Anyone here own a SCM T-160 shaper?

[Jeff Duncan]

Probably a long shot but figure I'll at least put it out there.

I can't find much help online except for a tough to read parts list and I'm trying to figure out a couple things. Mostly in relation to the gear box and spindle assembly. For instance, is the oil solely for the lift gears, or is it an oil lubricated bearing setup? What type of oil does it use? Probably a handful more question as I start to go over the machine.

thanks in advance,
Jeff

[joe milana]

Is that a stealth gloat there? I had my eye on one once, but like you,I couldn't find much info on the machine. Good luck!

[David Kumm]

You can download manuals from www.partspronto.com Dave

[Jeff Duncan]

Joe, could be a gloat....but not until I get her up and running and see what I'm working with At first evaluation I think this thing is, well....a beast! Spindle is within .001 and everything moves as it should manually. Got to get her cleaned and wired up and see. I may have to replace some of the wiring up to the motor as it seems pretty brittle....which is surprising unless it's older than I suspect

David, thanks but all they have are parts manuals for the T-160, and pretty poor quality versions at that I printed what they had yesterday and got some info, but some stuff still isn't quite clicking. It was hinted to me that that's probably due to the age, though I thought these were early 80's machines? What I need is some basic information on machine specific maintenance and to have a handful of questions mostly about the quill/gearbox assembly answered.

JeffD

[David Kumm]

Jeff, that is a beast! I googled a couple for sale- might be old or out of date. I'd contact Global Machinery to see if the one they have listed has a manual you could copy. I'd also call Carissa Stanford at Parts Pronto. She is magic at finding stuff for old machines. I've been told parts can't be had and she seems to find them. Worth a try. Good luck, when running it should be great. Dave

[Jeff Duncan]

Thanks Dave, this machine was on my short list for tilting shapers along with the Martin T-23 and the Bauerle. Until now all three well out of my budget having upgraded my other shapers over the last couple years. Fortunately for me this one came up locally at a fraction of what I've seen the others sell for

I have a call into SCM/Parts Pronto and am waiting to hear back....hopefully Problem is the machine is likely older than I had first thought. The parts list I downloaded is dated 81' and the area I'm looking at seems different....ie older. I have her running and she seems OK, at least nothing obvious that needs attention mechanically. I still think I may need to replace the wires to the motor as they're starting to crack and that just doesn't seem safe. So right now as it stands they're trying to find someone in the factory that may know the older machines. If that fails they said they'll put a call in to Italy. I'm not overly optimistic...but keeping my fingers crossed

There's also a funny problem I'm going to have to dig into. When you press the off switch it kills the power as it should. However if I push the off button when the machine is already off it briefly powers up The off switch is labeled as a brake also so there may be some electronic component malfunctioning as there does not seem to be any braking going on. I'll post another thread for that specific problem as I get closer to working on it. Goofy little electrical problem I'm hoping I can resolve myself

Lastly for now, this thing really is a beast....makes the Martin almost seem small in comparison It has the original fence in good shape, and all the table rings! It's running an 8 hp motor and is just one heavy chunk of cast iron with a spindle and motor attached to it. If everything else works out OK like it seems so far, the most work it will need is electrical and paint. For some reason almost all the paint on it is flaking off? My biggest worry with the tilting machines was how accurate the tilt mechanism would be. I'd guess the trunnions on this thing would weigh more than my entire 12" Wadkin Table saw. It takes several turns of the wheel to move it one degree! I'm not worried anymore

Jeff

[David Kumm]

Jeff, I've lusted over the Bauerle fro months but I've got more shapers than room. Can you see a brake on the motor or somewhere else? Keep me up to date. Dave

[Chris Padilla]

No pics...you don't have one.

[Jeff Duncan]

Sorry for the delay guys....had an unscheduled day off yesterday Kind of surreal having your whole town in a daytime curfew and watching everything on TV....but at least there was a good end result.

Dave, I'm impressed. You mean you could actually turn down an opportunity for a silly reason like not having place to put it? If I was that smart I'd actually be able to move in my shop No, I have an addiction and as much as I keep telling myself I don't "need" any more....there are certain machines I just can't say no to

Anyway I gave the machine a fairly good look over on Thursday and I can't find anything that looks like an electronic brake to me. There's nothing attached to the motor, and nothing on the electronic panel that stands out. I really know nothing about electronic brakes though, so I could be staring right at it and probably not recognize it!

So since Chris asked nicely....here's the gratuitous pics

Front view...

Controls...

Pic showing the motor, gearbox, and you can see how the casting for the gear box also houses the quill....

Pic of the electronic panel


I'm still working out the whole gearbox/quill situation. It's different than any of the shapers I've ever used. On this machine the motor and the pulleys are fixed to the trunnion and the quill moves vertically independent of them....sort of like a drill press I guess? Bearings seem OK but if they do end up needing to be replaced it's going to be an interesting project

JeffD

[Erik Loza]

Interesting, don't recognize any of the innards. Especially the oil reservoir-part. You gonna' resto the outside and repaint it? Thanks for sharing.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[David Kumm]

Jeff, had it not been tax season i might have succumbed to the Bauerle. I think the T160 should be a great find though. Martin uses a similar system in their older shapers with the oil directly cooling the bearings. Generally if oil is kept in supply the bearings last forever so you may be golden. If you feel the need to swap bearings, my 299 needs new ones so feel free. Dave

[J.R. Rutter]

The electronic brakes that I have seen on SCM motors have been in between the motor cooling fan and the actual motor. My T120K had a funky brake that worked sometimes and not others. I think that there are wear components and/or a finicky air gap adjustment. I no longer have the machine or manuals, so I don't remember the specifics, sorry. Looks like a great find!

[Jeff Duncan]

Erik, my gut feeling is this may be one of the first run of T-160's before they ditched the gear box system? I have no evidence of that except that in all the machine interior pics I've found so far none have the same gearbox setup mine has. I'm seriously thinking about a paint job as it's in such poor shape. I'm not usually the restore type, I'm more of the blow off the dust, wire it up and run it and see if anything needs fixing

David, my Martin has the oiled bearing system and it really is a great setup! Your right that In theory as long as you maintain them and don't do anything too stupid they should last a lifetime! The problem is finding out exactly whats going on in the SCM without dismantling. I'm going to ignore that part of it for now as it sounds good. I am going to spend some time double checking the wiring and then get her chomping some wood

JR, do you remember if there was a separate cable going to the motor for the brake? From a quick visual there's only the one power cable going to the motor currently. I'm going to have to do some more in depth digging on that particular aspect of the machine. It may not have a brake at all, though it seems unusual for this caliber machine not to have one? My only evidence is that someone labeled the off switch as a off and brake. Having now worked with machines that do have brakes, I find I greatly prefer to have them now

thanks guys,
JeffD

[J.R. Rutter]

JR, do you remember if there was a separate cable going to the motor for the brake? From a quick visual there's only the one power cable going to the motor currently. I'm going to have to do some more in depth digging on that particular aspect of the machine. It may not have a brake at all, though it seems unusual for this caliber machine not to have one? My only evidence is that someone labeled the off switch as a off and brake. Having now worked with machines that do have brakes, I find I greatly prefer to have them now

thanks guys,
JeffD

I honestly don't remember. I don't think it had a discrete set of wires, though.

[Peter Quinn]

Wow. Are you sure that isn't meant for balancing truck tires? The hole in the table is big enough! Nice find, I have no information. Love the look of the old industrial. Sure thats not late 60's to mid 70's? Love to read a good written history of the SCM brands. Those hand wheels are interesting, I have very nearly the exact same hand wheels on my Paolini, right down to the orange paint on the inside. Gets me wondering if there was some "hand wheel" company in Italy at that time. Mine is early to mid 80's, so maybe the time line fits? I'm no restore guy either, rather be making saw dust than masking off parts, but a wire brush and a few rattle cans could do wonders for the visual there. Looks like a great score. Glad your things are settling don't there in bean town.