Shopsmith Forums

paulrussell wrote:I probably neglected to mention how profoundly lazy I am. Actually, I have an autoimmune disorder called "scleroderma/dermatomyosits overlap syndrome" which causes me to fatigue quickly at times, so every timesaver I can muster helps. So multiple arbors it is. Apologies if I've entered into TMI territory.

I do not know what 'TMI' is, but as Dusty has already said, NO APOLOGY needed. Got to admit I am curious about what TMI is?

P.S. I just got this from ss - the lift assist is on sale!

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/spec ... pn=RWWUYSR

JPG40504 wrote:I do not know what 'TMI' is, but as Dusty has already said, NO APOLOGY needed. Got to admit I am curious about what TMI is?

P.S. I just got this from ss - the lift assist is on sale!

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/spec ... pn=RWWUYSR

"TMI" = Too Much Information

paulrussell wrote:Where do you get a blade redrilled, and how much does it typically cost?

I've never had one redrilled. I'd just get another arbor. But Forrest will redrill. They have a site online. You may have to call them. I could not find redrilling on their website but I know they do it.

Dusty and JPG -- be sure to call Shopsmith to claim your finder's fee. I'll be calling them this morning to order the lift-assist.

Lifting to drill-mode had been one of my biggest concerns when I was thinking of getting the Shopsmith -- now that concern is gone. I also see this as a safety feature. Awesome. Thanks!

EDIT: I _almost_ changed my mind thinking "for the cost of the lift-assist I could buy a Ryobi stand-alone drill press." Then I tried to figure out where said drill press would go and again recalled why I wanted the Shopsmith in the first place. (Lifting it up and down twice probably helped reinforce the decision too.....)

EDIT2: Ok, that was not the most reassuring transaction I've ever made. I called to place my order and was told I needed to provide the "offer code", which as of this moment does not appear on the web site. I was told several times "In the future, when you call please have the offer code" as if I had made some error.

I went to:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/index.htm

then selected "Click here to view current special offers" which brought me to:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/spec ... offers.htm

Then selected "Shopsmith Lift Assist - Save $47.50"

Nowhere was any indication of a sale code, which I was told is "7DT19" in case anyone else wants to take advantage of the sale.

Now that I know the magic number, I see it is part of the URL: http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/specials/7DT19.htm

paulrussell wrote:Dusty and JPG -- be sure to call Shopsmith to claim your finder's fee. I'll be calling them this morning to order the lift-assist.

Lifting to drill-mode had been one of my biggest concerns when I was thinking of getting the Shopsmith -- now that concern is gone. I also see this as a safety feature. Awesome. Thanks!

EDIT: I _almost_ changed my mind thinking "for the cost of the lift-assist I could buy a Ryobi stand-alone drill press." Then I tried to figure out where said drill press would go and again recalled why I wanted the Shopsmith in the first place. (Lifting it up and down twice probably helped reinforce the decision too.....)

EDIT2: Ok, that was not the most reassuring transaction I've ever made. I called to place my order and was told I needed to provide the "offer code", which as of this moment does not appear on the web site. I was told several times "In the future, when you call please have the offer code" as if I had made some error.

I went to:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/index.htm

then selected "Click here to view current special offers" which brought me to:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/specials/currentemailoffers.htm

Then selected "Shopsmith Lift Assist - Save $47.50"

Nowhere was any indication of a sale code, which I was told is "7DT19" in case anyone else wants to take advantage of the sale.

Now that I know the magic number, I see it is part of the URL: http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/specials/7DT19.htm

I believe I may have caused this 'situation'. When I attempted to post a link of the emailed 'offer' I could not get it to work(the link included my yahoo mailist. The 'code' was in that e-mail. I linked to the second and that was what you got!

JPG40504 wrote:I believe I may have caused this 'situation'. When I attempted to post a link of the emailed 'offer' I could not get it to work(the link included my yahoo mailist. The 'code' was in that e-mail. I linked to the second and that was what you got!

I just need to mellow a bit. I get testy when I'm spending more than a buck-fifty.

paulrussell wrote:I just need to mellow a bit. I get testy when I'm spending more than a buck-fifty.

Yer FINE just the way u is!:) I was trying to take the 'blame' for your frustration.

In any event much was learned. Now if this old memory will just function properly.

JPG40504 wrote: P.S. I just got this from ss - the lift assist is on sale!

I didn't want to start another thread, and since the motivation started here, I figured I'd keep the thread drift going:

My backordered Lift Assist took only two days after ordering to arrive!

Yesterday was definitely Shopsmith Upgrade Day Deluxe, as my 510 upgrade had arrived the day before. So the day was spent installing and installing.

The Lift Assist was a bit of a double-blessing. See, when I removed the end cap from the way tubes, it was immediately noticeable that they were offset from one another over 3/4 of an inch! Suddenly it became clear in my mind why the upright drill press mode always seemed a bit more canted than it should and why the legs didn't seem as rock-solid as I would have thought.

I'm not sure why -- maybe to get an extra inch of length, maybe just poor assembly skills -- but closer examination showed that the support tubes were not fully inserted at either end, and one way tube was aligned to the right, and the other to the left.

After correcting this to the best of my ability, using a square to try to keep things as true as possible, the upright position was _much_ straighter and the entire machine was much more solid when set on its legs.

Installation of the Lift Assist was a breeze, as was the 510 upgrade. What a major difference the two make. It is amazing how much lifting the headstock had unconsciously been limiting my use of the drill press mode. I'm already using it more. I still shake my head a bit at the few chunks of metal that reflect the hole in my wallet, but given the improvement (both the intended "Lift Assistance" as well the indirect discovery of the incorrectly installed support and way tubes) it was money well spent.

Thanks much for the recommendation!

Of course, in my enthusiasm I did far more than I should have yesterday, and today my poor body is paying the price. Alignment and calibration will have to wait for another day.

I bought 5 Craftsman beautiful sawblades and since I had that many arbors that were 1 1/4", I took my blades to a blade sharpening shop and had the arbor holes bored from 5/8 to 1 1/4". The cost: $50 for blades; $95 just for the new holes. For that price, I could have purchased several 5/8" arbors from eBay. I am now slowly accumulating 5/8" arbors so I can buy blades anywhere to fit the machine. When my blades with the 1 1/4" arbors are no longer useable, dispose of the blade and re-sell the arbors. Just my opinion.