Shopsmith Forums

I just installed the 520 fench upgrade. I think I will really like this.
BUT
What do I do with the old rails and rip fence now. Any suggestions?http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/images/ ... nfused.gif

Hi Marvin,

You may have some success on e-bay. Others seem to be able to sell their stuff for more than SS charges:eek: .

I did sell mine on eBay and was very happy with the price I got.

You could attach the rails to piece of wood the width of the SS table and using some ply and your 510 fence make a really nice router table and fence.

I have been playing around with an old 510 table, grinding away metal to allow me to mount my router to the bottom of the table and I have fashioned up a split fence mounted on the 510 fence. When I get it perfected I will post pictures.
Ed

Hi All
New With A Shopsmith.
I Just Turned A Bowl And When I Tried My Next Project, The Left End(sorry Dont Know The Correct Term) Keeps Ripping Loose. I Have Tried More And Less Pressure But Nothing Helps. The Wood Was Heart Pine. I Then Tried To Turn A 2x2 Soft Pine I Had Started As Pratice. It Did The Same. The End Piece Was New When I Started.
Can The Piece Be Worn This Soon Or Am I Doing Something Stupid.

Thanks For Any Help
Larry
Gabigfoot

You should move this to a new thread.

It might help if you took a picture and posted it here. I don't understand what is "The Left End". Normally the left end is the headstock (the part with the motor). How are you attaching the wood to the headstock? There are many ways, using a faceplate or a chuck (my favorite) are the most common for bowls.

gabigfoot wrote:Hi All
New With A Shopsmith.
I Just Turned A Bowl And When I Tried My Next Project, The Left End(sorry Dont Know The Correct Term) Keeps Ripping Loose. I Have Tried More And Less Pressure But Nothing Helps. The Wood Was Heart Pine. I Then Tried To Turn A 2x2 Soft Pine I Had Started As Pratice. It Did The Same. The End Piece Was New When I Started.
Can The Piece Be Worn This Soon Or Am I Doing Something Stupid.

Thanks For Any Help
Larry
Gabigfoot

Larry I think your talking about the headstock or drive end of the wood.
I have had that problem too. You need to really drive the drive spurs into the wood. I often use a saw and make perpendicular cuts that the spurs will go into. Also the center pin gets wide awfully fast. You can drive the center out and then sharpen it with a longer taper. I put a real long taper to mind and it will drive into the wood instead of trying to split it.

Make sure you have enough waste on the end you want to turn, make some cuts in the for the spurs, hammer the spur in and take your time as you turn. If you try to hog the wood off it will catch and cause the spur to spin in the wood.

Use sharp tools a light touch and it should work.

Lastly if you watch the lathe pros they rarely use drive spurs. They either mount the work on a plate or have a chuck they chuck the wood into.
Ed

thanks
what confused me so bad is that the chuck (brain block before) worked fine before and even when i tried it again on a soft piece of pine it still chipped out and would not grabb where i had it connected before and had turned the piece. (my knives are cheap- and dull). i am going slow. like i mentioned, i am new with the shopsmith, used a cheap harbour freight lathe, so i know the basic terms at least. i notice the chuck is smaller on the smith and was wondering was that the problem also, but do not see any other sizes in the books.

thanks great site.
larry

Okay, what I think you are replying to is the spur center. If it is, you need to remember to keep enough pressure on the wood mounted between the headstock and tailstock, because as you turn the pressure will be lost. You will need to stop the SS while doing your turning and apply more pressure as you go. Also make sure that the spurs are seated into the wood firmly. If you are using a dead tailstock center, you will want to get a live center for the tailstock instead. Live center are much safer to use. A dead center builds up heat, and when using the soft woods you mentioned, can cause the wood to split and come apart.

Also, USE sharp turning chisels. Dull chisels are an accident waiting to happen and are dangerous to use. They could also be part of the problem if you are getting lots of catches in the wood while turning, which will cause the wood to come off the SS.

Now, if you are using a scroll chuck, you are probably not making the tenon on the workpiece correctly. You need to make sure that the tenon DOES NOT seat on the bottom of the chuck jaws (there should be a small space between the workpiece and the bottom of the chuck jaws). You also need to make sure that the wood around the top of the tenon on the workpiece is flat so the workpiece sits flat and firmly against the top of the jaws. If these to things are not done properly, the tenon will come loose and weaken from vibration, causing the wood to split and come apart, which will cause the wood to come off the lathe.

I hope this info helps. If you need more advice, just ask.

woodburner wrote:Okay, what I think you are replying to is the spur center. If it is, you need to remember to keep enough pressure on the wood mounted between the headstock and tailstock, because as you turn the pressure will be lost. .

If you're new to SS and turning between centers (have pressure on both ends), you need to make sure the quill lock is tightened securely after mounting your wood or the quill could ease back into the headstock causing your piece to come loose. Also, the headstock needs to be secure or it could slide to the left too.