Peerless Shaper Basement Install

[YYCHM]

Well.... the Gingery shaper just wet my appetite for something a little better so...



Monday, I acquired this 8" Peerless shaper from @RobinHood (Thanks Rudy). Looks innocent enough doesn't it. It's NOT, it's heavier than all get out. This is the conclusion after offloading it from the truck and moving it into the basement with the help of a neighbour. Bumping it down the basement stairwell on a hand cart was rather unnerving.



The table, motor, drive pulley and belt guard. Almost everything is CI as far as I can tell. Maybe not the belt guard.



This is the motor mount that is cantilevered off the back of the machine. With this installed the whole thing is 40" long. It's not wide but it's long.



I was hoping to mount the machine on this tool stand with the stand sitting on tri-castors so that I could push it out of the way when not in use. I'm having my doubts about that arrangement now. Thoughts?

I'm thinking now, I'll have to arrange to get a engine hoist into the basement in order to spot the machine onto any stand. A dead lift would require at least 4 people I'm sure.

 

[DavidR8]

Well done. You’re clearly afflicted with the rare infectious disease called anothershaperitis.

 

[YotaBota]

Nice find, or did it find you?. What stand did RobinHood have it mounted on? It looks like it will need something more substantial than what you're showing.

 

[YYCHM]

Nice find, or did it find you?. What stand did RobinHood have it mounted on? It looks like it will need something more substantial than what you're showing.

Heavy Heavy wooden cabinet 10" wide X 39" long X 3' tall. Rudy had it on 4"(?) castors so that he could move it around his shop. That arrangement was too tall for me, but I need to have it on castors as well. Can't decide if I should use this cabinet or not, maybe.

I still need to rescue that magic switch. The whole cabinet would appear to have been built around the switch LOL. I think I'm going to have to cut it out if it comes to that.

 

[YotaBota]

How much would you need to cut it down? A circular saw and a straight edge should do the trick.

 

[YYCHM]

How much would you need to cut it down? A circular saw and a straight edge should do the trick.

Tomorrow I'll take a pic of the bottom, it's not like anything you have seen before! A circular saw won't do it, it's solid and 10" wide. A chainsaw perhaps but that would be pretty nasty.

Hmmmm….. Just dawned on me...… Maybe castors mounted on out riggers attached to the front and back would allow for the cabinet to be as low as possible and provide lateral stability. Lockable castors would be a bonus. These tri-castors don't lock.

 

[Hruul]

Nice shaper Craig. Maybe you already know but, some of the castors at princess auto have a double lock. When you lock them, they lock the wheel rolling and also turning. They have a toothed ring inside near the mount. I use them on all my woodworking tools and I had 5" ones on a wood cart that I had.

 

[Mcgyver]

Thats a solid looking shaper and great size. Just my opinion but I'd want a more substantial stand sans casters.....there's a fair bit of weight being tossed back and forth. Did the casters work ok at the previous installation?

 

[DPittman]

Good for you. Your basement must be getting full. LOL

 

[YYCHM]

Thats a solid looking shaper and great size. Just my opinion but I'd want a more substantial stand sans casters.....there's a fair bit of weight being tossed back and forth. Did the casters work ok at the previous installation?

Will need for @RobinHood to comment as to how long it's been on castors. When we ran it on Monday, it seemed quite stable and I didn't notice any walking or rocking. The castors on it weren't the locking type. I'd go with the arrangement if it hadn't been so tall. Not being able to swing the machine in and out of it's niche is not an option for me, I'm right out of room in my tiny basement shop area.

 

[RobinHood]

Yes, it worked very well with the casters on. It seemed to “absorb” the inertia of the ram by moving axially just a bit at the end of the stroke in both directions.

I would never leave it unattended in that configuration, however, as it was a very tall, potentially unstable arrangement. Especially if it were to tip sideways.

The only reason for me having it on casters was the requirement for mobility - things were very tight in my old garage shop.

 

[YYCHM]

How much would you need to cut it down? A circular saw and a straight edge should do the trick.

Here is a pic of the bottom of the cabinet...



You might be able to cut it down an inch or two with a skill saw and finish with a hand saw. That thing is crazy heavy for some reason. A real struggle to move around.

 

[YYCHM]

Yes, it worked very well with the casters on. It seemed to “absorb” the inertia of the ram by moving axially just a bit at the end of the stroke in both directions.

I would never leave it unattended in that configuration, however, as it was a very tall, potentially unstable arrangement. Especially if it were to tip sideways.

The only reason for me having it on casters was the requirement for mobility - things were very tight in my old garage shop.

Rudy, how much height did that castor set you had on it raise it? Are they 4" wheels?

 

[Hruul]

Well you were not kidding when you said it was solid. Someone went to extra work to do all those joints so it would not come apart easy.

 

[RobinHood]

Yes, 4” swivelling castor wheels, rated for 250# each, mounted onto 2x6s. Total height gain was 6.625”.

 

[Dusty]

Here is a pic of the bottom of the cabinet...

View attachment 14234

You might be able to cut it down an inch or two with a skill saw and finish with a hand saw. That thing is crazy heavy for some reason. A real struggle to move around.

Craig, simply remove several of your gold bricks and it won't be as heavy. LOL

Removing a couple of inches appears doable from your photo and as Robinhood mentions one remains close to the machine while operating. All of my shop gear is on castors so I can put the car in our single garage. As @Hruul mentioned PA locking castors work for me. Good luck!

 

[YYCHM]

Yes, 4” swivelling castor wheels, rated for 250# each, mounted onto 2x6s. Total height gain was 6.625”.

That doesn't sound right? They seemed to be mounted on aluminium L brackets and screwed to the cabinet with three screws.

 

[RobinHood]

The L-brackets were sitting atop of the 2x6s to hold the whole castor assembly to the cabinet front and back walls at the base. I took advantage of the massive joinery you can see in your picture for stability and strength.

 

[kevin.decelles]

Well you were not kidding when you said it was solid. Someone went to extra work to do all those joints so it would not come apart easy.

LOL, might have been simpler to make it solid by gluing 2x4s together and carving out the slot for the wire! I like the attention to detail.

 

[Mcgyver]

Yes, it worked very well with the casters on. It seemed to “absorb” the inertia of the ram by .

good stuff. My remark was more a 'thought' than practical experience, I've not had one go for dance on casters . I did have a little Atlas7 for awhile but never tried it on casters. I do really like that shaper, being 8" its going to be I'd think a little beefer and capable than the Atlas I had but still managemable in a crowded shop (I'm in that boat as well.....crowded enought that that shaper wouldn't fit at the moment)