I had a catch, on my 3hp grizzly shaper, with the workpiece caught between fence and cutter. The machine stalled.
I now notice a run-out of about 1/16″ on the 3/4″ spindle. A new spindle is only around $15, but is it possible I may have caused damage somewhere else?
Has anyone had a similar experience?
Replies
Get a new spindle ,measure the runout and see that the bearings are quiet.It is unlikely that much else is wrong .Belt is perhaps frayed.The tooling is of concern examine it for fractures and distortion.Only once have I had a serrated knife shatter and never forgotten it
Willie ,
Yes it is possible that the damage is other than the spindle . I would check the bearings and race if there are any and the casting or housing around the spindle . The runout you speak of is a very large amount , man that spindle sounds like it is bent in half almost. Can you grab and wiggle the spindle or can you clearly see the bend or distortion ? let us know what you find .
good luck dusty
I would start by getting the new spindle. If you don't have any run-out with it, I would guess probably not. If however you still have the run-out, then you may have a bigger problem.
How did you check to get the 1/16" amount, do you have a magnetic dial-indicator, or are you just holding something close while you hand rotate? If you are looking at the end of the spindle, while it is running, and it appears to be wiggling around that much while it runs, I think that may be a normal thing probably related to belt vibration or balance.
If you don't have good measuring instruments, I would put your largest diameter cutter on the arbor first without the nut. Bring a block of wood up to just touch one cutter, then slowly turn it backwards by hand to determine that however many blades there are, are the same length. If they are, then put all of your spacer collars under it to mount it as high on the shaft as you can, then tighten the nut, and rotate it against the block backwards again. This test should show you the worse case scenario.
That 3/4" spindle should have been hardened, and should have been pretty tough to bend. Were you using a pretty big cutter? How did it happen, and how is your heart?
Keith and everyone else, thanks for the advice.
Keith, yes my heart had a few jumps, those shapers are dangerous tools.
I molded end grain, with a short piece against the miter gauge and an end piece to take care of tearout. (I know, I know, should have made a jig) So the piece turned slightly against the miter gauge, as it passed the termination of the infeed fence and I got a kick-back against the termination of the infeed fence. The cutter was 3 1/2" diameter.
I still used the shaper a while after this heart recovery, with no problems and only noticed the run-out during cleanup. If I turn the spindle by hand the run-out is clearly visible.
I think, only the spindle bent (hope I'm correct) and have a new one on the way.
Willie,
Is this the type which is normally inchandaquarter, and you can interchange smaller spindles i.e is that 3/4 inch shaft an insert? If so I suggest you check the draw bar is properly tightened, and then see if there is still that run out.
What tooling were you running-must have been quite large/heavy? Maybe too big for a measly 3/4 shaft?
Philip,
I too have used a 3/4 inch shaft on 3 1/2 inch cutters.. (I Know,...) but I only needed to make a few passes and well,.. it was easier to just put the adaptors on then pull the spindale for that make the few cuts and then swap it back again for my other cutters..
I know I know I know!
But I did it and chances are I'll do it again sometime.
doesn't excuse me and if something ever happens you get to laugh at me..
Frenchy,
I see some are on the ball-I thought I was being ever so discreet.
I would rather laugh with you than at you. The second option has a nasty habit of boomeranging....
Guys be careful.
I've seen two shaper accidents in my life.
One involved a friend losing most of his hand- they sewed it up okay, but it doesns't work like before. - He was rasing panels, and the leading edge caught and went in for a spin. His hands weren't close, but they went in too.
The other involved a knife coming out. A big one. It had the serrated teeth, which bent and sheared. It chipped the cast iron on the way out, flew about 50 feet before it hit flat and blew through the face of a sheet of 1-1/2" MDF. The guy at the CNC was standing 4 feet away from the hit, and almost wet himself. The math on the speed and impact is scary.
Of all the tools in any big shop, the shaper makes me the most nervous.
Replace the spindle, check fior runout on the new one, and if there is any, have the bearing assembly replaced if necessary.
The older I get, the better I was....
Papanick,
shapers are less scary to me than routers. They spin at much lower speeds and often have enough mass that basic mistakes are forgiven that would result in serious damage with a router..
To me the scariest piece is the homemade lift table using a router mounted upside down where the switch is hidden and poorly trained guys try to do the same thing that shapers do..
In addition because of it's commonality many have little understanding of the risks involved with routers
no doubt there.
But still, a 10HP tilting arbor shaper is a machine worthy of serious respect.The older I get, the better I was....
I think this type of accident shows the normal mind set we woodworkers have. We really should think like metalworkers, making sure a piece is properly clamnped, the move it into a spinning bit. I'm no better, just commenting we all could be. Last year thought, I adopted a "rehearse the cut" practice whenver i do something I am not familiar with, just make sure the clamps, jig, slider, whatever, is doing what I want it to do. Takes maybe 30 seconds, and is worth it.
Daryl,
You are spot on. The shaper can be intimidating, just by sheer size and sound-that's why people are usually respectfull of it , in contrast to the router in table. But when foncopulations do occur they are often on a large scale.
In addition to what you say I advocate a final lok at those gaps between fence and cutter-can it be decreased, or better, can there be a rubbing collar or bearing at the cutter for the leading edge of the workpiece to contact.
It looks as though Willie had some real estate between fence end and cutter...
Edited 7/10/2005 4:09 am ET by Philip Marcou
Philip,
Yep, you were right, I could almost drive a Hummer through the gap between the infeed fence and the cutter.
I got my new 3/4" spindle fitted and checked with a new cutter and a dial gauge, the run-out is 0.0008. So, I'm back in business.
Took the time to make a few new MDF fence add ons, and slowly fed the infeed and outfeed into the cutter, for the next job. No more gaps and perhaps a few jigs.
"Reherse the cut" Great way to explain it...SO we can think of ourselves as athletes - visualizing the motion we are about to execute...I'm Lance Armstrong and I see myself winning the Tour de France for the 7th time - no crashes :-)M
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
grizzly .. I would call them and ASK... They may be able to give you suggestions on what to check...
put one of the other spindles that comes with the machine on and check the runout.
It will tell you if other parts were damaged, though I doubt it.
Guys one should respect any tool that spins, anyone who proclaims fear of a tool ought not be using it or get some lessons in proper use.
JMO
Joe
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