Yes.? Shapers were once pretty common.? The production drawback was the time wasted on the back stroke which, of course, does no cutting.? They are designed (usually a straight mechanical design but a hydraulic scheme came later) so the backstroke is faster than the cut stroke to help at least a little bit.
Since this group has a small machine focus, there have even been hobbyist sized shapers, notably by Adept in England (almost made a small lathe popular with hobbyists), that are hand powered.? You can see that here:
A planer (for metal, not like a wood planer) is another machine some may not be aware of.? It is a cousin to the shaper, but typically larger, much larger, where the tool bit is stationary, and a long table holding the work piece moves to and fro.
Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer
On Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 09:24:33 AM PST, Peter Brooks via groups.io <peter@...> wrote:
