Musings of a “New” Shopsmith Owner

[rutpoule]

I thought I might share some of my thoughts and experiences as a “new” Shopsmith owner. If you’ve recently gotten a Shopsmith or are considering one, hopefully you'll find this useful. I put “new" in quotes because in my case, it refers to the ownership, not the Shopsmith. I picked up a used Shopsmith almost unintentionally at a garage sale. I was actually cruising a neighborhood-wide garage sale looking for a mountain bike for my son without much luck (he got a new bike from Walmart, but now I’m off topic). I saw the Shopsmith at one of the sales we stopped at. I left, but noted the address. I had heard about Shopsmith and knew they were good machines, and after comparing the new price to what the guy was asking, I returned. The machine he was selling was almost 30 years old, but still in good condition and he said he’d replaced the motor within the last couple years (opening up the machine later, the motor did look very new). He also had the bandsaw and the mortising accessories and biscuit joiner, along with a bunch of fixtures and jigs for the table saw which alone were probably worth the price he was asking ($400, for the curious).

With some help from my father, I got it home. Then I started going through it, cleaning up some of the rust and taking an inventory of the cabinet-o-stuff that came with it. Had to throw out some saw blades that were missing carbide teeth and the bandsaw blade which was rusted and kinked. I was a little disappointed that it didn’t have the lathe parts, which I thought were standard. Luckily, the guy still had all the manuals and even the original receipt from 1986. The manuals are valuable; there are some things that are unique about the Shopsmith that you need to know to get it set up properly. Some of the manuals are available online; you can also buy them on ebay (more on this later) or straight from Shopsmith. If you don’t have the manuals, it’s worth getting them. I went through the whole initial setup and alignment sections for everything. This is VERY important if you want to get good results. Almost everything on the machine was out of alignment, either over time or from being moved. Just about everything on the Shopsmith has an adjustment screw, and all have to be properly tuned to get straight and accurate cuts. Have your 5/32” allen wrench handy. The guy who sold me the Shopsmith had bought a T-handled one, and I now know why. Expect to spend some significant time tinkering with it before you use it, whether you get it new or used. For me, this has been part of the fun.

First recommendation: Johnson’s paste floor wax is your friend. For everything that’s tight or rusted, clean it up with steel wool, a wire brush, or fine sandpaper, wipe on some wax, let it dry a bit, and buff it out. Do this wherever metal slides on metal (way tubes, trunions, etc.) and on the table and fence surfaces. Works like magic.

Second recommendation: ebay is sometimes your friend. There are a lot of Shopsmith parts available on ebay. I was able to pick up a used lathe tailstock at a reasonable price on ebay. Make sure what you’re buying is for the model you have. Some parts work on multiple models, some don’t. The manuals have parts diagrams, so you can also double-check that it looks right (if you don’t have the manuals yet, get them now). I said ebay is sometimes your friend. Many parts from Shopsmith are actually reasonably priced, so check there first to make sure you don’t overpay for something used.

As I was setting up the bandsaw, I discovered that the Shopsmith bandsaw is different from any other. I was having a heck of a time getting the blade bearings properly adjusted. The back of the blade was far in front of the auto-track bearing and I couldn’t get the upper guide bearing to come close to the recommended 1/64” or less from the blade. I finally discovered that it was because the upper wheel was no longer properly angled. Unlike other bandsaws, the upper and lower wheels are NOT meant to be coplanar. The top wheel is tilted back slightly at the top, and the blade is supposed to run on the back of the top wheel, not the center. I think this also means that you shouldn’t crown the tire on the upper wheel. Once I fixed that, all was well. I followed these instructions: http://www.shopsmithhandson.com/archive ... smitty.htm (see also: http://shopsmith-tool-hunter.blogspot.c ... d-few.html).

So why did I buy this thing? I had in my home workshop some inexpensive tools I’d gotten from the big box hardware stores: drill press, table saw, band saw, and lathe. I originally wrote “cheap”, but they’re not bad tools, though not top of the line, either. From what I’ve seen so far, the Shopsmith is a step up on all of them. A little more power, a little more capability. For one, I don’t have to stop and move belts to change speed on the drill press or lathe, and I now have a little more flexibility on how I set up the drill press table and can do horizontal boring. Also, my home workshop is a small two-car garage which I share with our two cars. I’ve heard some people dis’ the Shopsmith because of its size or the time it takes to change modes, but for me, this is easier than hauling another machine out of the corner after unburying from a pile of whatever ended up on or in front of the workbench. I had to re-arrange the garage, but once I got that done and sold off the tools I’d replaced with the Shopsmith, I think I actually gained some space. As an added bonus, selling off the old tools also just about paid for the used Shopsmith.

Just to be fair, there are a couple limitations with the Shopsmith I could see right off the bat. One is that to do bevel cuts with the table saw, you tilt the table, not the blade. I could see this making bevel cuts on large sheet goods a bit awkward. I don’t do this a lot, so to me, no big deal. The other limitation is with the drill press, it isn’t as easy to change the height of the table once you have it vertical. I usually only do a couple drilling operations at a time, so again, not a big deal. I just have to plan ahead a little and remember to adjust the table height before tipping the machine up for drilling. There’s one other thing that may be neither good nor bad, but good to know. The lathe is somewhat “proprietary” in that there’s a morse taper #2 only on the tailstock end. The drive end is the 5/8” spindle of the headstock. For me, this meant I had to get a new pen turning mandrel, but PSI carries them for about the same price as their other mandrels. There is also available from PSI or Rockler a 5/8” to 1” x 8 tpi adapter so you can use your screw on chucks and faceplates.

In all, I think this Shopsmith has been a good investment for me, even if my husband complains about the amount of time I spent tinkering with it the first couple of weeks. Oh, did I forget to mention I’m a woman? That’s right, baby, a WOMAN who enjoys woodworking and tinkering with HER Shopsmith ;-)

[dusty]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for the great introductory post. It is always good to gain a new member.

[JPG]

Let me add my welcome to Dusty's. It was indeed a pleasure to read your 'introduction'. I congratulate you on your doing yer homework/research.

You may find the two bandsaw links in this thread of interest. http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic.php?t=12138

One caveat re this forum. We are a bunch of old cranky silly opinionated sometimes rude but usually desiring to be helpful 'individuals'. I am sure I have left out some adjectives, but you should get my drift. Pay no mind to all that and glean the good stuff.

I look forward to your future contributions. You have already provided a lesson in preparation, research and communication. Thank You for that!

[charlese]

Great little musing!! Thank you for your entry into the most friendly forum around. Sounds like you've done some research and have your "stuff" together.

I'm sure, as you read, you will find the forum as I do - Like a big family around a Thanksgiving table.

Hope your Son enjoys his bike as much as you do your Shopsmith!

I know we will be interested in your adventures with your machine and looking forward to seeing your projects.

Best Wishes!

[S Brian]

We always welcome new or old owners to the forum. If you add your location to your profile, you may find you have other owners close to you, if you ever need hands-on help.

[beeg]

WELCOME to the forum rutpoule. You seem to MUCH MORE knowledge about the SS, than Most newbies. Come back often.

[jsburger]

Welcome rutpoule. Your musings on the SS are spot on. I am a man but my wife is a woodworker too and we share the shop together. Looking forward to your contributions.

[edflorence]

there are a couple limitations with the Shopsmith I could see right off the bat. One is that to do bevel cuts with the table saw, you tilt the table, not the blade. I could see this making bevel cuts on large sheet goods a bit awkward. I don’t do this a lot, so to me, no big deal. The other limitation is with the drill press, it isn’t as easy to change the height of the table once you have it vertical. I usually only do a couple drilling operations at a time, so again, not a big deal. I just have to plan ahead a little and remember to adjust the table height before tipping the machine up for drilling.

Welcome to this group and thanks for an excellent first post. It is clear you already have a good grasp on the features of this Swiss Army Knife of woodworking machines. Would just like to make a couple of comments on a couple of the limitations you mention: re the tilting table...I think many of us would agree it is just as easy and safe to break down sheet goods with a circular saw...in most cases you will be first cutting the panel into smaller pieces which will be a bit oversize from their final dimensions and you will find that the tilting table should be able to bevel the edges of those smaller pieces to their final size pretty handily...Although there is a similar but rarely encountered issue that you might want to put on your list of putting a steep bevel on the edge of a piece longer than the distance from blade to floor. Bevels on those pieces will need to be done some other way. In nearly 50 years of SS use I can't recall many instances of this problem. When you do tilt the table for a bevel there is, however, always the vexing problem of the loose cut-off on the uphill side of the blade, but if you search around for Nick Engler's plans for his Anti-gravity Jig you can even overcome that limitation. Re lifting the table in the drill press mode...its really not that difficult I guess is what I would say. In any event, moving the table need not be a precision affair. By using the distance you have available in the extension of the quill, the table only needs to be "close enough".
I look forward to pictures of your projects!

[masonsailor2]

Welcome to the forum !
Paul

[BiminiTwist]

Excellent musings, rutpoule!

As a new (and new) SS owner, I can readily say that you seem to be more knowledgeable than I in the SS alone - and probably in woodworking altogether.

I look forward to readin' and learnin' from your posts & projects