Speed Increaser Adapter

emagnet · Post by **emagnet** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 9:46 pm

Since I got my Mark V, I've been watching Craigslist to see if the accessories I was looking for would turn up there. So, one of the things that did turn up was a speed inceaser at a very low price. I wasn't even looking for a speed increaser, I wanted a speed decreaser, but the price was too good to pass up. According to the guy I bought it from, he had just purchased a PowerPro and didn't need the increaser any more. Fine by me. There was a slight hitch, though. The speed increaser uses special adapters, one for the half inch shapers, and one for the quarter inch router bits. The guy had the adapter for the shapers but not the router bits. No big deal, I'll get one from Shopsmith. So I call them up the next day, only to find that, not only is the part on back order, but that it's been on back order for over a year. So much for plan A. I keep my order in with Shopsmith, just in case, and move to plan B, ebay. I watch virtually every day for over a month and, finally, one is listed. I manage to snag it and happily look forward to receiving it so I can cancel my order with Shopsmith. So, yesterday, two packages arrive. I open the first one and it's the adapter I won on ebay. I open the second package and, astoundingly, it's the adapter I've had on back order for almost two months! What are the odds? There's a catch, however, the new adapter looks quite different from the old one. The old one has a lip, making it easy to remove from the increaser. The new one does not. When I put the new adapter in the increaser, I couldn't get it out by hand. I needed a screwdriver to pry it out. Also, the old adapter has machined flats for the set screws. The new one does not. Forget about whether the adapter will spin in the increaser at 10000 rpm, what happens if the set screws create burrs? Now I won't even be able to pry it out with a screwdriver. This new design seems very flawed. My plan C would have been to machine an adapter myself. Even I would have put a lip and flats on it. Here are the pictures. Even thought they're fuzzy, you can see what I'm talking about:

Original adapter. Staged lips, machined flats and an oxide finish.

New adapter. No lip. No flats. No finish.

reible · Post by **reible** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 12:25 am

Hi,

Might you have had the chance to read this thread?

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=10087

I hope they adjusted the price for the $5 bushing adapter which is what it looks like they sent you... picture is a bit fuzzy but it looks like they may have read that thread and gone the cheap route.

Ed

emagnet · Post by **emagnet** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 1:33 am

reible wrote:Hi,

Might you have had the chance to read this thread?

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=10087

I hope they adjusted the price for the $5 bushing adapter which is what it looks like they sent you... picture is a bit fuzzy but it looks like they may have read that thread and gone the cheap route.

Ed

Ed,

No, I hadn't read that thread. Thanks for pointing it out. What Shopsmith sent me sure looks like that steel adapter bushing. The part number, however, is still the same as the old adapter. They haven't even changed the picture on their website. At least they lowered the price to $19.51. Some deal, considering the bushing adapter is $4. The post you sight provides even more reasons why this adapter is a poor choice. This is a disappointing development from Shopsmith.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:10 am

You could try adding a flat to the "new" adapter. It wouldn't take much of a flat to keep any burr below the surface of the surrounding metal. Try a Dremel tool or a file. Those adapters are meant to be used in a collet, not held in place with a set screw. Maybe you could return it.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 11:06 am

Ignoring the 'price' difference, SS went from 'unobtanium' to 'deliverit'.

I think I would grind opposing flats on the new adapter.

emagnet · Post by **emagnet** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 3:59 pm

There's no need to perform any alterations on the new adapter. I have the old one. It works just fine. The new one will be returned to Shopsmith for a refund. But, just to argue the point, yes, putting flats on it will solve the burr problem but, you would need to precisely machine the flats to put them in the right position so that the set screws oppose any downward forces that might cause the adapter to be pulled out. Plus, the new adapter has three slits. The speed increaser has two set screws. Wherever you put the flats will result in uneven pressure on the slits resulting in a poorer grip. Instead of "deliverit", I would call it "nousium".

Correction:

After examining the new adapter more closely, the slits are cut so that there is a way to position the flats so that equal pressure is applied. However, the flats would still need to be precisely machined to allow the set screws to prevent any downward movement.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:27 am

Since you want to argue the point, once you've installed the "new" adapter once, you've precisely marked the locations where the flats need to be placed and then is simply a matter of taking a file and creating the flats. Or use the dremel tool. We're not making Swiss watch movements here. We're simply removing a little metal so that a small burr doesn't prevent us from removing the adapter. But I do agree with sending it back to Shopsmith. Perhaps you should include a note regarding the problem with the "new" adapter.

emagnet · Post by **emagnet** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 3:20 am

I think the main point is being missed here. It's one thing to buy a $4 part, knowing that you have work to do to make it usable in an application for which it was not intended. Regardless of the type of work, whether it be filing or machining or whatever, you accept the responsibility of making it perform to your standards. When you purchase a part from Shopsmith, for one of their tools, you expect it to work without modification. Especially if you're not warned otherwise. Now, when I go to Harbor Freight, I do expect that whatever I purchase will require rework on my part and I factor that in to my buying decision. I'm actually pleasantly surprised when it doesn't. But that is not the standard that I hold Shopsmith to. Perhaps my standards are too high.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:32 am

emagnet wrote:I think the main point is being missed here. It's one thing to buy a $4 part, knowing that you have work to do to make it usable in an application for which it was not intended. Regardless of the type of work, whether it be filing or machining or whatever, you accept the responsibility of making it perform to your standards. When you purchase a part from Shopsmith, for one of their tools, you expect it to work without modification. Especially if you're not warned otherwise. Now, when I go to Harbor Freight, I do expect that whatever I purchase will require rework on my part and I factor that in to my buying decision. I'm actually pleasantly surprised when it doesn't. But that is not the standard that I hold Shopsmith to. Perhaps my standards are too high.

I think NOT!