G&E 20-24" shaper new to me

[SeanShanny]

I am picking up a Gould and Eberhardt 20-24" Industrial Universal Shaper on Tuesday morning. When I have a serial number I would like to know approximately when it was manufactured if a forum member has access to that sort of info.

Also there are a few things missing and would appreciate any leads on the following:
Armstrong No. 42 tool holder. Seems rare as hens teeth.
A shaper vise. I have seen a couple of large vises on eBay but I need to confirm t slot spacing on my machine.
The rear way tray. I am guessing I will end up having to make one of these but I figured it would be worth a try to see if anyone has one or has pictures and dimensions.

Everything else appears to be there.

Plans are to clean, inspect, repair as needed, put into service in my shop. I will post picture and progress on this thread.

Thanks for any leads or advice.

--sean

 

[john.k]

Big shame when the vice is separated from a quality shaper.....Ive got a couple of those holders...must check out they are still here.

 

[SeanShanny]

Big shame when the vice is separated from a quality shaper.....Ive got a couple of those holders...must check out they are still here.

Thanks John appreciate you looking

 

[johnoder]

Most important lube point is invisible and that is the internal sliding block in the vertical arm. Rear "tray" can be anything that catches lube drips off rear of ram

There is a fair chance that its the GE that has safety interlock down low on oper side at rear. If this feature is "locked" nothing works

Add On

Here is a Williams 4R but it will need their dedicated set screw - which ARE NOT 5/8-11

 

[SeanShanny]

Most important lube point is invisible and that is the internal sliding block in the vertical arm. Rear "tray" can be anything that catches lube drips off rear of ram

There is a fair chance that its the GE that has safety interlock down low on oper side at rear. If this feature is "locked" nothing works

Add On

Here is a Williams 4R but it will need their dedicated set screw - which ARE NOT 5/8-11

johnoder,

Is that lubrication point a ball oiler or something else altogether?

--sean

 

[johnoder]

johnoder,

Is that lubrication point a ball oiler or something else altogether?

--sean

On my 36" Ohio it was a pump fed arrangement with steel tubing to generally flood that block. Here are similar parts from a similar size Hendey - you can see the "block" in the vertical arm

 

[SeanShanny]

On my 36" Ohio it was a pump fed arrangement with steel tubing to generally flood that block. Here are similar parts from a similar size Hendey - you can see the "block" in the vertical arm

First item of business will be to drain and clean inside of casting. Once I have that done and fresh oil in I will look around while it is running to make sure oil is flowing everywhere. Adam Booth did a video series on cleaning and fixing his 32" G&E with lots of video showing all the oiling working on the inside, I will use that as a starting point.

 

[john.k]

I bought a near unused ex army 20" shaper ......the sliding block was badly scored ,as was the arm slot............the grunts had used a grease gun ,instead of oil for the block......it had run dry .

 

[Ohio Mike]

I am picking up a Gould and Eberhardt 20-24" Industrial Universal Shaper on Tuesday morning. When I have a serial number I would like to know approximately when it was manufactured if a forum member has access to that sort of info.

When facing the front of the machine the serial will be on the right side way just below the ram.

 

[johnoder]

Serial book (for what is worth) under "all lines except plastic presses" lists 6361 for 1920 and 16389 for 1959

 

[G-ManBart]

I recently purchased a very similar G&E 20-24 Industrial Universal. It was a lot dirtier than yours, but did still have the original vise. I have a thread on the hobby forum documenting the process I've gone through with a few things that might be helpful like how the lube system is configured, etc....a few short videos, etc, but nothing fancy.

BTW, the sliding block is lubricated by the central pump and there is a copper line running up to a fitting to supply oil. If things are working you'll see excess oil running down the sides of the crank.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to drain the sump. I bought an inexpensive Harbor Freight transfer pump then made a power supply with an on/off switch and used that to pump out as much as possible. I had to use gallons of kerosene to get things clean, then pumped that out as well. Here's the thread if you want to take a look:

The Homeless Shaper (G&E 20-24" Industrial Universal)

Part 1: It all started with a text from a friend on a Tuesday afternoon: "There's a 24" G&E shaper in Fraser (40 miles away) on FB Marketplace for $500. Has a nice table and vise on it too". This from a friend who knows I have the space to take in a shaper, even though I have a lot of other...

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[G-ManBart]

Big shame when the vice is separated from a quality shaper.....Ive got a couple of those holders...must check out they are still here.

Obviously Sean gets first dibs, but if you have a second Armstrong 42, I'd be interested.

A couple of years ago I bought a lathe that came with a bunch of random shaper tools...including a No. 42. I never figured I'd get a shaper, so I sold all of them at low, fair prices...now I need them back....figures.

 

[SeanShanny]

Well I have the machine home and in the barn. One unexpected issue is that the universal table is supposedly missing a gear so when you loosen the 4 bolts on the front the table flops over. The shaft on the front of the table is still there but there must be something missing inside. I have to make a couple of t-nuts so I can lift off the tilt top and take a look inside.

lucky7 is looking to see if he has a vise for me. The spacing on the t-slots is 4.5 inches.
john.k is looking to see if he has a Armstrong no 42 tool holder laying around.

Serial number is 2365A5

I am attaching some new photos. Everything appears to move and engage. I have some pictures of the sump, obviously will need to be drained. I will run some kerosene through the system to clean things thoroughly and then replace with correct oil. Needs new site glasses and packing for the ram ways, ordered from Zoro. A lot of cleaning is in my future but that was to be expected.

The rear drip tray is missing as are the rear way wipers. Not sure what my options are there. Also I am guessing that the key is missing on the auto down feed screw nut as it is not turning when manually moving the ratchet pawl back and forth.

This machine came out of the NY Canal Maintenance shop. It absolutely amazes me the stuff they have gotten ridden over the last few years in the name of safety. Some of it has been auctioned off but a lot of it like large perfectly serviceable radial arm drills, large monarch lathes etc have simply been scrapped.

 

[G-ManBart]

Looks good! I wish the inside of mine was that clean when I got it....it was beyond nasty.

I have the vise off mine right now...continuing on the cleaning process. If you figure out what yours is missing I can probably pull the table and get measurements/dimensions, etc...assuming it's complete since I haven't loosened those bolts.

 

[SeanShanny]

Looks good! I wish the inside of mine was that clean when I got it....it was beyond nasty.

I have no idea what the bottom of the sump has in store for me in terms of sludge...

Some more pics

 

[ncjeeper]

Nice yours has the automatic down feed. I wish mine did. Serial number 2365 is an early 1940 model.

 

[Ohio Mike]

Nice yours has the automatic down feed. I wish mine did. Serial number 2365 is an early 1940 model.

According to my book the last serial of 1940 was 2308A which would make it a 1941.

 

[SMFKT205SA]

SeanShanny
Great to see another shaper saved and gone to a good home. Please post photos of your progress getting the shaper up and running. Power down feed is a real plus. Noticed the lock block on the table support as these are usually missing. I have a G&E also and really enjoy using it. Be safe.

 

[ncjeeper]

According to my book the last serial of 1940 was 2308A which would make it a 1941.

I thought that was the start of the year not the last. Do I have it backwards?

 

[Ohio Mike]

I thought that was the start of the year not the last. Do I have it backwards?

There is a note in the front of my book that says unless specified the numbers should be assumed to be the last number for each year.

On the same page there is also a note that says machine builders marked with a star furnished the information directly, and G&E is marked as such so we can be confident that the numbers are accurate.