What's new
What's new

Damaged shaper ram ways - use or scrap?

Just a Sparky

Hot Rolled
Joined
May 2, 2020
Location
Minnesota
I finally got around to tearing down my shaper for a proper rebuild. Upon pulling the ram I discovered this:

IMG_20210115_051924529.jpgIMG_20210115_052007921.jpgIMG_20210115_052021553.jpgIMG_20210115_051833624.jpgIMG_20210115_051747366.jpg

If I didn't know any better I'd say it ate sand or something at one point. My best guess is the slideways were allowed to run dry and the poor thing started losing chunks of itself which then got ground back and forth with each stroke.

Is it worth re-assembling something like this and seeing if it still makes an accurate stroke? Or do I start looking for a parts donor? :(
 
You could always look into getting it scraped in, or even planed / surface ground at a shop. You would need to get both the ram and the base done. Or you could try your hand at scraping it yourself. But as it stands, I would not reassemble and use it.
 
It's way beyond scraping or grinding. The galling is around 1/16th or so deep on the worst side. It would have to be welded or brazed first.

It looks like there are a couple of donor rams available with varying degrees of wear... but finding a body casting in good condition might be a challenge.
 
If your not wanting to mill or grind and scrape , stone off the ways and assemble and test. The low spots will just be a oil reservoir so to speak. But make sure the oilers work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It's way beyond scraping or grinding. The galling is around 1/16th or so deep on the worst side. It would have to be welded or brazed first.

No need to remove all the damage down to clean metal. You would only need to machine/grind/scrape down far enough to be able to get about 50% contact, leaving the deepest gouges there. The damage seems pretty localized, so leaving a small area with even less contact than 50% would not be catastrophic.
 
And unless you want a learning moment, don’t weld or braze, ask me how I know?lets just leave that it wasn’t a friend lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Few folks use shapers anymore because they are simply too slow. That makes them readily available cheap. It also makes your's uneconomical to repair. It would have to be a very special shaper to invest as much as that will cost to restore. I have a shaper. I would not be without one, just not that one.
 
I see a donor ram with significantly less wear on it (and an unsightly paint job that will need to be remedied) for $99. That would take care of the most egregious region on the ram and leave the smaller "oil grooves" in the side gib and side slideway. Far cheaper than attempting to repair the existing ram.

Figure that might be the way to go? Hopefully just a drop-in replacement as long as it's not badly hourglassed?
 
That's wear from lack of lubrication. Friction sticks the surfaces together and motion rips them apart, causing the snow-ball grooves you see.

I'd say 1/16" deep is still rebuild-able. I would mill out the affected area as a pocket and sink in a strip of new iron. I would not weld it as the dis-similar filler rod, or dis-similar hardness will not wear evenly and may even make the issue worse.

I'm not familiar with your machines make or model, but 90% of scraped sliding parts are not interchangable. Even brand new, they are fitted together at the factory. If you want to replace the ram, you still need to be able to print the surfaces, scrape them together, and inspect that everything is right.

That's all assuming you want it to be like-new and have the time to do it. If you just want to get another 50+ years out of it. There's still enough of the original surface present from what I see, so stone the surfaces and make sure the lubrication paths are all clear. IMO, shapers are really a basic duty machine anyway, so as long as the ram slides freely and produces a flat surface repeatably, you're in business.
 
There is so much surface there the bad marks will not hurt and for the limited time and the low teck jobs it will be used for what the heck , run it...Phil
 
In that case maybe I'll just "send it" and see what I get out of it. Maybe keep my eyes open for something nicer to upgrade to in the future, à la South Bend, etc.

Thanks for the advice.
 
I was going to say ''Is that all?'' yes its far from perfect, BOTOH since when has it been a perfect world.

I'd dress down any bumps and lumps, clean out the lube ports etc etc and put it back together, ...........you may well be pleasantly surprised how well it cuts etc etc.......and ya won't know until ya try.

Just my 2 cents YMMV
 
If the machine is tight and accurate enough for your needs, id clean up the oil feeds-grooves, scrape some oil retention in those surfaces and run it, itll be fine with a keen owner slathering oil on it.
If you want a project, scrape it, just know theres a lot to learn and youll be at it a while.

Dont weld or braze anything in those pics unless you hate the machine lol.
 
I was going to say ''Is that all?'' yes its far from perfect, BOTOH since when has it been a perfect world.

I'd dress down any bumps and lumps, clean out the lube ports etc etc and put it back together, ...........you may well be pleasantly surprised how well it cuts etc etc.......and ya won't know until ya try.

Just my 2 cents YMMV

Nobody has mentioned using a product like Moglice Score-Ex to fill in the scored areas. That might be a possibility if you wanted to do it. The stuff isn't cheap though. Give a call to Devitt Machinery Company | Devitt Machinery Company if you want to get some advice on it.

Looking at the pictures, is the scoring on the side (not bottom) of the ram only?
 
Lots of good advice here. I think you should clean it up, check the oilers and galleys, and use it. I definitely would not try welding on it.

My brother cleaned up the frame ways with a mill and installed phosphor-bronze 1/32" thick strips with brass screws and additionally bonded with JBweld or some similar adhesive. These strips were then scraped along with the ram and it turned out very nice. His shaper is an 8" Shape-Rite that someone had failed to oil for extended periods.
 
Agree on "use it".

I'd not even bother to fill those spots, because they are not very exposed, not like a lathe bed.

If you really want to fill them, clean the areas 5x with solvent, then once more, and fill with ordinary epoxy....5 minute is fine. Use a burr file to get the surface smooth, and use it.

I have a lathe bed repair that was done like that and 10 years later it is still fine.

Oh, yeah, get some wipers on that sucker. Looks like it ate some swarf, or was put next to the off-hand grinder.
 
Before using it I would get those galled places smoothend Make sure all somewhat loose particals are removed
But its a perfect candidate for SKC 63R A slideway compound for repairs, I have used it with good results
I usu a 1mm cutting disk to get a undercut The rest I grind about 2mm deep

Peter
 








 
Back
Top