First Post: Inherited Rusty Mark V. Now What?

[suntower]

Greetings,

I apologise up front if I ramble on or if this isn't the right place for this OR if every one of my questions has already be answered 1,000 times before, but I am kinda in the dark as to where to start so please be gentle.

BACKGROUND: Completely out of the blue, my ex-brother-in-law dumped a rusty Mark V, serial #317956 in front of my garage. I have never used a Shopsmith. I don't know what it is or what it does. But he knows I used to make furniture so he thought it was a good idea and now he's left town so I'm stuck with it. There are some paper manuals and a parts list, most of which I don't understand. It appears to be the standard 500 unit plus the 'Jointer' accessory. It is currently in 'table-saw mode'. I switched it on and the motor does run but I have no idea if it's even safe to use so I haven't taken it any further than that.

I called the Shopsmith support line and the nice lady said she couldn't go into too much detail so she'd have someone call me back. It's been 2 days and that hasn't happened so I figured I'd post here and try to get the ball rolling.

The website says it's circa 1956 which gives me pause. Plus it's missing some items from the piccies in the brochure, eg. the plastic table saw guard and the casters.

So, broadly speaking, how do I determine if it's worth saving?

1. What missing parts are NECESSARY? And what are the costs?
a. Saw guard?
b. Casters?
c. Anything else I don't know I don't know?

2. How do I determine if it's worth saving? And if it's -not- worth saving are there organisations that -would- want it for refurbishment?

3. How do I determine if it's safe?

4. If it's not safe, how do I get it to where it -is- safe?

5. How do I clean it and lubricate it?

6. How do I determine if the motor is OK? Belts? Other gizmos? Can I adjust/replace these myself?

7. What's the simplest way to learn about 'alignment'?

8. I'm in the Seattle-ish area. Are there owners or clubs or dealers in the area that might be able to help?

9. I think I figured out what most of the parts are, but what are these things in the red plastic holder (see image).

Again, sorry for gassing on. I promise to be more brief in the future. I'm as much organising my thoughts about this as anything else. If I were 30 years younger I'm sure I could figure it all out from the web site, but frankly I don't have =time= to go through all this stuff. Also, (get out the tiny violins) I'm on disability so I don't have much money. In short: if it works with minimal cost? GREAT! I'd love to have a lathe. If it's going to be a 'restoration project'? I'd rather not deal with it. Anyhoo,ANY help kickstarting this process would be most welcome.

I attached 2 files. One is a sideview. The other is a red plastic holder I can't identify.

TIA,

---JC

[masonsailor2]

Well the quick answer is its a Shopsmith so it is definitely worth restoring. The rust doesn't look too bad. You may find it comes off fairly easy. There are some maintenance and alignment procedures to go through but I think you will find it worthwhile. You can either get the printed procedures or go online and watch youtubes. There are a lot of pretty st right forward videos there to guide you through the process. And keep posting your questions here. Oh and first rule of a SS. Don't turn the speed dial without the motor running.
Paul

[suntower]

The rust doesn't look too bad.

How does one safely remove the rust? I'm concerned about damaging the plating.

Oh and first rule of a SS. Don't turn the speed dial without the motor running.

Uh oh. I did that a couple of times just to see if the thing was 'working'. Is there a way to tell if I damaged anything?

Thanks,

---JC

[richardrouse]

pop the shopsmith badge off on the other side and shine a flashlight in there for broken parts. There aren't many parts so it should be pretty obvious.

Search here for the speed control, and look for pictures of what it should look like.

[Beave2012]

https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... 90#p185690

That link will be your best friend up start. It looks good on the picture and considering how well shopsmiths are made, you could have that back up to standard in no time with very little cost. It already looks like someone was taking care of the upper tubes so should be in decent shape. 1st thing first get in there and lube those shelves. You will find instructions on the link above.

[JPG]

Welcome to this forum!

Where to start?

Yes it can all be quite intimidating especially if one is totally unaware of what a Shopsmith is.

As for the bench tube rust/plating - they were painted when new. I do not think there was much plating if any. So clean up the rust and repaint.

Fortunately the tubes that really matter(the way tubes) are in very good condition(An indication that they have been waxed for 60 years.

Also fortunately you have a 'late' Greenie model which means there is an access hole beneath the medallion on the back side and oil holes in the movable sheaves. Lubricating is a matter of putting oil into those holes often(every 10 hours run time).

Johnson's original paste wax(floor wax) is your new best buddy. It makes stuff slide easier while preventing rust. Yellow can with a red stripe(Home Depot has it in IIRC the cleaning products section).

If you do not already have it, a 'zoom spout' oiler bottle with #10/electric motor/turbine oil needs to be obtained(Recall those holes I mentioned above).

Is it worth saving? When you get it ready to use and do so you will not regret saving it. I say that assuming you already have some floor standing tools already. If that assumption is incorrect you will doubly doubly not regret it.

As for the blade guard, it most likely never had one. 60 years ago that was not a 'de rigor' attachment. Getting one will likely involve e-bay or similar, but be aware there were different versions over the years.

I do not know what 'stuff' is missing, but the important stuff is still available from the mother ship. Any thing else could be obtained again on e-bay.

As for casters, they are still made by the mother ship(MS), but are quite $$$$$. Nice to have, but unless you need to move it often, not necessary(I went 45+ years without them).

Have you discovered the 'sawdust' sessions? Lotta good maintenance/setup/alignment info there although much pertains to later models.

If you did not guerilla force the speed control towards slow, it is unlikely you inflicted any damage to the speed control.

As for 'restoration', it looks quite ready to use as is. You are wise to pause to gain a better understanding of this beast. A bit of a hump to overcome, but attainable. If you get into a snag, we are here to assist thee! Any thing that is supposed to move will likely need a drop or two of oil or other lubricant(sawdust loves to mix with oil/grease and harden).

Like any power tool, it can bite(understatement). Realize it comes from an era when safety was under control of the operator, not the manufacturer or guvmnt agency(OSHA did not exist then). So use caution and common sense.

For the record you have a MARK 5(not a Mark V). Essentially the same as a Mark V 500 functionally. It most likely has a 'Gilmer drive'. It can be converted to a newer style Poly-V drive but likely not worth doing so unless there is no other alternative(no used parts).


So consider it a present from the wood working Gods and enjoy the ride. I think you will consider your BIL(ex) to be a nice person!!!!

[suntower]

I want to thank everyone for the -very- helpful replies. I am comfortable with old-school machines (ie. lots of metal, not too many safeguards )

Some follow-ups if someone wouldn't mind. After that, I'll do some heavy reading and post individual questions as I have them. So...

1. Maybe a silly question, but I've never had a rusty machine tool. So, how do I (safely) clean the rust off the Way Tubes AND the polished surfaces of things like the 'Jointer' and table saw shelves?

2. Speaking of which, I loosened the headstock wedge and it's stuck. How do I get it sliding? Rubber mallet?

3. I took the rear badge off and I don't see anything amiss (amazing how simple it is inside). Is it a good idea at this point to replace the belt or can I wait? How does one know when a belt is going bad? Or do they just break?

4. Can someone take a look at the piccie above of the red plastic pouch and tell me what those metal things are?

THANKS AGAIN!

--JC

[everettdavis]

JPG nailed it down very well.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video may be worth ten thousand.

Jacob Anderson who offers various headstock services has put together 30 (or there about) YouTube videos, in addition to selling other more detailed videos on DVD for repairing the headstock, the various motors through the years, and one on the bandsaw.

Start with this one which is really foundational describing how things 'should' look. There are 29 more to explore, all free, and then there is the wealth of this forum, and the owners here who support each other, in addition to what RLF Shopsmith Inc. can provide in knowledge, parts, accessories, even brand new machines.

Welcome home.

Everett

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEII8dwTM9U

[JPG]

First the red pouch.

A guess!

Caulking spatulas? Not real comfortable with that but the only thing that came to mind.

The wedge. "Gentle" tapping on the end(s) of the shaft(center of knob/end on back side). When worn they tend to stick. Worst case, the threads are stripped.

Small parts, evaporust.

Tubes, electrolysis.

Jointer. take your pick(electrolylis will also remove the paint).

Table 'shelves'? The tables are aluminum.

There are threads concerning them in here(I have one foot out the door, so cannot search them out now).

Gilmer belts typically just break. Poly-v belts start to slip.

[suntower]

Thanks again to all!

This video looks like gold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEII8dwTM9U