Finally... my 500 to 520 upgrade experience!

Forum for people who are new to woodworking. Feel free to ask questions or contribute.

Moderator: admin

paulmcohen
Platinum Member
Posts: 1578
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Beaverton, Oregon
Contact:

Post by paulmcohen »

chrispitude wrote:Thank you George! This is turning out to be an expensive hobby, and I haven't even turned the thing on yet. I just ordered:

521942 5ft. Connector Tubes 35.69
505506 Molder/Dado Arbor 23.37
555783 Fence Feather Board 20.44
555997 Exten Table Bracket 59.49

The total was $138.99 plus $16.49 shipping.

The extension table brackets look like they'd be very useful in some situations. Since I'll have some shorty tubes left over with the 5ft tubes, this seems like a nice way to put them to good use! (I found an outfeed roller at Harbor Freight for $10 on sale.)

- Chris

You should have spent the $11 more and shipping would have been free.
Paul Cohen
Beaverton, OR
A 1982 500 Shopsmith brand upgraded to a Mark 7 PowerPro, Jointer, Bandsaw (with Kreg fence), Strip Sander, Ring Master and lots of accessories all purchased new
12" Sliding Compound Mitre Saw, 1200 CFM DC
User avatar
chrispitude
Gold Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 pm
Location: Saylorsburg, PA

Post by chrispitude »

chrispitude wrote:When I pretend to run a workpiece underneath the clear upper guard, it's hanging up on a ridge of clear plastic at the two back vertical edges of the guard. Those ridges catch on either the pivot pin in the back, or some sharp metal edges back there. Maybe I need to take a picture to explain what I mean. I'm thinking the easiest fix is to shave off those plastic ridges with a utility knife, but it seems strange that I would have to do this on something brand new (and expensive).
I don't feel like I was able to explain this very well, so I took some pictures. The ridges along the back ends of the upper saw guard like to hang up here:

on these sharp corners of the rear of the metal arm

on this pivot pin

Is it normal for them to do this?

I'm also hoping someone can confirm that the grabber arm on the rear of the 520 fence is supposed to be crooked as in my previous picture.

Thanks all!

- Chris
User avatar
chrispitude
Gold Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 pm
Location: Saylorsburg, PA

Post by chrispitude »

paulmcohen wrote:You should have spent the $11 more and shipping would have been free.
Hi Paul,

I was able to call back and add an item to the order to get free shipping. Many thanks for the heads-up.

- Chris
User avatar
reible
Platinum Member
Posts: 11283
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:08 pm
Location: Aurora, IL

Post by reible »

Hi,

The back of my rip fence doesn't look like that. Something may have gotten bent in transport. That piece needs to rest on the back rail piece and grab cleanly snugging up the fence. If it is damaging the back rails by trying to clamp at an angle then for sure you have problems. Without having it in hand to look at I can't for sure tell but I would give shopsmith a call and have the parts in hand so you can explain to them and they can reply with ideas. If parts are damaged get on it right now so you can be up and running sooner. You might want to get some pictures of the rails, they too might have been wrecked when you clamped down.

On the second item, the edges or what ever is catching on the clear guide should not be doing that. Tweeking the corners very lightly with a pair of pliers might fix that or if it is a burr then a couple of swipes with a file can get rid of that. Everything should move smooth.

Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
User avatar
chrispitude
Gold Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 pm
Location: Saylorsburg, PA

Post by chrispitude »

Thank you Ed! While getting problematic stuff is a bummer, I'm happier to hear that it isn't expected and can be corrected to a better behavior. I'll contact Shopsmith first thing Monday morning!

I'll have to check the rear of the table and see what damage I may have done while trying this rip fence out.

- Chris
User avatar
dusty
Platinum Member
Posts: 21530
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:52 am
Location: Tucson (Wildcat Country), Arizona

Finally...my 500 to 520 upgrade experience

Post by dusty »

Chris,

I'm attaching a couple of photos here to show how my rip fence looks and I'll do a second post to discuss the saw guard.

It does appear that your rip fence might need to be "reassembled" to get the proper alignment on the piece that grabs the rear rail.

The rail is tapered on the edge and the mating piece on the rip fence has a matching reverse taper. These should slide together tightly but SMOOTHLY. The mating edges must be parallel to one another.
Attachments
P3070006.JPG
P3070006.JPG (135.16 KiB) Viewed 5240 times
P3070007.JPG
P3070007.JPG (133.95 KiB) Viewed 5227 times
P3070008.JPG
P3070008.JPG (144.43 KiB) Viewed 5207 times
"Making Sawdust Safely"
Dusty
Sent from my Dell XPS using Firefox.
User avatar
dusty
Platinum Member
Posts: 21530
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:52 am
Location: Tucson (Wildcat Country), Arizona

Finally...my 500 to 520 upgrade experience

Post by dusty »

Chris,

The photos attached here deal with the saw guard.

I am unable to see how your saw guard is any different than mine. I believe mine has the same jagged edges as yours.

The photos that I have included were taken with a piece of 3/4" stock slide under the guard (to the right of the blade). I believe this is what you did as well.

I'm sorry I can't help here. I have no suggestions.
Attachments
P3070009.JPG
P3070009.JPG (148.07 KiB) Viewed 5216 times
P3070010.JPG
P3070010.JPG (136.38 KiB) Viewed 5199 times
P3070011.JPG
P3070011.JPG (164.69 KiB) Viewed 5188 times
P3070012.JPG
P3070012.JPG (153.51 KiB) Viewed 5186 times
P3070013.JPG
P3070013.JPG (152.08 KiB) Viewed 5186 times
"Making Sawdust Safely"
Dusty
Sent from my Dell XPS using Firefox.
User avatar
chrispitude
Gold Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 pm
Location: Saylorsburg, PA

Post by chrispitude »

dusty wrote:The rail is tapered on the edge and the mating piece on the rip fence has a matching reverse taper. These should slide together tightly but SMOOTHLY. The mating edges must be parallel to one another.
Hi dusty,

Thanks for responding. It sure looks like your rip fence does NOT look like this:

I guess I got (pic 1)

a Friday (pic 2)

rip fence, huh? (pic 3)

- Chris
User avatar
chrispitude
Gold Member
Posts: 226
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 pm
Location: Saylorsburg, PA

Post by chrispitude »

dusty wrote:I am unable to see how your saw guard is any different than mine. I believe mine has the same jagged edges as yours.

The photos that I have included were taken with a piece of 3/4" stock slide under the guard (to the right of the blade). I believe this is what you did as well.

I'm sorry I can't help here. I have no suggestions.
Hi dusty,

That is precisely what I did. It looks like yours hung up the same way mine did? Since reible's guard falls back down freely, I am guessing ours is not intended to hang up. I'll also ask Shopsmith about this on Monday and share what they say. If they have no suggestions to address it, I may just trim that ridge off both sides with a utility knife and see if that helps.

Thanks a bunch for your help!

- Chris
User avatar
dusty
Platinum Member
Posts: 21530
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:52 am
Location: Tucson (Wildcat Country), Arizona

Finally...my 500 to 520 upgrade experience

Post by dusty »

Chris,

I'm not sure we are in concert. If I pull the stock out, the saw guard will return to the table top. It does not hang up. It moves up and down very freely.
"Making Sawdust Safely"
Dusty
Sent from my Dell XPS using Firefox.
Post Reply