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I'm finally getting a SS of my own: a brand spanking new (old but never used) Mark V - 510 for $1200. I'm looking for advice on where to start upgrades: Table to 520, Upgrade motor, get a jointer
My goal is to process my own wood to make cribbage boards. Saw, sander, drill press, and jointer are what I need.

Accessories included: Casters, dust cover, 5/8" arbor.

I have a stand alone jigsaw, belt/disc sander, and drill press. Will likely get rid of the sander and drill press to fund an upgrade. Suggestions?:rolleyes:

lonestarpegger wrote:I'm finally getting a SS of my own: a brand spanking new (old but never used) Mark V - 510 for $1200. I'm looking for advice on where to start upgrades: Table to 520, Upgrade motor, get a jointer
My goal is to process my own wood to make cribbage boards. Saw, sander, drill press, and jointer are what I need.

Accessories included: Casters, dust cover, 5/8" arbor.

I have a stand alone jigsaw, belt/disc sander, and drill press. Will likely get rid of the sander and drill press to fund an upgrade. Suggestions?:rolleyes:

For that task list, I would suggest the jointer.

Welcome to the fun. Please look in the maintenance and repair section at the top 2 threads there. Everything you need to know about your machine is there. If you can't find the answers there, ask questions, this is a great group of SS enthusiasts and woodworkers.

Depending on where you are located used SS jointers can be had for less than $200.

Personally I would put the 520 upgrade on the backburner. Although the 510 to 520 Pro fence upgrade is only $475 from the mothership. Not too bad a deal there.

Except for the PowerPro there is NO motor upgrade available. The 1 1/8 HP model should do you fine.

I vote for keeping the stand alone sander. They are such useful items. I have a 1" strip sander with 5" disc and use it all the time. These are great for sharpening and sanding touch ups.

If you want to process your own lumber also consider the following:

Bandsaw - Less kerf waste and greater depth capacity. Again usually available used for less than $200.

Thickness planer - for accurate thickness dimensions. Look for a good used Dewalt 734 or 735. These are hard to beat in the used market.

Unless you're setup to work outdoors, dust collection should also be considered if pursuing power tool wood working.

Again, welcome to the fun.

Without knowing you and without knowing what you want to do with your Shopsmith, it is hard to say what you should do next.

I would suggest that, using dimensioned lumber, you need to use your Mark V for awhile. This will give you a chance to identify its' and your short comings before you start spending more on equipment.

I would also suggest that the day will come when you need the following:

Band Saw
Belt Sander
Router Table
Jointer
Thickness Planer
Strip Sander
Sharpening Station.

I attempted to list this in the order that I would expect your needs to arise.

Notice that there is no mention of a Shopsmith upgrade. Unless you get real serious about wood working, the Mark V that you have will do every thing that you need.

The following items will likely be needed to augment your shop

Sanding Disks
Saw Blades with arbors
Band Saw Blades
Sanding Belts

I tend to agree with Dusty placing the jointer lower down the list(I placed it first) since 'modern' blades do such an excellent job ripping. My mindset reverts back to steel comination blades that required clean up of the work piece after cutting.