Fig. 3. This is a bench hand-pow ered shaper with a work capacity
9 in. by 9 in. Its maker is unknown but it appeared in many tool
merchants catalogues in the early part of this century and one
itself slides vertically

THE SHAPING MACHINE

12

was

some years from 1925 onwards.

in the authors possession for

In every way an excellent little machine it had no frills but all the
essential facilities were there and it was very comfortable to use.
One particular provision was a V-groove machined directly into the
work table. This was intended for the mounting of shafts so that
keyways could be cut in them.

Locking the Clapper Box

However, we must now return to further consideration of matters
concerning the clapper box. The particular example depicted in the
illustration Fig. 2, and known as the English pattern, has a tool holder
consisting of the clapper itself in which a square section hole to
receive the tool is machined. Because of this feature the usefulness of
the English clapper box is somewhat restricted and so has largely
given way, in the smaller machines at all events, to the American
pattern.

may

be seen in the accompanying illustration Fig. 4

the tool is held in a clamp resembling the type in common use on
American lathes. This comprises a lantern fitted with a set screw to
Here, as

hold the tool in place and a hardened steel washer through which
the lantern is passed and against w hich the back of the tool presses.
T

Fig. 5

Improvised method

Fig. 4

of locking the

American- type toolpost

Clapper Box

LOCKING

BOLT

HISTORICAL ASPECTS AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Fig. 6

The

lantern

it

as

of locking the

of round section and

when passed through

so that,

back of

is

Permanent method

soon as the

set

is

screw

is

Clapper Box

shouldered

the clapper,

it

*3

is

at its

inboard end

pulled against the

tightened against the shank of

the tool.

be clear that this type of tool holder allows the tool itself
to be swung around to approach the work at any angle desired. For
It will

this reason, as in the case of the lathe, this type of tool holder has

come to be preferred.
As will presently appear

there are certain operations in the shaping

machine that call for the clapper box to be locked, and all relief to
the tool on the return stroke eliminated. In the case of the English
pattern clapper box, as with the American type, this can be done in
two ways. In the first, as an improvised measure, a short bolt with
nut can be introduced between the back of the tool at the top and the
face of the stationary member of the clapper box as shown diagrammatically in Fig.

5.

The second and permanent method is depicted in

the clapper is restrained from movement by a steel
across

its

face

and held

in place

by

Fig. 6.

Here

strip passing

a pair of screws tapped into the

linings of the box.

Where
is

the American pattern clapper box

a very simple matter. All that

the clapper in the

box

so that

is
it

required

is

is

concerned locking

it

a single screw, securing

cannot move.

The screw

is

passed

through the clapper into the back of the box in the manner depicted

by the

The

illustration Fig. 7.

position of the lock-screw as

shown

in the illustration

is

not

THE SHAPING MACHINE

most part, this location is dictated by the position

the lantern occupies on the clapper. As the lantern is usually set low
down on the clapper, there is then no room to put in the set screw
at its most efficient point. So a compromise position has to be
chosen, and this is the one shown in the diagram.
ideal, but, for the

The Self-Act
In order to machine a piece of work completely the work table
needs to be moved along, so that as it travels backward and forward,
the cutting tool can fully cover the work.

At the same time the

tool

needs to be fed to the work under controlled conditions. Both

these requirements must be met by properly designed machine
itself

slides.

In

many

large professional shaping

machines both of these

provided with an automatic feed, usually called The

Self- Act. In small machines, however, and with hand-powered
shapers in particular, the self &ct is confined to the lead screw of the
work table. The details of the mechanism necessary are given in the
chapters dealing with hand and power-driven machines, whilst an
slides are

automatic down-feed, that the author has

shaper, will be described in a later chapter.

fitted to his

own power

LOCK SCREW

CLAPPER
Fig. 7

BOX

Locking the Clapper Box with American Tool Post

HAND POWER MACHINES

CHAPTER

Hand Power Machines

for

many purposes

in;'

the small workshop a shaping machine

operated by hand will suffice quite well. In years gone by, as any

comprehensive tool catalogue of the time will confirm, there were

many hand shapers to choose from. A typical example, from the
catalogue of Richard Melluish dated 1912, is illustrated in Fig. 1.
The machine has a large cast base plate provided with T-slots
that are used to house the bolts securing the somewhat elimentary
machine vice seen in the illustration. The vice consists of a pair of
angle plates, one having a moving plate that can be used to grip any
work that needs machining. The angle plates can be turned through
90 degrees to the position shown, enabling work to be machined
against the standing jaw as and when required.
Fig.

Shaping Machine 1900-1912

THE SHAPING MACHINE

i6

Fig. 2

Amateur made hand -powered machine

Fig. 4

The Drummond Self-Act

HAND POWER MACHINES

*7

All slides were substantial having feed screws fitted with graduated
collars allowing accurate dimensional

machining to be undertaken.
Rough positional adjustment of the ram was, available and it w as
possible to select a range of operating leverages as may be seen from
an examination of the lever itself. This has three bushed holes to
accept the screwed pin attached to the ram. The operator could then
readily select a leverage, and thus a ram travel, suited to the work in
r

hand.

Many

machines were not fitted with automatic

the saddle, and the example illustrated was probably no

similar shaping

traverse to

exception.

The Tool

Slide and Clapper

Box have

all

the requirements for

machining angled and overhung work, while the tool holder was
designed to accept the short tool bits seen to the

left

of the illustra-

Independent angular adjustment of the clapper box is essential

if overhung w^ork, such as tool slides, is to be undertaken.
The little machine depicted in Fig. 2 has no such provision,
which is a pity, for though it does have an American type tool holder
this in itself is no substitute for a clapper box assembly that can be
swung over to deal with overhung machining when required.
tion.

Fig. 3

The Drummond Shaper

THE SHAPING MACHINE

i8

Fig. 5

The Drummond Shaper

(later version)

The Drummond Hand Bench Shaper

We

come, now, to a machine that proved to be a landmark in the

provision of shaping equipment suitable for use by the amateur or the
light engineering workshop. The shaper in question had a few minor
points of criticism, w hat machine has not, but there is little doubt
that the hand shaping machine once made by Drummond of Guildford was an outstanding and practical piece of equipment. Drummonds shaper, illustrated in Fig. 3, was, or is because there are
examples of the machine still in use, a fixed head hand shaper
T

developed on the lines of the powered tools then found in

machine shops. The body of the machine

is

many

box form casting

fastening the machine

a stiff

having a flange provided with bolt holes for

bench or the special cast iron stand once available.

The work table, some 6 in. long by 5 in. wide is carried on a knee
that has a vertical movement of 4! in. and is controlled by the feed
screw and handwheel seen at the front of the machine. The table
itself moves on a slideway machined from the knee casting, this
movement being imparted by a horizontally placed feed screw with
handwheel set in the body of the knee.
The feed screw can be actuated either by hand or by the reversible
ratchet and wheel that may be observed to the left of the table. The
ratchet itself is driven by a link attached to the striking mechanism
situated on the left-hand side of the shaper and therefore not observable in the illustration. The striker itself is mounted on the vertical
spindle carrying the main operating spindle and engages a pivoted
to the

HAND POWER MACHINES

fork to which the ratchet link

moved

is

attached.

The

striker is

clamped

to

engagement with the fork

by undoing a single lock screw. This arrangement serves also to
adjust the stroke of the striker and so controls, within limits, the
feed rate of the self-acting mechanism as a whole.
The mechanism of the Drummond Automatic Feed is depicted
the spindle and can be

diagrammatically in Fig.

4.

in or out of

The

feed screw

itself is fitted

with a

pad to inhibit reversal during the idle stroke of the self-act.

Early machines had tool slides fitted with English pattern tool

friction

holders. Later production, as illustrated in Fig. 5, introduced an

American-style toolpost having many advantages for the user. The
illustration also

that

Drummond

demonstrates one of the

stressed, this

is

facilities of their

the ability to

shaper

accommodate long

keyways or other machining operations, a

provision made possible by the box-like construction of the main
shafts for the cutting of

casting.

Neither the feed screw for the tool slide nor the work table feed

screw had index collars fitted to them. This was a somewhat inexplicable omission, not subsequently rectified, so far as the author is
aware.

The Drummond Machine Vice

The vice fitted to the shaper is of simple but robust construction.

The base is graduated so that angular settings of the vice can be
made. The moving jaw is fitted with a clamping screw to ensure that,
when the jaw has been set against the work and tightened by the
square thread screw passing through the lug at the end of the base,
the

work

itself

can be secured against any possible unwanted move-

ment.

The Cowell Shaping Machine

We

have already seen that shaping machines are divided into two

and is part of the main

casting, and the others that have a ram slideway machined in a saddle
movable along the base member that forms the body of the shaper
itself. The Drummond is an example of the first type, whilst the
machine now to be described, made by E. W. Cowell of Watford,
falls into the latter class. We have said made by E. W. Cowell

classes; those in

which the ram

slide

is

fixed

but this

is

not strictly true because the firm in question only supplies

and certain heavy machined details outside the scope of the

amateur or small workshop, leaving such turning as remains within
castings

the capability of 3! in. centre lathe.

of the machine are as follows:

The

salient dimensional features

THE SHAPING MACHINE

20

The Cowell Shaping Machine

Fig. 6

Maximum

size of

Size of table 6 in.

Feed of

by 6

in.

in.

height, table to tool point 5 in.

automatic feed provided has

from 0.0025

As

by 6

in.

tool slide 2 j in.

Maximum
The

work shaped 6

in. to

0.0125 i n

five

rates,

feed varying

be seen from the illustration Fig 6, the Cowell shaping

machine is one of great rigidity, weighing some 65 lb. when finished.

The

will

saddle supporting the

ram

machined from a heavy box-form

feed screw passes.

is

carried

casting,

on

a substantial slide

through which the saddle

single long bearing supports the feed screw,

the bearing housing being attached to the end of the box-casting as

A ratchet-and-wheel system

forming part of the selfact mechanism is located on the feed screw and is driven through
linkage from a lay shaft carried behind the main casting. The layshaft
is fitted with a toggle device controlled by a positionally adjustable
seen in Fig.

7.

striker fastened to a

machined face on the ram

are illustrated in Fig. 8.

itself.

These

details

HAND POWER MACHINES

21

The Glapper Box

The Clapper box

either side of the vertical. It is

toolpost that has

Cowell shaping machine swivels to

fitted with a lantern-type or American

fitted to the

many

advantages over the English pattern post.

The tool slide to which the clapper box is attached is provided with
an index collar and can itself be swivelled through 1 80 degrees. The

components in question may be

of the machine itself.

clearly seen in the general illustration

The Perfecto Hand Shapers

For those who,

need only a simple machine,

the Perfecto Engineering Company of Leicester have included just
such a shaper in their range of machine tools. The unit in question is
illustrated in Fig. 9. It has a 5 in. stroke and a work table 6 in. by 6 in.
with a height adjustment of 2 in. in relation to the machine as a
whole, being fastened to its apron and guided by a key engaging both
table and apron.
The bed of the shaper is of box form construction and is ribbed
for strength. The ram, also of box construction, has a full bearing
in the saddle at any position of the stroke, and is operated by a
quadrant gear engaging a rack fastened to it. The tool slide, fastened
to the end of the ram, swivels through 360 degrees and has a graduin the first instance,

Fig. 7

The Cowell

Self- Act

WlS:
.

*Xrx:

The Cowell

ated base plate enabling angular

The

clapper box

itself also

work

swivels

Self- Act

to be carried out accurately.

when

required for machining

overhung work.

Fig. 9

The

5* Perfecto

Shaper

HAND POWER MACHINES

Fig. 9 A

As

befits a

saddle,

all

fitted to the

The

5" Perfecto

very simple machine there

movement having

to

23

Hand Shaper

no automatic feed to the

be controlled by the handwheel
is

feed screw\

For those who

feel that

some form of automatic feed

is essential,

Perfecto Engineering have introduced a 5 in. shaper having this

facility. The machine itself is in fact the simple machine just des-

cribed fitted with a fixed automatic feed of 0.005 in f r eac ^ stroke

of the ram. The mechanism acts on the feed screw and is operated
*

by adjustable strikers set on the side of the ram. (See Fig. 9A).
A machine of somewhat greater capacity is the 7 in. shaper. The
machine has all the family attributes of the Perfecto shaper previously
described. In this larger shaper the work table has T-slots which
allow more versatility in the mounting of work, though has no
greater surface area than the work tables fitted to the other Perfecto
shapers.

THE SHAPING MACHINE

24

CHAPTER

Power-Driven Machines
whilst hand- powered shapers may
the small workshop, there

suffice for

many

operations in

doubt that an electrically-driven

machine has many advantages. Apart from doing away with muscular
energy, it enables the user to set the machine in motion so that it
can proceed wdth a shaping operation while he, if necessary, gets on
with other work about the shop. In the past there have been several
small powered bench machines available. Today, however, their
numbers are much reduced so at least one of the machines to be
reviewed is only likely to be found on the second-hand market.
The shaping machine depicted in Fig. i appeared in several tool
merchants catalogues during the period 1910-1912. It was intended
for use on the bench in fitting shops, or anywhere else if thought
convenient, as a rather

Fig.

is little

more rapid and accurate means of carrying

Powered Shaping Machines 19^0-1912

POWER-DRIVEN MACHINES
out work usually performed with a hand

ram

file.

It is

^5
of a type in which

moving along a box bed similar to that

used in the Cowell and Perfecto hand shapers. The machine was
intended to be driven from lineshafting, the flywheel to the left of
the

slides are in a saddle

the bed acting as a pulley.

engaged or dis-engaged

The

drive through a dog-clutch could be

be means of the lever, also seen at the

left of the bed. Automatic reversible feed was provided and both the
stroke of the ram and its position in relation to the work itself could
be adjusted in order to secure the most efficient working.
at will

The Perfecto Automatic Feed Power Shaper

This machine, in common with the companys hand-operated
shapers is made in two sizes, namely 5 in. and
7 in. Indeed the
powered version was developed

from the hand-operated

machines, as will be appreciated when examining Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.
These show opposite sides of the 5 in. and 7 in. machines respectively.
Many of the components used are common to both the hand and
directly

power-driven shapers, but the latter have a somewhat different

automatic feed which is variable and can be adjusted to suit the work
in hand.

The ram

is

driven from a disc crank formed from the large gear

wheel seen in the second

This wheel is carried by the

cast gear case in which it has a bearing and is driven by a pinion
housed in the case and sliding along the drive shaft mounted behind
the bed of the machine. This shaft has a keyway running its full
length and imparts the drive to the pinion through a key engaging
this key way.

The

illustration.

secured to the saddle of the ram which is

provided w ith a T-slotted member attached to its left-hand side.
The connecting rod is secured at one end to a gudgeon pin positiongear case

itself is

ally adjustable in the T-slot

and

crank pin, also

adjustable for position, in the large gear wheel. In this w ay not only
can the stroke of the ram be regulated, but the position of the tool
at the other to a

point

itself

can be set suitably in relation to the

w ork.
7

The Automatic Feed

In contradistinction to the hand-pow-ered machines made by
Perfecto the self-act or automatic feed is variable. It is operated by

an eccentric forming part of the spindle supporting the large gear

wheel.

The

necessary

movement

mechanism, located
in the well of the box bed, is by means of a cranked connecting rod
attached to the eccentric and the self-act quadrant arm respectively.
to the self-act

POWER-DRIVEN MACHINES

2J

Operating Speeds
Three rates of speed are
per minute derived from

These

and 80 strokes
a three-step V-belt pulley connected by
belting to a pulley attached to the shaft of an electric motor running
at 1,425 r.p.m. A suitable pulley for the motor would seem to be
in.

available.

are 60, 70

diameter.

The Acorn Tools 7 -in. Shaping Machine

The

operators

Handbook supplied with

the machine in a foreword

to the general operating instructions says:

This 7

in.

shaper has

been introduced in response to an insistent demand for a small precision-built machine. It is suitable for both high output with arduous
production runs, and for precision work in the tool room.
It is on this last criterion that the author can speak, for not only
has he an Acorn Tools shaper himself, but many years ago he
specified one of these tools for inclusion in the plant required for
the specialist workshop which was run by him in one of our larger
aircraft factories. It was used by qualified tradesmen and apprentices
alike, and the millwrights dropped the machine when the author
moved it to another shop under his control; but, despite working
under conditions sometimes not of the best, this tool has never given
anv mechanical trouble and, so far as is known, still continues to
preserve

its

accuracy.
Fig. 4

Acorn Tools

7"

Powered Shaper

THE SHAPING MACHINE

28

Fig.

The machine

4A Acorn Tools

itself is virtually a

7"

Powered Shaper

scaled

down model

of a shaper of

the type illustrated in the Frontispiece of this book.

exception of automatic feed to the tool

slide,

and

With

this has since

the

been

added by the author, the Acorn Tools shaping machine illustrated

in Fig. 4, has all the facilities offered by a large shaper.
The mechanism of the Acorn Tools shaper follows the basic lines
laid down long ago for machines having a fixed ram slide and a
moving work table.

POWER-DRIVEN MACHINES
The ram

is

29

driven by what amounts to a disc crank operating a

rocking lever attached at one end to the main casting of the machine
and at the other end to the ram itself. The disc crank has a ring
gear machined on

can be driven from a layshaft set at the rear of the machine and carried in bearings in its main
frame. Attached to the layshaft is a 4-step pulley driven through

by the

belting

its

periphery so that

electric

it

motor carried on

mounting behind the

shaper.

Adjusting the

The

Ram

Stroke

parts referred to can be seen in the diagram Fig.

overhung with its hub supported in tapered

and is provided with a sliding block and pin, the
is

thrust block in the

position

ram

lever.

sliding block

roller
latter
is

bearings,

engaging a

adjustable for

from outside the machine by turning the ram adjusting

shaft that passes through the

carries a

The

The crank

5.

hub supporting the

skew gear that engages

crank. This shaft

a corresponding gear

mounted on

THE SHAPING MACHINE

Acorn Tools Disc Crank

Fig. 6

the

ram

adjusting screw.

in the sliding block, so

The screw passes

any movement of

into a nut with pin set

the adjusting screw

reflected in a corresponding re-positioning of the block

is

and thus the

stroke of the ram.

Adjusting the Position of the

As

Ram

well as being in a position to adjust the length of the

ram

be possible to set the position of the ram, and

with it the toolpoint, in relation to the work itself. In the Acorn Tools
shaper this adjustment is effected by the mechanism depicted in the
stroke,

it

must

also

illustration Fig. 8.

abutting the

ram

The

itself,

block attached to the

ram

drive lever,

and

has a female square thread machined in

it.

This thread accommodates the ram adjusting feed screw which

Fig. 7

Acorn Tools Crankshaft

POWER-DRIVEN MACHINES

THE SHAPING MACHINE

32

passes into this thread and

formed

supported

is

at its outer

end by

a bearing

in the tail of the ram.

The feedscrew

mounted upon

has a bevel gear

it,

this

engages a

corresponding gear machined on a stub shaft passing through the

ram. So, when a handle is applied to the stub shaft, and is turned

been unclamped, the tool point position can be

the work in hand.

after the block has

adjusted to suit

In practice the stroke of the ram

so adjusted that the point of

is

the tool bridges or covers the work in hand, whilst the position of
the tool point itself
of an inch at each

is

set so that

it

clears the

end of the rams

work by about

a quarter

stroke.

Automatic Work Table Feed

common

with most small shaping machines the ratchet feed

for the work table is driven directly from the shapers crankshaft. In
In

the case of the Acorn Tools machine the

mechanism

contained in

is

two small gearboxes, one forming part of the crankshaft bearing

housing the other being attached to the horizontal cross

rail

upon

which the work table slides. The reversible ratchet is located in

this gearbox and is driven from the disc crank projecting from the
box on the crankshaft bearing housing. The stroke of this crank can
be adjusted by altering the position of the crank pin. The pin takes
the form of a stud passing through a T-slot machined in the crank
and engaging a block that slides in the slot. When the stud is slackened the block may be moved along the slot thus altering the stroke
and so adjusting the feed of the work table. The parts of the mechanism are seen in the illustration Fig. 9.
In use, as the disc crank turns, the connecting rod pulls the ratchet
case backwards and forwards so turning a ratchet w}ieel inside the
case.

There

is

a gear attached to the ratchet wheel; this engages a

pinion mounted on the cross slide feed screw which turns either
clockwise or anti-clockwise according to the direction set by the
ratchet control lever.

Work Table Adjustment

In addition to the
tool slide itself,

it is

down

feed for the tool point provided by the

sometimes advisable

table elevating gear in order to set the

position for machining.

The

work

to

make use

itself in

of the

work

the best possible

elevator fitted to the

Acorn Tools,

from a short shaft projecting

from the side of the machine by means of skew gears affixed to the
shafts themselves. A key is used common to the vice, the ram position
shaper

is

a vertical feed screw actuated

POWER-DRIVEN MACHINES

33

adjustment and the elevator itself. At all times after any adjustment
has been made the thrust jack affixed to the work table must be re-set.

The
and

jack slides in a lug cast at the front of the box form

is

secured by a collar lock in the lug.

The jack has

work

table

a cast iron foot

on a machined surface formed on the base plate of the

shaping machine, and on this the foot slides as the work table moves
along under the tool point. The jack and its location can be seen in

that rests

the illustration Fig. 4 A.

Electric

Motor Drive

Acorn Tools shaper is mounted on a

bracket assembly bolted to the back of the machines main frame.
The platform to which the motor is fastened swings in this bracket
enabling belt tension between the motor and the countershaft, also
secured to the back of the main frame, to be adjusted.
The countershaft itself is carried in a pair of roller races mounted

The motor

that drives the

hanger that swings in the hinge member at the back of the

frame. The hanger is controlled by a lever. Lifting the lever allows
the whole countershaft to swing upward and put tension on the belts
in a

between the motor and the countershaft and the countershaft and
shaper crankshaft respectively. The countershaft and the layshaft
transmitting power to the crankshaft are each provided with a
4-step pulley. This combination gives the approximate cutting speeds
set out in the accompanying table:
Fig. 10

Acorn Tools Shaper Belt Layout

THE SHAPING MACHINE

34

Belt Position

Stroke

in.

in.

12

18

28

3 in -

10

16

26

in.
-

14
16

24
28

in.

20

in.

24

34
38

34
42
52
60

42
56
72
86

5 in

The

IOO

cutting speeds available are expressed in feet per minute

and are given

in the four vertical

columns of the

list.

Suitable cutting

speeds for various materials are listed below:

Aluminium

oo
ioo
80
80
i

Brass

Bronze
Zinc
Cast Iron

40
Mild Steel
40
Carbon Steel 30
Plastics
100

However, in order
particularly

to Il6

feet per

to Il6

yy

yy

yy

to IOO

yy

yy

y y

to IOO

yy

yy

yy

y y

yy

y y

to

to

yy

y y

yy

to

40

yy

yy

y y

to 116

yy

yy

yy

to avoid vibration

when long ram

minute

some compromise

it

is

best to considerably reduce

speed unless commercial considerations make

The amateur need

it

necessary to work

never hurry in his work so perhaps for him,

as for the author, the best general belt setting is

Nevertheless,
that this

The

is

any increase

only set

when

the

in

speed seems desirable

ram

in the

it is

list.

suggested

strokes are short'.

belt-and-pulley layout for the Acorn Tools shaper

trated in Fig.

The

if

essential

strokes are involved. In the interests of

comfortable working, therefore,

fast.

is

is illus-

9.

an extra component provided to accommodate

a brake pad attached to the control lever. When this is lowered the
brake pad comes into contact with the pulley and stops the machine.
pulley

is

SHAPING MACHINE TOOLS

CHAPTER

35

Shaping Machine Tools

WE

consider the various tools that can be used in a shaping

machine it is necessary to understand the principle on which these
tools should operate. If we take a swan-necked tool of the type
illustrated in Fig. i and mount its point on the centre line of work
in a lathe, any spring in the tool itself will tend to unwind the tool
when load is applied. But in the lathe this effect is not detrimental
since the point of the tool will back away from the work surface and
no dig in will occur,
before

Fig.

Swan -neck

tool

mounted on the
lathe top slide

THE SHAPING MACHINE

36

Tool for Roughing out

Fig. 3
If

we

Tool for Roughing out

Fig. 4

look at the diagram

in

Fig.

which

illustrates

cranked lathe tool set on the tool slide, we see that the point is well
in front of the fulcrum centre S\ Thus, when load is applied to
it the point of the tool will tend to describe the arc AB and will
dig in. If, on the other hand, the tool is shaped as seen at B no
digging in can take place because its point will describe an arc

AB

edge away from the work surface.

Therefore, when the use of swan-necked or cranked tools is contemplated these points should be borne in mind. In any event such
tools must be made amply strong, in which case, when lightly loaded,
the position of the tool point is not of such great significance. This
being so it is possible to make use of many of the cutting tools normally employed in the lathe. In practice, for normal work, a very
few basic tool shapes will suffice. These are a tool for roughing out,
lifting the cutting

and right-hand, that will serve for the

machining of shoulders and any overhung work such as machine
slides, a tool for cutting keyways and finally a spring tool for surface
a pair of knife tools left-hand

finishing.

The Roughing Out Tool

The type

of tool the author prefers to use for this

in Fig. 3 and also in Fig. 4

tool are given.

A similar

tool,

where the angles

but one that

it is

work

is

illustrated

for a general

offset so that

it is

purpose

able to machine

a vertical surface without the shank fouling the work,

is

illustrated

in Fig. 5. Tools of this nature can be obtained either right or left

handed and may well take the place of the knife tools previously
mentioned; unless, of course, the work in hand is the machining of

SHAPING MACHINE TOOLS

slide ways.

In

this case the

the base of the slide

shown
cut

is

when

nose of the tool

at

is

37

not well fitted to clear

the bottom of the slideway.

The

tool

however, a rounded base to the

needed then the point of the tool can be ground to the form
will cut a sharp corner.

depicted in Fig.

If,

6.

Key way Gutting Tool

The form

of tool used for cutting an external

the parting tool employed in a lathe. It

is

ground

keyway

is

akin to

to the shape

shown

width being controlled to some extent

by the size of the keyway to be cut and the rigidity or otherwise of
the machine it is proposed to employ for the purpose. When the
keyway is wide and the shaping machine somewhat lacking in
robustness then it pays to form the key way in two cuts. For internal
in the illustration Fig. 7, the

same tool form suffices, but the procedure is a little

specialised and will be dealt with in a later chapter where the subject
of cutting keyways both external and internal will be fully covered.
cutting the

Roughing out
Offset Roughing Tool for round corners
7 Tool for cutting external keyways

Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Fig.

Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Offset tool for

Tool for finishing surfaces

Tool for finishing surfaces

THE SHAPING MACHINE

38

Surface Finishing Tools

The surface finish produced by a roughing tool may well suffice

for much of the work undertaken in the shaper. On the other hand
there are times when a smooth finish must be produced and it is
then that the tools illustrated in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 can be used with
advantage. Both are scraping tools, intended for taking off no more
f me tal at a pass. The first tool depicted
than 0.002 in. to 0.003
is

similar to a spring tool sometimes used for finishing

lathe.

In fact that

is just

what

it is.

w ork
r

in the

When used in the shaping machine

how ever, the cutting edge needs to be very slightly curved in the
manner seen in the diagram Fig. 9. Some consider that the clapper
box should be locked when a finishing tool is in use. As this is a
r

provision advisable in other shaping operations, the various w^ays of

locking the clapper box will be described in a later chapter.
Clearance and rake angles given for the various tools described

machining of cast iron and

For brass, of course, no top rake is

are suitable for general purposes in the

steel

including stainless

steel.

needed but the clearances can be retained as shown in all cases.

Light alloys will take considerably more top rake than the general
tools depicted, but even these have been found to give good service.
For those readers who wish for more advice on this subject perhaps
we may recommend 'Lathe and Shaping Machine Tools published
by Model and Allied Publications Ltd. where full information may
be obtained.

Fig. 9 A

Group

of

Shaping Machine Tools

SHAPING MACHINE TOOLS

Fig. 10

39

Tool for holding round tool bits

Special Purpose Tools

So

far

we have considered

one-piece tools, that

is

tools having

made from a single piece of tool

possible to make a simple shank fitted

the cutting portion and the shank

steel.

It is,

however, quite

with a head that will accept round tool steel; this can be ground to
the shape required, and held in the finished tool at any angle desired.

The

device illustrated in Fig. io

an example, it consists of a
shank (i) carrying a drawbolt (2) that passes through the sleeve (3).
The tool bit seen in the illustration passes through both the sleeve
and the draw bolt and is gripped between them by the tension
applied by the nut (4). In the interests of good design a washer (5) is
interposed between the face of the shank and the nut. The shank of
the particular tool illustrated in Fig. 11 at A was made from an
old bicycle crank machined to the dimensions given in the accompanying detailed drawings. Many of those readers interested in

making

is

no doubt, be able to do so without further

instruction. Those who do need further help will find it in the book
this tool will,

already referred

In passing
its

it

to.

may be worth

noting that the tool in question carries

cutter bit well behind the point of spring referred to at the

beginning of the chapter.

To

this

end the shank

is

mounted

in the

THE SHAPING MACHINE

40

Fig. 12
(A) Parting Tool Holder
(B) Tool for cutting internal keyways

Fig. 11

(A)
(B)

Tool Holder made from a cycle crank

Holder for small square tool bits

clapper box with the lock nut of the cutter head facing forwards.

For those whose work

holder seen

at

of a

is

somewhat

delicate nature the tool

may be used with advantage. It accomsuch as may be bought at reputable tool

in Fig. 11

modates standard tool bits

merchants. So half-a-dozen such bits ground to forms suitable for
the work normally undertaken, may likely fill the requirements of
the user.

Such tool holders are

and are easily adapted

substantial, being

to

fit

made from

steel forgings

box of the shaping

needed this should not

into the clapper

machine. If modification to the holder is

involve cutting its shank to less than half-an-inch, in cross section
or the device as a whole

may

be unduly weakened.
/

Tool for External Keyway Gutting

The

tool illustrated in Fig. 12 is in fact a lathe parting tool pro-

vided with a detachable blade. Such a tool is useful for cutting

external keyways but the blade itself must not be extended too far
or the lack of rigidity possessed by it will probably spoil the work.

The method

of centring such a tool in relation to the

be explained in a

work

itself will

later chapter.

Tool for Gutting Internal Keyways

The shaping machine

is

well fitted to cut internal keyways pro-

vided that suitable tools are provided for the purpose. One such
device is illustrated in Fig. 13. It consists of a shank A to which is
attached a circular cutter bar B.

The

cutter itself

is

ground

to

SHAPING MACHINE TOOLS

Details of Small

Sawing Tool

CLAMP SCREWS
2 B.A.

SAW BLADE
HOLDER

H.S.S.

BLADE

Fig. 14

Small Sawing Tool

Fig. 15

Large Tool for

Sawing

THE SHAPING MACHINE

42

form shown

diagram Fig. 7 and is held in place by the

set screw seen at the right-hand end of the bar. The lock nut at the
opposite end permits the bar to be turned so that the cutter may
approach the work at any angle desired. In the illustration the cutter
is seen facing forwards. In use this is not so since the device needs
to be pulled through the w ork on the back stroke of the shaping
machine. This action requires the clapper box to be locked in order
to prevent the tool from lifting in the normal manner on the return
the

in the

stroke.

Tools for Sawing

Many

making certain components, a

sawing operation was required. At the time, and with the equipment
then available, the shaping machine w as considered to be the best
medium for carrying out the work in a simple manner. Accordingly,
the simple small tool depicted in Fig. 14 was evolved. The body of
years ago, in the course of

the device

holder

is

is split

the holder for boring tools used in the lathe. This

axially

by

a saw cut
r

screws which normally serve to

The

and

make

is fitted

w ith
r

a pair of pinch

the holder grip the boring tool.

sawcut, however, can be used to grip a short length of hacksaw

blade that

may be

in the clapper

found

to

applied to the work once the holder has been set

box and the machine

set in motion.

be quite successful in practice. So

much

This device was

so, in fact, that

the

enlarged version illustrated in Fig. 15 was developed to deal with

work needing a tool with rather greater capacity.
Fig. 13

Small Sawing Tool with work

ADDITIONS TO THE MACHINE

CHAPTER

Additions

to

the

43

Machine

as a result of keeping a machine tool specifically designed for the

amateur to an acceptable price level, there are often a few, perhaps

minor, shortcomings that are usually within the capabilities of its
owner to put right. The shaping machine is no exception. Here
some of the improvements that can be carried out concern the tool
slide itself.

In Fig.

workshop
and these

the tool slide of the Acorn Tools shaper in the authors

Three modifications have been made to it,

examples that may be applied to other makes

is illustrated.

will serve as

of machine.
Fig.

Acorn Tools Shaper Tool Slide

THE SHAPING MACHINE

Fig. 2

Original Feed Screw Handle

The Feed Screw Handle

The handle

which came with the shaper is

has been set alongside the component

for the feed screw

illustrated in Fig. 2.

A 3-in. rule

in order that the reader

Fig. 3

may

the

more

readily assess

Modified Feed Screw Handle

its size.

From

ADDITIONS TO THE MACHINE

this estimation

45

appear that the effective leverage is

very small since the centre line of the handle is not much more than
it

will readily

ij in. from the centre of the feed screw.

Such

a figure

working so the modified handle,

and detailed in Fig. 3, was made and

insufficient for comfortable

trated at

to the feed

leverage, as

in Fig.

screw

may

is

itself.

The new handle

has a

much

really
illus-

fitted

increased

be seen from the drawing, thus giving the operator

The few parts needed

made. The keyway

in both the lever and distance piece can be formed either by filing
or by a machining operation using the lathe itself as a shaper.
greater comfort.

are readily

Gib Strip Lock Screws

As will be seen the tool

slide is

provided with a

number of adjusting

screws that bear on the gib strip and remove any shake in the slide

may arise. A word or two here, on the subject of these adjusting

screws may not be out of place. Fig. 4 depicts diagrammatically a
pair of adjusting screws making contact with a gib strip. At A is

that

sometimes encountered, fortunately only rarely, where a

dog-ended set screw has been used. Now the adjusting screws have
a dual role to play; not only must they be capable of taking up
slack but they must also restrain the gib itself so the strip is dimpled
and the point of the screw pointed so that it can enter the dimple as
depicted at B.
It is a good practice to provide one or more lock screws independent of those used for adjusting purposes. This avoids disturbing
the gib strip adjustment and ensures that once the depth of cut has
been set it will stay put. A pair of lock screws may be seen in
Fig. 1 at B with details of a suitable design in the illustration
a condition

THE SHAPING MACHINE

46

be noted the distance pieces have not been

shown. They do not have any real technical significance, but do,
Fig. 5, where,

make

perhaps,
if (as it

it

will

a contribution in the course of tidiness, particularly

should be) the slide

counterbored slightly to receive them.

is

book various methods of locking the clapper box

have been described. One of these concerned a clapper fitted with
an American type of tool post. It may be of interest to refer to Fig. 1
where the cap screw locking the clapper may be seen at
Earlier in the

Automatic

Down

Feed for the Tool Slide

Very few small power- driven shaping machines are

automatic feed to the tool

work
for

table, or in

much

of the

slide.

fitted

with an

Whilst automatic traverse to the

some makes of machine the ram

slide,

w ork

doubt that much

undertaken, there

is little

may

suffice

be had from a tool slide having automatic feed.

The 7-in. Acorn Tools machine in the authors workshop has now
been fitted with such a device which has much increased the general
capability of a single-handed shop where two different machines
gain

is

to

are often in

work

at the

As modified the

same

time.

turned by a pawl-andratchet system driven by the mechanism depicted in Fig. 6. This

Fig. 6

tool slide feed screw

General Arrangement

of the

is

automatic down feed for the shaping

machine

ADDITIONS TO THE MACHINE

47

consists of a length of rack, 20 diametral pitch, fixed to a bracket

mounted on top of the ram

slide gib strip, three of the original gib

screws being used for the purpose of securing the bracket.

rack engages a quadrant gear cut from a 100 tooth change wheel

strip set

The

and on

this gear is

fixed to the

arm. In this

mounted

a driving

arm

slotted so that a ball joint

end of the connecting rod can be adjusted

way

radially in the

a fine or coarse feed can be selected at will, varying

from 0.003 m t0 - 0I 2 in- according to the number of teeth on the

ratchet wheel that are gathered by the pawl. The quadrant gear
itself is mounted on a stud carried by a bracket clamped to the ram
-

position lock plate.

The Connecting Rod

The rod

with ball joints at each end, and has a clamping

device at the centre, similar to that of a collet chuck. The reason for
fitted

this provision is that

when

adjusting the position of the

ram

it

often be necessary to vary the length of the connecting rod.

assembly

is

depicted in Fig.

7.

may
The

THE SHAPING MACHINE

48

r
/

Fig. 7 A

The
fitted

'
'

The Connecting Rod Stroke Adjustment Lock

each end of the rod are of a type sometimes

to carburetter controls on motor cars. That at the feedscrew
ball joints at

end of the rod

other

'
"

is

is

fixed to the ratchet-and-pawl

mechanism

whilst the

provided with the adjustment lock illustrated in Fig. 7A.

This consists of the parts depicted, the shoulder nut and distance
piece forming a clamp for the driving arm that is operated by the
ball itself. The ball has two flats machined upon its shank, so that a
spanner can be used to turn it when the ball joint needs adjustment
on the driving arm. For convenience sake a small ring spanner has
been made and permanently attached to the ball and secured by the
taper pin seen in the illustration.

The Driving
This part

is

Arm

attached to the quadrant gear and

mounted on an

axial

extension to that gear, so designed as to enable the ball joint to be

set

on

either side of the

arm and clamped there. Changing the

an important provision when

over steeply in relation to its normal

of the ball from one side to the other

the tool slide needs to be set

position

is

upright position.

The Quadrant Gear

The
pitch a

100T change wheel of 20 diametral

wheel obtainable from Myford Ltd. in fact. As a maximum

gear

is

cut from a standard

ADDITIONS TO THE MACHINE

49

ram movement

of 7 in. has to be catered for, half the wheel has to

be used in order to engage the 8-in. long rack. For those w ho may be
T

contemplating applying the modification being described to another

make of shaping machine, it may be as well to indicate the manner in

which the number of gear teeth required

of teeth

The

is

is

calculated

The number

arrived at in this way.

circular pitch (that is the centre of one tooth to the centre

of the next) of a gear of

metral pitch

is

diametral pitch

divided by 3.1416

so, in this case,

w hen
T

the dia-

the pitch

is:

3- I 4 1

Therefore, in order to obtain the

in.

given

- 0.157

20

20 D.P. rack 8

is

long the

number

maximum engagement

for a

of teeth in the quadrant gear

will be:

^50

teeth approximately

The Quadrant Gear Bracket

When designing the automatic down feed for
shaping machine

it

was deemed unwise

to drill

the

Acorn Tools

any new holes in the

lO

THE SHAPING MACHINE

castings or parts of the shaper

carrying the quadrant gear

is

itself.

clamped

the positional adjustment for the

Fig. 9

ram

For

this reason the bracket

to the block
itself.

forming part of

Fortunately, the block

Bracket for the Rack

ADDITIONS TO THE MACHINE

51

already has two holes 2BA. Normally these are used to house screws

provided for securing the indicator pointer that shows the length
of stroke that the ram has been set to make. However, in this instance
these holes serve well for the attachment of the back plate of the

quadrant gear bracket as seen in the

The two
restrained

illustration Fig. 8.

screw s only secure the bracket plate and these are

by

a pair of tubular distance pieces seen in the sketch. In

way, the bracket and backplate are kept from tipping inwards.
The distance pieces are made a few thousandths-of-an-inch less
than the width of the block itself, thus providing a positive grip on
the block by the two plates forming the main components of the
this

quadrant gear bracket.

Rack Bracket

The

bracket carrying the rack illustrated in Fig.

length of i-in. angle iron.

As has

9, is

already been shown,

cut from a

it is

mounted

ADDITIONS TO THE MACHINE

on the ram gib
the gib strip

strip

and

is

53

secured by three of the screws that secure

itself.

The Ratchet Wheels and Accompanying

The wheel
0.003 m The

Details

has 30 teeth or notches, each notch moving the tool

arm

below this wheel and is retained in

place by a washer set above the nut controlling the end-float of the
feed screw. The ratchet itself is mounted on the arm and is a selfcontained unit consisting of a plunger and spring carried in a housing.
In service, the plunger is withdrawn from contact with the ratchet
wheel by turning the ball screwed to the end of the plunger spindle.
An assembly of the ratchet and ratchet wheel may be seen in the
-

ratchet

is

sited

illustration Fig. io.

The Detent
The
very

feed screw of the tool slide on the Acorn Tools shaper works

easily,

so

it

has been found necessary to provide a spring-

whose purpose

wheel from
reversing direction each time the ratchet itself moves back to collect
another tooth on the wheel. The arrangement of this detent are
depicted in the assembly drawing Fig. 11, where the components of
the fitment may be seen. The detent arm is pivoted and is supported
by a stud attached to a small base plate. This plate also forms an
anchorage point for one end of the control spring, the other being
attached to the detent itself. In order to clear the ratchet wheel, the
spring needs to be carried below the plate; extended anchorages are
controlled detent

is

to prevent the ratchet

therefore attached to the detent as well as to the plate

detent unit as a whole

is

itself.

The

attached to a pillar forming an extension of

the hexagon screw holding the tool slide bearing plate in place.

screwed to the detent itself to enable it to

be swung quickly in or out of contact with the ratchet wheel as
required. The complete equipment is seen mounted on the shaping
small ball-ended lever

machine

in Figs. 12

is

and

13.

THE SHAPING MACHINE

54

CHAPTER

Servicing the Tools

as

with any other machine

is

subjected to conditions generating

used
with it is of the utmost importance. No good work can be produced
on a machine whose tools are blunt, so the shaper is no exception to
the necessity for keeping them in good fettle.
In the previous chapter the various types of tool for use with the
shaper have been discussed, but nothing has been said as to the
various materials from which they can be produced.
As has been seen, many of the tools applicable to lathe work
can be used in a shaper so a whole battery of special equipment
designed specifically for it is really not needed.
In the past commercially produced sets of lathe tools tended to
be made from carbon steel, a material of fair durability and capable
of easy forming, hardening and tempering generally by the machine
operator himself. However, its inability to remain sharp for long
periods and its proneness to lose its temper when the cutting edge
tools the condition of the cutters

much

heat, has led almost

universally to the adoption of high-speed steel for the

necessary cutting tools.

Fig.

The Tungsten Carbide Tool

making of the

SERVICING THE TOOLS

Fig. 2

The

Electric Grinder with

55

Angular Rest

use of high-speed steel has ruled out the operator as the

producer of the tool itself, since he has neither the knowledge

nor the equipment to do so. However, he can be expected to keep it
sharp once handed to him, a matter to which we shall presently refer.
The carbon steel tool, on the other hand, although it suffers from
the limitations that have been mentioned, can, as has been said
earlier be formed by the operator himself when needed.
Both carbon and high-speed steel tools are satisfactory when
machining drawn or rolled materials. When it comes to dealing with
castings, however, the surface sand inclusion or in the case of cast
iron, the chill spots (that is local hardening) often encountered
immediately destroy the sharp edge of tools made from either carbon

initial

or high-speed steel. It

is

then that tungsten carbide can be employed

with advantage to remove the surface material from the castings.

Tungsten Carbide
Tungsten carbide

is

a sintered product of great hardness capable

of cutting through the surface of a casting without losing the edge

made from

The

most part
shapes that are themselves grafted on to steel

sharpness of any tool

it.

carbide, for the

formed into tool

shanks by a brazing process. In this way the minimum of expensive
material is used and the tool as a whole is given adequate mechanical
strength. The arrangement is depicted in the illustration Fig. i.
The brazed joint can be made by a simple silver soldering process

is

THE SHAPING MACHINE

56

and this is usually adequate for most of the operations carried out
by the amateur and in the small professional workshop. But it must
be remembered that like many another metal cutting machine, the
shaper operates with a series of interrupted cuts, that
load on the tool
stroke

and then

itself is
is

applied at

its

relieved suddenly

maximum
when

the

is

to say the

during the cutting

ram

reverses.

This

action tends to break the brazed joint, and has led industry to experi-

ment wdth improved methods of brazing designed to prevent the

carbide tips from detaching themselves under conditions that might
prove dangerous.
Nevertheless, the owner of a shaping machine would be well

advised to provide himself with at least one carbide tipped tool for

use in the

initial stages

of machining a casting.

Other composite-material tools such as stellite are intended for

heavy machining and are not likely to be of much import to the
amateur user.

Grinding and Honing

Sharpening the tools for the shaping machine can be carried out in
two ways. Firstly, when the tool is seriously blunted it must be reground on a suitable abrasive wheel. Secondly, if the cutting edge
has become dulled, the tool can often be restored to its former
efficiency by simply honing the cutting edge with a hand stone, a
practice that can be employed with advantage following the grinding
operation.

The

information contained in Chapter

IV

relating to the various

types of tool in use includes the angles to which the tools should be

ground

in order to obtain

maximum

serviceability. In industry the

angles are often imparted free hand. Whilst the professional worker

can often achieve success in this respect, the amateur needs some

For the most part the tool rests fitted to

grinding machines are fixed. This limits their versatility and involves
the user canting the tool during the grinding operation and judging
the angle by eye as he does so.
However, this difficulty can be remedied if the tool rests are made
so that they can be fitted at any angle required. The fitting of an
angular rest to a tool grinding machine is work for the user himself
for there seem to be no commercial examples available.
An electric bench grinder with an angular rest is illustrated in
Fig. 2. As will be seen, the table of the rest, which supports the
tool during the grinding process, can be set and locked at the required
angle for servicing the tool in need of treatment. Tools are ground on
assistance in the matter.

SERVICING THE TOOLS

57

the side of the wheel, either side being used according to the handling
of the tool, and the rake or clearance angles to be imparted to

diagrammatic example to

illustrate the

method

is

given in Fig.

it.

3.

Grinding Swan -neck Tools

Tools that are straight-shanked are placed directly on the table of
the rest. Swan-neck tools, however, do present some little difficulty
but this is easily resolved if the procedure depicted in Fig. 4 is
employed.
Here, the tool is supported on a packing piece so that the swan
neck can clear the surface of the table itself. A loose packing piece
will serve if only the odd tool needs grinding; should there be a
number of tools to deal with, however, it would be advisable to
make the packing a fixture that can be removed or replaced as
necessary.

have been observed that the tool needs to be ground on

one side of the wheel or the other according to the tools handling. If
much tool servicing is likely to be undertaken then an angular rest of
the type illustrated in Fig. 5 may be found convenient. The conIt will

form of

be apparent from the illustration

w here it will be seen that there are in effect two separate angular
rests that may be set and locked at the requisite angles. In this way
struction of this

rest will

re-adjustment of the grinding rest to accommodate handed tools

avoided.

is

THE SHAPING MACHINE

5
It

is

somewhat

pointless to provide working drawings for the

device as detail dimensions will obviously depend on the particular

grinder involved in the application.

Grinding Wheels

Recommendations on the

class of grinding

wheel to be employed

for tool grinding

have been given elsewhere in the past notably in

Lathe and Shaping Machine Tools The Novices Workshop and The
,

Amateurs Workshop all published by Model & Allied Press Limited.

However, to recapitulate some of the advice given in these
,

manuals,

if

possible a pair of grinding wheels should be provided;

one for rough grinding and forming when needed, the other for
finishing.

For roughing out

a 60 grit

w heel
r

is

commonly employed, whilst

wheel composed of abrasive

on a
grains designated 8 3 grit. If the workshop is normally involved in
the turning of small and delicate components then a ioo grit wheel
may be advisable.
finish grinding is best carried out

Fig. 5

Modified Angular Grinding Rest

SERVICING THE TOOLS

Fig.

5A

Showing the construction

59

of the Rest

Grinding Wheel Speeds

In the small workshop the grinding wheels are usually mounted
on the spindle of a bench machine running at 3,500 r.p.m., the
correct speed for wheels of 6 in. diameter and giving to them a cutting
rate of 5,500 surface feet per minute approximately, this being the
rate commonly recognised as being the most efficient for all general
purposes.

For those who use or contemplate using wheels of a diameter

differing from the example given above, the following table may be of
interest:

Wheel

dia. in

inches

Speed r.p.m.

6,000

45

3,500

2,200

10

i,75

Grinding Tungsten Carbide Tools

Carbide tools cannot be properly ground on the abrasive wheels
normally used with off-hand grinding machines. They can, however,
be sharpened with an abrasive wheel known as a green grit wheel.

THE SHAPING MACHINE

6o

used for rough grinding, and is

followed by a diamond impregnated wheel to impart the fine edge
necessary for some work. Nevertheless, the green grit wheel, if well
lubricated with a thin mineral oil, will provide a sufficiently keen
Industrially a wheel of this type

is

edge for dealing with work in the small workshop.

When grinding tungsten carbide tools one should remember that
the material itself has little mechanical strength. Therefore on no
account should these tools be ground on the rim of the wheel since
grinding in this way produces undercutting that weakens the cutting
edge.

The

friability of the carbide material

makes

a special grinding

which the direction of the wheel is downwards toward the cutting edge and NOT away from it. To achieve
this requirement a cup wheel needs to be used, with a hinged tool
rest set across the face of the wheel and a driving motor that can be
reversed. In this way the tool can be presented in such a way that
the wheel always cuts downwards. A typical grinder used for sertechnique

essential, in

vicing carbide tools

is

illustrated in Fig. 6.

Fig. 6

Fig.

6A

Grinder for Carbide Tools

Showing the Angular Adjustment

for the

Grinding Rest

INSTALLING THE MACHINE

CHAPTER

Machine

Installing the
whether the shaper

6l

hand or machine powered, it is essential

that the stand prepared for it is strong and capable of holding the
machine firmly. This requirement is particularly important in the
case of hand-powered machines where a firm foundation will make
all the difference between being able to take a heavy cut and being
reduced to

light

is

working only.

When Drummond

Brothers were in production with their shaping

machine it was possible to obtain a heavy cast iron stand for it. This
stand was so designed that the column supporting the machine was
set well back on a footing of quite large area. In this way the stand
itself

could cope with

all

the forces normally acting in a shaping

operation, and the foundation bolts,

the machine in place.

if

used, merely served to retain

The Drummond

pedestal could be obtained

two heights, one for working standing up the other for operating
the machine sitting down.
This was an important alternative provision, and one that had a
profound bearing on the installation generally. Before mounting the
shaper then, one must first decide if it is to be used with the operator
standing or, alternatively, with him sitting. For the first position a
mounting on a work bench of normal height is, for the most part,
quite satisfactory. To obtain a comfortable working height when
sitting however, it is possible to make a 'dummy run with the
machine set up on a wooden box and packed up till the situation is
satisfactory. A firm mounting can then be constructed to suit the
conditions so found. Wooden benching to support machines should
at all times be amply strong and well braced. If the bench is free
standing the legs should be made from 4-in. square material and the
top from 9 in. by 2 in. deal planking. The framing, tenoned into
the leg mortices, should be from if in. to 2 in. thick to allow ample
room for the wooden keys that hold the frame together, as depicted
in

in the illustration Fig.

1.

The upper members of the bench can be made deeper with

advantage. They should be set flush with the top of the legs to allow

THE SHAPING MACHINE

62

Fig.

Detail of

Bench Lower Members

the bench top to be screwed to them.

The arrangement

is

illustrated

in Fig. 2.

members are to be tenoned these will need to be

staggered as depicted at A and B in Fig. 2. It is probably best to
peg the cross members in a short tenon and to confine detachable
tenons to the longitudinal members only.
If all horizontal

Ferro Concrete as a Mounting for the Shaper

The heading

for this part of the chapter

may come

as a surprise to

INSTALLING THE MACHINE

many

readers.

The

author can assure them, however, that

63
it is

a very

problem of providing adequate support for

a shaping machine, having been used by him to mount the shaper
illustrated in Chapter I, Fig. i. Obviously a ferro-concrete stand
can only be used when the floor of the workshop itself is also made
of concrete, or one is prepared to construct a special foundation for
practical solution to the

the stand.

Assuming

that the floor

is

made

of concrete then the sur-

up by chipping with a cold chisel, this

will provide a key for the new concrete. Next a simple re-inforced
structure of iron pipe or old angle iron will have to be set up and
shuttering assembled to hold the newly poured concrete. The method
face needs first to be broken

is

depicted in the illustration Fig.

The

stand can be tapered as

according to

taste.

3.

shown

in the sketch, or parallel sided

simple template must be prepared to hold

the machine fixing bolts. This

is

nailed to the top of the shuttering

but need not be put in place till the last few inches of concrete are to
be poured and tamped down. The template will, of course, have
provision for doing so.

The

fixing bolts should have square plates about 2 in.

welded or brazed
lifting

it

in.

them; these will prevent the bolts turning or

when the shaping machine itself is set in place.
to

If care is taken to see that the top of the shuttering is

level

by 2

can be used for trowelling

off.

This

square and

will save a deal of subse-

quent work in setting the shaper itself level.

Do not on any account be in a hurry to mount the machine, but

MACHINE

FIXING BOLTS

THE SHAPING MACHINE

64

Fig. 3 A

Ferro Concrete stands in the authors workshop

allow the cement to dry thoroughly before doing so.

The

shuttering

can then be taken away and the column rendered wdth fine concrete
(cement and sharp sand only in the ratio of three of sand to one of

cement)

Two

if this is

thought desirable.

workshop owned by the author

some 40 years ago are seen in the illustration Fig. 3A. These stands
were constructed by the methods just described and must be
considered both neat and effective.
ferro concrete stands in a

Levelling the Machine

It is

always advisable to make sure that the shaping machine

set perfectly level

on whatever mounting

is

provided for

it.

is

Industry

always takes great pains to make sure that the machine tools in their
possession are installed in a level condition; with this proviso satisfied
it is

then possible to set work true on the selected machine by means

of a spirit level only.

A shaping machine is the type of tool that can usefully be operated

in this way, so the small

workshop would do well

shaper installed in the shop

table of the

machine needs

diagrammatically in Fig.

is

perfectly level.

to

any
Accordingly the work
to see that

be tested in the manner depicted

4.

Packing can then be placed under the machine at any points

necessary to render it level. The holding down bolts can then be
tightened and a further check made to see if the work table remains

INSTALLING THE MACHINE

level; if not,

made

further remedial methods

until the

machine

is

found

to

65

and checks will have

be accurately mounted.

to be

Electrical Installation

While hand-powered shapers, perhaps, need only

system

for

comfortable

their

working,

an

a local lighting

electrically-powered

shock proof wiring system for safety. Modern

self-contained shaping machines, such as those already described,

machine requires

have their driving motors and the attendant switch gear built into
or made part of the main framework as a whole. Accordingly the
the machine itself needs to be properly earthed so that it can be
operated in complete safety.
In the small workshop, where at most two or three tools are in
use at any one time, the electrical supply for the most part will be

This can be fed to

any machine involved through a system of plugs and sockets placed
strategically under the benches supporting the machines themselves.
In the past there has, unfortunately, been some confusion in the
colour marking of electrical cables, particularly those fitted to
equipment coming from abroad. In a bid to end the disparity, agreement has been reached with the European countries to standardise
colours for the live, neutral and earth wires comprising the flex

single phase alternating current at 230-240 volts.

Fig. 4

Levelling the Shaping Machine

THE SHAPING MACHINE

66

New

Old Colours

Colours
Green Yellow
to Earth

Brown to
Live

Blue to
Neutral

Diagram

Fig. 5

of old

and new wiring colours and plug connections

cables available for use with portable

appliances.

As an

equipment such

as

household

aid to the recognition of the identification colouring

by the
British Government showing the correct cable connections to any
plugs to be used. It is assumed of course that the wiring to the
sockets themselves will, as they should be, have been made by a
of the individual wires themselves, a leaflet has been issued

qualified electrician.

In Fig.

5,

the diagram issued by the

Government

is

reproduced.

Here the old colouring is given together with the alternative markings
on the plugs themselves. By comparison the new cable colours are
shown and also the new simplified marking for the plug connecting
pins.

Connecting Plugs Correctly

The

following directions should be followed

when making con-

nections from electrical apparatus:

(1)

Make any

connections in accordance with Fig.

connecting screws are

(2) If

and see

all

tight.

any other colours appear in the cable connected to the

apparatus, consult a qualified electrician before attaching a

plug.
(3)

Never use

(4)

Do

a two-pin plug to connect to a three-way flex.

not use the earth terminal

when connecting

a two-wire

flex to a three-pin plug.

(5) If the

apparatus

is

metal-cased, or has a motor built into

it

in

accordance with some light machine tools, a three-wire flex

should be used connected to a three-pin plug. The only
exception to this requirement is when the apparatus is marked
[nj

which denotes that

require to be earthed.

it is

double insulated and so does not

MOUNTING THE WORK

CHAPTER

67

Mounting the Work

experience in using a shaping machine will very soon reveal that
it is

a tool of

much

versatility,

and that some work, which

at first

might be thought unsuitable to its abilities, is well within the

scope of the performance of any well-designed shaper.
So much can be done with the tool that it is manifestly impossible,
in a short space, to list and describe in some detail all the varying
operations of which the machine is capable. However, in dealing
with some of the standard jobs, with perhaps in addition, a few of
the more unconventional ones, it is hoped that the reader, when he
comes to use his shaping machine, will be in a better position to
exploit its potential more fully. But first of all the subject of holding
the work on the machine must be considered.
sight

Holding the
As, for the most part,

many

Work

of the jobs undertaken in the shaping

machine by amateurs involve small components, holding them is

usually a matter of gripping the parts in an accurate machine vice.
Makers of power-driven shapers appear to consider that the provision
of an accurate vice is an essential prerequisite to the satisfactory
working of their tools, so take steps to see that the equipment
includes an accurate vice designed specifically to fit their particular
machine.

very good example of a purpose-made vice

shaper in the authors workshop. This

The

is

is

that fitted to the

depicted in the illustration

mounted on a base plate (18) that can be

secured to the work table by means of four T-slot bolts. A key (20)
is secured to the underside of the base engaging a keyivay machined
Fig.

1.

vice itself

is

with the middle T-slot of the table itself.

In this way the vice has a datum that wall ensure accurate replacement when for any reason, the vice is removed from the table.

in

it

as ivell as registering

standing jaw of the vice (16) swivels on the base and i6

secured to it by bolts (22) set in a circular T-slot machined in the

The

base.

THE SHAPING MACHINE

68

The

on the fixed jaw and is secured by a

pair of clamps held in place by screws (8). One of the more important
considerations in any machine vice is that the faces of the standing
and moving jaws should remain perfectly parallel when work is
clamped in place. The moving jaw must therefore be free to slide
but must not lift when clamping pressure is applied to it. In the
Acorn Tools vice peel-off shims (6) are provided to make any necessary adjustment, to the clamps and to ensure that the jaw remains
firm and does not lift.
The feed screw (9) for the moving jaw has a square thread and is
provided with end float adjustment. It passes through the feed-screw
support plate (11) and is supported at the opposite end to the plate
by the casting of the vice itself. In conclusion, a word about the jaw
linings (3) and (17). These have smooth faces as befits equipment
sliding

jaw

(3) slides

intended for holding partly finished work.

from unhardened

The

linings are

made

steel.

The Perfecto Vice

The

vice

made

for the Perfecto shaper is illustrated in Fig. 2.

This vice has a jaw width of

The

base

is

3 in.

designed for clamping directly to the work table

Fig. 2

The Perfecto Machine Vice

MOUNTING THE WORK

itself

using dogs.

The

69

jaw moves on a V-slide provided with

the jaw can be eliminated by tightening

sliding

a gib strip, so any shake in

the gib strip adjusting screws.

The Offen Vice

The vice seen in the illustration Fig. 3 is
made expressly for toolmakers. It is intended

component
for use on any machine
tool to which it can be attached satisfactorily, and to this end is
provided with slots all round the base to accommodate any clamping
device that may be available. The base is machined from a solid
block of steel that is subsequently hardened and ground on all faces

20

Fig.

The Acorn Tools Shaper Vice

25-

a precision

THE SHAPING MACHINE

Fig. 3

to ensure the

maximum

The Offen Toolmakers Vice

possible accuracy.

The moving jaw

slides

on an angled and detachable tenon fitted at the factory to close

limits that ensure the moving jaw will not lift when work is clamped
within the vice.

clamp screw

The Offen
mounting

One

interesting point

is

the protector fitted to the

itself.

vice,

being of solid construction,

is

ideally suited for

with the shaping machine itself

Securing it in this way enables the user to machine small components
gripped in the vice often rather more conveniently than by conventional methods.
in the actual vice supplied

MOUNTING THE WORK

71

Fig. 4

Underside

Fig.

of the

Myford Vice

4A

The Myford Machine Vice

The

Eclipse vice

for use in the

made by James

Neill of Sheffield

is

also suitable

manner described above.

For the small shaping machine the inexpensive but thoroughly

practical machine vice marketed by the Myford Engineering Company can be recommended. It was designed for use with the milling
slides supplied by that company, and is of substantial but simple
construction in pursuance of the policy for the production of practical
but reasonably priced fitments. The details of the Myford machine
vice will be apparent from an inspection of the illustration Fig. 4.
As it is sometimes possible to obtain suitable machine vices at
second-hand, it may not be out of place, at this point, to consider

how

they

may be checked

for accuracy. In the first instance

any

second-hand vice being considered for inclusion in the shapers

equipment should first be examined visually. If it exhibits signs of
maltreatment and a generally battered air, the would be purchaser is
advised to reject the vice out of hand unless he feels that provided
the vice is still accurate it could be restored easily from the appearance point of view.

Assuming

that the vice

may now proceed

on

to check

offer passes this first visual test

it

for the

depicted diagrammatically in Fig.

5.

common

In the

faults

first

listed

one
and

place, excessive

shake between the feedscrew and the thread in which it works will
betoken many hours in service. Restoration, here, could well be
outside the capabilities of the prospective buyer.

(1).

THE SHAPING MACHINE

72

(2)

The

standing jaw

is

out of square with the base of the vice.

MOUNTING THE WORK

(3)

The upper
parallel

(4)

73

which work may rest is not

with the bases under surface. This fault may occur in
surface of the base on

two places.
There is excessive lift in the moving jaw. A caveat, however,
must be entered here. In severe cases the fault depicted at (2)
can usually be detected by applying a precision square to the
jaw and measuring with a feeler gauge any gap that is revealed
between the blade of the square and the jaw face. If error is
still suspected it will be necessary to institute a more critical
examination.

The

set

up and

the equipment needed to carry out the test

depicted diagrammatically in Fig.

6.

vice of

known

accuracy

is

is

on the surface plate and a ground parallel gripped in its jaws.

The vice to be tested is set on this parallel which it is made to grip,
a roller being clamped between the vice's moving jaw and the
parallel itself. This procedure ensures that the moving jaw cannot
take charge and throw the vice base out of square with the steel
parallel. When this set-up has been completed a dial indicator is
applied to the base at the points A, B, C and D. It does not signify
if the vice has been set true laterally or not. Provided an indicator
reading at (A) is the same as that at (B), and conversely a reading at
(C) equals that at (D), then the standing jaw can be considered to
be square with the base. The fault (3) can be readily detected by
applying an indicator to the upper surface of the base as demonset

strated in Fig. 7.

An

identical indicator reading at all four points

the accuracy of the vice.

would confirm

the shaping machine

74

Excessive

when

lift

of the

a test piece

is

moving jaws,

fault (4), is easily detectable

placed within the jaws and gripped firmly. Any

can then be estimated by eye. However, a word about the caveat

referred to earlier. There are some vices that have means of holding
lift

down

cannot lift. The vice once fitted to

the Drummond shaper is an example in point. The moving jaw is
slotted and is supplied with a lock consisting of a hexagon-headed
screw passing through the jaw into the base of the vice as depicted
their

moving jaw

so that

it

in the illustration Fig. 8.

This arrangement also takes care of any inequality there may be

in the abutment of the faces of the vice jaws themselves. Indeed, it
allows work that is not parallel to be gripped firmly.
Fig. 9

The use

PARALLELS

of parallels in the

machine

^^^l-^-WORK

vice

MOUNTING THE WORK

r
/

Parallels

W ork to be machined

is

often too shallow to be supported directly

on the base of the vice and has to be raised so that it projects above
the vice jaws. This is the function of the parallels whose name heads
this paragraph. They are lengths of hardened steel of varying crosssectional measurement that can be set, usually in pairs, on the base
of the vice, so that any work resting on these parallels projects above
the vice jaws, as seen in Fig.

As shown

9.

in this illustration,

it

is

advisable to place strips of

paper on the parallels before setting the work in position. In this

way, by pulling the strips, one can check whether the work is seating
correctly. If not it can be tapped down with a lead or raw hide

hammer

remain firm. This procedure is carried

out, of course, with the work gripped firmly between the vice jaws.
As to the parallels themselves, these can conveniently take the
form of the ground steel toolbits obtainable from many merchants.
These bits have a wide range of size, both in length and in cross
section, and appear to be made to close limits of accuracy which fits
them admirably for much of the work undertaken in the shaping
until the paper strips

machine.

Securing the

Work

to the

Machine Table

In addition to holding work in the vice

mount some

parts directly on the

work

it

table

is

often necessary to

itself.

For

this

purpose

provided with either slots or T-slots, or sometimes a

combination of both, through which or into which, bolts are passed
to secure the component being machined. T-slots are machined from

the table

is

solid material, sufficient metal being allowed in the casting in order

to carry this out satisfactorily.

applied to small machine tools

The dimensions
is

of a typical slot as

depicted in Fig. 10. Slots machined

have adequate mechanical strength,

though some fall short in this respect; nevertheless, it pays to take
some elementary precautions to ensure that the slots remain un-

to these proportions usually

damaged when pressure is applied to the T-slots bolts. The bolts are
commonly machined from bar material with heads large enough to
provide an adequate contact area with the underside of the T-slot,

without which damage to the

slot

could easily occur. However

it is

well to initiate action that will help to eliminate any possible trouble.

be secured in the manner

T-slot breakage cannot possibly take place

If work, or a vice for example, can

depicted at (A) in Fig. 11,

because the wings of the slot are help

whereas

at (B) the

metal

is

down by

unsupported and

is

work itself;
being pulled up locally
the

THE SHAPING MACHINE

76

Fig. 11

against

Securing the T-slot

POINTS OF FRACTURE

damage

by the head of the

bolt.

The same

illustrated at (A) in Fig. 12.

Here

possible source of

a strap is holding

down

damage

is

the work-

but the T-slots are unprotected so there is every chance that

both will be damaged. However, all risk of fracture can be removed
by fitting collars over the bolts and holding these collars down with
the nuts seen in the illustration. The metal between the heads of the
bolts and the collars is then in compression and cannot possibly
be damaged.
piece,

Fig. 12

Possible cause of T-slot damage'

Supporting

Work

collars

MOUNTING THE WORK

77

As an

alternative to bolts the devices illustrated in Fig. 13 are

sometimes applicable. At (iV) an ordinary hexagon-head screw is

used in conjunction with a square nut placed in the T-slot. But care
needs to be taken to see that the screw does not foul the base of the
slot, and that there is clearance here when the work is made secure.
A better arrangement which spreads the load on the slot to a
greater degree is depicted at (B). The hexagon screw remains but
the square nut has given place to a block having considerable contact
area and a threaded portion of greater length. These blocks can be
of any convenient dimensions, and are often made to take more than
one screw. They are very suitable for use in somewhat fragile Tslots and are readily machined in the shaper itself.

Securing the Machine Vice

The

supplied by the makers of the shaping

fitting of the vice

machine

itself will

have been seen to by

its

manufacturers.

It is

the

fitment of the smaller vices referred to earlier in the chapter that call
for a

little

comment. For the most part they

with or without

machined

slots for the

are provided with wings,

acceptance of bolts, or have slots

in their bases so that the noses of dogs or

clamps

may be

applied to them.

When

clamps are used

it

may be

employ the fitment

be evident from the

possible to

components will
illustration, but it must be emphasised that the fulcrum screw needs
to be used head down, otherwise the point of the screw may well
indent the work table as soon as pressure is applied by the T-bolt
lock nut. Fittings of this type are of course used in multiple units.
illustrated in

Fig.

14.

Its

THE SHAPING MACHINE

CHAPTER

Some Representative Machine

Operations
AS has

already been

said,

it

is

manifestly impossible to detail the

procedure for every possible machining operation that can be performed in the shaping machine. In this chapter, therefore, it is
proposed to deal with some operations that are representative of the

many machining techniques that may be employed.

As much of the work undertaken involves the use
Fig.

Checking the Vice

of the machine

SOME REPRESENTATIVE MACHINE OPERATIONS

Fig. 2
vice,

it

Dial Indicator

79

Clamp

of the utmost importance to ensure that this fitment

is

set accurately in relation to the ram.

When

the vice assembly

is

is

tenon formed
on its base to assist in rapid accurate replacement when needed, the
makers sometimes leave the engraving of the zero lines on the graduof the type fitted to the

Acorn Tools shaper, and has

ated base to the eventual user of the shaping machine.

Setting the

The checking and

setting

is

Machine Vice

carried out with a dial test indicator

applied to the standing jaw of the vice, the indicator

mounted on the shaping machine ram. In one

indicator

is

being

place the foot of the

passed across the face of the vice jaw by moving the

ram by hand;

in the other the

table cross slide

movement

itself

is

ram remains

stationary whilst the

work

operated again by hand, to provide the necessary

of the vice jaw past the indicator foot. These proce-

dures are illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. i.

The dial indicator can most conveniently be attached to the toolpost or even,

by means of

a simple

and

easily

made clamp,

directly

A typical

clamp of this kind is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Its make-up will be evident from this illustration. The body (A)
is fitted with a spigot (B) and a clamp screw (C). The spigot serves
as a support for any ancillary fittings needed to secure the dial
indicator itself. The parts are easily made from the details given in
to the tool itself.

Fig- 3 An alternative

means of mounting the

dial indicator is

in Fig. 4.

Here the Eclipse magnetic base

is

depicted

seen supporting the

THE SHAPING MACHINE

8o

instrument which

machine vice

is

being used to carry out the setting of the

illustrated at (A) in Fig.

i.

The magnetic

base

is

device provided with a powerful magnet system that can be switched

by means of the button seen in Fig. 5 at the centre of the

base itself. The Eclipse equipment is perhaps too costly, and may
be overlarge, for use on the smaller shaping machines in w hich we
are primarily concerned. However, one of the powerful pot magnets,
also made by Eclipse, is quite suitable as an inexpensive substitute
for the larger magnetic base. These magnets have a tapped hole in
their upper surface, the authors example is threaded No. O.B.A.,
and into this hole can be set a spindle of the correct size to accommodate the clamp fittings commonly supplied for use wjth a dial
indicator. As has been said, the magnets are very powerful. The
largest being only 1 in. diameter, they take up little room so can be
used on quite a small flat surface. A typical indicator mounting using
a pot magnet is illustrated in Fig. 6. Having considered the matter of
setting the machine vice accurately we may now proceed to the
on and

off

description of various machining operations.

Squaring the Ends of Shafts

It is often necessary to machine flat surfaces on the end of a
shaft either to allow a spanner to be used on it or to provide a seating
for a handle with which to turn the shaft. The work is held in the
vice, having been first set level on parallels if necessary. Two dimensions need to be maintained; these are,

first,

the length of the

flat

SOME REPRESENTATIVE MACHINE OPERATIONS

8l

and secondly the measurement across the square itself.

Provided some form of stop can be contrived, the index on the
table feed screw can be used to preserve uniformity in the machined
length. If not the shaft should be coated with blue marking fluid
and marked off to show the limits of the machining. The set up is
illustrated in Fig. 7. The amount of down feed needed to cut the
finished squre to the right size is put on by the tool slide feed screw.
D-A
This amount is calculated from the formula t =
surfaces

Where

is

the diameter of the shaft and

shown

is

the dimension of

diagram Fig. 8. If the shaft is

large it is unlikely that the machining of any one flat surface can be
performed at a single cut. Two or more passes will normally be
required to complete one flat. After the first flat surface has been
shaped the shaft can be turned and set in the correct position for
machining the next flat by means of set square applied to the first
flat. This procedure is followed until all the work has been comthe finished square as

in the

pleted.

Machining the Ends

One

of Shafts

has sometimes to shape the ends of a shaft in order to form a

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Using the Eclipse Magnetic Base

The Eclipse Magnetic Base

82

dog that will fit into a corresponding slot in some other components.
An example in point is depicted diagrammatically in Fig. 9. If the
male component is very short it may be set up in the vice, gripped in
an accurate V-block to ensure that it is upright, and machined with
what amounts to a parting tool and so can cut on both side faces.
Some shaping machines have provision for mounting the vice on

Fig. 6

Indicator mounting

using a pot magnet

Fig. 7

Set up for machining

squares on shafts

Gutting a key in a
gearwheel
Fig. 10

SOME REPRESENTATIVE MACHINE OPERATIONS

Fig. 11

this facility.
a side

work

table, the

So when the work

mounted

Acorn Tools shaper

is

over long

it

example has
may need holding in
for

vice.

D
If the

keyway cutter
Centring the keyway cutter

(A) Setting the

(B)

the side of the

83

dimensions

shown

in Fig. 9 are

maintained the dog

be formed centrally at the end of the shaft. When actually

carrying out machining of this character, however, the author, for
the most part, leaves an extra [Link] in. on each side of the dog to be
will

finally

removed with

When much

a final cut controlled

by

tool slide feed screw.

material needs removal a pair of roughing out tools,

one right-hand and the other left-hand, will have to be used before
the tool actually depicted in Fig. 9 is brought into play.
Fig.

10A

Set up for cutting an internal key way

THE SHAPING MACHINE

84

Cutting Keyways

The

shaper can be used for the cutting of keyways, both internal

and external. The operation illustrated in Fig. io is the cutting of a

keyway in a small gearwheel. The tool is shown being pushed through
the work, whereas the author prefers to pull
this
is

way

it

through, because in

there can be no possibility of a dig-in. This arrangement

depicted diagrammatically in the illustration Fig. roA.

Small keyways are cut by a tool ground to the width of the actual
keyway required and fed into the work to the correct depth by the
tool slide. In a light machine a wide keyway would need to be

formed
It is

in

two or more

cuts.

always essential to make sure that the keyway

is

machined

While this proviso is not difficult to maintain

when external keyways are involved, it is not so simple to set the
centrally in the work.

tool centrally

when

cutting an internal keyway.

Fig. 12

Run-outs

for external

When

keyways

this process

SOME REPRESENTATIVE MACHINE OPERATIONS

85

being carried out the keyway must first be marked off. If this work
is performed accurately the tool can be aligned with the lines of the
marking off once the work itself has been set truly in the vice. The
is

procedure

well to scribe centre lines

It is

or a square

work

illustrated in Fig.

is

is

mounted on the

at (A).

on the work

tool can

The

When

required reading

calculation depicted in the diagram Fig.

its

gauge

cutting external

be centred by means of a reading taken with the

cross feed index dial.

Assuming

A surface

vice can then be used to ensure that the

then secured in the vice accurately.

keyways the

itself.

obtained from the

is

at (B).

work

that the tool has been aligned with the

as

shown by

dotted outline, in order to place the toolpoint centrally over the

work

it

must be moved

keyway ^

in.

22

distance^-

for a

Let us suppose a

width has to be cut with a tool of similar width

shaft \ in. dia. then

222
= 0.250"
= 0.212"

-f-

in a

I2 ~*

0.062"

This movement is imparted by the work table feed screw, as has

been said, and is measured by its index dial which is first set at zero
after the side of the tool has been aligned with the work itself in the

manner already

described.

After the tool has been centralised

brought into contact with

the work, the index collar on the tool slide is then set at zero so
that the amount of down feed required to machine the keyway to full
depth can be read off directly.
When internal keyways are being cut, the tool, for the most part,
has a clear passage through the work. Where external keyways are
it is

concerned this facility is not always available: it is therefore necessary

to provide a run out for the tool point, either by drilling a shallow
hole in the work as depicted at (A) in Fig. 12 or by machining an
undercut in the shaft as illustrated at (B). The drilled hole should
be slightly larger than the width of the keyway and somewhat
deeper than its depth. The ram must be set both for position and
stroke to make sure that the point of the tool cannot reach beyond
the half-diameter of the clearance hole.

Gutting Racks

An

operation for which the shaping machine

the cutting of teeth on a rack.

A rack may be

is

very suitable

is

defined as a gear wheel

THE SHAPING MACHINE

86

of infinitely large circumference having a tooth pitch line that

all

intents

and purposes,

flat.

is

for

Racks are used, in conjunction with

gears of a variety of diameter to provide

movement

to parts of

cameras and the like.

In order to cut a rack in the shaping machine a blank is first
prepared and machined in the vice as illustrated in Fig. 13. The
work needs to be flat and mounted in a level manner so that each
tooth in the rack can be cut to a uniform size.
Two distinct measurements govern the size of the finished rack
tooth which, in contradistinction to teeth in a gear wheel, is straight
sided and has an included angle of 29 degrees. The measurements
scientific instruments,

concerned

are:

Fig. 14

Proportions of a Rack

SOME REPRESENTATIVE MACHINE OPERATIONS

(a)

The

distance between the centres of one tooth

87

and the tooth

called the circular pitch.

adjacent to

it,

The depth

of the teeth themselves called the whole depth of

b)

(1

tooth.

These

When
is

details are represented diagrammatically in Fig. 14.

shaping machine, circular pitch

cutting a rack in the

by the work

controlled

table feed screw, the distances being

read off on the feed screw index

The whole depth

required to produce

dial.

of tooth, that

is

amount of

the

tool

down

feed

read off from the tool slide feedscrew index

it is

dial.

In both cases the

should be

dials

set to zero after

each measure-

ment has been made, otherwise error may creep in if one attempts
to add successive measurements together.
The figures required for the maching of a rack are for the most
part obtainable from tables, providing, of course, that the pitch of
the gear, with which the rack is to be made, can be recognised.
Measuring the distance from the centre of one tooth to the next
on the pitch line needs special equipment not generally available in
the small workshop. However, for all practical purposes this lack is
of

little

moment

since a simple calculation will furnish the figure

for circumferential pitch

we

require.

assumed that the gear to mate with the rack is available for
measurement. This being so it can be used to find the circumferential
pitch of its teeth by measuring its outside diameter and employing
It is

the figure obtained in the following formula:

OP

N+

where

OD is

2
0.3183 X
the outside diameter of the gear and

teeth in the gear.

To

take a concrete example,

N is the number of

let

us suppose that a

gear having 30 teeth and an overall diameter of 2 in.

is

involved.

Then:
2
o- 3

18 3

(30

+ 2)

o -3 i8 3

32

IO.186

0.189"
This

is

the

Circular Pitch

amount the work must be moved between the cutting

THE SHAPING MACHINE

Fig. 15

Using the gearwheel

as a template

of successive rack teeth.

Having found

this figure the

whole depth

of the teeth can be calculated.

Now

the whole depth of tooth

is

given by:

Circular Pitch

0.6866

0.6866
0.130"

so 0.189

being the amount the tool must be fed into the work by the
tool slide feed screw.
this

Fig. 16

Group

of

V-blocks

SOME REPRESENTATIVE MACHINE OPERATIONS

What

of the tool

89

We

have already seen that a rack tooth is

straight sided and that it has an included angle of
29 degrees so,
provided that this angle is maintained when grinding it, a suitable
itself.

tool for cutting the required rack can be produced.

however, with the problem of how thick to make

practical purposes this matter can be resolved if
wheel is used as a template and the tool ground
width (A) coincides with that of the base of the gap

We

are

left,

the tool. For

all

the mating gear

so that

its

point

between the gear

teeth as depicted in Fig. 15. The included angle of

29 degrees
in the diagram must, of course, be maintained.

shown

Gutting Gear Teeth

This is work that can be carried out in the shaping machine but
involves the use of a dividing head whose cost could hardly be
justified unless much work needing such equipment was contemplated. In any case the class of gear cutting usually undertaken in
the small workshop is best carried out in the lathe.

V-Blocks

One

of the

more common operations

for

which the shaper

is

the machining of V-blocks either singly or in pairs.

suitable

is

Readers

will

not need reminding that V-blocks are essential equipment for many purposes around the workshop so the ability to make

them

for oneself is of

some advantage.

group of special blocks

THE SHAPING MACHINE

9o

Fig. 20

Machining Dovetails

made by

Fig. 19

Machining Dovetails

the author are seen in the illustration Fig. 16, whilst the

may

This view depicts the blocks being

machined in pairs. As will be seen, the tool slide has been set over
at an angle to the vertical. This angle is of course half the included
angle of the finished block, usually 90 degrees, so the tool slide needs
to be set at 45 degrees each side of the vertical. The clapper box,
however does not require to be swivelled as no overhung surface is
set-up

be seen in Fig.

17.

involved in the operation.

When making

V-blocks one may, with advantage

first

out in order to show the extent of the machining. Then,

mark them
if

the block

can be removed with a hacksaw, leaving

the balance to be cleaned up in the shaping machine. Some workers
prefer to provide a run-out for the tool at the bottom of the Vee.
is

large, surplus material

This

is

The run-out need only be

in. wide, and can easily be made by a parting tool
cuts are given to the surface of the Vee itself. The

a practice

narrow, say

before the final

with

many

advantages.

by the author to the shaping machine

in his workshop is a piece of equipment that materially assists in the
machining of components such as V-blocks.
automatic down-feed

fitted

SOME REPRESENTATIVE MACHINE OPERATIONS

91

Machining T-slots

The amateur worker

sometimes called upon to form T-slots

in various pieces of equipment. While the process is, perhaps, more
comfortably performed by a milling operation when apparatus for
the process is available, T-slots can be machined in the shaping
is

machine.

The

slot is

shaped in three separate

stages. First a slot is

using a parting tool fed in vertically. In a small shaper this

that needs to be carried out in stages with the clapper

box

made

is

work

free to

on the return stroke of the ram.

The wings of the T-slot are cut with the cranked tool seen in the
illustration Fig. 18. The tool is used with the clapper box locked, so
by turning it round in the toolpost, the tool can be employed to
form either the right or left-hand wing since it will cut equally well
on the back stroke when reversed.
The size of the cranked tool must, of course, be tailored to allow
lift

it

to pass into the slot

fed sideways

till

made

the wing

need to be carried out in

is

initially in

the work.

fully formed; this

The

tool is then

procedure

may

also

stages.

Shaping Machine Slides

One

of the advantages to be had from the shaper

with which

it

may be used

is

the facility

to plane the slides of various

machine

components. Readers will be familiar with the cross-section of the

common machine slide; these take the form of dovetails, one fitting
within the other. The set-up for machining the dovetails is illustrated
in Fig. 19

The
box

is

and

Fig. 20.

tool slide is set over to the angle required

and the clapper

swivelled or tilted in the direction of the angle of the surface

being machined. This will ensure that the tool cannot jam on the
idle stroke.

The shape

illustrations.

of the tool needed will be apparent from the

THE SHAPING MACHINE

92

CHAPTER

10

The Lathe as Shaping Machine

There are sometimes small jobs of a character akin to shaping
that might with advantage be carried out with the work still mounted
in the lathe. The cutting of an internal keyway is an example in point.
This is an operation that may be performed with a suitably shaped
tool caught in a boring bar mounted on the lathe top-slide. The tool
is set on the centre line of the lathe and pulled through the work by
moving the saddle along the lathe bed, the depth of cut being controlled by the cross-slide feed screw. The process is analagous to
the treatment already described

when

key ways in the shaping machine.

The simple set up is depicted in Fig.

The
parallel

dealing with the cutting of

1.

use of the lathe saddle alone limits the operator to keyways

with the axis of the

top slide for imparting

lathe. It is therefore better to

movement

use the

to the cutting tool; in this

way

keyways on the taper can be formed when needed by simply turning

the slide to the desired angle. As before, the cross-slide feed screw
controls the depth of cut which in the interests of comfortable
working should be limited to some 0.001 to 0.002 in. per stroke
Fig.

kwj

Simple

set

up for keyway cutting

THE LATHE AS SHAPING MACHINE

Fig. 2

Shaping equipment

The equipment
lathe, the

fitted to a

illustrated in Fig. 2

Winfield Lathe

was once

fitted to a

Winfield

forerunner of the Myford products incidentally, and has

since been modified for use

The attachment

on

ML 7 lathe.

These are the fulcrum

plate A supporting the operating lever B and a connecting rod C
attached to the lever and the top slide by suitable fitments. As
consists of but

Fig. 3

few

parts.

Parts of the equipment

JBL

.1

Change Wheel and Detent Fitted

depicted in Fig.
position

Aw

10 Lathe

lever is adjustable for

by means of a fork attached to

place of the feed screw, which is, of course, removed

the device

is

is

used.

slide is of substantial construction

mount improvised

vertically

to

will.

When the top

to

mounted on the

connection to the top slide

the slide in

when

the clamp

ML

'

and enables both the stroke and the leverage obtainable

be varied at

The

3,

to the

SI

it

Fig. 4

m-'

and fed

fittings that will

to the

it

may be

possible

allow a tool to be secured

work under controlled conditions. In

Details of the

Mandrel Extension

30

CONE

this

THE LATHE AS SHAPING MACHINE

tommy
Fig.

4B

bar

95

2 off

Alternative forms of Mandrel Extension

forming of simple flat surfaces on components,

or the squaring of the ends of shafts, can be carried out as required.
Such operations of course call for the use of dividing equipment,

way such work

as the

however, simple, that

may be

of divisions required are few.

Fig. 7

attached to the lathe and the

The

easiest

way

number

to ensure accurate

Holder for keyway cutting tool

Fig. 5 Shaping equipment

fitted to a Drummond Lathe

Fig. 6

Component with

opposing keyways

THE SHAPING MACHINE

96

Fig. 8

Machining a transverse

dividing in the lathe

number

is

to

slot in the

make use

Drummond

of a change wheel having a

of teeth that can be divided equally by the

As only

Lathe

number

of divi-

4 and possibly 6 divisions are needed,

either a 40-tooth or a 6o-tooth change wheel will suffice. In practice
the change wheel is mounted on an extension to the lathe mandrel
itself. A typical arrangement is depicted in the illustration Fig. 4,
sions required

ML 10.

2,

Here the change wheel

Fig. 9

is

mounted on an adapter having

Set up for cutting a ring gear in the lathe

THE LATHE AS SHAPING MACHINE

made

push

97

mandrel and is expanded by a

tapered bolt that causes the adapter to grip both the bore of the
hollow mandrel and the change wheel simultaneously A detent,
attached to the change cover on the lathe, engaged the indexing
wheel which is marked off at the correct intervals for the number of
divisions required For example, let us suppose that four separate
areas of machining have to be carried out, all at right angles to one
another; then, assuming a 40-tooth wheel is being used for indexing,
every tenth tooth space will be marked and the detent engaged with
each mark in turn as the machining proceeds.
The details of the mandrel extension are given in the drawing
Fig. 4A. The particular extension shown is one fitted by the author
10 lathe. However, the information given on the
to the Myford
drawing should enable any reader interested to work out for himself
any modifications needed to adapt the device to another make of
spigot that

is

fit

in the

ML

lathe.

An
right

exploded view of a similar mandrel extension

hand

illustration of Fig. 4B.

The

is

given in the

extension depicted in the

upper illustration is a rather more advanced device providing means

of expanding the seating for the change wheel as that of the extension
adapter as a whole.
in.
An interesting, somewhat improvised, set up applied to a
Drummond lathe is illustrated in Fig. 5. The shaping equipment is
3-0-

Fig. 10

Close-up of the work

THE SHAPING MACHINE

98

depicted machining the opposing key ways in the component seen

in Fig. 6.
Fig. 7

and

The
is

tool

used

is

mounted

in the holder illustrated in

of a type referred to earlier in the chapter.

Those readers who know the

Drummond

lathe well will not

need

reminding of the essential sturdiness of many of its component parts.

This is particularly true of the top slide which is a robust and well
engineered unit having in addition, a form of tool clamp, that makes
tool height adjustment a simple and rapid procedure. For this
reason the Drummond top slide has much versatility, as may be
gathered from the illustration Fig. 8.

Index
Acorn Tools Power Shaper, 26, 34
Acorn Tools Shaper Tool Slide,
43

Acorn Tools Vice,

67, 68
Additions to the Machine, 43, 53
Adjusting
the
Ram Position,
3

29,

17

12,

American Pattern Tool Holder, 19

Angle Plate, 15
Angles, Clearance and Rake, 38
Angular Rest, 56-57
Apron, 21
Arm, Driving, 48
Automatic Feed, 9, 22, 24
Automatic Feed Detent, 53
Automatic Feed, Drummond, 19, 27
Automatic Feed, Tool Slide, 27,
46-53

Elevating Gear, Work Table, 32

English Pattern Clapper Box, 12
English Pattern Tool Holder, 19
Extension, Mandrel, 96
External Key ways, Tool for, 40
Feed, Automatic, 9, 22, 24

Feed Screw, 18, 22

Feed Screw Handle, 44-45
Ferro Concrete Stands, 62-64
Fixed Head Shaper, 18
Gear, Quadrant, 47-48

Gib

Strip

Lock

Screw's, 45

Grinding and Honing, 56-57

Grinding Swan-necked Tools, 57
Grinding Tungsten Carbide Tools,.

Work Table Feed, 31-32

Bed, 21
Bench Grinder, Electric, 56
Bench Shaper, Drummond, 18
Benching, Wooden, 61-62
Blocks, V, 89-90
Bolts, T-Slot, 75
Box, American Pattern Clapper, 12
Box Bed, 24
Box, Clapper, 10-11, 22, 21, 42
Box, English Pattern Clapper, 12
Box, Locking the Clapper, 12-14
Bracket, Quadrant Gear, 49-51
Bracket, Rack, 51-53
Breakage, T-Slot, 75, 77

Automatic

59

Grinding Wheels, 58-59

Ground Steel Toolbits, 75

Hand Powder Machines, 15-22
Handle, Feed Screw, 44-45

High-Speed

Steel Tools, 55

Installation, Electrical, 65-66

Installing the Machine, 61-66

Internal Keyway Tool, 40

Jack Screw, 11
Jack, Thrust, 32
Key-way Cutting Tools, 37-40
Keyways, Cutting 84-85, 92

Checking a Second-hand Vice, 71-74

Circular Pitch, 87
Clapper, 13
Clapper Box, 10-11,

Drummond Automatic Feed, 19

Drummond Bench Shaper, 18
Drummond Machine Vice, 19
Eclipse Machine Vice, 71
Eclipse Magnetic Base, 79-80
Electric Motor Drive, 33-34
Electrical Installation, 65-66

Adjusting the Ram Stroke, 28, 29

Adjustment, Connecting Rod, 48
Adjustment, Work Table, 32
American Pattern Clapper Box,

Dial Indicator, 79
Disc Crank, 28
Dog Clutch, 24

Knee, 8, 1 1, 18
Knife Tools, 36
Lantern, 12, 13

13,

17,

22, 42
Clapper Box, Locking the, 38
Clearance and Rake Angles, 38
Clement, Joseph, 8
Clutch, Dog, 24
Connecting Plugs Correctly, 66
Connecting Rod, 47-4S
Connecting Rod Adjustment, 48
Crank, Disc, 28
Crank, Overhang, 28
Detent, Automatic Feed, 53

21,

Lathe

as

Shaping Machine, the 92-98

Lead Screw, 14
Levelling the Machine, 64-66
Link, Ratchet, 18, 19
Lock Screws, Gib strip, 45
Locking the Clapper Box, 38
Machine, Additions to the, 43-53

61-66
64-66
Shaping, 91

Machine, Installing
Machine, Levelling

the,
the,

Machine Slides,
Machine Vice, 15
Machine Vice, Acorn Tools, 67-68

INDEX
Machine
Machine
Machine
Machine
Machine
Machine
Machine

Vice,
Vice,
Vice,
Vice,
Vice,
Vice,
Vice,

Drummond, 19
the Eclipse, 71
The Myford, 71
The

Offen, 69-70
Perfecto, 68-69
Securing the, 77
Setting the, 79-80

Machines, Hand Power, 15-22

Machines, Power Driven, 23-34
Machining the ends of Shafts, 81-83
Magnets, Pot, 80
Mandrel Extension, 96
Melhuish, Richard, 15
Motor Drive, Electric, 33-34
Mounting the Work, 67-68
Murray, Matthew, 8
Myford Machine Vice, 71
Offen Machine Vice, 69-70
Operating Speeds, 26
Overhung Crank, 28
Parallels, 75

Pawl-and-Ratchet System, 46
Perfecto Hand Shaper, 21-22
Perfecto Machine Vice, 68-69
Perfecto Power Shaper, 24-26

Pot Magnets, 80

Quadrant Gear, 47-48

Quadrant Gear Bracket, 49-51
Rack, 47-49
Rack Bracket, 51-53
Racks, Cutting, 95-89
8, 9, 11, 17, 21, 34, 28, 31
Position, Adjusting the, 28-31
Stroke, Adjusting the, 28-29

Speeds, Grinding Wheel, 59

Speeds, Operating, 26
Stands, Ferro Concrete, 62-64
Striker, 18, 20
Surface Finishing Tool, 38
Swan-necked Tools, 35
Table, Work, 11-12
Thrust Jack, 32
Toolbits, Ground Steel, 75
Tool Holder, American Pattern, 19
Tool Holder, English Pattern, 19
Tool, Keyway Cutting, 37
Tool, Knife, 36
Tool, Roughing Out, 36-37
Tool Slide, 9-10, 11, 17, 21, 43

Automatic

Feed

'Pools,

for,

T-Slot Bolts, 75
T-Slot Breakage, 75
T-Slot, Machine, 91

Grinding

59
V-Blocks, 89-90
Vice, Acorn Tools Machine, 67-68

Rod, Connecting, 47-48

Roughing Out Tool, 36-37

Vice,
Vice,
Vice,
Vice,
Vice,

Saddle, 20, 21
Sawing Tools, 42
Screw, Feed, 18, 22

Screw, Jack, 11
Screw, Lead, 14
a,

Sawing, 42

Tools, Servicing the, 54-60

Tools, Shaping Machine, 35-42
Tools, Special Purpose, 39-42
Tools, Surface- Finishing, 38
Tools, Swan-necked, 35
T-Slots, 75, 76

Tungsten Carbide, 55
Tungsten Carbide Tools,

Ratchet, 20
Ratchet Link, 18, 19
Ratchet Wheel, 53
Rest, Angular Grinding, 56-57
Roberts, Richard, 8

Second-hand Vice, Checking

n, 17, 21
Special Purpose Tools, 39-42
Speeds, Cutting, 34

Tools, Crank, 36
Tools, Grinding Swan-necked, 57
Tools, High-Speed Steel, 55

Power Driven Machines, 23-34

Power Shaper, Acorn Tools, 26-34

Ram,

as,

Slide, Tool, 9-10,

Tool Slide,
46-53

Pitch, Circular, 87
Plate, Angle, 15

Ram
Ram

Shaping Machine, Cowell, 19-22

Shaping Machine, the Lathe
92-98
Shaping Machine Slides, 91
Shaping Machine Tools, 35-42

71-74

Securing the Machine Vice, 77

Self- Act, the 14

Servicing the Tools, 54, 60

Setting the Machine Vice, 79-80
Shafts, Machining the ends of, 81-83
Shafts, Squaring the ends of, 80-81
Shaper, Fixed Head, 18

Checking
Eclipse

a Second-hand, 71-74
Machine, 71

Machine, 15
Myford Machine, 71
Offen Machine, 69-70
Wheel, Ratchet, 53
Wheels, Grinding, 58-59
Wheels, Grinding Speeds, 59
Whitworth, Joseph, 8
Wooden Benching, 61-62
Work, Mounting the 67-78

Work Table, 11-12, 21

Work Table Feed, Automatic, 31-32
Work Table Adjustment, 32
Work Table Elevating Gear, 32