Shopsmith Forums

Ed, it may have been MY speed reducer, or "jack shaft" that I was talking about. The SS Speed Reducer can be used for drilling and actually does a fine job. Scott My recollection is that you pointed out that the speed reducer bracket had to be loosened for drill press operation which coul...

You know, I'm leaning towards the speed reducer too. It just seems like it would make life a whole lot easier when dealing with those bigger bowls. Messing with your workflow is no joke. Tough decision, but if I had to pick, I'd say go for the speed reducer first. Costs a lot less than a PowerPro u...

As for sandblasting the headstock, I would go the citrusstrip route. I sandblasted a headstock, and other Shopsmith aluminum castings. I did start with a stripper to get most of the paint off first, but the aluminum came out fine using coal slag media, probably #30. Kept the pressure down to just w...

Totally with you on this one. "Smart Motor" just doesn't sit right when we've been calling it a headstock forever. It's like when a brand tries to rebrand something classic with a flashy new name. I agree with you about "'Smart Motor' just doesn't sit right when we've been calling it...

It's not limited to just turning but can be used with larger Drill Bits, think Forsner, which slows them down to avoid burning. The Conventional Mark V Headstock runs between 700 and 5200 RPMs. Scott Markwood from My Growth Rings pointed out that the speed reducer doesn't work great for drilling be...

I'm not thrilled with the term, but as I already said in another thread I don't see anything wrong with calling it a 'headstock'. As others have said also, 'Smart Motor' is not a real good name for a conventional headstock at all. There's nothing all that smart about it.

Many movers will have experience with packing large tools. Even if you have movers do it i'd suggest removing the headstock and packing it separately, either by yourself or the movers. I doubt the movers would know how to do that themselves. Certainly you'd want to remove the tables to pack separate...

I'd take the headstock off completely and pack that separately. You could leave the tubes and end castings assembled and strap them onto a heavy board, but you'll save a lot of space if you dissemble those pieces.

I'd argue you'd still call it a headstock regardless of what you're doing. It's not called a headstock on other drill presses, but other drill presses aren't lathes stood on end. At its core, a Shopsmith is a lathe with a bunch of accessories that turn it into other things. So for that reason.........

It's still a headstock. At least in lathe mode it is. I've never heard of the power head on a drill press or other tools referred to as a headstock that I can recall. I don't see the problem calling it either a 'Smart Motor' or a 'headstock' in the right context.