My quest for a shaper has ended. I picked up a Elliott Invicta 2MR 14' shaper after looking about for a shaper. I found a few out there in the 14' size. Magics 19.01 64 Bit. This one was in a one man shop 25 minutes away and was in use a couple of times a year. I dropped in on a whim and there it was.

I figured it wouldn't have major problems if it was still in production mode. The fellow delivered it and manouvered it into place in my shop. I come off my electrical panal 230 Volt single phase, thru a rotory phase converter then thru a 600/240 Volt auto transformer and to the machine. I've never worked a shaper before and am fasinated by it the couple of sessions I've had. The tool holder is a lathe tool holder so I'll make a shaper one for it.

Elliott 14M & 18M Operating & Manual With Parts List.Approximately 31 pages dealing with slinging, foundation, installation, lubrication, operating instructions.

It needs a cleaning to get the 'protective layer' of oil and grime off it. There seem to be a few lubricating points on it. The aquisition of a grease gun and oil can are next.

Does anyone know where I can get a manual for it other than over in the UK? Does anyone know what if the designation 2MR means anything? M848a Motherboard Drivers. Lathe tool holders will work if they are the T-* variety with no built in rake (carbide tooling holders). They are real cheap on Ebay if you keep your eyes open.

As Matt says, be careful of that thing. The gotcha on a shaper is reaching in trying to brush away a chip or something while the ram is running. It's like racing a train to the intersection. A shaper is THE most powerful tool in the shop in most cases, but it sure doesn't seem that way to watch it calmly shave off metal.

They are one of the neatest machines you will ever use, and once you learn to 'think shaper', they can do an awful lot of things cheaply and sometimes faster than a mill. I have been playing with large radius 'broad nose' finishing tooling on the Steptoe at work. It will leave a finish smooth as a surface grinder on cast iron. Never have been able to figure out Elliots shaper model numbering, mine is an Elliot 14M, as it has metric scales I assumed the M to indicate metric, although the 14S I had previously was imperial and a more basic machine where I assumed the S to indicate standard. The Invicta range seem even less logical as a 2M is 14', a 4M is 18' and a 6M is 24', god knows what the R relates to. The manual is included on John Stevensons shapers CD, well worth the money for all the other information included. Regards Brian.

Michael, your shaper page is steadily becoming a very comprehensive resource for the afflicted, well done & keep up the good work. Mike C, I was given a few large lathe form tools which suited the shaper lantern, one of which I milled & finish ground into a finishing style of grind to suit alluminium, the surface finish results on a block of H30 were quite extraordinary & thus far no one I have shown this to has correctly identified the shaper as the culprit. I can get close to the finish with modern tooling on the mill, but it is easy on the experienced eye to attribute to roatary tooling. I have yet to play with cast iron on the shaper. It would be nice to see a picture of the Invicta, most that I have seen on the forums have the power down feed, rarely seen on the Elliot branded machines more common in the UK. Regards Brian.