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)