08-29-2016, 12:29 PM
IMHO, owning an 8" Rhodes shaper, that bigger is better. If I were to do splines on my machine, I'd have to build a sub plate to hold a dividing head well in front of the table. I can't recall which brand, but some shapers have a hole through the base for shafts so you don't have to cantilever everything off the far side of the table. Very sensible.
The major thing to look for on a shaper is missing parts. Missing bits of the ratchet or feed mechanism can be impossible to find, and hard to make without a pattern.
Obviously, the missing vise is a downer, but on the upside, it's a negotiating leverage when discussing price.
Another thing, for some reason, I've heard a few people say that the lead screws have bent on their shapers. Mine also arrived with a bent lead screw. Easy enough to fix, though.
Before firing up the never-use-in-30-years Macson, I would manually oil all the moving surfaces in case the oil pump is stuck (I'm assuming it's new enough to have an oil pump, my Rhodes is so old, it's entirely manually oiled).
The major thing to look for on a shaper is missing parts. Missing bits of the ratchet or feed mechanism can be impossible to find, and hard to make without a pattern.
Obviously, the missing vise is a downer, but on the upside, it's a negotiating leverage when discussing price.
Another thing, for some reason, I've heard a few people say that the lead screws have bent on their shapers. Mine also arrived with a bent lead screw. Easy enough to fix, though.
Before firing up the never-use-in-30-years Macson, I would manually oil all the moving surfaces in case the oil pump is stuck (I'm assuming it's new enough to have an oil pump, my Rhodes is so old, it's entirely manually oiled).