Shopsmith Forums

I am new here. I have a small shop 12x20 but a bunch of equipment - small cabinet saw, band saw, lathe drill press, planer, router table, etc. I bought all of it used off C/L at good prices.

Anyway I saw a 1958 Model 500 SS on C/L - It runs but has been repainted and needs a little cleanup. Probably need new bearing and belts. I really had been looking for a 12" disc sander and thought for $225 the SS may do the trick. I got a 12" and 6" disc sander, lathe tools, the tables and a bunch of other stuff with the machine. It looks like it has been used some but still seems very solid and pretty much complete.

I thought I would set it up in my garage for a few days to see how I like it. If I like it - I may clean it up some and move it to my shop. The only thing a really need is the 12" disk sander and I thought maybe the horizontal boring ability may come in handy for something. Due to the size of the shop I want to cut the tubes down. The guy painted them anyway - who knows why. I read that I should cut about 19" off of each tube to make it a shorty. Is this correct? Will this length let me use it as a 12" disk sander with the table and a horizontal boring machine (if I can ever find a need for one)? Can I go shorter and still have a functional 12" disk sander with table and horizonal boring machine? If so how short can I go?

If you do a search on the forum using MIDI, MINI or SHORTY, you'll come up with a variety of opinions on cutting down a Shopsmith.

I trimmed 16" off of the four tubes of a Greenie and ended up with a machine that retains all functions of the Shopsmith. It allows you to mount the table and use the disk sander, and also attach a belt sander or strip sander at the same time, making a rather nice sanding station. With a belt sander attached you have about 1" of quill feed action for the disk sander if you use a model 500 sanding disk. You also can turn about 19 or so inches and cut about the same width ripping on the table saw. In the upright drill press mode it's a bit squat, but still give some capability there too.

I would like to cut off as much as I can and still have a good 12" sander with the table, and retain the ability to horizonatally bore. I wonder if I could put one of those short beal buffing systems on the lathe setup if I cut it down as much as possible?

What you have to do is move the Shopsmith carriage to the right end of the machine, mount the table, mount the drill chuck, install the longest drill you intend to use for horizontal boring, and then move the headstock toward the table to where it meets you requirements for horizontal boring. Then, simply measure how much of one of the way tubes is exposed to the left of the headstock and that's how much you can cut off each tube to shorten the Shopsmith to meet your needs. This should give you plenty of room for using the disk sander, but check that you needs are met before cutting.

If you do this to shorten the Shopsmith, you could remove the table and then install the Beall buffing system on the spindle (I'm assuming you're talking about the system that mounts one buffing wheel at a time to the spindle). If you're talking about the Beall system that allows you to mount three buffing wheels simultaneously, that system doesn't fit the Shopsmith because it mounts to a lathe with a female number 2 morse taper in the headstock.

Art. Thanks. That is good information. I know they make a 3 and I 1 wheel. I was hoping to use the 3 but that is not possible. I while back I took an old grinding arbor (I mean old - brass bushings no bearings) cleaned it up - and picked up a very nice 1/2 hp 1725 motor of C/L ($20) and made an 8" buffer. I was going to use those for plastic buffing. I guess I can use the single beal for other buffing.

I don't know much about setting up for horizontal boring but I will take a look at that today. However, I am trying to get a farm table started and finished from 10AM today through 6PM tomorrow. It is a surprise for my wife.