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Danish Machine Company Shaper - newest addition

kevin.decelles

Jack of all trades -- Master of none
Premium Member
I picked up an 18" shaper a couple of weeks ago in @Janger 's backyard (about 2 minutes away). Saw it on Kijiji, called in a favor with the wife and did the deal. Previous owner (Ross) was a great host and we ended up talking for a couple of hours as we loaded this up. Interesting guy, builds prosthetics...... wicked pile of stainless/aluminum bar stock. Future forum joiner I hope.

Anyhow, shaper has 'Danish Machine Company' badge on it, is officially called the 'DANIA II', has 18" stroke, and weighs north of 1200lbs. Not much on the internet about these machines, as in almost nothing. No references to Dania, or the fact they made shapers. I reached out to Tony at lathes.co.uk and he said that DAMACO (Danish Machine Company) made lathes, but not much literature is available about their shapers.

The machine was well oiled and I saw it under power. The clamping block on the front has damage, but overall pretty good shape. The machine was built for belt/line-shaft, but has been converted to multi-speed via a rear-end differential which I think came out of a lawn mower (pretty clever). Has 4 speeds, powered by 1HP Baldor single-phase motor.

I did some research on the Danish national archive ( arkiv.dk )(very cool to browse) and found some black and white photos fo the shaper which dates it back to between 1930-1950. Now the work begins to strip it down, lose the blue paint, and reassemble.


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kevin.decelles

Jack of all trades -- Master of none
Premium Member
As for how we loaded it, we built a pyre of wood underneath, drove the trailer under the front and pulled it on with a come-a-long.

It's all about the 'tipping' point.

All joking aside -- we took our time, and it went very well. The engine hoist alone couldn't get it high enough.

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Everett

Super User
That's cool that you got that unit! I saw it, and was very tempted, but just can't afford one right now. Looking forward to the pics of your work on it, I had no idea that the Danes made machine tools like that. And, it's a good size for a home shop. Congratulations on the new machine!
 
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