Shopsmith Forums

Hello all.....I'm Jeff

I'm new here.
I just brought home my father's 1966 (I believe) Shopsmith Mark V after my father's passing...
I was born in '66 and remember this thing as long as I can remember anything!
My dad did a lot of really nice turning on it....bowls, legs, misc....it was my introduction to lathes and for 35 years I've made my living as a machinist - CNC lathes and mills...
Anyway, she's in my garage now next to my 'Cuda and it needs some love I'm more than happy to give her.
She needs a drive belt, new power cord, a good cleaning and misc that I don't know yet.

I'm not much of a wood worker...metal is easy, wood is quite different!

Just introducing myself....I'll have questions I'm sure!
Jeff

Welcome to the Shopsmith forum Jeff and good luck with your father’s greenie.

I'll take that old -in the way- Cuda out of there for you- then you'll have all the room you need !

Welcome

Welcome to the forum Jeff. The "Greenie" color scheme on your Shopsmith dates it about a decade older than you are thinking, 1950's. If you want a better estimate there is a Serial Number on the vent plate surrounding the lower auxiliary drive shaft that will lead to a manufacturing date or close approximation. Depending on maintenance and upgrades over the years, yours will most likely have the original 3/4 HP motor, Gilmer upper belt, single bearing quill... Lots of experience and expertise here for any questions you may have. A great place to start is this thread for new owners: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7092 This will help with regular maintenance as well as the all-important do's and don'ts. One thing to know, especially for a new woodworker, is these older machines did not come with the sort of safety features that one would expect today (though some were available as options). I have a similar Greenie, lacking upper and lower saw guards as a prime example.

Beautiful car, from what I can see.

- David

Jeff,

Let me add a welcome to the Forum also. As David has already said your Shopsmith Mark 5 "Greenie" was made in the 1950's. The "Greenie" colors were used from the introduction of the Mark 5 in 1954 to 1960 when it changed to the "Goldie" paint colors. By 1966 the Mark 5 was already out of production.

From the pictures I see it is the "B" headstock and has only 2 screws holding on the belt cover. That and other things I see make me believe it was made around 1957 or 1958. As David said the serial number would tell more. Being over 60 years old replacing the power cord is a good idea as the insulation gets brittle with age. Shorts from broken insulation are not a good thing.

Over all it looks to be in pretty good shape. Read the manuals, service it and enjoy. We are always here to help.

Mrjlr I had to chuckle you reflect a lot of the things I heard with from machinists or years in manufacturing. One of my best friends said the thing he couldn't cope with was you could cut a piece of wood and tomorrow it might 2 or 3 thou different than what it was today.

Welcome.
One of the early things that you will notice about this group is the level of knowledge and willingness to help.
The second thing you will notice will be how many of us will blow up your pictures and study your shop area down to the tiniest details including reading the labels on containers.
We are a diverse bunch with all kinds of interest and different things are important to each of us. Some of us are only interested in woodworking and some of us have more hobbies and activities than should be allowed.
I've been just lurking a lot this year but still trying to follow along. I hope to get more woodshop time in this winter.
There are a number of restoration threads posted here and I'm sure someone knows where they are and will post their location. I don't recall right now but then I have been known to misplace a truck...

.

The first nit picking suggestion is to mount the rip fence correctly.

First thing that comes to my mind is upgrades , if you want to max out the accuracy and safety of the machine then upgrades are out there and easy to do with out sending the machine out or paying some one ,do not toss out the old parts like carriages and tables , they can be used in conjunction with new tables and up grades to compliment them , these were made when folks did things on their own. second would be the joiner looks like it could use some deep cleaning and possible bearing attention a good coat of paste wax or auto wax and a little polishing on the bed will also help keep the wood moving smoothly across the surface and keep it shiny . ,it appears the way tubes and carriage and possibly the carriage locks could also use some att before you get too deep in a project. My'n did , over all with a little tlc and a few upgrades I would say you will get a life time of enjoyment and use . there are many videos online mainly on youtube about using and maintaining the machine . FB has a group of folks who can help you with parts , ebay has a lot of used and new old stock parts listed as well constantly , the mother ship can help you with new parts as well . Hope you decide to use the machine , there are a lot of years left on it from the looks of it . if you look through the forum I believe there are still a lot of pictures of some very impressive projects that were made with machines exactly like your's .