Shaper as a surface grinder?

[Jonathan Coates]

I've seen a couple of YouTube videos (Haxby Shed is one that I can remember) where an angle grinder is stuck to the clapper box of a shaper for a quick and dirty surface grinder frankenstein thing. Before I even think about attempting to build such a monstrosity I thought I'd ask the opinions of the people who know about such things. Comments please forum members.

 

[GreenTwin]

Seems like it would work if you were careful not to jam the disk and crack it, but it would tend to fling a lot of abrasive dust onto the ways.

I have mounted a tool and die grinder on the toolpost of my lathe, and cut wood flywheel rim patterns, turning the chuck by hand so as not to smash the wood into the bit (turning on the lathe results in ejecting the flywheel pattern from the chuck generally).

And I recall mounting my bench grinder to a bracket on the side of my mill, and using that to grind with, and that did not work well at all, for a number of reasons, some of which was wheel loading with I think aluminum, and some problems with rigidity.

I would think you would have to slow the table movement on the shaper down pretty slow (if possible), to avoid cutting too fast on the disk.

With the right setup, I think it would work, but protect the ways from the grit.
That is my 2 cents from a rank amateur.

.

 

[djc]

...where an angle grinder is stuck to the clapper box of a shaper

It would not work well stuck to the clapper box per se. Better to remove the clapper and secure to the slide that holds the clapper.

I would think you would have to slow the table movement on the shaper down pretty slow.

I think you mean the ram movement (strokes per minute). The table moves on a ratchet feed mechanism. It would be prudent to check exactly where in the full stroke cycle the movement occurs. If it occurs at the end of the backstoke, it would be OK. If it occurs at the beginning of the backstroke, it might be difficult as the return stroke of a shaper is faster than the forward stroke.

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An angle grinder will have limited use as a surface grinder because the abrasive wheel will be too narrow. About the widest you can buy is 6mm. If you could mount a proper grinding spindle with, say, a 1/2" wide wheel, it will do much better.

 

[ShawnColorado]

I've seen a couple of YouTube videos (Haxby Shed is one that I can remember) where an angle grinder is stuck to the clapper box of a shaper for a quick and dirty surface grinder frankenstein thing. Before I even think about attempting to build such a monstrosity I thought I'd ask the opinions of the people who know about such things. Comments please forum members.

It will work but you have to remember all shapers have some sag when fully extended. My little Atlas 7b has about 1.5 thou sag at its farthest extension. I would not use a full stroke while grinding. Also, really cover your shaper so grinding dust doesn't get everywhere.

 

[Richard Carlstedt]

Very possible .. They are called Rotary Surface grinders --see the "Heald" ad here
https://www.machinetools.com/en/for-sale/196374-heald-22-rotary-surface-grindersAnd you no doubt have seen Blanchard's where the grinding wheel is horizontal

I ran a Heald years ago and it does beautiful work
A shaper can easily be made to replicate the reciprocating motion of the ram and the rotary magnetic table ran about 30 RPM on ours, but you could vary the speed
You will need coolant control
Rich
PS I found a 8 "table (OD) stroke Heald about 5 years ago --size of your shaper !
Wanted it but owner sold it (later) without telling me .. I offered ...

Also Arter made them

 

[Jonathan Coates]

Thanks for the wisdom. If I get bored I might fix one up as a trial, my shaper has very little wear as it wasn't used for years before I had it given and I've hardly used it since I broke the dovetail off the clapper box holder in the week that I got it. Caught something on the backstroke and it popped it off. When I bought my Chipmaster the guy arrived with it on his truck and said that I might as well have it, as he'd been unable to sell it. That was 25 years ago now, so maybe time to fix it up and/or convert it to a grinder.

 

[L98fiero]

Thanks for the wisdom. If I get bored I might fix one up as a trial, my shaper has very little wear as it wasn't used for years before I had it given and I've hardly used it since I broke the dovetail off the clapper box holder in the week that I got it. Caught something on the backstroke and it popped it off. When I bought my Chipmaster the guy arrived with it on his truck and said that I might as well have it, as he'd been unable to sell it. That was 25 years ago now, so maybe time to fix it up and/or convert it to a grinder.

A counterweight on the back end of the ram might get rid of any sag as well.

 

[Richard Carlstedt]

The big difference between Surface grinders and Blanchards is that their wheel is raised and lowered
to control cut. While Rotary grinders like a Heald , the work piece goes up/down , just like shapers have with their knee to control cut
Rich

 

[HMEL]

I've seen a couple of YouTube videos (Haxby Shed is one that I can remember) where an angle grinder is stuck to the clapper box of a shaper for a quick and dirty surface grinder frankenstein thing. Before I even think about attempting to build such a monstrosity I thought I'd ask the opinions of the people who know about such things. Comments please forum members.

A surface grinder is constructed using precision parts and the wheels are carefully made to ensure accuracy. An angle grinder is for brutal work not precision. If you want novelty go right ahead. If you want accuracy and results do it right. Sometimes you just gotta call things out for what they are. That modification really destroys the value of a shaper used in the right way.

 

[Richard Carlstedt]

Johnathon , totally agree with your thoughts on the angle grinder , thats a real crude application.
And yes, if you modify the shaper to a grinder, it would most likely be a permanent "revision"
Rich

 

[Joe]

I've seen a couple of YouTube videos (Haxby Shed is one that I can remember) where an angle grinder is stuck to the clapper box of a shaper for a quick and dirty surface grinder frankenstein thing. Before I even think about attempting to build such a monstrosity I thought I'd ask the opinions of the people who know about such things. Comments please forum members.

I have not seen the quoted Haxby video, I have watched a few of his and respect his work. That said I have to ask, why ? I am a lucky guy in that my dearly beloved has a B&S 618 surface grinder that she lets me use. It allows me to get very nice finishes, easily achieve tight dimensions, grind hardened material and occasionally play about in tenths. The reason this is possible is rigidity, accuracy of the machine and quality of components. If I were to replace the spindle bearings it would probably cost more than buying a shaper and a new angle grinder. Do I need these abilities, no. Is it fun, heck yeh. For what I do I can achieve what I need on the mill with a fly cutter or good mills.
All that said I respect the results some guys achieve in tiny import equipment and home made tooling. Who doesn't cheer for the underdog who shows up at an F1 event to compete in the 1979 Yugo he borrowed from his aged auntie for the weekend ?

John

 

[krypto]

For goodness' sake at least post a link!



Looks like he using this setup to rescue and clean-up some hardened metal items: a lathe tool holder and some chuck jaws. The chuck jaws are for a weld positioner so the run-out isn't critical, they just need to work. This isn't "tenths" work, which is beyond the accuracy of this little shaper.

Personally, I would cover-up the shaper's ways a bit, but it's not mine to worry about. It's also helpful if you want to comment about a process shown in a video, why not actually watch the video.