My First Shop Smith Project!

teacherman · Post by **teacherman** » Sat May 03, 2014 11:15 pm

I finally got to use my SS for something other than looking at and buying stuff for. My wife's friend had a piano bench with a broken leg. I determined it had been doweled, so I set about the business of drilling it out and replacing the dowel. The horizontal boring machine is just the ticket, although I had to eyeball everything, and the table height does not adjust very precisely, I found. I hope the Titebond II is strong enough. I thought about using epoxy, but if it ever needs done again, wood glue will drill out better. I fluted the dowel with a fork, and fluted the holes using a bent over and sharpened 16 penny nail. Pics are attached, in keeping with the spirit of this site.

This is why I drilled four large holes in the saw table last weekend, for this project.

I found that the SS drill press vise is substandard in the extreme, unfortunately. I'll be calling them up about it on Monday. The acme thread would simply NOT loosen and I had to yank the leg out of it, which I am sure did not help the finish any. Glad I used resawed cedar to pad the jaws, or I'd have scuffed it up good.

I hope the holes I drilled will fit an actual well-made drill press vise, or I will be mad as heck.

rjent · Post by **rjent** » Sat May 03, 2014 11:23 pm

I finally got to use my SS for something other than looking at and buying stuff for.

LMAO, Looks great! Nice save!

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun May 04, 2014 12:10 am

Good thinking re method.

edflorence · Post by **edflorence** » Sun May 04, 2014 12:34 am

teacherman wrote: I determined it had been doweled, so I set about the business of drilling it out and replacing the dowel. The horizontal boring machine is just the ticket, although I had to eyeball everything, and the table height does not adjust very precisely, I found.

I did a similar repair to the leg of a small footstool years ago...I just clamped the leg to the SS table and used the horizontal drill mode to drill out the remains of the old dowel and bore for a new one. Wish I had thought to use the vise...that is a really good idea. I am sorry to hear the vise jammed on you though...they way you used it was pretty neat.

As for the table height adjustment, the adjustable stop collar makes all the difference. check it out on the SS website...its well worth the investment. but with a little patience, a regular stop collar and a set of feeler gages will do just as well. There have been some very informative detailed threads on this forum about using the collars which you could search for.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun May 04, 2014 10:26 am

Perhaps technique/practice will make table height adjustments easier. Like most machinery screw driven adjustments, backlash must be taken into consideration and only approach 'target' position from a tensioned direction(i.e. raising the table gradually).

As for the jamming vise screw, is the black knob the culprit?

teacherman · Post by **teacherman** » Sun May 04, 2014 10:47 am

JPG40504 wrote:Perhaps technique/practice will make table height adjustments easier. Like most machinery screw driven adjustments, backlash must be taken into consideration and only approach 'target' position from a tensioned direction(i.e. raising the table gradually).

As for the jamming vise screw, is the black knob the culprit?

I did get a bit better at it after a few tries, but I don't think I'll ever get it quite as exact as I'd like.

Yes, the black knob has the gear teeth, and it hangs up terribly. Good design, poor machining, likely Mao's revenge. I wish it were better made, as this is a critical accessory to me. I really like my table modification, although I can see how an SS purist would cringe at my butchery of the machine.

john · Post by **john** » Sun May 04, 2014 11:35 am

Great Job!

I only wish I could think as creatively as that.

John

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun May 04, 2014 11:44 am

teacherman wrote:I did get a bit better at it after a few tries, but I don't think I'll ever get it quite as exact as I'd like.

Yes, the black knob has the gear teeth, and it hangs up terribly. Good design, poor machining, likely Mao's revenge. I wish it were better made, as this is a critical accessory to me. I really like my table modification, although I can see how an SS purist would cringe at my butchery of the machine.

Purist?????

Even SS has created thingies that required drilling holes to attach.

So butchery it is not. You located the holes so no structural weakening occurred.

Sorta like destroying the 'patina'(removing oxide) to make it not turn everything black. Snide appraisers be damned. These things are tools, and are meant to be used not looked at.

Uh Oh, maybe because of that 'attitude' is why our 'vintage' machines are not worth 4 or 5 figures!:eek:

terryd · Post by **terryd** » Sun May 04, 2014 11:56 am

Nicely done! I've found that the more you use your machine the better you will become at understanding how it works - and sometimes doesn't work. I find my skill improves with every project. That said, my skills still have a long way to go, but my initial frustrations with the Shopsmith was largely due to my lack of knowledge and practice.

Given time, projects and practice you will develop an unexpected level of expertise.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Sun May 04, 2014 12:34 pm

Really VERY good job, teacherman

Many of my thoughts have already been said, so let me repeat and consolidate them:

Nice save!
Good thinking!
Remove table backlash by raising table to keep downward pressure on gears.
Look into getting an adjustable stop collar.
No "butchery" observed. Usable tools should be used.

My own thoughts:

Titebond glue is great! I use it all the time, however on fine furniture, consider using hide glue. Hide glue can be released if need be.

Very nice photos that allowed all of us to see what was done.
You most probably educated some of us by showing creative machinery use!

Good Job!!:D