Shopsmith Forums

As a ShopSmith owner since 1975 (Mark V and upgraded to PowPro head and new tables) I welcome our new owner to ShopSmith. Sorting out what has been done in the past and forging a path forward is a huge undertaking that is filled with excitement about what can be done and trepidation about making cha...

If you use Sketchup it shouldn't take very long to knock out a set of plans for something like this. Sketchup is free to download and both Zeh and Lange have video instructions for how to use it. It appears to be a set of basic boxes which is a quick build. The real benefit of Sketchup is that you c...

What kind of glue was this? I experienced glue failure with Epoxy on a boat I built many years ago. I switched manufacturers and it also failed. Only recently did I learn that Silicone spray causes epoxy not to completely set. I had been using cheap Styrofoam salad bowls for mixing. I now suspect th...

In wiring the PP cord to a 230 Male plug with four terminals (two Hot, a Neutral and a Ground) does the cord ground wire go to the 230 Ground terminal or to the Neutral terminal or both? My electrician did not know (had never needed to do this before)and suggested trying it to the ground first and, ...

This jig is also handy for sanding various sized disks such as a table top. I have shown it here to illustrate the point. Of course, for larger table tops you will need to make a spacer between the hinge and the rip fence and likely need to use an auxiliary table for the rip fence. See attached photo.

In building a banjo I needed two 3x5" maple blocks sanded to an 11" radius.To do so, I first mounted a strap hinge 3/4" above the table to my rip fence with T-blocks and 1/4-20 bolts. With J&B Weld epoxy, I mounted a 1/4" shelf hanger bracket to the end of the hinge. I next m...

A few years ago I built this 24 ft sailboat designed by Phil Bolger. Flat bottom, sailing/rowing boat with lexan side windows and fully open cockpit for and aft. Off-center mast and swing keel. Sails and rows very well!

If you use Sketchup try the 3D warehouse. If you don't use Sketchup you might give it a try. It is free (Sketchup.com) and people who design things can post them in the 3D warehouse. You do not have to know how to use all the details of it in order to be able to access drawings and download plans th...

In response to my first question the answer is yes. I went to the Sketchup 3D warehouse and found a rendering of the original Mark 5 (though I have the 520) There are also renderings of the 510 rip fence and of the 520 table and a jig. There are no renderings of the 520 rip fence. However, there is ...

Has anyone rendered Shopsmith in Sketchup (especially the 520) This would be particularly helpful for designing additional jigs. Even a Sketchup drawing of the rip fence would be a help. I am pretty new to Sketchup but I like that one can take measurements right off the renderings.