Hi All. Just bought my first Shopsmith two days ago. It looks brand new. I need help. I'm having major difficulty moving the headstock along the way tubes. I am sure the headstock lock is loose but I have to really struggle to get the headstock to move. I've been watching the Shopsmith videos and it appears that the headstock moves very easily along the ways. Any suggestions on what I need to check to correct this? I might add that there is absolutely no sign of rust anywhere on the machine and there is very little evidence of use on any of the parts. The previous owner’s son said his deceased father rarely used it. I waxed the tubes but that didn't seem to help much. Would appreciate any help. Thanks. allthumbs
Forgot to mention that my machine is a Mark V model 500.
Does the headstock stick a bit first before it starts moving? Do you hear any noises that sound like a "click", as if something that was stuck is suddenly free, as it starts to move?
Sounds like maybe the way tubes are bent slightly? Watch Nick's latest Sawdust Session on installing the Lift Assist. He shows how to realign the way tubes to get the headstock to move as easily as possible.
There's an easy way to tell what's causing the problem. If both your headstock and your carriage are difficult to move, the problem is the way tubes. If one sticks but the other doesn't, then it's the locking mechanism in the part that's sticking. I'm going to presume your problem is the locking mechanism in the headstock, since you didn't mention having the same problem with the carriage.
If your Shopsmith was stored with the headstock locked down too tight for a long period of time, or if the headstock lock was ever overtightened severely, the wedge locks (parts 504234 and 504235) may be damaged. These parts work best when the faces that contact the way tubes are perfectly flat. Once they start to develop a rounded groove in the face, they stick. There is also a chance that there is sawdust or some other foreign material packed around them that prevents them from moving freely. This too will cause the headstock to stick.
I suggest removing the headstock from the way tubes, removing the wedge locks, and inspecting them. If their surfaces are flat, clean all the parts and the headstock so the mechanism will operate easily, put everything back together, and see if that fixes the problem. If not, get back to us on the forum and we'll suggest something else. We're very good at talking novices through complex surgeries.
Thanks for the advice. I spent most of the day Saturday dusting off the jig saw and band saw. Also familiarized myself with the various tools and accessories I got with the smith. Two large boxes full and I still haven't got through it all. I've identified most of the items, but I think I have some tools that don't go with the smith or accessory saws. As I suspected, the shopsmith was not used much. The set of lathe tools have never been used. There is virtualy no sign of use on the table saw blade. The band saw and jig saw also look new.
But back to my problem with the headstock. Initially, I had to hold onto one end of the smith and pull with my other arm wrapped around the headstock in order to move it. I re-waxed the way tubes and was able to get the headstock to move using moderate effort. But I still had to hold onto to the end of the smith or it would slide across the garage floor while trying to move the headstock (that's with the casters completely raised). I removed the dust cover from the headstock and looked inside. There was very little sawdust inside. I checked out the locking mechanism and it appears to be working OK. I didn't, however, check the wedge locks for damage as Nick suggests. I'll do that tonight.
The headstock seems to move easier at one end of the ways vs the other end. It moves fairly easily after it reaches 3/4 the distance to the right and really hangs up when I try to move it to the left side to hook up to the band saw.
I checked the way tubes for burrs and rough spots and there are none. I did notice, however, a dark streak on each way tube along the top that appears to be where the headstock rides the tubes. I used fine steel wool and cleaned the streaks off, but they reappear each time I move the headstock on the tubes.
I watched the "Sawdust Session" for realigning the way tubes, and I'll check alignment tonight.
Should I try some dry lube on the way tubes? Thanks again for any advice.
It sounds to me as though the locking wedges are still engaged even if you have turned the headstock lock as far as it will go to the left CCW).
With the headstocked unlocked, you should be able to move the lock handle in and out about a quarter inch.
With the machine UNPLUGGED, open the inspection hole and peer inside (with an inspection light) and check out the threaded rod and the locking wedges. You need an inspection mirror to see the wedge on the outfeed side of the headstock. You are looking for evidence of 1) bent way tubes, 2) an accumulation of crude between the tubes and the wedges, 3) rust (corrosion), 4) improperly seated locking wedges.
Does the threaded rod move back and forth freely (1/4" or so)? I suspect not.
The easy way to trouble shoot and repair this might be to simply pull the headstock off the way tubes.
I don't know for sure but I think these other postings may help you with your headstock lock problem.
I copied them and am pasting them here. I hope this helps.
From a thread titled Need Some Help by hagarz71
Loosen the headstock lock all the way, until the handle butts up against the left wedge (the wedge on the speed dial side). If both wedges are free, you should be able to wiggle the wedge assembly back and forth in the headstock about 1/8" by grasping the handle and pushing and pulling. If the left wedge is frozen in place, as you have said, take a rubber mallet and tap on the right wedge, knocking both wedges sideways. Place a 3/4" x 3/4" block againt the handle on the other side, between the two wings, and knock the mechanism back the other way. (The wooden block prevents you from accidentally breaking the wings off the handle with the mallet.) Tap the wedges back and forth until you can push and pull the mechanism by hand. If the problem is simply packed sawdust or mild corrosion, this should free the frozen wedge. As you work it back and forth, more and more of the substance that is preventing the wedge from moving will fall out and the mechanism will become easier and easier to move.
If A rubber mallet doesn't loosen the wedge, or the mechanism remains too tight to move by hand even after you've tapped it back and forth several times, it's time to get serious. Remove the headstock from the way tubes and rest it on you workbench quill down. Remove the rear motor cover and the motor pan. This should give you access to the wedge mechanism. TIGHTEN the headstock locking handle about 30 turns, or until there is about 2" of threaded rod showing between the handle and the frozen left wedge. The right wedge will have come completely out of its socket. Grasp the wedge mechanism inside the headstock and work it back and forth until you have freed the frozen wedge from its socket too. Clean the inside surfaces of the sockets and the cylindrical surfaces of the wedges with a soft wire brush and fine sandpaper until they are as smooth as you can make them.
Hold both wedges steady on the threaded rod and turn the handle as if you were loosening the mechanism. The wedges will begin to move away from each other. Guide them into their respective sockets and continue until the handle is snug against the left wedge. Test to make sure that you can move the wedge mechanism back and forth easily -- there should be about 1/8" of play. If there isn't, turn the right wedge (the one nearest the quill stop) on the threaded rod until there is. Replace the headstock on the way tubes.
In extreme cases, you may have to punch the roll pin out of the handle and disassemble the entire wedge mechanism to resurface the sockets and the wedges. Hopefully, this isn't an extreme case.
From a 2nd post by an unidentified author
For those of you following this thread, I have some additional information from the good folks who rebuild Shopsmith headstocks here at the factory. The most common cause of Hagar's troubles -- one locking wedge moves while the other remains in place -- is that the headstock lock has been overtightened repeatedly. This practice eventually causes the threaded steel rod to strip out the threads in the softer aluminum locking wedge nearest the handle (on the speed dial side of the headstock). As the steel rod is drawn through the soft aluminum and strips out the threads, it also causes the wedge to expand slightly -- and the wedge locks in its socket. When this happens, the only solution is to remove the headstock from the way tubes, remove the roll pin in the handle with a 1/8" punch, remove the locking assembly, and install new wedges.
Remember that the proper way to tighten the headstock lock is to spin it until its snug, then turn it an additional 1/4 turn. You should never tighten the lock further than 1/2 turn past snug. If the headstock is slipping on the way tubes even when the lock is tighten 1/2 turn past snug, it's because (1) there is a buildup of fine sawdust inside the headstock, (2) there is a buildup of wax on the wedges because you have not been properly buffing the wax after applying it to the way tubes, or (3) the wedges are worn and need to be replaced.
Additionally, we ask you to ignore the well-meaning but potentially troublesome advice about using various oils to free the wedges, even penetrating oils. If you get oil, wax, silicone, or any other lubricant on the locking surfaces of the wedges, the locking mechanism won't hold. (See #2 in the above paragraph.) You will have to remove the headstock from the way tubes, remove the rear cover and motor pan, and thoroughly clean the wedges with a powerful solvent such as acetone or xylol.
I had only a couple minutes last evening to try the suggested adjustments to the way tubes. I discovered that the set screws on both tubes were loose at the left end. I tightened the set screws on the back tube as Nick demonstrated on his video and started carefully turning the front one to see what a difference it would make in the headstock movement.
I was able to turn the tubes to where the headstock moved much easier, however, when I got to the optimum point, then the carriage was hard to move. I was able to reach a "happy" point with the tubes where the carriage moved with slight resistance and the headstock moved much easier than before. About that time, my wife said it was "time to go" and we departed on an errand for the evening. I'm going to tweak it a bit more this evening. Based on what I saw and felt while moving the front tube, I am sure one or both is slightly bent/bowed.
Since making a tube lathe setup for my Shopsmith, I am finding quite a few bowed way tubes. When I had only one Shopsmith, switching the headstock from drill press position to the sawing position, I have had the headstock fall the last foot or two. I believe this may be one of the reasons for bowed way tubes. The Shopsmith Lift-Assist would prevent this from occuring and a good reason to buy it.
allthumbs wrote:I was able to turn the tubes to where the headstock moved much easier, however, when I got to the optimum point, then the carriage was hard to move. I was able to reach a "happy" point with the tubes where the carriage moved with slight resistance and the headstock moved much easier than before. About that time, my wife said it was "time to go" and we departed on an errand for the evening. I'm going to tweak it a bit more this evening. Based on what I saw and felt while moving the front tube, I am sure one or both is slightly bent/bowed.
allthumbs
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Bill Mayo bill.mayo@verizon.net
Shopsmith owner since 73. Sell, repair and rebuild Shopsmith, Total Shop & Wood Master headstocks, SPTs, attachments, accessories and parts. US Navy 1955-1975 (FTCS/E-8)
I am sure the headstock lock is loose but I have to really struggle to get the headstock to move. I've been watching the Shopsmith videos and it appears that the headstock moves very easily along the ways. Any suggestions on what I need to check to correct this? 
I might add that there is absolutely no sign of rust anywhere on the machine and there is very little evidence of use on any of the parts. The previous owner’s son said his deceased father rarely used it. I waxed the tubes but that didn't seem to help much. Would appreciate any help. Thanks. allthumbs
