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Mark VII a start and a long ways to go..

JPG

De Nada - Key being carried by the snail.

BTW SNAKES slither. Snails walk on hairs.IIRC

Mike

LOL. I buy the snake slitherin around but not so sure about snails walkin on hair. Thank you either way:-)

JPG

Mike wrote LOL. I buy the snake slitherin around but not so sure about snails walkin on hair. Thank you either way:-)

Well I looked it up and they do not use cilia to move. Instead they use slime and a funky foot muscle movement.

With a little luck the snail should arrive today.

miken

JPG wrote
Mike wrote LOL. I buy the snake slitherin around but not so sure about snails walkin on hair. Thank you either way:-)
Well I looked it up and they do not use cilia to move. Instead they use slime and a funky foot muscle movement.

With a little luck the snail should arrive today.

LOL, gotta love this place.

Mike -

Mike

miken wrote
JPG wrote
Mike wrote
LOL. I buy the snake slitherin around but not so sure about snails walkin on hair. Thank you either way:-)

Well I looked it up and they do not use cilia to move. Instead they use slime and a funky foot muscle movement.

With a little luck the snail should arrive today.

LOL, gotta love this place.

Mike -

It’s a good place but the poor snail has to walk with one foot… even a slimy foot would be pretty difficult, gonna have to think about that for awhile…..ok I’m done

Hers a pic of some powder coated parts going together, still figuring out if the caster is going to work or if I need modifications, maybe some slime… also added the before pic

miken

Mike wrote . . . still figuring out if the caster is going to work . . .

Mike, I had some issues with casters on my Mark VII. I originally didn't have any, but after a year of watching ebay I found a complete set. The problem for me was the wheels that came with the set would hit the inside area of the frame rails when it would swivel. I was able to relocate the wheel center closer to the rotation axis. If interested see here: https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=27097

Before I found a set, with the levers and cams that can lift the machine, I built my own version that worked surprisingly well. You may find it interesting here: https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=25392&p=283521#p283521

Mike

Mike

Thanks Mike, I went through those but I need something a little different so I’m trying a wider body caster. I used info from this forum and am trying this https://www.casterdepot.com/shepherd/c0020273zn-pol01-kk?_vsrefdom=www.google.com

Not sure who the info came from but when I find it I will make sure they get credit.

I’m going to do some modifications that will probably increase weight by 100-200#, still working things through my pea brain, but need something a little more heavy duty. I think I’m having some of the same issues you had but need to install and try out a few things

miken

Mike wrote . . .am trying this https://www.casterdepot.com/shepherd/c0020273zn-pol01-kk?_vsrefdom=www.google.com

That looks like a very good selection as it appears the "swivel rotation" is close to 3/8". Yes, please report back if they swivel without interference. I may get a set myself.

Mike -

JPG

The 2" swivel radius is the deciding factor.

lahola1

Hi Mike,

A couple of thoughts. I've noticed on mine that there is a little slop between the lower horizontal rails and the end caps making the SS wobble slightly when working. If you are going to add weight and maybe doing more heavy duty work it maybe more noticable. I thought about tack welding the endcaps to the rails but didn't want to damage my paint. Since you have already painted yours that's out anyway.

Also, for heavier work you may want to investigate a used SuperShop. They are similar to a Shopsmith, 250# heavier and along with woodwork, they are good for light to medium duty metalwork. Around my shop, about 40% of the work I do is metalwork. I never heard of a SuperShop before 3 yrs ago; didn't know much about Shopsmiths 6yrs ago. I probably would never have gotten my SSMKVII if I known about SuperShop but I'm keeping my MKVII cause it's just plain cool. :)

Mike

Lahola1- I’m prepared for all the wobble, everything will be solid, I have some additions to accomplish this part. On the SuperShop I’m going to have to pass for now. If I bring home another machine….well let’s just say I’m pushing envelope with 5 and a shop I haven’t even begun to use. But thanks for the info:-)

Miken and JPG, new setup has issues but I think I’ve devised a work around per below. I’m gonna let it bounce around in the air between my ears for a few days. Thank you both for the insight.

JPG

1 dimension missing. Clearance between the top of the caster frame and the bottom of the ss piston.

RE: Wobble, shim the bores.

Mike

JPG wrote
1 dimension missing. Clearance between the top of the caster frame and the bottom of the ss piston.

RE: Wobble, shim the bores.

About .200 if this is the dim. See pic below

JPG

Yes that is the one I questioned. Now what is the stem length? Also is there vertical slop?

The M5 casters although they do not completely clear the floor when 'up' they do not bear any weight due to slop.

Lowering to the first position, the slop bottoms out and the SS raises off the floor.

So take slop into consideration when determining dimensions.

Now back the the piston.frame clearance, Reducing that clearance to something closer to 1/16" or less will decrease the amount of added height to the foot. That .200 is 2/3 of the excess.

The lip on the piston limits the downward travel. That may preclude shimming the mounting plate upward.(max height position - #2 position).

Mike

JPG- I considered cutting down the stem but believe I still have clearance issues, of course I will measure twice and cut once. Still hoping for a brain breakthrough design change. Covid fog is still floating between me ears. Thanks for the input and I’ll review everything again.

JPG

The stems are 1/8" longer than oem MVII.

Mike

JPG wrote The stems are 1/8" longer than oem MVII.

Interesting, I think the center lines on these are different and it pushes the wheel further towards front of shoe which is where my biggest interference is. Pretty sure it’s going to hit there unless I cut the shoe down and that creates the need for the design I came up with. What do you think of the rest of the design if I need to go that way?

miken

Mike wrote What do you think of the rest of the design if I need to go that way?

I know your question is directed to JPG, but I would avoid cutting your frame rails if at all possible. I would consider reducing the wheel diameter in combination with shortening the stem and moving the wheel axle location closer to the swivel rotation axis.

What are the wheels made of? I would try removing the wheel, then make an arbor using a bolt to hold the wheel in the shopsmith and sand the wheels to a smaller diameter. Then, relocate the wheel axle pin up and over towards the stem. That, with shortening the stem could be enough.

May need to go with a wheel that's not as wide for it to lessen the rotational diameter. The diameter at the edges of the wheel is more than in the center of the wheel.

Thoughts?

Mike

miken

JPG wrote Now back the the piston.frame clearance, Reducing that clearance to something closer to 1/16" or less will decrease the amount of added height to the foot.

Mike's wheels have bearings, so the stem does not need to rotate in the bore. He can effectively bottom out that gap completely, and shim the stem in the bore to eliminate all stem movement (wobble) caused between those two parts. There will still be wobble as the bore piece is not a precision fit in the brackets, but it would help.

Mike -

Mike

Miken and JPG- going to cut stem and shim, worse case I’m out 10.00 for a caster. Still think I’m going to add the new shoe but would wait to see if some of the other mods will take care of any stability issues. Thanks for all the assistance

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