Drummond shaper

[Fretters]

Thought I'd bore the **** out of you lot, with this work in progress.

A Drummond hand powered shaper. One item I've been hoping to drop on for a good few year now, & finally got hold of one last year, thanks to @dutchgray.

Also the first full project I've undertaken since moving here. Set up a new, small electrolysis vat for derusting.

Anyhows, onto some photo's. These are before I started disassembly.




Now a pile of parts. Some bits have been in the vat.





Found this stamp on the slide, when I cleaned that up yesterday.



It's not getting painted. I'm simply using a beeswax & graphite powder mix for finishing.

 

[Fretters]

This is the electrolysis vat.



A raised bed/planter I bought. Worked out cheaper & quicker than making one myself. Just added some bracing to the legs, lined with dpm & fitted those top pieces for resting pieces upon, & also to secure the dpm.

These are the anodes. Cut from an old cast iron sash weight. One end drilled & tapped to accept a M4 screw, for the connections.

 

[larry4406]

Very cool!

I like your derusting vat! Clever adaptation.

 

[dutchgray]

Nice to see Fretters, it seems to be in pretty decent order once all the grot is removed.

 

[Fretters]

Nice to see Fretters, it seems to be in pretty decent order once all the grot is removed.

It is in quite good condition underneath it all, & the rust is mainly superficial. The steel handle seems to have been the most rusty item out of the whole, & even that's come up well.

 

[Fretters]

This's the handle after cleanup.



Before.

 

[bmwrd0]

Nice. Shapers are a wonderful thing, and I always wanted a hand version.

 

[Fretters]

Nice. Shapers are a wonderful thing, and I always wanted a hand version.

I limited my choice by being after this specific make of shaper. I'm very partial to Drummond equipment, so no other make was acceptable to I. It must be around 10 to 15 year that I'd been keeping an eye out for a Drummond one. Did see the odd few crop up over the years on Ebay & such, but circumstance never coincided.

 

[Fretters]

I've had to rig up a temporary vat for the main body, so I could submerge it all at once. Nothing fancy, but it's only for this one piece.

 

[bmwrd0]

Very nice. I have an AAMCO 6" version, but that is 120V, not hand powered.

 

[Fretters]

Very nice. I have an AAMCO 6" version, but that is 120V, not hand powered.

Any chance of a photo of it? Always nice to see old equipment.

 

[Dave455]

The hand operated shaper always struck me as the definition of “slow progress”! Nevertheless, some superb quality things have been made on them over the years.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Drummond lathes. Just the right size for the gentleman engineer, which was their target market. I know little about their shaper’s though.

Restored a lathe several years ago and sold it on. I have another that I’m working on when I have time, but it was in worse shape and I’m not sure everything is there.

I also have a Myford M Type which is complete, is effectively a Drummond, and would look great with a cosmetic refurb, but I haven’t even started on that!

Good luck with the shaper and keep us all up to date. It looks to be in basically good condition, but Drummond used decent materials and their machines often retain their condition well.

But remember, you can make anything with a shaper - except money!

 

[Fretters]

I also have a Myford M Type which is complete, is effectively a Drummond, and would look great with a cosmetic refurb, but I haven’t even started on that!

I use a Drummond M type. That was similar, just needed a clean. One of the few old machines which simply got a clean & fettle, then put straight to use. No doing it up or anything. I love that machine. That lathe & I have spent a good few hour together over the years.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Drummond lathes. Just the right size for the gentleman engineer, which was their target market. I know little about their shaper’s though.

I'm not the only one with a fondness for them then. Just the right size is a perfect description of mine. Lathe sits at the far end of the workshop, along the far wall, & with the workshop only being around 5' wide, it fits there lovely.

What lathe is it that you're currently working on?

 

[dutchgray]

When I helped my friend clear out the shipping container of lathes and stuff (where this shaper came from) there was several Drummond lathes and it was obvious they are better machines than most similar sized lathes of their era.
They also all sold fairly easily which was a plus.
I still have slight regret that I didn't buy the Rivett 608 that was there, also considering it's eventual purchaser didn't want the factory wooden cabinet it came with, but I don't have the room or the time for it.

 

[Fretters]

I still have slight regret that I didn't buy the Rivett 608 that was there, also considering it's eventual purchaser didn't want the factory wooden cabinet it came with, but I don't have the room or the time for it.

Always a hard choice, but you made the correct choice. As I found out, tools/machinery which fall into that time/space issue become like a weight around ones neck.

 

[Fretters]

Dug out a spare Drummond handwheel I had buried away. Need to clean it up & make a sleeve for it, but that's the missing handwheel sorted.

 

[Fretters]

These are my Drummond lathes, in the workshop. The 3½" M type.



A 4" Roundbed. Still need to sort a drive/countershaft setup for this, but that's all it needs to make it functional.

 

[dutchgray]

Always a hard choice, but you made the correct choice. As I found out, tools/machinery which fall into that time/space issue become like a weight around ones neck.

I'm in a clearing / selling phase at the moment, a lot of excess has got to go, so I can concentrate of the few projects I really do want to get done.

 

[Fretters]

It's a relief when you get to that point where you can just concentrate on what you want to do, rather than having a myriad of future else in-progress projects around you.

That's why it's taken me six year to start on a project again. It's a stress free existence. I'll never take on any big projects again though. If it's something which can't be completed within a few week, or hogs all space, it won't happen.

 

[Fretters]

Few more pieces tidied up & waxed.



That handwheel took some fettling. Due to the wooden handle, I've had to clean that by hand.

 

[Dave455]

What lathe is it that you're currently working on?

The one I’m working on at the moment is an original 1902 pattern 3 1/2” - although the headstock is slightly different from most, so I’m assuming it’s a late model.

I haven’t done much to it for ages so you’ve reminded me to crack on!

 

[Dave455]

These are my Drummond lathes, in the workshop. The 3½" M type.



A 4" Roundbed. Still need to sort a drive/countershaft setup for this, but that's all it needs to make it functional.

Both very nice!

The M type is similar to the one I haven’t started on yet. Mechanically, it’s pretty good. It’ll be an easier job than the one I’m working on, but one project at a time!

 

[Fretters]

although the headstock is slightly different from most

Different in what way?

 

[Fretters]

Given the nameplate a light clean. Lighting is a bit crappy on the before photo. Apologies.

 

[Dave455]

Different in what way?

The other 1902 models that I’ve seen (and it definitely is that model) had a two piece headstock. Mine is a one piece, but I’m sure it’s original to the machine.

 

[Fretters]

Do you happen to have a photo of it? You have me intrigued.

 

[Fretters]

It's this model we're referring to?

Archive: lathes.co.uk

Machine Tool Archive, lathes.co.uk, Tony Griffiths

www.lathes.co.uk

 

[Dave455]

Yes, exactly that lathe, that tailstock, that cross slide, but a different headstock.

I haven’t got a picture I’m afraid, but I can take one at some point.

The machine belonged to the father of an acquaintance and it was offered to me cheap.

It was in a pretty bad way. The headstock and tailstock were attached to the bed, but everything else was just a box of bits. I don’t even know if everything is there, and there was some damage, but I bought it anyway.

One corner of the lathe base was broken off, so I stripped the thing right down, made a new piece, had it welded in (by a tame aerospace welder) and re drilled the mounting hole.

After protecting the bed and headstock mounting, I had it blasted, and that’s about where I’ve got to.

There was a small Pratt Burnerd chuck fitted when I acquired the machine, but there’s a chuck identical the one shown in your link included in the box of bits.

I packed all the parts in an old ammunition box on receipt, and added the headstock and tailstock when I removed them, so everything I acquired is all together. I just need to decide whether to re grind the bed, and if not to go ahead and paint it.

I know it makes sense to paint everything together, but the whole project becomes a bit big, so I find it‘s easier “piece by piece”.

Near Tunbridge Wells is a Victorian mansion called Salomans. A friend rents an office there so I’ve had a poke around. The guy who built it was quite a character. The house was one of the first in the area to have electricity, all locally generated.

Everything was built on site, and they have a photograph of the original workshop, obviously taken in the Edwardian era. All the machine tools are (obviously) “of the period” but all exceptionally high quality.

I find that period interesting, so when (if) I’ve finally restored this machine it’s my intention to hang onto it.

 

[Fretters]

so when (if) I’ve finally restored this machine it’s my intention to hang onto it.

Good to hear. I'm the same in loving machinery from that period. One of the rare periods where both function & form were combined.

A pre-B was the first Drummond lathe I bought. That's still in the project stage. In other words, a pile of bits which need restoring.

 

[Fretters]

I haven’t got a picture I’m afraid, but I can take one at some point.

If you could, that would be handy.

 

[dutchgray]

These are my Drummond lathes, in the workshop. The 3½" M type.



A 4" Roundbed. Still need to sort a drive/countershaft setup for this, but that's all it needs to make it functional.

I have a spare Smart and Brown model M base cabinet, it still has the 3 step iron flat belt pulley and countershaft, motor mounting plate and tensioning arrangement, if you're interested in any of it I could remove it before I dispose of the base cabinet, I know it's an under drive so would need to be modified to suit your needs.

 

[Fretters]

Ooh, I'm definitely interested. Any chance of a photo? Just so I can see if I can make it work/adapt it to suit.

 

[Dave455]

If you could, that would be handy.

Will do!

That corner of the workshop is where all the “long term” projects are stored, so stuff is a bit tightly packed...!

I’m fairly well organised, but I did once lose an entire lathe… When some colleagues found that amusing / incomprehensible, I had to confess I’d also lost a motorbike…!

 

[Fretters]

There's still some little bits of paint here & there on it, but the main body is now out of the vat & looking a bit tidier. Not bothering trying to remove any more paint now. Happy enough with it as is. I've not waxed it as yet. I'll be doing that sometime over the next few days.

 

[dutchgray]

Ooh, I'm definitely interested. Any chance of a photo? Just so I can see if I can make it work/adapt it to suit.

I was wrong, it's an alloy pulley and it looks like someone altered the mounting, probably to fit a different motor. It's all a different arrangement in the Model M I'm fixing up.

 

[Fretters]

Sorry for not replying sooner. Been trying to figure if I could make that work. Don't think I'll have room behind the lathe, & underneath it'd need a larger diameter stepped pulley, (similar in size to the original treadle flywheel), in order for the belt to clear the bed. I'm very limited on potential options, with where this lathe's located. I'm beginning to think I may need to remove the hammer rack behind it, but then I'll have to find another spot for those.

This's one drawback of having a 5' wide workshop. I'm thinking I may end up having to make an over drive setup like the one on the M type.

 

[dutchgray]

No worries.
If you want it or parts of it they are available. I think I have other countershafts and a selection of V pulleys in my storage container, I have a lot of stuff that needs selling or scrapping.
It's not going anywhere soon, I do want to sell the cast base if possible, it's one of the rarer cast Aluminium ones, easily movable by one with the lathe removed, but it's missing all the doors and covers so I can see it going for scrap being a possibility.
Yes a very small workshop is a challenge but we make the best of what we have.

 

[Fretters]

Yes a very small workshop is a challenge but we make the best of what we have.

Definitely teaches one to be creative in their use of space.

 

[Fretters]

Bar the clapper & vice, all the other bits are now cleaned up.



Probably going to sort some replacement gib screws, as none of them had locking nuts on them, & most are too short to enable fitting any.

I've sidetracked onto derusting the remaining pieces for a Drummond conrod boring jig, before I do the last bits of this shaper. Just wanted to get these jig bits done so I can get them out of my way & reassemble that jig.

 

[Fretters]

This's the con-rod boring jig I got sidetracked with. Still need to reassemble it, but everything is derusted. Getting the adjuster ring removed/freed from the height adjuster is being problematic though. After & before.





These were a Drummond accessory.