Some Frustrations

[tdorey]

I am new to shopsmith. Have an older mark 5 with a new 520 table and fence.

I went to shopsmith to try and conserve some space and gain a couple functions.

Couple things I am finding frustrating, I thought maybe the experienced users may have some tips.

When Changing from saw blade to sand disk or just changing from regular blade to dado blade, there is frustration with, Loosen table, raise Table, Lock table, Loosen Carriage, fight with carriage to slide over, or loosen headstock and slide it to reveal the blade etc. Then remove the blade, the entire saw guard needs to be loosened to get to blade. Any tips for this procedure?

Also, Leveling fixed tables with main table, can be a pain.

Sometimes it feels like I need more hands then I have.

Raising and lowering the table, its hard to get that sweet spot where you can raise and lower the table without having it fall.

I am new so it will take some time to learn the loosening and tightening process.

Thanks.

[garys]

If you keep things clean and lubricated, they move easily so adjustments are simple. When adjusting table height to match side tables, you want one hand on the height adjustment and the other one on the lock.
With a bit of practice it all comes easy and fast. Remember that even if you are a bit slow, it is still far faster than dragging one large tool like a table saw out of the work area and dragging another large tool into its place to work. The Shopsmith is for the home handyman because it is a space saver and it is "handy".

[rpd]

Here are a couple of videos by Doug Reid that may be helpful.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgtX6eFWoL0[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ZbvbFbopg[/youtube]

Cleaning and waxing the tubes will help things to slide easily.
When changing functions think of it as playing with an adult sized Transformer.

[wa2crk]

As mentioned, cleaning and waxing the tubes makes things move a lot easier. There are also other subtleties that come to mind. When you get the main table raised and want to move it to the right don't use your left hand to push it to the right, rather use your right and pull the table and carriage to the right. Pulling rather than pushing somehow is easier. For the auxiliary table adjustment I try to set the main table height first and then match the other tables to the main table. Always set the main table height to the stock being cut and make all cuts at that height and then readjust for the next thickness.
You do have to plan your work more carefully when using a Shopsmith. A bit of a learning curve but well worth it.
Bill V

[Bruce]

You can use the tubes to help with table alignment if you don't have a long metal rule. Lock the tubes in the main table and slide the table over to where the tubes are next to the extension table. Raise the extension table unti the tubes will slide easily in, then lock the extension.

[dusty]

Remember that the extension tables are there to support long work pieces. There is no real need to have them adjusted to precisely the same height as the Main table.

When there is a reason to get them real close to the same height, I move the carriage to get them close together and then do the height adjustment. I lay a long level across the tables and adjust the table(s) so that the level rests on all tables involved.

[tdorey]

Some good tips here guys, thanks. I do think the planning becomes much more important during projects.

[jsburger]

I have the adjustable stop collars on all my Shopsmiths.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... collar.htm

Get the height close the normal way and then adjust the stop collar for dead on alignment. The added plus is when using the stop collar the tables are supported on their own during final adjustment. It doesn't take two hands. I also have a 4' straight edge that is thick enough to stand on the edge without holding it. It makes table height adjustments easy. Another advantage of the stop collar is when you change blades or operations. You can raise the table and when you drop it back down it is at the same height.

[tdorey]

I have the adjustable stop collars on all my Shopsmiths.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... collar.htm

Get the height close the normal way and then adjust the stop collar for dead on alignment. The added plus is when using the stop collar the tables are supported on their own during final adjustment. It doesn't take two hands. I also have a 4' straight edge that is thick enough to stand on the edge without holding it. It makes table height adjustments easy. Another advantage of the stop collar is when you change blades or operations. You can raise the table and when you drop it back down it is at the same height.

Yea, those look handy.

[dusty]

If you are going to "fine tune" the table height (Main Table or Extension Table), they work great. If you are not going to fine tune the height adjustment, those expensive stop collars are "just stop collars".

I have very few occasions where I need to raise or lower my tables .003" or .004". I too own adjustable stop collars. They get used almost exclusively to adjust the depth of a dado.