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Steptoe-Western 24" shaper questions

Boxelder

Aluminum
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Location
Atlanta Georgia USA
Hello all,

I PM'd johnoder with this barrage of questions, and he recommended I post it on the forum so that y'all can benefit from it as well. Good thinking on his part. Sometimes I think my little issues are so unique that nobody else could possibly ever have them, but that's selfish on my part. So, here's the body of the text in the aforementioned PM:

I'm trying to bring a shaper back to life, and I read your comments regarding oil, specifically mixing the Vactra and DTE 50/50. Are you still happy with this mix?

The Steptoe manual specifies "straight mineral oil with a viscosity of 200-300 seconds at 100 degrees F." This means both the DTE and Vactra ISO 68 fit the bill. Seeing how it's a pumped system, lubricating both the ways and the gears, and the Vactra's purpose in life is to stick to metal during an intermittent lubrication scenario, I'm very torn on this. The DTE would seem like a solid choice since it's going to be circulating under pressure.

What I'm really doing is trying to get out of buying 5 gallons of both the Vactra and the DTE. That's $200 out the door, when I might be able to just spend $100. But if it's the right thing for the machine, I'll do it. She's as close to a new machine as you're ever going to find.

Another question: It has an oil filter which I'm having trouble finding. Picture a metal cylinder 4" diameter by 8" long, with a ring in the center and three indentations on the circumference along the top. It mounts vertically on the side of the shaper, and has an inlet at the top and an outlet on the bottom. The threads on both are 5/8 x 18, NPT. The manual calls it "the Purolator" but this is unhelpful when searching for a new one online.

The final question: This machine sat outside for quite a while, and fortunately the sump caught all the water, and it didn't collect inside the main body. The gears are all pristine. I sucked out all the water and oil sludge, then used paper towels as best I could considering the opening is only about the size of a soup dish. Would you worry about a further cleaning, maybe using kerosene? Or can you recommend another solvent with good water-removing qualities which wouldn't later contaminate the new oil?

Thanks in advance for your time. You're a real wealth of knowledge, and I certainly appreciate you sharing it with us home gamers.

End quoted text.

As a final note, if anyone has the contact information for user BRSS, he supposedly went dumpster diving at the Western Machine Tool Works factory while it was being torn down and salvaged some of the serial number info and other important documentation. I'd desperately like to get hold of him and volunteer to take over the archiving of this data. I messaged PM forum administration, but they can't contact him per forum rules, which I completely understand. But if any of you might have a way to contact him, please please do so. His last PM post was in 2013, so I can only hope he's still contactable somehow.
 
Funny you mention this, as I just found my stash of brochures and goodies BRSS sent me! I have the envelope with the return mailing address. I will send it via PM for you try to contact him.

As for the oil... use the Vactra. The concern of DTE in this application is the ram. You want a thick, viscous, sticky oil to prevent the ram galling. DTE is great on rotating parts, but I would prefer the thickness and stickiness of Vactra for the long sliding surface of the ram.

To get all the water out of the sump, wipe it down real good with 91% rubbing alcohol to absorb the water.
 
Wow, that's great! Thanks so much! The BRSS thing had been eating me up for quite some time, especially since you and I messaged back in February.

Also I agree with you about the Vactra. I'm much more concerned with the ways than the gears. Gear wear won't be evident on the work, but way wear sure will. Not to mention these are some big stonkin' gears, and they'll love the sticky way oil.

I poured a half-inch of kerosene into the sump to hopefully loosen up some more of the rusty crud. After that's swabbed out I'll try the alcohol trick. Good tip there.

The filter situation - I contacted the Purolator Industrial filter rep last night after the close of business. I'm hoping he can lead me in the right direction for a period-appropriate solution. But if I have to, I'll retrofit a modern filter and housing to her.

You should see this thing - the scraping and flaking marks are still fully intact all along the ways and on the bull gear drive. And it's like a brand-new machine inside the main housing! There is some surface rust on the table and the exposed iron bits, but it comes off cleanly and it isn't as deep as I'd feared. I should post some pics instead of sitting here describing it. A picture is worth...

Super great news again about BRSS. As soon as you forward me the address I'll type up a nice letter and see if we can make contact.

Do you know anyone else on here who has Western Machine Tool Co pieces besides those you mentioned with the 12X?2017-04-28 14.45.24.jpg2017-04-28 14.45.38.jpg2017-04-28 13.19.05.jpg2017-02-22 17.50.49.jpg2017-02-22 17.50.19.jpg
 
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Look for Steptoe shapers... not Steptoe-Western. The Steptoe shaper was designed in the 1800s and mdae by Western. The Steptoe/Western is a totally different design.
 
Regarding the filter, make sure the thing doesn't come apart somehow, and have an element within.

If it is a sealed unit, you may find something, perhaps even an exact match, by looking at the oil filters that many of the parts suppliers for antique farm tractors carry. If I remember correctly, some if not most, of the machine tool builders in the '30s through '50s used filters often found on agricultural and industrial equipment.

By the way, that is a very nice looking shaper you have.
 
Quick update - still no callback from the Purolator industrial rep. I guess I can't blame him - I'm one dude wanting obscure info on an obsolete part which probably isn't even made anymore.

It is indeed a sealed unit, the crimp in the middle is as permanent as it gets, and I don't want to dink around cutting it open just to see how she chooches - to borrow a phrase from AvE.

The plan now is to wuss out and get one of those oil filter relocation kits from Amazon and plumb it in. If anyone has recommendations about sizes or filter media porosity I'm all ears - I know nothing about what would be adequate or appropriate for thick-n-tacky Vactra at who knows what volume, nor what pressure the pump will max out at. I can't imagine a hydraulic filter is a good idea since hydraulic fluid is super thin compared to Vactra, and motor oil filters might blow out under the combination of pressure and viscosity. The copper tubes supplying the ram are 3/16" OD of the thick-walled variety, they look pretty high-pressure.

But beggars can't be choosers. It'll get done, and it'll work well enough. More pics of the table crossways included.2017-05-02 14.10.39.jpg2017-05-02 14.10.30.jpg
 
Nice machine! I have its baby brother - 14" Steptoe from the 40's. The oil filter was (crudely) replaced with an automotive-type spin-on filter. I wouldn't worry about the pressure. The gage on mine only goes to 15 psi.
 
Is that filter inline with the oil feed or a bypass unit (meaning it only filters the oil NOT going to the machine but excess oil bypassed)? You may have some luck if you have a really good Napa store near you (ones in farm/mining country are better) as they tend to understand how to find stuff better than the "I can't look that up the computer if I don't have a truck model..." guys you get in the big cities.

That said the cheapest and simplest thing would be to get a plain spin on filter. Vactra 2 is ISO-68 (SAE-20) and is about the same viscosity as heavier hydraulic oil. If you want something more period then the other option would be to source an old canister filter body.

Like this
VINTAGE REMOTE OIL FILTER CANISTER ?? CHEVY ? MOPAR ? FORD ?? INDUSTRIAL ?? | eBay
 
It was a nice machine until that Scotchbrite wheel got ahold of it. Don't EVER do that to a machine. Stone flat surfaces. If there are pits left, call them oil grooves. The wheel will concave any where it touches.
 
Not to worry - I took Richard King's class last May and she's going to be one of my first victims. I also bought a copy of Machine Tool Reconditioning so how hard can it possibly be? ;)
 
So what oil is going in the shaper?
I bought a 5 gallon pail of DTE for mine, I haven't even considered Vactra. Is it recommended to use a 50/50 mix of Vactra and DTE or are you going with straight Vactra?
Second question if I may, what does everyone think of using Evapo-Rust?
 
I have just acquired a 16" Steptoe. It looks rough, lots of surface rust and paint flaking but it came from a tech school so I don't think it saw much use. As for the oil ISO 68 has a vis. of 355 sec. ISO 46 is in the right range. Evapo-Rust is great but the part needs to be submerged in it for an extended period of time to work.
 
Don't do like the OP and go after it with Scotchbrite anything. His may have been like new when he got it but not anymore.
 
I have a 16 in Steptoe. I use the Vactra. I replaced the filter element with a filter used in oil furnaces. 8n tractors have a similar filter.

This shaper was in a school and never used. When I got it it had a cup of shavings under the vice and all the frosting on the ways. It even smelled new.
I have has it for 18 years.
Not the heaviest shaper but a good tool.
 








 
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