Shaping Machine

The Cooper Shaper does employ a clapper...

Cutting stroke and return stroke. Between these, cutting stroke sounds to be 'upward stroke', right? As we know clapper box arrangement releases the tool from hard rubbing during return stroke. If cutting is not required, for some purpose, for a stroke or few strokes, normally the clapper box-tool tightening bolt head is simply lifted by hand, of course along with the stroke. If keeping hand around the cutting area is objectionable, this can be mechanized by incorporating cam to lift the tool form cutting. This is a basic thing, every machinist do practices, so I don't think this the right answer the OP is expecting. Am I missing some thing here?

I dont find one on the machine I have or it is jammed. Let me try dismantling it.

The clapper box has the feature allowing it to be locked in place, try adusting it...

I am surprised to hear that you do not have a clapper box in your shaping machine. It is a standard feature, which come with every machine. As indicated by Mr. Truman Brain, there are many clapper box indications in Google. The first one it self is a good picture. Are you not having this in your machine?

If the angle of the clapper box relative to the work piece is set incorrectly when the return stroke takes place the cutting tool will lift into the work piece rather than away from it.This should be easy to observe by just lifting it by hand and watch the arc described by the tool. If you can not do this then you must change the tool to a left hand tool or vice versa.

All shapers that I have worked with or seen employ the same method of metal removal. A tool inserted into the tool holder (clapper box) automaticly returns to the back position on the return stroke with no metal removed. If this is not the case then the tool holder (clapper box) is stuck or frozen in the cutting position on the return stroke. On another note, do they still make shapers? I sold an old cincinnati shaper about 2 years ago to a guy from St. Louis, said He needed it to make internal keyways in large pipe. Machine was from the 1940's. He said that they were hard to find.

oilcan13

I too got a second hand shaper. This one does not seem to have a clapper box. This machine too is from the 50's. No one makes these machines these days. I use them to make internal keyways on large gears. I will have try getting a clapper box. Thank you all for giving me valuable inputs..

Only happy to help Ajit