New to Shopsmith, lots O' questions to come

bubbasimms · Post by **bubbasimms** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 10:13 pm

good answer Dusty, I like it. I always have a use for cool tools. 1/32 is far tighter than I can do so thats good to hear.

bubbasimms · Post by **bubbasimms** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:01 pm

I think I have made the picture bigger now. After reading around on the forum I think she's a keeper. Got a serious itch to make her go. Nobody polishes a turd like me!

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:25 am

bubbasimms wrote: . . . How critical is the not turning of the speed knob unless its running I think thats the first thing i did when I found it! . . .

It be the number one cause of inadvertent damage to the speed control mechanism. When you attempt to move the dial towards a lower speed, you are squeezing the belt with the mechanism. If the pulleys are rotating, that squeezing forces the movable side of the pulleys to move. If they are not rotating, it puts too much stress on the mechanism.

terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:21 pm

bubbasimms wrote:hello,
Thanks for all the replys and opinions. I got her home today! Home is SW Missouri by the way. Still not sure what my plan is yet. I am gonna follow the advice and watch the videos and figure out what I have and what is missing. How critical is the not turning of the speed knob unless its running I think thats the first thing i did when I found it! If I decide to sell the thing whats a ballpark price for it? I know it depends greatly on condition but just an idea. I think I would like to keep it and fix it up if they are a decent tool. I've read a few complaints that they are not very accurate. What are your opinions on the usefullness of the machine?
Thanks for all the help.

MO is waaaay to far for me to come pick her up and you've decided to keep her as well. Good Choice!!:) IMHO

Clean - up /restoration may take a bit but worth it from what I see here. I'm about to start restoring mine.

Turning the speed control Once gently probably won't hurt it Unless you forced it. Just don't make a habit of it and like anything else in this world "if you have to force it, it probably isn't right."

As for supposed lack of accuracy, any tool is as (in)accurate as the user. Can you mill down to .0001 inches? probably not repeatably, but i don't know of any wood working machine that is that accurate. Repeatable 1/32 inch accuracy is pretty much as good as it gets for wood.

Enjoy the tool.

-Terry