Powering other tools with a Shopsmith

[edma194]

BTW, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the SS band saw. It is a great saw.

Used one for years. Got a second one for parts and now have a 3rd and a power stand. The Delta has a 14" throat and it can be opened up to 12" depth. Do I really need that? No, but this saw was born in 1947, is still strong, and I'm an old fool who's a sucker for old tools.

[edma194]

Not making up my mind at all but mounting that end of the base on the bandsaw cabinet and using a jack shaft seems to be the practical solution.

[edma194]

This subject is always on my mind. Or in my mind anyway, buried under a pile of other projects not yet completed or started, but it's there.

I'm starting to think a Power Station is the solution. I've learned more about it on the forum, and that it uses a 10ER type speed control with a 'variator' pulley. If it's sturdy enough to hold this bandsaw, and reasonably it should be, this could be the best way to provide variable speed to this saw. I'm looking at what's available used out there and seems there are some decent prices.

I'm considering, as I did previously, making my own variable speed controller in the same manner as the Power Station uses. In the future I'll be restoring a 10ER with a speed controller, perhaps after that experience I'd feel comfortable enough to make my own, but at the moment I see a lot of frustration in an effort like that.

[BuckeyeDennis]

This subject is always on my mind. Or in my mind anyway, buried under a pile of other projects not yet completed or started, but it's there.

I'm starting to think a Power Station is the solution. I've learned more about it on the forum, and that it uses a 10ER type speed control with a 'variator' pulley. If it's sturdy enough to hold this bandsaw, and reasonably it should be, this could be the best way to provide variable speed to this saw. I'm looking at what's available used out there and seems there are some decent prices.

I'm considering, as I did previously, making my own variable speed controller in the same manner as the Power Station uses. In the future I'll be restoring a 10ER with a speed controller, perhaps after that experience I'd feel comfortable enough to make my own, but at the moment I see a lot of frustration in an effort like that.

Your concept of using a Power Station sparked an idea. On those, the variator is a nicely-packaged, self-contained assembly. It’s housing bolts to the stand, the motor belt enters from underneath, and a Shopsmith spindle nose exits on two sides.

So instead of mounting the bandsaw on a Power Station, you might be able to mount the variator assembly on your bandsaw.

[edma194]

Your concept of using a Power Station sparked an idea. On those, the variator is a nicely-packaged, self-contained assembly. It’s housing bolts to the stand, the motor belt enters from underneath, and a Shopsmith spindle nose exits on two sides.

So instead of mounting the bandsaw on a Power Station, you might be able to mount the variator assembly on your bandsaw.

That would be nice. I wanted to take a look at that, I have only briefly seen the 10ER variator assembly so I didn't want to convince my self it was possible without more info. I'll get hold of that soon and that may make the light come on. I do have a nice cabinet on a dolly for the bandsaw already.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Your concept of using a Power Station sparked an idea. On those, the variator is a nicely-packaged, self-contained assembly. It’s housing bolts to the stand, the motor belt enters from underneath, and a Shopsmith spindle nose exits on two sides.

So instead of mounting the bandsaw on a Power Station, you might be able to mount the variator assembly on your bandsaw.

That would be nice. I wanted to take a look at that, I have only briefly seen the 10ER variator assembly so I didn't want to convince my self it was possible without more info. I'll get hold of that soon and that may make the light come on. I do have a nice cabinet on a dolly for the bandsaw already.

Here's a pic of my Power Station variator with the pulley cover removed. It should give you a pretty good idea of the mechanical interfaces. The housing simply bolts to the sheet-metal top of the stand. It has four clearance holes for mounting bolts, IIRC -- you can see part of one mounting-bolt nut in the near left corner.

Link belts.jpg (478.4 KiB) Viewed 3834 times

The belt passing through the top of the stand goes directly to the motor pulley.

[edma194]

Here's a pic of my Power Station variator with the pulley cover removed. It should give you a pretty good idea of the mechanical interfaces. The housing simply bolts to the sheet-metal top of the stand. It has four clearance holes for mounting bolts, IIRC -- you can see part of one mounting-bolt nut in the near left corner.

Link belts.jpg

The belt passing through the top of the stand goes directly to the motor pulley.

Cool, Thanks! So the dial arm on the side is raising and lowering the variable pulley somehow. The like the ones I've seen on lawn tractors the pulley is supported from just one side so must be mounted on something pretty sturdy to keep it aligned. Maybe there's a parts diagram blow-up somewhere on-line with more info.

Also, looking at used Power Station prices I realize that I could take a used Mark V, make it a shortie both in length and in height, and just mount the bandsaw like an accessory. That wouldn't cost any more than a used Power Station and come with a bunch of extra parts. How to shorten the legs is not yet clear to me though. I suppose they can be cut off and the caster axle and tie bar shortened, but I'd have to bang in a lip at the bottom or something. I could probably just mount a headstock inside the cabinet but having to bend down and reach into the cabinet to adjust the speed is not that appealing to me these days.

I guess I'm posting a lot all of a sudden, but I have to spend a lot of time off my feet right now and I'm just bored. Hope I'm not clogging up the forum with this speculative stuff.

[Chad]

I wish Shopsmith would bring back the Power Station into production again. I know you can find them on the used markets, but it also might give the "stand alone" tool manufactures a run for there money, these days.

I say that because I've noticed a lot of new Youtube channels over just the past year that are DIY or small time hobbyist trying their hand with woodworking; some doing it for profit. Most of the tools they are buying and using are somewhat marginal. It appears some go to there local Home Depot, and load up all the Rigid or Ryobi tools they think they will need, and will last for many projects and years to come. While spending lots of money on those made overseas brands, because they are cheap tools and easily to buy.

I'm not talking about the corded or cordless hand tools we all own, and perhaps use daily. The foundational tools in a shop is what makes me scratch my head. Add up the dollars and cents on the cheap stand alone tools, and what do you get? A Shopsmith. That will last, not on borrowed time straight out of the box, but for decades! Far from donuts to donuts. Quality outweighs quantity in my book, hands down, every time.

End of rant.

[edma194]

Vintage Machinery has the manual with the parts diagram here: http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/747/6081.pdf

Not all the detail is visible. The variator slides up and down on a Rack and Shaft part between 2 rails. The back of that part isn't shown but is clearly a rack that is moved by a pinion gear on the speed control shaft. The rack and pinion is something new to find out about. It's entirely feasible to build such a thing, but I don't think it would be easy working from scratch. I still want to get a good look at a 10ER speed changer, I can see using one of those since it appears to mount on the way tubes, and mounting some tubes inside the saw cabinet wouldn't be that difficult. Like using a headstock, the control is still located down low and inside the cabinet, not the most convenient location, but not that bad I guess. And there is probably someway to extend the speed control on a shaft that can stick out of the cabinet.

The remaining problem would be belt tensioning, the variator must be located midway between the pulleys and it's not clear how the tensioning is done on the Power Station. The only thing that occurs to me right now is having the motor mounted so it can slide vertically to tension the belts.

Always fun and interesting to speculate about stuff like this, but I think finding a Power Station at a reasonable price is the means that will get to a working bandsaw the fastest and reliably.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Yes, the belt tensioning on a Power Station is accomplished by adjusting the motor up and down. It’s simply mounted to the top plate of the stand via four threaded studs, which enable that adjustment. Not real convenient, but it works.

You’ve figured out the vertical slide that carries the axle for the variator sheaves. The speed-control arm rotates the shaft that has the pinion gear for actuating the slide. Not so obvious is that the “wing nut” just outboard of the speed-control arm is used to clamp the slide up nice and tight whenever it’s not being adjusted. Left unclamped, the speed setting won’t hold, and the slide is prone to some very annoying rattling.