Smithy Super Shop FM 73500

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chilimon
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Smithy Super Shop FM 73500

Post by chilimon »

Hello, my name is Ken, I just joined this forum today, I am from lower central Pa but unfortunately I am not a wood hobbyist, I butcher wood trying to work with it. I cut an inch off and its 2 inches too short. However I do work with metal.

The main reason for me joining is my Father recently passed away and he has a Smithy Super Shop in his shed, it looks like a great machine but I have no use for it myself. I am going to see if the Auctioneer can move this at the sale. If it doesn't sell, does anyone have any idea what they may be going for. The machine is like new, not used hard at all. I think he paid around $3000 for it about 10 years ago.

Thank you in advance for any comments, suggestions or helpful hints.
pennview
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Post by pennview »

Ken, unfortunately Smithy doesn't support the SuperShop anymore, so I'm not sure there is a very big market for them these days. It's no longer shown for sale among their products and when I last talked with them there were very few parts available. Last price I saw for a new one was a year or more ago when they were having a sale on the Smithy site. It was then about $1800. I guess they were trying to clear out their remaining stock.

I've seen them listed on e-bay for prices ranging from $500 to $2000, but the auction seems to expire before they're sold and the listings are few and far between. Occasionally they show up on Craigslist as well.

An auction may work, but that always depends on what the buyers are interested in and how much they want to spend, and then there is the cut the auctioneer takes for selling it for you. So you take your chances. And, like real estate, location plays a big part in the process. Also, I'd doubt that the auctioneer has any experience is selling a SuperShop, but who knows.

I have a SuperShop myself, so if you have any questions about the machine itself, you can always send me private message via this forum.
Art in Western Pennsylvania
jm51
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Post by jm51 »

You work metal and the Super Shop can work metal.

This might be of interest to you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC4BWffuD8I
pennview
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Post by pennview »

In addition to that quick overview of the Supershop, there are a series of videos on YouTube covering the individual features of the machine. One interesting feature is that some versions have a motorized carriage. The one in the video has the powered carriage, but they don't show it in operation. Smithy also made adapters so that Shopsmith Special Purpose Tools could be mounted on the supershop. It's really a nice, robust combination machine.
Art in Western Pennsylvania
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robinson46176
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Post by robinson46176 »

That motorized carriage and the R-8 collet capability were the big things that made me drool over them.
That collet capability should make adapting to Morse taper easy too.
I seem to recall that they had a hollow quill like a metal lathe spindle but then again that may be just wishful remembering. :)

I thought that there were maybe some interesting Shopsmith possibilities on this page:
http://www.ecolletchucks.com/
Note that I didn't check on pricing, I was afraid to... :D


.
--
farmer
Francis Robinson
I did not equip with Shopsmiths in spite of the setups but because of them.
1 1988 - Mark V 510 (bought new), 4 Poly vee 1 1/8th HP Mark V's, Mark VII, 1 Mark V Mini, 1 Frankensmith, 1 10-ER, 1 Mark V Push-me-Pull-me Drillpress, SS bandsaw, belt sander, jointer, jigsaw, shaper attach, mortising attach, TS-3650 Rigid tablesaw, RAS, 6" long bed jointer, Foley/Belsaw Planer/molder/ripsaw, 1" sander, oscillating spindle/belt sander, Scroll saw, Woodmizer sawmill
pennview
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Post by pennview »

The SuperShop was originally designed and built here in the U.S. and they were known then as the Fox SuperShop. I had heard some years back that the inventor, Fox, was connected with Shopsmith, but left to build these machines, but I don't know if that is a fact.

In any event, Smithy took over at some point and had them built in China. And, an identical machine was sold by Harbor Freight for a while. Nevertheless, they're a decent machine.

They do have a hollow spindle, but you need a drawbar to secure the R8 collets. And, you can get R8 to MT2 and MT3 Adapters. With an R8 5/8" collet and a piece of 5/8" drill rod you can make an adapter to accept Shopsmith accessories. The spindle also has a male thread of 2 1/4" x 8 TPI so you can mount metalworking chucks and faceplates and take advantage of the hollow spindle. I've got a 6" three jaw chuck and 10" faceplate that fits the spindle. You also can get an R8/ER25 collet set. In essence, whatever you can mount on a Bridgeport, you can mount on the SuperShop.

The Supershop SPTs are probably the same as those patterned after the Shopsmith ones and copied by folks like TotalShop. They come with an adapter that allows them to be mounted on the end of the SuperShop which has a wider hole pattern and larger tubes than the Shopsmith. The plastic drive sleeve adapter is identical to the Shopsmith version, but the Supershop requires a special hub for connecting to the back end of the spindle because it's splined. I'm sure an adapter could be easily made for mounting the Shopsmith stuff (something like what's been fashioned to mounting the SPTs on ER10s), but since I have all this Shopsmith equipment, it's not on my list of things to do.

The only thing I noticed using the Supershop was that turning small items between centers couldn't be done because of the width of the carriage, but with a couple of adapters it can be done, however, and I've modified the tool rest to accept Shopsmith accessories, so those shortcomings aren't a big deal for me.
Art in Western Pennsylvania
uplander
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Re: Smithy Super Shop FM 73500

Post by uplander »

I am need of some parts I think, my super shop I just got for free, doesn't start, maybe scr module. are they available. I would like to use this awesome machine. any help would greatly appreciated. Dan
KilnBilly777
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Re: Smithy Super Shop FM 73500

Post by KilnBilly777 »

I recently acquired The FM 73500 11" Bandsaw but am unable to get the blade to center. I have a photocopy of the "Owners Manual" but still have the problem. Is there a procedure out there or a You Tube? Is there an equipment malfunction or something to change? Help. Steve
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JPG
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Re: Smithy Super Shop FM 73500

Post by JPG »

KilnBilly777 wrote:I recently acquired The FM 73500 11" Bandsaw but am unable to get the blade to center. I have a photocopy of the "Owners Manual" but still have the problem. Is there a procedure out there or a You Tube? Is there an equipment malfunction or something to change? Help. Steve
Does the 'manual' say the blade needs to be 'centered'?

IF it is a SS clone(???), centering is not relevant.
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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
KilnBilly777
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Re: Smithy Super Shop FM 73500

Post by KilnBilly777 »

Blade Self Centering is standard. I've been told now that 95% of problems are eliminated by a "new" blade. My next problem is the link (coupling Kit) from the power head to the band saw does not work from everything we've tried. It should connect from the collet draw rod port (Upper Port) to the band saw shaft. But, the connection collars - end is wrong and does not match the upper port. We ruled out using the power take off (lower Port) as it is too low to match up. Without manuals it's tough. We may be missing a part. Steve
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