Shopsmith Forums

Wow, what a score! That is a beautiful looking greenie. Lots of good suggestions have already been made on what can be done with it, from keeping it as is, which I sort of understand, as in its original condition its like a classic '57 Chevvy, but on the other hand, it is still a very functional tool and can be used as well as admired. So I will toss into the mix another idea, one that has worked out great for me.

I took my old late '50's greenie and had the motor rewired so that it became reversible and then mounted the headstock on a shorty base. I think mine was one of the last machines Bill Mayo worked on, and he did a great job. The headstock is now equipped with a switch that allows me to select the direction of rotation, so I have the bandsaw mounted on one end and the jointer on the other and it is just a matter of sliding the headstock from one end to the other and flipping a switch to use either spt. This is a really convenient setup; it solves the storage issue for the two spt's and also means that I rarely have to lift and move them.

Just another idea to consider.

chapmanruss wrote:Greenies were still being made into 1960. S/N 363155 is a Greenie and was made in February 1960. I do not know which month they changed to Goldies but it was by May. I do wonder about the Goldie carriage. Was it replaced later, was it painted or did it originally come that way? We may never know for sure. To me the "gold" color looks different than the "Gold" color used on the Goldies when I compare it to the before pictures of the one I restored. Is the gold paint hammered finish?

368624 r.jpg

Here are a couple of pictures of the carriage. The entire assembly appears unmolested, all original.

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One more thing to puzzle over.

The SPT clamp has the finer grooves like later Goldies.

I think I've made a decision. If I shorten her by 15 inches then I can squeeze her into the space I have for another piece of equipment and not completely ruin a beautiful machine.
So, that's the plan. shorten her 15 inches and keep a lot of the functionality. I have my 520 which will be the "GO TO" machine anyway.

Nice looking machine!

But cut 15" off of the bench tubes? Are you sure.

From the positions shown in your two photos:

Move the headstock to the left end (all the way). Lock it. Move the carriage to the left 15" (the planned cutoff length) and lock it. Mount the chuck. Now mount the table assembly and tilt it. Does the table clear the chuck? Without moving the carriage, can you setup for all of the operations that you intend to use when it has become a shorty?

I cut off 14" and frequently wish I had cut off a little less.

dusty wrote:Nice looking machine!

But cut 15" off of the bench tubes? Are you sure.

From the positions shown in your two photos:

Move the headstock to the left end (all the way). Lock it. Move the carriage to the left 15" (the planned cutoff length) and lock it. Mount the chuck. Now mount the table assembly and tilt it. Does the table clear the chuck? Without moving the carriage, can you setup for all of the operations that you intend to use when it has become a shorty?

I cut off 14" and frequently wish I had cut off a little less.

Luckily I already own two standard size drill presses. The likelihood of me having that scenario on this Greenie is very remote. Thanks for the words of wisdom though.

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Completed...

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VERY NICE!!!

Do hang on to those tube cutoffs.