Author Topic: Atlas 7B shaper restoration  (Read 16731 times)

Offline vdubjunkie

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #60 on: January 20, 2020, 01:13:31 AM »
vdubjunkie-

Beautiful job on the restoration of that Atlas shaper!  Given its starting condition, it's a lucky machine to have found someone willing to take the time to do a full tear-down and repainting.


LAmachinist, thanks for the vote of confidence.  Although, I will admit that I got very lucky with some of this machine.  I didn't see the need to resurface anything for one thing.

I tripped across this post as I recognized that machine - I believe I am the person who bought the original base to your machine.

You know, I think you may very well be right.  That paint/filth in your pictures does look very familiar to me!   :lolb:

In all seriousness, it would have been nice to have known that the base was an option.  However, I was pushing the limits of my "budget" just to get the machine with nothing else, so I guess it's all good.  It won't be an original base, but I do have a friend who is a very talented welder and I'm betting he'll be able to help me get something very attractive put together.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair

Offline mpoore

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #61 on: November 06, 2020, 06:02:12 AM »
I registered to comment on your shaper restoration. It is going to be very useful as I restore my 7B. Something that has me a little confused is the electrical setup. It appears that the machine was originally equipped with a toggle switch. However, many of those machines today have had the toggle switch replaced with an external switch box holding various types of switches. Along with the addition of the switch box I also see external wiring. My 7B has the external switch box with a rocker switch similar to a household wall switch. To make things worse, my machine has BX cable snaking around the machine. It looks terrible. I did notice that my 1947 Atlas Parts Price List shows a switch box in the parts diagram, but a picture of the machine shows a toggle switch mounted inside the cast hole in the frame.

What I would like to know is how is the wiring run from the original toggle switch. It looks as if it would run inside the frame around the crank assembly possible out the bottom in the back the hook up to the motor. If you or anyone else knows, please share.

Offline LAmachinist

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #62 on: November 07, 2020, 03:06:35 AM »
mpoore - on my 7b there is a hole in the back right hand corner of the base casting (the long bottom part with the slide for the table foot).  It is even threaded, and I believe there was probably a cord exiting from that with a strain relief clamp.  I do not know how the routing went inside the machine body - perhaps someone has an original and can chime in.

The toggle switches are near impossible to find - it is an unusual oval shape that does not appear to have been used in many other machines.  Atlas did sell an adapter plate - to bridge from the oval shape of the toggle switch area to the rectangular shape of a switch box.  I have added a photo of one - note the original atlas casting number.  Yet there is no hole drilled in it, suggesting that it was either meant for a switch box with external wiring, or Atlas assumed the user would drill their own hole to run the wires internally like the toggle switch arrangement.




Offline mpoore

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #63 on: November 07, 2020, 05:04:59 AM »
Thanks lamachimist. I'll have to look for that hole in the base as I tear it down. There might be some clues inside on how the wire was routed that I will be able to see once its apart and a little cleaner. I bet I have that adapter behind the switch box. This came from a school many years ago. There might have been some safety concerns involved in the wiring setup modifications. It seems like overkill and quite ugly. See the pics.

The toggle switch in the pictures that I have seen looks fairly standard with a threaded collar mounted on the oval plate. Is there something I am missing that makes it different? I feel confident that I can fabricate something very close.

I really like the paint on the machine in your picture. Is that your machine? What kind of paint is it?

MP


Offline LAmachinist

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #64 on: November 09, 2020, 05:27:28 AM »
Holy mackerel - you may have your work cut out for you.  Although cosmetic issues dont necessarily give an indication of the condition of the ways - my machine looked OK at purchase but there was very heavy scoring on the ways. Hence the teardown and scraping.  Heck I could have started with raw castings and had almost the same amount of work to do.

The oval plate for the switch was what I was referring to - I suppose fabricating one and painting "on/off" might be fine - or having someone print a sticker.  Originals seem very hard to find.

The paint I used was Imron 3.5 satin plus - an industrial paint made by Axalta.  I just brushed it on.  It is potent (and expensive) stuff, and if you google around you can find some excellent restorations using less specialized paint (enamel etc).   Yet I really wanted a paint that was rock solid and impervious to all the common organic solvents.

Offline Mcgyver

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #65 on: November 25, 2020, 11:31:51 PM »
Imron is a common fleet paint...they put it on trucks because its really durable.  It is nasty though, supposed to be used with a positive pressure suit.  Some people are very susceptible to its vapors and others develop the sensitivity but at its worse it can be deadly.  Maybe you know all this, not meaning to disparage, just jotting it down in case someone sees the name and wants to try it without knowing any better.

I put some shots of my Atlas shaper (not mine anymore, sold it) on my web site.  They're a nice machine, if I had more space I'd love to have a shaper again. https://www.metallum.shop/projects-2/#shaper

« Last Edit: November 27, 2020, 11:02:16 AM by Mcgyver »

Offline LAmachinist

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Re: Atlas 7B shaper restoration
« Reply #66 on: November 26, 2020, 03:34:00 AM »
Mcgyver - good point.  Any isocyanate containing paint probably doesn't do much for ones health.  I sure as heck wouldn't want anyone to spray the stuff without being suited up. To be honest, since I was brushing it on, I just used a tyvek suit and a good respirator (new cartridges), plus I was outside.  Shooting it, even outside, would be a completely different story.

 

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