Photo Index - Atlas Power Tools, Ltd. - model 5000

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Atlas Power Tools, Ltd.
St. Thomas, ON

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Shaper, Wood
Machine Size:	1/2" spindle shaper
Submitted By:	Rob Anderson

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	model 5000
Date of Manufacturer:	1940 (estimated)
Serial Number:	C847
Last Updated	3/15/2014 2:25:41 PM

Comments:

Picked up this nice little shaper after seeing an add on Craigslist - Vancouver. No haggling required, it was already a fairly "you suck" price. PO told me his Dad got this and a few other old tools out of a school he taught at when it's wood shop closed. He still has the Atlas based, Craftsman badged, drill press and table saw, which he will be selling after he finishes some work on his house. I don't really need either one of them, not to mention I didn't think I could get them all into my hatchback mustang, so I didn't try to make an offer.

Spent a fair bit of time trying to identify the model on the Atlas Press and Power King indexes until realizing the side mounted, offset table elevator handle didn't match any shapers listed by those manufacturers. Went back to the indexes and found Atlas Power Tools Ltd. out of St. Thomas, Ontario and Voilà! There it was.

So it’s Canadian made, as I should have guessed, especially if I had taken a closer look at the tags. It’s a Model 5000, 1/2 inch spindle model just like the one Daniel Gillespie has posted. Not sure how rare it is, but not common, based on the number of machines posted to date (1 + mine = 2).
Found the shaper to be in very good original condition with paint, fence boards, and table in great shape for its age. This will definitely be a refurbish, not a restore. Reasonably complete with both original hold down posts, brackets, and one hold down bar. Missing the second hold down bar, the mitre gauge, part of the fence handle (the spinner?), and most of the spacing collars. I have placed an add in the classifieds wanting to buy an appropriate Atlas / Power King mitre gauge, so anyone with a spare mitre, or a replacement fence handle, should contact me so we can work something out.

The 1/2 hp, 1725rpm Peerless motor is a huge beast and is supported on a very novel, post style, mount. This allows it to be positioned upside down above the mounting table so the whole assembly can be mounted on a flat surface. Unfortunately he motor has a piece broken out of the NDE cast iron bell, but fortunately it doesn’t seem to affect the operation. The broken piece is long gone so I will probably use it as is. Typically Canadian, my best idea so far is to use paper mashe and duct tape to fill in the hole. If anyone has a better suggestion, I’m all ears.

Finally, the machine came with a beat up metal tool kit full of cutter heads of various profiles. There is another mounted on the spindle. Most of he spacing collars are MIA but there looks to be one on the spindle under the cutter. If so, this will act as the pattern to have the missing collars fabricated based on sizes given in the catalogues

Photo 1:

Comments: Full frontal showing nice paint, fence boards, and table. Check out the great art deco styling of the base. Note massive motor looming in the background.
Source: My iPhone

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Photo 2:

Comments: View showing side mounted, offset table elevator crank. Motor dwarfs the shaper.
Source: My iPhone

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Photo 3:

Comments: Holy cow! That frigging thing is huge and weighs a metric ton, which makes the specific power rating 0.50 hp/mt. Broken end bell casting can be seen at top.
Source: My iPhone

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Photo 4:

Comments: Novel post style mount holds motor upside down above the table
Source: My iPhone

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Photo 5:

Comments: Beat up metal tool box with a nice variety of cutter heads
Source: My iPhone

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Photo 6:

Comments: Obligatory machine tag. Could have saved some time looking more closely at this!
Source: My iPhone

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