Another South Bend 7" shaper emerges from darkness

[Dutchman]

Did a little gun trading with a fellow gun person in Okieland and am now working with this 7" South Bend shaper getting it cleaned up, adjusted, running. It makes a pretty nice cut. I haven't run a shaper since college in 1970. This has been sitting in a welding shop for quite a while but originally came out of a school shop. It's in pretty nice shape other than multiple coats of old paint. This is one of the earlier models with manual lubrication. Pre-1963 far as I've been able to discern.

It's really amazing what these can do. They're just slow at doing it. Today I started a dovetail on a block of steel for a QC tool post to attach a Williams goose-neck parting tool to the QC setup. It's a large Williams parting tool for a 15"+ lathe. I'm going to attach the parting tool to the dovetailed block via 4 SHCS.





Also picked up this ancient arc welder. 180 amp A/C. It needed some maintenance in the form of new power cord, 8/3, and lathe-turned brass lugs for the welding cables. I'm not competent at arc welding as most of what I've done in the last 30 years has been oxy-acetylene welding & brazing. Lincoln arc welding company bought this company out at some distant point. It's a pretty solid welder it's just me that needs some educatin' and practice.

[Bret4207]

That welder will serve you nicely. Forney welders used the same brass lug idea. As far as welding, scrap metal and 6011. Once you master 6011 you can do pretty much anything in the horizontal line. Lots easier than oxy welding. Just remember to get the slag knocked off. One of my favorite tools is a cheap wire brush with plastic handle. I took a 2 1/2" sheet rock screw and drove it in near the front so it came out the "back" of the brush side. Makes a dandy mini chipping hammer for getting in the nooks and crannys.

[dragonrider]

Had one offered to me really cheap last year. But it was is pretty sad shape and although I am pining for one in the worst way, every thought I don't really have a use for it, I declined the offer. I would have taken it for free but he would not go that low. I use to run a 24" hydraulic unit at a former employer. We use to make a device that had sliding dovetail bases 18" long and 12" wide and the shaper was just the tool for that job.

[elk hunter]

Dutchman,

Nice score on the shaper. I always thought the South Bend was nicest of the small ones. My current seven inch was made by Porter Cable and as such has the cast iron base making it weigh about 800 pounds. Very stable, but very heavy. As you pointed out they're slow, but for some jobs, i. e. super fine flat work as in mould blocks, I prefer it over the mill.

[theperfessor]

Yours looks a lot like mine. Good find. I love the tray you mounted it in on your table top. A really great idea. I made a real mess when I drained the old oil out of the sump of mine.

Have fun, they are good tools to have available in a small shop. I use mine primarily to cut vent lines on the inner faces of bullet molds. Sometime I'll post pictures of the "analog readout" I put on the cross axis of mine.

[Just Duke]

Major score!

[Dutchman]

Yours looks a lot like mine. Good find. I love the tray you mounted it in on your table top. A really great idea. I made a real mess when I drained the old oil out of the sump of mine.

Have fun, they are good tools to have available in a small shop. I use mine primarily to cut vent lines on the inner faces of bullet molds. Sometime I'll post pictures of the "analog readout" I put on the cross axis of mine.

I've seen the photos of yours. You have the later model with the wider front end and oil pump.

The chip tray was in the auto parts store for $10. It is really perfect for the application as most don't seem to have that 1" lip around the edge.

Dutch

[Dutchman]

That welder will serve you nicely. Forney welders used the same brass lug idea. As far as welding, scrap metal and 6011. Once you master 6011 you can do pretty much anything in the horizontal line. Lots easier than oxy welding. Just remember to get the slag knocked off. One of my favorite tools is a cheap wire brush with plastic handle. I took a 2 1/2" sheet rock screw and drove it in near the front so it came out the "back" of the brush side. Makes a dandy mini chipping hammer for getting in the nooks and crannys.

The original cable lugs and my new improved lugs. They work real good. Now all I have to do is learn how to use the dang thing. I did buy Lincoln 6011 in 3/32" and 1/8". That's what was recommended by the professional weld shop that this came from.





The new 8/3 power cable.

[Bret4207]

Good on you! You already know how to weld if you use oxy, this is just easier, IMO anyway. Spend a few bucks and get and auto darkening helmet when you can. Makes life a lot easier.

[Dutchman]

Good on you! You already know how to weld if you use oxy, this is just easier, IMO anyway. Spend a few bucks and get and auto darkening helmet when you can. Makes life a lot easier.

$50 off ebay delivered. Already have it . It works very good, too. Has the solar charger built in, "grinder" or "welding" mode, adjustable tint. 1/25,000th of a second switch time.

I do have to get the cape sleeves thingie. I've burned my left arm twice now with ultra-violet.

My main malfunction so far seems to be the width of the arc, or the distance of the rod from the puddle. That and speed seem to be what I need practice with.

Dutch

[RayinNH]

Dutch, you should pick it up fairly quickly. The tricky part is maintaining the 1/8" gap between the rod and work piece while your rod is getting shorter.

When I started to learn arc welding my welds looked terrible. One day a deaf/mute gentleman walked into my smithing shop. It turns out he was a welder at the navy yard. He could read lips, so I explained my problems I was having welding. We each took a helmet and he grabbed my hand guiding it along as we made some weld passes. He showed me weaving and overlapping O's passes. Fifteen minutes showing me these techniques and my welding improved immediately. Reading it in a book and actually seeing it done are two different things. Seeing it done sinks in much faster...Ray

[Dutchman]

Reading it in a book and actually seeing it done are two different things. Seeing it done sinks in much faster...Ray

I agree. This month my son-in-law's father will be here. He did welding in aerospace or something close so I'm hoping that little magic in-person tutoring will make the giant leap into credible arc welding. I do like to oxy-acetylene weld.

My current project is to build a mobile cart for my granite surface plate and layout tools that will also house the 150 pound anvil in the bottom as ballast and have two fold-up wings for additional surface use in the shop. My shop is very small so space is at a premium. I have 1.5" 11 gauge square tubing for this but haven't gotten the casters yet. Can't proceed without casters. As it is now I think I'll be gas welding it as my arc welding just isn't good enough to satisfy me.

I also have a bunch of 3" .125" wall square tubing to make a new and heavier stand for the shaper. I'm looking forward to escaping scope mount making by doing some welding fabrication. I find it to be very relaxing and satisfying for some reason.

Back when I started gas welding in 1979 I did have hands-on tutoring in the form of an old Mexican blacksmith who was with the Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles. He mostly guided me in the gas welding as that's what I had bought for my home shop but we also got into arc welding but I had no way to practice. He was one of those men who could do anything with nothing. I would marvel at his skill. I still have a package of welding rod he gave me in 1982. I think of him every time I gas weld.

Dutch

My gas rig is Smith AW series (airline) for welding and cutting. It's a smaller size torch but will do up to about 1/4". Thirty years of use and no complaints.

[Bret4207]

When you get so you can make decent looking welds wit 6010 and 6011, go get some 7014. They used to call it "Beauty Rod" back home. I think you could teach a parrot to weld with that stuff, but it doesn't do so good on rusty, paint and grease covered garbage steel. It's almost a "drag rod", as long as the stick is near the metal the arc will hold. Doesn't penetrate for krap, makes real nice filler though.

[cheese1566]

Found this one in Iowa while searching for a lathe...

feel free to look into it...

http://www.greenwayassoc.com/useddetail.asp?ref2=8696

[EMC45]

I was in Japan welding some angle iron when I was in the Seabees and we were using some electrodes that came from boxes with Jap Konji on it. Didn't know what kind of rod it was, but it left a perfect bead. The slag would basically pop off when you finished your pass. It had a slight golden color to the weld when you were done. We ran out and went on to use 7018 I believe. Then it was back to chipping and spatter and soot/smoke everywhere....

[Dutchman]

Found this one in Iowa while searching for a lathe...

feel free to look into it...

http://www.greenwayassoc.com/useddetail.asp?ref2=8696

That's a lot of machine for $800. It's a little smaller than the one I used in college decades ago.

Dutch