Gemco 16" Hy-Duty Universal Shaper

morestainless · Jun 23, 2018

Please don't tell me how you bought one of these for $450. I already read about it.Page not found - Practical Machinist : Practical Machinist

I received some interesting responses to my "Sell Me A Shaper" thread, but nothing that wasn't too big, too old, or what I didn't want. So, I put a purchase request in at HGR for their 16" Gemco Hy-Duty Universal machine. It's complete except for the plastic/aluminum cross/vertical feed hand wheel. Shouldn't be too difficult to replace. They sent me a bunch of extra picts of the guts. Looks OK. I'm gambling on the Lubrigard having done it's job I guess. I got a good deal on motor freight shipping (2300 miles) so I'll get it here (incl. purchase price) for < $2K. Not bad for a big machine tool that is of no practical use any longer. Ha, ha. A big granddaddy clock. I have the Gemco brochure. Love the grey iron coffee grounds chips that these make.

johnoder · Jun 23, 2018

If you can't get the clutch lever to engage it is because LUBRIGARD is working It locks out engaging clutch until there is oil pressure

morestainless · Jun 23, 2018

Anything unusual about the missing wheel? Are the .002" graduations on the housing or the wheel hub?

johnoder · Jun 23, 2018

morestainless said:
Anything unusual about the missing wheel? Are the .002" graduations on the housing or the wheel hub?

Wheel was missing on the 36" Gemco I scrapped. On my 36" Ohio, grads are on hub ring - but it has no huge wheel

dalmatiangirl61 · Jun 23, 2018

If you don't mind my asking, what did shipping cost? I was interested in an east coast shaper last month, but shipping quotes to Tx were outrageous at $2500- $3000.

morestainless · Jun 23, 2018

dalmatiangirl61 said:
If you don't mind my asking, what did shipping cost? I was interested in an east coast shaper last month, but shipping quotes to Tx were outrageous at $2500- $3000.

I use one of the PriceLine websites of motor freight. Rates coming out of Ohio seemed to be much better than anywhere else.

partsproduction · Jun 23, 2018

16" is a nice size for a smallish shop, lots of power though compared to the small hobby sized shapers. My brother and I recently looked at a 24" shaper we could get for $500 but it's huge.

morestainless · Jun 23, 2018

partsproduction said:
16" is a nice size for a smallish shop, lots of power though compared to the small hobby sized shapers. My brother and I recently looked at a 24" shaper we could get for $500 but it's huge.

I actually wanted a Hendey 12", but couldn't find one for less than $3K + $1K shipping. One of the machine shops here in Spokane has one in it's front yard, with a flag pole coming out of it. There's a lathe and some other machines too. Nice display. I was surprised how hefty the 12" shaper was. 3000lbs or so.

HGR says the 16" weighs 5695lbs. The brochure says 5100lbs. Must be the oil, dirt, and scrap metal pieces lying under it on the base. I'm gonna have to take it apart to get it inside through the 30" back door, so it will get cleaned up. I'll wait a while to take the needle scaler to it. Ha, ha. My 16" lathe weighs that much and it went inside just fine.

Tyrone Shoelaces · Jun 25, 2018

That's a really nice looking little shaper.

Regards Tyrone.

DDoug · Jun 25, 2018

Tyrone Shoelaces said:
That's a really nice looking little shaper.

Regards Tyrone.

Not after he get's done taking the needle scaler to it, it won't.....

morestainless · Jun 25, 2018

digger doug said:
Not after he get's done taking the needle scaler to it, it won't.....

The grey parts add so much character, don't you think?

rj1939 · Jun 25, 2018

16 inch is a great size overall. Pretty heavy for a 16 too.
The biggest problem with them, IMHO you run out of table, at least for what I do.

rustytool · Jun 25, 2018

morestainless said:
The grey parts add so much character, don't you think?

The grey is all gone now.

morestainless · Jun 25, 2018

rj1939 said:
16 inch is a great size overall. Pretty heavy for a 16 too.
The biggest problem with them, IMHO you run out of table, at least for what I do.

I bolted 90 degree angle plates to the sides of my 7B table.

partsproduction · Jun 25, 2018

"The biggest problem with them, IMHO you run out of table, at least for what I do."

That 24" my brother and I saw for $500 had a 2", maybe 2 1/4" thick slab of cast iron bolted to the off side table, the main table surface is universal so if he needs that he just swings it up. This slab sticks out another 10" I guess, there's a photo of it here in PM from recently.

rj1939 · Jun 25, 2018

morestainless said:
I bolted 90 degree angle plates to the sides of my 7B table.

I hate to think how long that my 7B was my only one. It made a valiant effort and I will never say anything bad about it.

rj1939 · Jun 25, 2018

If I have my choice of only one, it would be a 20 or 24 inch probably.

morestainless · Jun 26, 2018

rj1939 said:
If I have my choice of only one, it would be a 20 or 24 inch probably.

A 16" cube of smoothly finished iron will do me fine.

carlquib · Jun 28, 2018

I have one of these shapers. Do you have any information about it besides the sales brochure you can find online? Part of the weight discrepancy might be the vise or other accessories it hopefully comes with. I haven't actually weighed my vise, but would guess it weighs well over 150 pounds.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

morestainless · Jun 28, 2018

carlquib said:
I have one of these shapers. Do you have any information about it besides the sales brochure you can find online? Part of the weight discrepancy might be the vise or other accessories it hopefully comes with. I haven't actually weighed my vise, but would guess it weighs well over 150 pounds.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

Hi Neighbor,

I was down your way (Arco) a couple of years ago to pick up a Bostomatic 300 mill. Next time I'll stop by.

I have no other info on the Gemco shapers, but, there is quite a bit on info in the brochure. A mechanical shaper is pretty much a mechanical shaper and a machine is a machine. Look at it long enough an it will tell you all about itself. I have to dismantle mine to get it inside, so I'll get to know it pretty well.

How is yours working for you? 20"?

Gemco 16" Hy-Duty Universal Shaper

Cast Iron

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Diamond

Cast Iron

Diamond

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Diamond

Cast Iron

Titanium

Cast Iron

Diamond

Diamond

Cast Iron

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Stainless

Stainless

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Cast Iron

Titanium

Stainless

Stainless

Cast Iron

Aluminum

Cast Iron

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