Shopsmith Forums

Thanks, all, for the helpful replies. I picked up the non-powered sanding system from Woodcraft that markap mentioned, and progressed up the grits with reasonably good results. I think the problem I was having was that the maple was so soft that it was picking up scratches from darn near anything ...

Hi All,

I've made some bowls and lots of pens on the shopsmith, but I've never had this particular problem before. I'm using ambrosia maple, and I'm desperately trying to get a smooth surface prior to finishing.

It seems like no matter what I do, I get scratches in the wood from the sanding ...

Your bowls look great! I'm glad you chose a relatively soft wood to start with.. the first bowl I made was purpleheart, and it was a fairly rude introduction considering how hard and tool-unfriendly it is. I did learn pretty quick how to sharpen my tools, but I'm still way behind the curve on ...

I found a cast iron "bacon press" in the kitchen utility section of the grocery store for around $5. It works perfectly, and has a convenient wooden handle. When I was done with my electrolysis projects, I scrubbed it off with an SOS pad, oiled it up, and now I have a bacon press.

I read someone's review of a shopsmith's poor pen turning abilities. I think the main problem is only that the machine was not set up correctly.

The biggest problem I have is that it's hard to get the tool rest in a good position when the headstock and tailstock have to be so close together to ...

I have a new-style eccentric on a '58. Does the new-style housing no longer have the ears below the eccentric or the threaded hole for the retaining bolt/washer assembly on the outside to prevent the eccentric from walking out?

JPG40504 wrote:The new style eccentric bushing does NOT have the screw that snugs the water pump bearing into the center bore. It has a double bearing with a spacer.

Water pump???

If you replaced the eccentric bushing, you probably overtightened the housing bolt. Once you adjust the poly-V belt tension, tighten the housing clamp just until the eccentric no longer rotates by itself, then give it maybe a quarter turn to tighten. If you over-tighten the housing down on the ...

I'd probably use a jigsaw and a fence, myself. My circular saw really sucks, gouges out a huge kerf, and burns the crap out of anything it touches. (Maybe I should look into a better blade.. :) I wouldn't use the bandsaw. I have mine set up so I don't get much blade drift, but over a long distance ...

Thanks for the pics, I like that system. I ended up drilling and tapping my cast iron table, which worked fairly well, but there wasn't enough material to align the guide block flush with the table. I think I will get the aluminium table retrofit and use L brackets like yours. Thanks for the idea ...