Shopsmith Forums

I'm new to SS...Always had a desire to do woodworking, but never had a home with an area for a shop, so consequently, I never bought much for tools. A little over a year ago, I bought a home for my family with a nice workbench and shop area in the basement. Recently, I found someone wanting to sell an old ShopSmith Mark V -circa 1957. I feel like I found a gold mine. The only problem is, I have very little experience in woodworking, even less experience with power tools, and the 1950's era SS's didn't come with much documentation. So, I'm struggling to learn how to use it on my own.

I'm taking on small tasks right now, trying to use them as educational opportunities so I can learn a little bit at a time and build on my knowledge as I go. I've got the hang of the table saw basics, and now I'm looking to make a few dozen plaques for my employees to hang on the walls of our offices. I'm hoping to use this as my basic routing education by cutting the boards to size and then using the router to put a decorative edge on each edge.

So far, I've figured out that I need to get a router chuck, as my SS didn't have one with it. Is this to be mounted on the main spindle? Should it be used vertically with the table underneath the bit? I know that typically a stand-alone router table will hold the router underneath the table. Will I be working "upside down" as far as table routers go?

Would the 1/4" chuck be adequate? The hardware stores in my town typically only carry 1/4" shank bits, so that's what I'd prefer to use.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

A 1957 Mark 5 will only rout in the drill press mode with the bit above the table. This makes it a bit more hazardous(some would disagree since the bit is visible). Do realize the top speed(5200 rpm) requires a much slower feed rate. 1/4" makes sense if that is what is available locally. You can always get a second arbor later.

Try to find a copy of PTWFE. Here is a link to the online version. http://www.shopsmith.com/academy/welcome.htm

If you cannot find a 'hard copy', let me know. I have a 'duplicate' for your 'vintage'.

Of course a PowerPro upgrade will provide up to 10,000 rpms in drill press mode

Thanks for the link. It looks like some great info for a novice like me. I imagine I'll be reading late into the night or early morning.

I expected the challenges with a low RPM router, but as long as I am patient and don't try to feed the work too quickly, I think it will suit my needs - at least for now. When I become a professional furniture builder, perhaps I'll need to upgrade.

gfmerrill wrote:Thanks for the link. It looks like some great info for a novice like me. I imagine I'll be reading late into the night or early morning.

I expected the challenges with a low RPM router, but as long as I am patient and don't try to feed the work too quickly, I think it will suit my needs - at least for now. When I become a professional furniture builder, perhaps I'll need to upgrade.

There has been a multitude of projects routed on the Shopsmith at the lower speed.

As stated, use a low feed rate and multiple shallow cuts to compensate for the lack of "high speed" PowerPro performance. In some woods you will need to clean up the cut with some fine sand paper. Slow speed routing doesn't always produce as smooth a finish.

gfmerrill wrote: I expected the challenges with a low RPM router, but as long as I am patient and don't try to feed the work too quickly, I think it will suit my needs - at least for now. When I become a professional furniture builder, perhaps I'll need to upgrade.

There are a couple of additional considerations you need to make for your own safety. You are cautioned to "bury the bit" in a fence or split fence and make only small bites into the wood. Take a serious look at http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/ms_shaperdrumsanderfence.htm
. Of course you could build a split fence that will hide most of the bit.

I have found the best way to take small bites into the wood is to progressively lower the bit into the wood between passes.