JasonLonon:
The production records for the Crank Shapers is only complete to about 1930 and this includes the original Order Forms and any Rebuild
Orders. Production of the Crank Shapers started in 1914 with the introduction of the 20 inch Shapers. In the fall of 1916, design work
was started on the 16 inch Heavy duty model, which would appear to have been introduced in late 1917. At this time, the Serial numbers
were assigned sequentially, regardless of the size of the machine. This was a practice started in 1904 with the Friction Shapers. Based
on the number of shapers built between December 13, 1920 and March 16, 1929, it is reasonable to assume that your shaper was built during
1918, but I can not give you a month or day. Also, Hendey has stated that production of a particular Serial Number Shaper could vary as
much as plus or minus two months from the posted date. There are no longer any Patterns, Castings or Repair Parts left in inventory for
this shaper, but all of the original drawings are still in the files, so parts can be made if required.
Hendey was late in getting into the crank Shaper business, having specialized in various Fraction Shapers, both Pillar and Travelling
Head featuring the Manville Friction Drive System. Even after the introduction of the Crank Shapers in 1914, they still continued to
make Friction Shapers until august 1920. The number of Friction Shapers built far exceeded the number of Crank Shapers built, 6775 and
3365, respectively. After the introduction of the 12 inch High Speed Shaper in 1933, the 16 inch Heavy Duty Shaper became the second
most popular shaper that Hendey Built. By 1942, the 12 inch High Speed, the 16 inch Heavy Duty and the 20 inch Standard were the only
Shapers produced except for the odd 24 inch Standard, 24 inch Heavy Duty and the 28 inch Standard. On October 6, 1945, the number of
shapers that had been ordered and were in production were 70-12 inch High Speed, 32-16 inch Heavy Duty and 22-20 inch Standard models.
I have not found any Operator's Manuals for these early shapers, but there are a number of drawings from the Engineering Department that
show the various belt drives for these shapers and the suggested operating speeds. It would interesting to see what the speed range is
for the drive system now installed on your machine and the Countershaft speeds. Also, since design changes were being made from WW1
until the mid-1930s, parts from the later machines may not fit your machine. If in doubt, I can check the drawings for you.
Hendeyman