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Just bought a Shopsmith Mark V

DLB

The early bench tubes were painted and of larger diameter, as Russ mentioned, than the way tubes. I'm not sure when that changed, but my '57 was painted. I'm unsure of the color, mine were flat black but I'm reasonably sure they had been repainted when I got the machine in the mid 80's. There are some good restoration threads that probably show the original color. Warning - if you look at those full restorations you'll want to do one.

- David

DaOldGuy

Good timing on the wax, I have 20 years in Autobody in my past, I am very well versed in the original actual wax products verses this stuff they sell today.

Simoniz car wax was in the back end the same wax, it was serious work to get back off the car.

Another strange event just happened, unrelated to the purchase of the Shop Smith. Cleaning out a storage shed from moving here, building our new house, I pulled out of the very back a band saw I bought 4 years ago at a yard sale for45 dollars.

The date the past owner put on it was sept 1981, its a craftsman with a removable floor stand and a belt drive under slung electric motor.

It might be just me, but it "appears" to look like the shop smith ones on videos and it has a 5/8 arbor on the side just like it that the pulley for the motor is on... Is it possible? might it be adapted to the SS

example internet photo

My Saw

band saw.jpg

JPG

I doubt it has the SS mounting tube holes.

Once you have a SS band saw you will not use another brand of the same size. Tracking is automatic.Tension is easily set.

The bench tubes changed size just before the Goldie to poly-v / motor size change. 196?

And the only color I know is aluminum/gray.

DaOldGuy

JPG wrote I doubt it has the SS mounting tube holes.

Once you have a SS band saw you will not use another brand of the same size. Tracking is automatic. Tension is easily set.

The bench tubes changed size just before the Goldie to poly-v / motor size change. 196?

And the only color I know is aluminum/gray.

Apologies. Not saying they are the same device at all. This is a 12 inch and a different shape ect. It has a shaft that a attachment could be added to bridge the connector with a little fabrication. It comes down to it the saw shaft in the right area, does it spin the correct direction, and could it be adapted? The autobody guy in me tends to be happy to fabricate things. :rolleyes:

JPG

Oh I think it could be done. Question in my mind is, will you be satisfied with the craftsman. ;>)

DaOldGuy

JPG wrote Oh I think it could be done. Question in my mind is, will you be satisfied with the craftsman. ;>)

Bigger question is with my skills would I know the difference? :D Since it is a 1981 vintage, there is a chance its better than ones made in the last 10 years.

JPG

A bandsaw in the hand is worth several that must be acquired.

chapmanruss

Although I cannot tell from the picture you could probably adapt the Craftsman Bandsaw to work on the Shopsmith Mark 5. My first thought in adapting it would be the use of the extension table legs to bolt the Craftsman Bandsaw to, maybe with an adapter plate. The drive shaft of the Bandsaw will have to line up with the upper drive shaft on the Mark 5 headstock. The Hubs for the Power Coupler come in both 1/2" and 5/8" sizes for the tools being powered. The Craftsman Bandsaw would need to have either a 1/2" or 5/8" diameter shaft the pulley is currently on. If it has a different diameter shaft than another adaptation would be necessary to make the Craftsman Bandsaw work on the Mark 5.

Another option instead of spending the money to get parts to adapt the Craftsman Bandsaw for use would be to apply that money to getting a new or a nice used Shopsmith Bandsaw. A new Shopsmith Bandsaw is $599 and occasionally go on sale. As JPG said and I agree you would be happier with the ease of using the Shopsmith vs. the Craftsman Bandsaw.

The Jointer can be identified by the depth indicator plate on the side of the outfeed table casting. It not only indicates the cutting depth but includes the Model Number, Serial Number and which company made it. Your Jointer even if it appears to have a lot of rust can be saved and made to work like new. Below is a picture of a Greenie Magna Jointer I restored that had a lot of rust. The picture shows rust on the fence but the infeed and outfeed tables had at least as much rust as the fence before the rust was removed from them.

Now here is what you were warned about. Below is the Mark 5 that came with the Jointer above after I restored it. It was in pretty bad shape when I got it but came out beautifully.

Happy Restorations 🙂

11458 Jointer.jpg

DaOldGuy

JPG wrote A bandsaw in the hand is worth several that must be acquired.

Indeed....

DaOldGuy

chapmanruss wrote
Although I cannot tell from the picture you could probably adapt the Craftsman Bandsaw to work on the Shopsmith Mark 5. My first thought in adapting it would be the use of the extension table legs to bolt the Craftsman Bandsaw to, maybe with an adapter plate. The drive shaft of the Bandsaw will have to line up with the upper drive shaft on the Mark 5 headstock. The Hubs for the Power Coupler come in both 1/2" and 5/8" sizes for the tools being powered. The Craftsman Bandsaw would need to have either a 1/2" or 5/8" diameter shaft the pulley is currently on. If it has a different diameter shaft than another adaptation would be necessary to make the Craftsman Bandsaw work on the Mark 5.

Another option instead of spending the money to get parts to adapt the Craftsman Bandsaw for use would be to apply that money to getting a new or a nice used Shopsmith Bandsaw. A new Shopsmith Bandsaw is $599 and occasionally go on sale. As JPG said and I agree you would be happier with the ease of using the Shopsmith vs. the Craftsman Bandsaw.

The Jointer can be identified by the depth indicator plate on the side of the outfeed table casting. It not only indicates the cutting depth but includes the Model Number, Serial Number and which company made it. Your Jointer even if it appears to have a lot of rust can be saved and made to work like new. Below is a picture of a Greenie Magna Jointer I restored that had a lot of rust. The picture shows rust on the fence but the infeed and outfeed tables had at least as much rust as the fence before the rust was removed from them.

Now here is what you were warned about. Below is the Mark 5 that came with the Jointer above after I restored it. It was in pretty bad shape when I got it but came out beautifully.

Happy Restorations 🙂

Such a nice system, its really clean, better than mine will clean up

My Jointer is looks complete, needs a good cleaning and maintenance but I think it is very viable.

I laid out everything, I got a dead center and a new in package live center which I am happy about. It has the additional stand (lathe steady rest) for the bearing set that applies pressure opposite of the knife to keep pressure even. I have a lot of printed docs or I would not have know hat that thing was.

DaOldGuy

I have a bunch of shop smith catalogs from late 70s, some that were from Magna American, some actual type writer letters from Shop Smith.

This particular one makes me wonder if these things were related to the head I have and if the parts were changed out.

JPG

Easy enough to tell. Remove the belt cover and examine the drive sleeve pulley / idler pulley. A gander at the drive belt will also reveal.

DaOldGuy

JPG wrote Easy enough to tell. Remove the belt cover and examine the drive sleeve pulley / idler pulley. A gander at the drive belt will also reveal.

Not being familiar with old verses new, I would not be sure what I am looking at. However, I watched a video today that indicates how to tell if the quil is a single or dual bearing so that is a good start. This thing is just so cool, I am fighting off the urge to just play with it and focus on what I have, need, and clean up and maint.

Thanks

JPG

A Gilmer(old/original) belt is 'cogged' like a timing belt. The Poly-V(new version) is like a serpentine fan belt(multiple grooves along the length).

DaOldGuy

JPG wrote A Gilmer(old/original) belt is 'cogged' like a timing belt. The Poly-V(new version) is like a serpentine fan belt(multiple grooves along the length).

That I can check tomorrow, thanks for that.

JPG

BTW thee does not look very 'old'.

DaOldGuy

When I first started working in Information Technology in 2000 I was older than many I worked with. There was a young lady from India who had walked in a room we were working in and asked the other young employees "who is daoldguy" as it sounded with her accent, hence the nic name started. Having grey hair starting at 17 helped it along.

JPG

You must have been "over 30'".

DaOldGuy

JPG wrote You must have been "over 30'".

Then Yes.... Just a hair over

I see my drive link that goes to the Jointer is an early version steel with the rubber in-between. I know there is a retro kit for 44 bucks that is nylon, worth the upgrade?

chapmanruss

Although I cannot see the if it has the mounting posts your Jointer looks pretty complete. Judging by the Cutter Guard and it being the original version I would say the Jointer is about the same age as your Mark 5. Clean it up, make sure the bearings turn smoothly and freely than sharpen the knives and you will have a very nice working Jointer.

The original owner did a great job keeping the documentation and can be a valuable reference. The page you showed was the company letting owners of early (Greenies) Mark 5's know that some parts were no longer available but upgrades would keep their Shopsmith Mark 5 running. In this case upgrading from the Gilmer Drive to the Poly V Drive. Changes and upgrades even continue today. Shopsmith has discontinued making replacement parts for most of the original aka 500 Table System but any older Mark 5/V can be upgraded to the current Table System. One of the great things about the Shopsmith Mark 5 and what the engineers have done over the years was to make improvements to the Mark 5/V still work in even the first Greenies made.

Your Shopsmith collection includes both old and newer parts. The Lathe Steady Rest being one of those newer items. I did spot an interesting Item which is circled in the copy of your picture below. It is the original power coupler used to connect the Jointer and Jig Saw to the Mark 5 Headstock for power. It does not use the Metal Hubs like all other Power Couplers made since the introduction of the Belt Sander in 1955. Instead it uses a set screw in each end to lock on to the 5/8" drive shaft of the Headstock and the 1/2" drive shaft of the Jointer or Jig Saw. Because the Belt Sander and the Bandsaw which followed both have a 5/8" drive shaft the Power Coupler was redesigned to use Hubs to work between the different SPT's. If you want to use other SPT's like the Belt Sander or Bandsaw you will want to change to the newer Power Coupler setup with Hubs. Depending on the condition of the rubber in the old coupler it could break at any time during use. Remember it is at least 67 years old.

DaOldGuy pic 1 - coupler.jpg

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