Traveling Head Shaper, Not Boynton & Plummer

I am seeking information on a traveling head shaper that is roughly the same size and design as a Boynton & Plummer.

I will continue my attempts to post a photo.

Bruce E. Babcock

I have not yet seen the shaper. Can anyone tell me who manufactured it, and approximately when?

I now know how to convert a png file to a jpeg file!

Bruce E. Babcock

I don't know who made it but it looks like a nice piece. Did you search through Cope's book?

Enginebill,

Tolman's machine had a vague resemblance, but only in the area of the crank. I didn't recognize anything else in Cope's book. I may have overlooked something.

Bruce

Sort of looks English-made to me. lathes.co.uk has a good selection of British-made shapers on the site. Worth taking a look there.

Andy

Andy,

That is an amazing site!

I looked at every picture, but did not find anything that was helpful.

Thanks,

Bruce

Bruce,
Matt mentioned his intentions to visit you in the near future, you need to load the shaper on his truck and let him bring to me and my associates to evaluate, the possible manufacturer. No matter if we determine the manufacturer, can store in my exhibit until we can get together again.

I'm the big fellow that sat at the table with you at Matt's graduation party last year.

Ray ;D

Interesting piece.

What can a traveling head shaper do differently/better than a standard crank shaper?

Jager said:

Interesting piece.

What can a traveling head shaper do differently/better than a standard crank shaper?

Click to expand...

Nothing, just a different way of building a shaper.

Ray,

Thanks for the generous (?) offer. I don't expect to see the shaper until after Matt has left.

Jager,

If there was an advantage, I don't know what it was. Maybe someone else can help.

Bruce

enginebill said:

Nothing, just a different way of building a shaper.

Click to expand...

Not entirely true. Because of a lathe like bed they can have a much greater longitudinal travel. Using multiple knee and vice will hold longer parts.

I think the traveling head shapers offered more flexibility in what work pieces they could handle. Anything that could be attached to the front could be machined. Here's a picture of a large traveling head shaper in the shop at Denton FarmPark in NC with a large section of pipe attached to the front of the shaper, planing a flange on the pipe. That couldn't be done as easily with the traversing slide of a more "conventional" shaper in the way.



Irby

P.S. Just like mach2 mentioned as I was typing...

I was machining a workpiece on my little travelling head shaper today, (Part one of the project after preliminary work on a bored out section) Part two of the exercise will be attaching the work piece to the T slotted front apron of the machine for the second shaping operation, By clamping the component in this manner, woll give a more rigid holding method than can be obtained in a machine vice

I am of the opinion that the most maligned shaping machine , Particularly the travelling head shaper is greatly under rated especially in maintenance and general jobbing work, A big travelling head shaper like its long forgotten cousin, the side planer, Which to my way of thinking falls into the wrong category, It is a shaper, However long ago that was how it was designated, In both types of machines When a pit was built in front of them Covered over with heavy planks for everyday work, but when long & awkward shaped components required a facing to be planed in an awkward location, This could be dealt with without recourse to having to use a much larger planer or boring & facing mill etc.

Approx twenty years ago,I cut a dovetail on a ring of steel to splice in a gear section, this spliced in portion of the workpiece had its gearteeth formed by the same little shaper, This was a temporary repair on a machine to only last a week, It ended up lasting for five years until the machine was eventually scrapped By holding the ring on the front apron of the shaper, the ring was right down in front of the machine (Well above the shapers holding capacity, & bloocked up to take the weight) An all night task)

The Boynton & Plummer shaper that I had could hold a infinitely long piece through the opening in the base.
To do something like putting a key way the length 6 foot shaft.