Last updated April 23rd, 2000

By F. G. Walter

A very useful tool in the small shop is a milling machine. A good one can be constructed very easily if you have built the shaper described in the November, 1928 issue of Popular Mechanics. Once the parts are fitted, the change from shaper to miller can be made in less than five minutes.

You have a very sturdy frame in this machine and two movements of the work table, horizontal and vertical. One more movement is essential-a traverse. This is obtained by fitting a vise on a slide base, the movement being about 4 in.

(click on the picture for a higher quality GIF file.) Obtain a piece of cold rolled steel, 1¾ in. in diameter, with a ¾ in. hole, about 14 in long, and machine it to 1 ¼ in. for the front bearing, and 1 in for the rear, leaving a 1/8 in. flange on the front end; then thread the front end for a length of 7/16 in., 13 threads per inch, and taper the hole at this end to fit No. 9 B.& S. arbors and collets. Fit the shaper with bronze bearings, one 2-in. outside diameter and 1¼-in. inside with 1/8-in. flanges, for the front and one 2-in. outside diameter by 1-in. inside with the same size flanges for the rear. See that the spindle is a fairly tight running fit, to prevent chatter. You will have to split the bearings on the shaper to fit the bronze bearings. Have two extra cone pulleys cast, the same size as on the original shaper.

(click on the picture for a higher quality GIF file.) The slide vise is a gray iron casting with a circular base, and is held on the table with clamps and T-bolts, to allow it to be set at any angle. The base may either be cast integral to the vise, or made separate and bolted to it, whichever is easier to machine. I made a separate casting and machined it in the lathe, then planed the bottom of the slide and bolted the two together. The rest of the work was then done with one set-up.

In order to do smooth work on the shaper, the feed should be uniform, which is a very hard thing to get by hand. However, you can get an automatic feed to this shaper with very little work.

Make the 1-in. shaft, which carries the 80 tooth gear, extend about 1 inch beyond the collar. Also make the horizontal feed shaft long enough to extend 1½ in. beyond the horizontal slide plate, and fit a bearing on both ends of this plate. Turn two ratchet wheels of brass, 1¼ in. in diameter with hubs. Lay off the circumference into 16 or 20 equal parts, and file ratchet teeth, making one wheel left, and the other right. Mount the ratchets on the extension of the feed shaft, with a crank between them carrying a pawl on each side, and with a pivot bolt for a connecting rod. This rod is made from 1/8 by ¾-in. flat iron and in two pieces, one with a slot to take a bolt and wingnut to adjust the length for various positions of the work table. Make the pawls large enough so that you can throw them in and out with your finger, to change the direction of the feed.

The feed crank on the 1-in. shaft may be a machined casting or built up of flat cold rolled steel-one piece ¼ by 1½ by 4 in., with a 1½ by ¾-in. collar bolted to the exact center of the back. This is drilled to fit the 1-in. shaft and is fastened to it with a ¼ by ½ in. setscrew. The face side is fitted with a T-Slot made up of two pieces of cold rolled steel, ¼ by ½ by 4 in., and two pieces, 1/8 by 9/16 by 4-in., fastened by three No.8 by 5/8-in. flat-head machine screws on each side. The T-slot takes a 3/8-in. bolt head. Use a 3/8 by ½-in bolt and a ½ by 9/64-in. bushing with a 3/8-in. hole. Tighten with a thumbnut and washer. The bolt head may have to be ground or turned thinner to slide freely in the crank slot. By adjusting this bolt, and with it the connecting rod, you can vary the feed from one to four teeth.

Return to A Lot of Brass

This Web Page ©1996, Michael Horgan