Thread: Whitworth Planer Circa 1850

So that's the grandaddy of all planers huh? Shapers too. Smaller than I imagined. But sophisticated. Is that a power down-feed I see, belt driven? I wonder how flat surfaces were generated before the planer? Chisels, files & scrapers?

Bob,
Thanks for posting all the pictures of machines during your travels, keep em coming. Hope you are getting time to see other things though and enjoy the scenery. All the best, Alan.

Thanks Bob,

Great work, posting these fascinating pictures, there are a lot of interesting details to learn from there. The inverted V ways, are interesting.. reminds me of a surface grinder setup...

I haven't sussed out the drive mechanism, that eccentric thing is the quick return I guess?

T-slots, square profile threads on the cross slide, inverted V ways, ... makes you wonder if the machine tool industry has made any advances at all since the 1850's... and this is before Mushet and High Speed Steel came along as well.

Nice little T-slot vise clamps..

Regards
Ray
PS Great camera work as well.

Just like the wheel,couple of tweaks but still a wheel.

Originally Posted by Bryan

So that's the grandaddy of all planers huh?

Not quite.
James Fox is credited with building the first metal planer in 1814.
James Nasmyth in 1838 invented a shaper
But the ram quick return mechanism on a shaper is often known as Whitworth.

Jordan

So Whitworth invented what I know as the scotch yoke? That is the mechanism that drives the planer above. I haven't seen Nasmyth's shaper, but I think every shaper I have seen uses a scotch yoke. So I think it's (was) a very important idea.

Edit: Info & drawings of Nasmyth's shaper: Page Title.

Edit: Here is a later Whitworth planer (1880), with a different quick-return system: Whitworth Planer - Practical Machinist

Bryan,

Quote: " but I think every shaper I have seen uses a scotch yoke."

Some shapers also used elliptical gears to provide a quick return. Have a look at the link given by Irby Jones in post #7 in this thread:
Planer blueprint. - Practical Machinist - Largest Manufacturing Technology Forum on the Web
for a photo of one.

If they weren't cast, I'd love to know how they cut them, and if they were cast, how did the arrive at the correct tooth shape and spacing for the patterns?

Frank

Hi Frank,
Do you think they are really elliptical of just round gears with the bore set off center?
An ellipse would go through two speed cycles each revolution.(?)
As for making them, if you can turn a square I guess you can turn just about anything.

Second last picture in the first post.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/wa...1936-a-132847/

Still an interesting idea.

Stuart

Frank, quite right, and very interesting. But doesn't seem to have caught on. No doubt you've seen the pictures of elliptical gears in this thread: Musee d'arts et metiers visit pics (Paris, France) - Practical Machinist. I have no idea how they were made, but I think I know why planers moved away from the scotch yoke design. It's simply a matter of scale. My shaper has a max stroke of 18". The bull gear has a diameter larger than that - at a guess 24" at least. With the long strokes of big planers that would quickly become impractical. That's my theory anyway.