Published Instructions that need updating

[skou]

Sorry Bob, but I'm disagreeing here.

If you were to read the paragraph below the Shopsmith stuff, it CLEARLY states that the additions are in green type and signed by the author of the added stuff.

"The Mark V Oiling instructions were revised in July of 1999 and appear on the Shopsmith
/ownersite/servicetips website today without the annotations I made in green."

While the difference between everettdavis and Everett L. Davis may cause SOME PEOPLE concern, I was able to figure it out.

steve

[billmayo]

SOAPBOX TIME Insufficent oiling or no oil causes about 80% of the headstock problems that I encounter. Turning the Speed Dial without the motor operating has occurred in about 10% of the headstocks that I have rebuilt. I do not believe you can over oil the headstock. I recommend at least 12 up to 20 drops of oil in the control sheave. Also a few drops of oil between the motor floating and fan sheave onto the motor shaft and at the end of the floating sheave on the shaft. I have not found that this oiling has caused the motor belt to slip after oiling. Of course, I recommend belt conditioner (auto supply store) applied to the belts when doing the oiling.

[db5]

A problem exists when users access one recommendation or procedure which may or may not have been changed by ShopSmith and then creates diffulty in following that procedure. For example, the PDF, found here, for adjusting the fence on a 510 (page 24) does not work with later models. In fact, attempting to do so will probably not result in damage but in a jammed set screw and frustration as well as foul language from some. For the later models the procedure is as follows:

Remove the octagonal pads from the bottom of the Miter Gauge using a wide blade screwdriver.

Using the hex wrench remove the set screws by backing one of them out of the top of the Miter Gauge and the other sufficiently to clear the hole in the side.

Reinsert the one removed into the bottom of the Miter Gauge and using a 1/4" stainless steel rod (which I used or any other rod that can fit), extend it 3-4" to the right of the Miter Gauge and tighten it using the set screw.

Check for alignment by sliding it from the back to the front of the fence. If it is out of alignment, loosen the back hex screw at the underside of the fence and tap the fence in or out as needed until it is aligned. Then reaching underneath without removing the fence re-tighten that screw. Remove the fence gently, tighten again and check again for alignment.

Replace everything as it was before this procedure.

Piece of cake unless you tried to follow the instructions in the PDF. That will not work because the hex screw is is inserted from the top to serve as a block for the caps on the bottom of the Miter Gauge.

Now, those instructions were very precise and work perfectly; however, they lack pictures which are worth more than thousands of words.

For those who wants I can produce a Word doc with pictures.

So, here's my proposal: Request that the Admin set up a new tab, perhaps after New Posts and before Search that would include Tech Articles created by users. These could be vetted by the Admin or someone close to the king who could verify that these recommendations worked.

There have been many such "how to" procedures posted which I have converted to Word Files for my own use. I know a couple of these have been converted to PDF by JPG. I don't have that capability.

What do members think about this proposal?

I'm going to post this as a separate post with options for members to vote on what they would prefer.

[BuckeyeDennis]

[quote="db5"]A problem exists when users access one recommendation or procedure which may or may not have been changed by ShopSmith and then creates diffulty in following that procedure. For example, the PDF, found here, for adjusting the fence on a 510 (page 24) does not work with later models. In fact, attempting to do so will probably not result in damage but in a jammed set screw and frustration as well as foul language from some. For the later models the procedure is as follows:

Remove the octagonal pads from the bottom of the Miter Gauge using a wide blade screwdriver.

Using the hex wrench remove the set screws by backing one of them out of the top of the Miter Gauge and the other sufficiently to clear the hole in the side.

Reinsert the one removed into the bottom of the Miter Gauge and using a 1/4" stainless steel rod (which I used or any other rod that can fit), extend it 3-4" to the right of the Miter Gauge and tighten it using the set screw.

Check for alignment by sliding it from the back to the front of the fence. If it is out of alignment, loosen the back hex screw at the underside of the fence and tap the fence in or out as needed until it is aligned. Then reaching underneath without removing the fence re-tighten that screw. Remove the fence gently, tighten again and check again for alignment.

Replace everything as it was before this procedure.

Piece of cake unless you tried to follow the instructions in the PDF. That will not work because the hex screw is is inserted from the top to serve as a block for the caps on the bottom of the Miter Gauge.

Now, those instructions were very precise and work perfectly]

If you want to create PDF's yourself, download the free Nitro Reader program. Top choice of the various computer mags, highly recommended by my IT guy at work, and I can personally endorse it after using it both at home and at work for a year or two. Much preferrable to the current Adobe crap-ware for my purposes. (Years ago, Adobe was the gold standard, but lately they push unstable software with a side dish of unwanted third-party add-ons.) Nitro is almost ten bucks cheaper than pdf995 (available ad-free for $9.95), which is is also a very good product.

That's the easy part. Your bigger question has me thinking that what we really need is some good Wiki software, like the stuff behind Wikipedia. Then we could generate peer-reviewed documents with multiple contributors/debaters, but only the newest, cleanest, and most correct version of the document would be presented to the casual user. The debating and editing would be seen only by interested parties.

And then the mother ship might not need any paid technical writers whatsoever.

[skou]

Dennis, I agree!

I'm also an IBM ThinkPad user, and there is a "ThinkWiki" that some other of the ThinkPad users have done, and it is a veritable treasure trove of info on the (somewhat obscure) subject. (Oh, I think there are more ThinkPads, than Shopsmiths, so who is more obscure? )

Here is a link to the ThinkWiki.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki

A ShopsmithWiki, would be another VERY useful tool, in my opinion. Just having all the important data in a single location, would be AMAZING!

steve