Interesting to note that Teflon tape will work on set screws. I have not tried that - instead i merely switch screws. You can find a couple of them in your miter gauge or in the sides of your belt sander. Other than that, you can order a repair kit from Shopsmith.wearymicrobe wrote:So some clarification, I do have the upper and lower guard sets but they were purchased after the machine. So I am guessing its a 500. I do have a bunch of the 510 parts though that were purchased over the years by the previous owner.
I have had the set screw back out on me twice while using the lathe and I have wrapped the screw with a little bit of plumber tape to combat that. So far no more backouts and its easy to reverse with no modifications to the machine.
I have a couple featherboards that I made a number of years ago and have two of the factory ones. I think the push sticks are a little bit to short that are
provided with the machine so I made a few more in the machine shop today.
I am going to fire it up tonight on some cheap pine with the new blades, then work my way up to the dado blades that I have.
Anybody have some plans for a nice hope chest that they can share.
If your saw table measures 17 1/2" X 22" then you have a table for either a 510 or a 520. If you have round tubes on the front and back of the table then it is a 510. If you have sharp cornered extruded rails, then it's a 520. The 500 had a smaller table.
I've had two cases of kick back. The Shopsmith was the first table saw I ever used to cut other than framing material. The first kick back was when the saw was only a few weeks old. It threw that piece into the Sheetrock wall and there it stuck (all the way thru). The second kick back came a couple of weeks later. After I thought I knew what I was doing. This time the thrown piece put a bruise on my chest exactly 3/4" by 2". This was hard to keep from my wife. I never did tell her about this, as she was still burned up about the one that embedded into the wall. It was really hard not to groan when laying down in bed for more than a week. Probably cracked a rib as a future X-ray showed. Just had to say, "I don't know how that happened!, it must be an old injury."
I have not since had one of those. The moral - - is to be aware of the hazards and take care to avoid them. In both of those cases, I was not using the upper saw guard and splitter, because I thought (stoopidly) "I'm just going to make this one little cut - why bother with the splitter". So for saving a few seconds, I risked my life.
I tell this story for a secondary caution: After you think you have gained an understanding of table saw mechanics, don't let your confidence to allow you to lose safety awareness.
I once built a nice hope chest for a neighbor girl. She found the plans on the internet and bought the wood. If I can find the plans, I'll let you know.
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