Shaper toolholders

[Rickabilly]

(08-21-2012, 07:58 AM)Sunset Machine Wrote: You dropped it? Just hearing that brings a tear to my eye.. Mine almost fell on me, there's a rather large drive assembly up high making it top heavy. It also makes the machine shudder and shake when in operation. Lousy design, I'll eventually use the parts and mount things down low.

Got my toolpost finished and making chips (with a Bull Dog lathe toolholder). Interesting device, the shaper. I've never ran one before. Haven't tried to "shape" anything yet, grabbing a moving machine part with my hand and all that.

Got the thing to "clap" by running the speed up. Got the work to come loose and had to watch the shaper beat it to death until the motor stopped. No clutch, no brake. It throws chips 6 feet, right where I park the car. The concrete is badly spalled, cleanup won't be any fun..

I've more or less settled on a 90 degree pointy tool with a rounded end, no side rake. The tool is touched up by placing a small magnet under the clapper to hold it out at an angle and then bringing the toolpoint down onto some 320 grit emery, which is then pulled out from under the tool a few times and then the magnet is removed. The process leaves a small flat on the end of the tool, apparently critical to obtain a smooth finish.

I can use three-four clicks on the feed and it moves right along at .025" DOC, then reverse the feed and go back to finish with a .005 DOC and one click. One side of the tool roughs, the other finishes, leaving the vice in position ready for another part.

It seems to be working.

I find it pays just to try all sorts of different tool geometries, personally I amost always run side rake I find it's more important to a good finish on a roughing tool than back rake, keeping in mind that on a shaper the surface you are cutting remains flat cutting with no rake causes chatter on heavy cuts in any thing long chipping, back rake curls the chips up away from the finished surface but they just fall down after they snap off and they can fall randomly to the left or right without side rake, if they fall on the unmachined side eventually the return stroke will pull the tool back over them which can tie them up on the tool where they act like really heavy steel wool scrubbing the machined surface. A little back and side rake means the chips curl up and drop onto the finished surface away from where the tool can pick them up and scour the surface, but don't take my advice, experiment to see what works for you.

And Dallen, I wouldn't worry too much about a little crookedness why not set it up in the mill or shaper and true the base up to the head, It might sound wrong but when ever a welding, forging or bending process is used to manufacture a shanked tool I always start with an over size shank and finish machine it true later, in the case of a shaper the sides of the shank are inconsequential due the the lantern style post even the top surface isn't critical all that matters is that the bottom surface is true, which will usually clean up easily. It looks too good to waste, well done on it so far I do hope you can save it.

Best regards
Rick