Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

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zamlet
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Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by zamlet »

Hi all -

I'm not mechanically inclined, so bear with me. I have an old Shopsmith Mark V that has been sitting unused in my garage for probably 25 years or more. It has not been abused in any way, but it has not been maintained either - it's just been sitting idle for all this time. I dug it out a few weeks ago and dusted it off, then plugged it in and turned it on for 15-30 seconds, and it seemed to run fine (no smoke, scraping sounds, or other unusual noises), but I can't believe that it requires no maintenance after 25 years of not being used.

I doubt it needs a full overhaul, but I would like to make sure it has sufficient lubrication in all the places it needs to be lubricated, and has rust (if any) removed where it matters. Can someone suggest what the key places are to keep lubricated, how to get the lubricant TO those locations, and what kind(s) of lubricant to use? Thanks!
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JPG
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by JPG »

Movable sheaves. #10 MACHINE oil. (3in1 turbine sewing machine)

Other moving parts.(wingnuts manually rotated shafts)

Wax tubes. (way bench support posts)

Using it will reveal any thing else needing tlc.
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BuckeyeDennis
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by BuckeyeDennis »

And here's the maintenance section of the Mark V manual, available for download. It goes into more detail, with illustrations, on how to do the cleaning & lubrication.
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zamlet
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by zamlet »

OK, cool, thanks! I'm not certain what you're referring to by "moveable sheaves", and I don't really trust myself to be able to spot places that need oil vs. places that emphatically do NOT need oil, but hopefully the manual will make it clear.

Is machine oil really sufficient? I figured I'd probably need some grease somewhere.
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br549
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by br549 »

Yes, #10 machine oil is sufficient. No "grease" required.

The maintenance section that BuckeyeDennis provided a link to is a good summary, but be aware that there are many different versions of Mark Vs, and your model may differ slightly from that described in the summary. For example. the summary linked seems to indicate it was written for a Type "C" headstock, where the access cover on the back of the headstock is held in place by a screw and pivots for access; on earlier Type "B" headstocks the access cover is held on by a spring and must be pried off. The actual maintenance procedures should be the same, but little differences like that might throw you or make you doubt that you are proceeding correctly.

If you need a more detailed understanding of the various versions and their differences, the documents and posts by Everett Davis in this thread viewtopic.php?f=10&t=16113 should be a big help. Most of the restored manuals and documents are stored on his Google Drive.

Pictures of your Shopsmith would help other members clue you in to exactly what model you have. Once you know exactly which model you have, then you can fine tune the maintenance /owner's manual that would be best to use.

Best of luck, and just take your time, proceed methodically, and take notes and pictures of anything you are unsure how to put back together as you take it apart.
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dusty
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by dusty »

zamlet wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:05 am OK, cool, thanks! I'm not certain what you're referring to by "moveable sheaves", and I don't really trust myself to be able to spot places that need oil vs. places that emphatically do NOT need oil, but hopefully the manual will make it clear.

Is machine oil really sufficient? I figured I'd probably need some grease somewhere.
I hope these help you ID the moveable sheaves. Proper and regular lubrication of the sheaves is needed to achieve smooth speed changes.
HeadstockLube01.jpg
HeadstockLube01.jpg (33.41 KiB) Viewed 1628 times
HeadstockLube02.jpg
HeadstockLube02.jpg (36.55 KiB) Viewed 1628 times
HeadstockLube03.jpg
HeadstockLube03.jpg (40.55 KiB) Viewed 1628 times
HeadstockLube04.jpg
HeadstockLube04.jpg (34.44 KiB) Viewed 1628 times
The first and the last images show the holes where the machine oil is to be applied. I am inclined to apply far more oil (eight to ten drops) than the maintenance instructions call for. I put some in and then run the speed dial up and down a couple times and then do it ALL over again. I do this about every six months. I am (I believe) a typical Shopsmith user.
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garys
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by garys »

If the speed changer moves easily and smoothly, I probably would do nothing to it. If it feels a bit hard to turn, give it just a bit of thin oil. Too much oil will collect dust and cause future problems by making it stick. Not enough oil can cause it to stick from lack of lubrication. And, NEVER turn the speed changer unless the maching is running. Trying to move it with the motor stationary will damage it.

If the headstock and table don't move easily, apply a bit of paste wax on the tubes.

The rest of the machine likely needs nothing other than use to build something. These machines were not made to putter on. When they work right, cut wood with them and build something.
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JPG
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by JPG »

Some puttering necessary(oiling the sheaves - waxing sliding parts). Then they run fer ever.
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Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10
E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
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dusty
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by dusty »

garys wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:19 am If the speed changer moves easily and smoothly, I probably would do nothing to it. If it feels a bit hard to turn, give it just a bit of thin oil. Too much oil will collect dust and cause future problems by making it stick. Not enough oil can cause it to stick from lack of lubrication. And, NEVER turn the speed changer unless the maching is running. Trying to move it with the motor stationary will damage it.

If the headstock and table don't move easily, apply a bit of paste wax on the tubes.

The rest of the machine likely needs nothing other than use to build something. These machines were not made to putter on. When they work right, cut wood with them and build something.
I do disagree unless by "too much" you mean soak it in oil. The bottom line - the sheaves need to be well oiled to work properly. Three or four drops won't do it.
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chapmanruss
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Re: Maintaining an old, long idle Mark V

Post by chapmanruss »

zamlet,

First off since it has been missed so far, Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum. As you can see you will find a lot of help here. Sometime with a little contradiction.

Since your Shopsmith has been sitting for a long time I would go with the advice of using more than the recommended number of drops of oil this time around. As has been stated you don't want to over do it either. Oil on surfaces in the headstock will collect dust and "gum" things up. There is a balance here. Dusty posted some great pictures showing the two pulley assemblies and where to lubricate the floating sheaves on those two pulleys. The top picture is looking in through the access hole on the back side of the Headstock. This one happens to be a "B" Headstock and the logo plate cover is pried off. It takes little effort to do that. Note the hole in the sleeve which is where the drops of oil go. The other three picture show the motor pulley which is accessed by removing the screws for the belt cover and sliding it away from the headstock on the way tubes. The bottom picture shows Dusty locating the oil hole under the spring.

As was already said you do not use grease on the Shopsmith. Other parts needing lubrication get it from using wax on the parts. Furniture paste wax like Johnsons original formula paste wax works best. Do not use car or spray wax. The paste wax lubricates the moving parts like the headstock sliding on the way tubes and provides protection against rust. Even the Quill should be removed to be cleaned and waxed. Apply the wax to the surface and after it dries buff it out. Do not leave the wax on the surfaces without buffing off the excess, kind of like waxing a car.

It was said before that depending on which era of Mark V you have will depend on which cover it has on the back of the headstock. The early Mark 5 with green paint colors had the "A" headstock during most of the first two years (1954 - 1955) in production. The rear logo plate on the back side of the headstock has no hole behind it and does not come off. It changed to the "B" Headstock with the pop off cover and they would have green, gold or gray paint depending on when they were made from late 1955 to 1991. The "C" Headstock has the cover held on by a screw at the bottom and a pin at the top. Just remove the screw and rotate the cover up and out of the way for access.
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