Extension tables

[keakap]

When ever you get used gear you really have no idea how it has been modified.
Ed

Good caveat.
And it is something that has made this particularly frustrating for me. Every one of the parts involved came straight from ShopSmith. This is a one owner machine.

It looks like I'll be doing what you suggest, Ed. (This is about the point where Dusty and I reached an impasse.)
Linda advises I buy the 555982 Upgrade system, for the Newer 510. This will fit my 'Newer' style Main table as is, and may require reaming out the three auxiliary tables (or at least the two that match) for vertical alignment, something I very much had hoped to avoid. C'est la vie!

If I never see another tube rail it will be 'way too soon.

[keakap]

I think Keakap has the experience of trying to 'put up with' this due to the circumstances relative to his table replacement. Wonder what he did with the old table rails. Longer screws and nuts would allow putting the older(thicker) table rails on his 'new' table.

P.S. I just reread(more carefully) Ed's post#44. He makes a very good suggestion. By 'updating' the older hardware to the 'current' version, future potential problems are eliminated. As he inferred, there are probably a lot of 'newer' 510 rails out there with the folks who upgraded to 520 from 510.

"the old table rails"-- And I'm still kicking myself for not having thought of that, although I had no idea at the time that there were different sized rails. IF ONLY I had asked SS to make sure I was getting absolutely compatible rails. But hoo noo?

Ed's suggestion: it was at this point where Dusty offered to help too, and we discovered his rails and my tables didn't match. I wasn't at the point where I wanted to start reaming factory-aligned holes in my tables, and I didn't understand how many different types of rails and tables there are.
Sheesh, what an education I'm getting.

But Ed's and Dusty's idea is solid for anyone else who seeks a non-upgrade fix, imho.

[JPG]

. . .

The 85 version I have never seen but if the necessary holes and locations match with the newer version couldn't one simple drill out the threaded holes in the floating and extension tables and go to a 86 version set of rails with nuts??? I've still got mine set somewhere and I bet a lot of others do to so you might be able to locate a set to try........

Anyway just a thought, now I got to go.

Ed

Dusty: I believe he was suggesting getting 'newer version' from 510 to 520 updaters with 'newer version' 510 rails 'laying around collecting sawdust'!

I echo your sentiments re ED again active amungst 'us'!:)

[keakap]

The 85 version I have never seen but if the necessary holes and locations match with the newer version couldn't one simple drill out the threaded holes in the floating and extension tables and go to a 86 version set of rails with nuts??? Ed

The holes must be in the same locations (do you hear the sound of praying?) so I guess I'll round up the reaming gear...

I may as well order the 520 system, the newer one...

from the old service manual:
[ATTACH]5759[/ATTACH]

[reible]

Hi,

Perhaps a review is in order. The older (85) version rails for the extension/floating tables use a bolt drilled into the tube. The table uses a tapped hole so in order to adjust the position of the rail in relation to the table the hole in the rail had to be larger then the screw... this was very likely a pain to do with that system and called for more precision in the manufacturing process to make it work. I would also guess this is why the change was made to the current system after a single year. (The hole in the rail would have had to deal with the curvature of the tube thus attempting to be at any location other then centered would contribute to misalignment.)

On the newer version the holes in the table could be made so that a lot of room would be available for both the manufactured parts and the adjustment. In brief terms you have a lot of wiggle room.

If the hole positions are in the same location then to convert to the drilled holes is simply a matter of drill the tapped hole out using the drill ability to center it self in the tapped hole. If the hole locations are not the same then this becomes a bit more of a problem and maybe not worth looking at.

The third hole used for the jack screw also must be located to match the rail parts and must be either smaller or the same thread in both the old and new versions. If the locations match and the thread size is correct great. If the location matches but the thread is smaller you might be able to redrill and tap for the larger size... I think you get the idea right?

So no need to ream or precision drill. The table holes will be a lot larger when you are done so a few bits off will not affect anything. As far as hole size I seem to recall that it was something on the order of 5/16" but please check the main table and match that hole size as my memory has been know to glitch.

You may well have to shim either the table or tables to get things to align in the front to back position. The holes will allow you to match the height.

Ed

[keakap]

Thanks for the follow up. Every bit of confirmation helps-- a lot. In celebration I may just go buy a brand new bit just for this porpoise.

... The table uses a tapped hole so in order to adjust the position of the rail in relation to the table the hole in the rail had to be larger then the screw...
Ed

(This is the only part that's a bit off. In these older tables there is zero-point-zero adjustment room. The screw hole in the rail is tapered to accommodate the flat head Torx screw.)

This was a key point in my worries about positions, since when all this came up I had no idea how many different variations there are, especially as relates to the 520 upgrade (never seen one up close).
But armed with all the info you guys, and Linda, have kindly (and patiently) provided I feel comfortable in going ahead with the 520 order (so I will never ever have to look at another tube rail again, ever).
Ever.

So very soon-- unless the backorder monster rears its head or Obama decides to take over the woodworking industry, I'll have my new rails in place and will be able to add my bizarre collection of miscellaneous rail parts to the public grab bag.