Used and Abused
Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 10:21 pm
Hello everyone. I recently bought a used and abused Shopsmith Mark V 510. I've been reading a lot of information on here to help me get my SS back in proper order. I've made a few stumbles along the way and wanted to share them so that someone in my situation down the road doesn't make the same mistakes.
Well i came across an ad for a SS on my local Craigslist. It just said Mark V. I contacted the seller and he told me it was a model 500. At this point I knew nothing about SS. So I started doing some research on them. I soon learned that a 510 or 520 was what I was going to be looking for. I scheduled a time to go look at it. Upon arriving at the sellers house I discovered it was a model 510. He had all the floating tables, extension and support legs and brackets. He also had a jointer and bandsaw to go with it. The seller explained to me that he was a flight nurse by profession and had bought the SS from a ENT doctor who had bought it brand new.
The little research that I had done somewhat prepared me for looking it over. We plugged it in to make sure the motor was still good. The seller had it sitting in his nice storage building for about a year before deciding to sale it. She came to life. I turned the speed dial and everything worked. Not as smooth as I had wanted it to be but it worked. We proceeded to hook up all the accessories to make sure they worked on a basic level. After looking it all over and seeing all of the important pieces were all there then began the talk for money. The seller was asking $600.00 for it. I offered $500 for it and he quickly excepted. He even called his father-in-law over to help load it in the back of my truck. He let me borrow some straps and he followed me to my house to help me unload it into my garage. I think I got a realy good deal.
After getting it all to myself I began to inspect things closer. I notice a high pitched squeal every now and then while it's running. So I begin to diagnose why it's squealing. I diagnose it down to the motor. The thick white manual I got with the SS says something about metal scraping against each other and it could be the spacer between the motor and the fan sheave. So i tear the motor down. After removing everything from the motor shaft I hook the motor up and run it and the same squeal is there. It's got to be a bad bearing. Tear the motor down then and the output side bearing is pretty much locked up. Time for some new bearings. I'm thinking well if the motor needs new bearings the headstock probably needs new bearings as well. I feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole at this point.
So after visiting the local bearing shop here in town I walk away with every bearing I need except the idler shaft bearing which i learn is a water pump bearing custom modified for the SS. So I start looking around for a replacement and learn that SS is selling a new idler bearing with a new design that requires a new eccentric bushing. Well I start looking around on Ebay and find someone selling new idler bearings that are designed like the design I have and allow me to use my eccentric bushing that I already have. Well after getting it here I realize it's not the same as my idler shaft bearing and there's bump one. I can probably make it work but there is some play with the idler sheave between the retaining ring and clip. So if your looking for replacement parts and their not made by ShopSmith then be prepared to make them work as their not designed to ShopSmith's specifications.
I get everything back together including the motor with new bearings which takes care of the loud squealing. Fire her up and expect that nice sound of rushing air. Ha ha not exactly what I heard. The sound I got was more like a Model T cranking up. Vibrations everywhere. Sounds of metal bumping into each other. Upon further inspection there is a lot of play in the sheaves on the motor shaft. I'm guessing the motor was so bad for a while that it caused some vibration that wore the key ways on the floating and fan sheaves. So here I am waiting on some new sheaves from SS. Here are some pics of my SS that my wife calls 'Sarita'. She says she came up with that name because there was a local political candidate named Sarita Smith. My wife the comedian. I also want to give a big thanks to the regulars on here that post info that they have learned over the years. You know who you are. Thank You!
Here's 'Sarita'. I've been cleaing her up as I go. All aluminum parts have been washed in a nice warm bath of water and mild soap.
All parts that were removable have gone through my HF ultrasonic cleaner. I've also got a links belt to try when I get my new sheaves back on the motor.
Here's the jointer. It had some mild surface rust on the top. Nothing a scotchbrite bad and some WD40 can't take care of. I first tried some steel wool but I would be rubbing it with Steel wool next year before it was clean of rust. The green pad's work good. The blades on the jointer have one nick in them close to the fence side. I'll have to have them looked at to see if they can be grounded out.
Here's a shot of the quill housing. I say this SS was used and abused. The original owner used it mostly for it's table sawing capabilities. I guess he never locked the quill down as when I got it home the quill would not extend without some force and it would not retract without some help either. Discovered the set screwed in the top of the housing had been repeatedly rammed into the side of the keyway on the quill mushrooming it. As you can imagine the housing inside is pretty boogered up. I've been working on it with some 600 grit paper and using a sharpy on the quill housing to see where it's rubbing. Judging from the pic it looks like I've got a little more sanding to do. Anyone have a spare quill housing in good shape to sale I will be interested as soon as I get the housing back into spec.
Hope to post some more as I get it back together. Should have a youtube video of it running good too when that day comes.
Well i came across an ad for a SS on my local Craigslist. It just said Mark V. I contacted the seller and he told me it was a model 500. At this point I knew nothing about SS. So I started doing some research on them. I soon learned that a 510 or 520 was what I was going to be looking for. I scheduled a time to go look at it. Upon arriving at the sellers house I discovered it was a model 510. He had all the floating tables, extension and support legs and brackets. He also had a jointer and bandsaw to go with it. The seller explained to me that he was a flight nurse by profession and had bought the SS from a ENT doctor who had bought it brand new.
The little research that I had done somewhat prepared me for looking it over. We plugged it in to make sure the motor was still good. The seller had it sitting in his nice storage building for about a year before deciding to sale it. She came to life. I turned the speed dial and everything worked. Not as smooth as I had wanted it to be but it worked. We proceeded to hook up all the accessories to make sure they worked on a basic level. After looking it all over and seeing all of the important pieces were all there then began the talk for money. The seller was asking $600.00 for it. I offered $500 for it and he quickly excepted. He even called his father-in-law over to help load it in the back of my truck. He let me borrow some straps and he followed me to my house to help me unload it into my garage. I think I got a realy good deal.
After getting it all to myself I began to inspect things closer. I notice a high pitched squeal every now and then while it's running. So I begin to diagnose why it's squealing. I diagnose it down to the motor. The thick white manual I got with the SS says something about metal scraping against each other and it could be the spacer between the motor and the fan sheave. So i tear the motor down. After removing everything from the motor shaft I hook the motor up and run it and the same squeal is there. It's got to be a bad bearing. Tear the motor down then and the output side bearing is pretty much locked up. Time for some new bearings. I'm thinking well if the motor needs new bearings the headstock probably needs new bearings as well. I feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole at this point.
So after visiting the local bearing shop here in town I walk away with every bearing I need except the idler shaft bearing which i learn is a water pump bearing custom modified for the SS. So I start looking around for a replacement and learn that SS is selling a new idler bearing with a new design that requires a new eccentric bushing. Well I start looking around on Ebay and find someone selling new idler bearings that are designed like the design I have and allow me to use my eccentric bushing that I already have. Well after getting it here I realize it's not the same as my idler shaft bearing and there's bump one. I can probably make it work but there is some play with the idler sheave between the retaining ring and clip. So if your looking for replacement parts and their not made by ShopSmith then be prepared to make them work as their not designed to ShopSmith's specifications.
I get everything back together including the motor with new bearings which takes care of the loud squealing. Fire her up and expect that nice sound of rushing air. Ha ha not exactly what I heard. The sound I got was more like a Model T cranking up. Vibrations everywhere. Sounds of metal bumping into each other. Upon further inspection there is a lot of play in the sheaves on the motor shaft. I'm guessing the motor was so bad for a while that it caused some vibration that wore the key ways on the floating and fan sheaves. So here I am waiting on some new sheaves from SS. Here are some pics of my SS that my wife calls 'Sarita'. She says she came up with that name because there was a local political candidate named Sarita Smith. My wife the comedian. I also want to give a big thanks to the regulars on here that post info that they have learned over the years. You know who you are. Thank You!
Here's 'Sarita'. I've been cleaing her up as I go. All aluminum parts have been washed in a nice warm bath of water and mild soap.
All parts that were removable have gone through my HF ultrasonic cleaner. I've also got a links belt to try when I get my new sheaves back on the motor.
Here's the jointer. It had some mild surface rust on the top. Nothing a scotchbrite bad and some WD40 can't take care of. I first tried some steel wool but I would be rubbing it with Steel wool next year before it was clean of rust. The green pad's work good. The blades on the jointer have one nick in them close to the fence side. I'll have to have them looked at to see if they can be grounded out.
Here's a shot of the quill housing. I say this SS was used and abused. The original owner used it mostly for it's table sawing capabilities. I guess he never locked the quill down as when I got it home the quill would not extend without some force and it would not retract without some help either. Discovered the set screwed in the top of the housing had been repeatedly rammed into the side of the keyway on the quill mushrooming it. As you can imagine the housing inside is pretty boogered up. I've been working on it with some 600 grit paper and using a sharpy on the quill housing to see where it's rubbing. Judging from the pic it looks like I've got a little more sanding to do. Anyone have a spare quill housing in good shape to sale I will be interested as soon as I get the housing back into spec.
Hope to post some more as I get it back together. Should have a youtube video of it running good too when that day comes.
