520 carriage not sliding

[jsburger]

I would use a wide piece of stock of the correct thickness and use a dado blade on the table saw. Cut the dado on the edge of the stock, move the fence over the thickness of the vertical part of the T and cut a second dado. Then use a saw blade and cut off the finished T from the rest of the stock.

This gives you a large stable piece to hold and keeps your hands away from the blade.

[BigJohn]

mmm, that's interesting. I know I have a dado blade setup among the parts I inherited with this machine. I'll see if I have the proper table cutout to use it with the 520 fence system. If I understand you correctly, you are suggesting 3 cuts, 2 dado and I finishing cut with the saw?

Won't it take a couple of passes with the dado to remove the amount of wood I need to get a T shape? I'm completely new to this, so just feeling my way and asking questions first. Trying not to do anything dangerous or stupid.

Thanks for your advice

[dusty]

I am pleased to hear that the new 5tubes) solved your carriage problem. I am pleased even though I was betting against the tubesbeing the issue.

[jsburger]

mmm, that's interesting. I know I have a dado blade setup among the parts I inherited with this machine. I'll see if I have the proper table cutout to use it with the 520 fence system. If I understand you correctly, you are suggesting 3 cuts, 2 dado and I finishing cut with the saw?

Won't it take a couple of passes with the dado to remove the amount of wood I need to get a T shape? I'm completely new to this, so just feeling my way and asking questions first. Trying not to do anything dangerous or stupid.

Thanks for your advice

Yes 3 cuts just as you said. Dado blades are adjustable in width so you will be able to do it with 2 dado cuts. I would think the width of the top of the T is not critical. I would set the dado to be just a little wider than one side of the top of the T. Then bury the Dado blade in a sacrificial fence attached to your table saw fence.Then you can adjust the fence for the exact width you want the dado to cut on the first pass. Then move the fence over the width of the vertical portion of the T and make the second cut. You don't care the width of the second cut as long as it is as wide or wider than what you want. As long as you are wider you can adjust the fence when you make the third cut with the saw blade to match the width of the T top from the first cut.

I hope that makes sense. If not I will try again. It is much easier to do than to explain.

[BigJohn]

it was just 1 tube and the fit is tight but smooth. I still think the 520 carriage has different size holes and other Mark V users may run into this issue when they try to upgrade.

I paid a lot for the 1 tube from shopsmith ($185 including shipping) and know I could have gotten all 4 tubes for $75 on Ebay but I though I might just inherit the same problem if I did that. I haven't really checked, but I suspect the new tube is slightly smaller in diameter than the old tubes from 1986.

Anyway carriage and headstock are moving smoothly now. Trying to find a 5/8 saw arbor adapter since all the blade I inherited are 5/8" and I only have the 520's 1 1/4" arbor. Shopsmith says the part is on backorder so it may be a few weeks before I get theirs. Always something!

[Hobbyman2]

I picked up a 5/8 and a 1/2" arbor from ebay a while back ,, fyi ,,,when it comes to cutting the dado on the work piece edge next to a fence I add a flat smooth sacrificial piece of wood the entire length of the fence ,,there are holes in the metal fence for this ,,,,counter sink the screws,,,,, then you can bury the edge of the dado into that piece and get a clean cut right to the edge of your work piece with out worrying about cutting into or rubbing the metal fence with the blade .

[br549]

... I am looking for some suggestion on how to cut a piece of floor reducer to convert it into a "T".

I think you're getting two completely different approaches. It seems like Brenda understood your question about modifying an existing reducer to make it into a "T". I agree with her suggestion of preferring the router. I think John on the other hand is describing how to make a "T" from scratch.

If I were to try to modify it using the table saw, I would attach a small strip on the edge that is going to be removed, so as to provide a square, flat edge on which the piece could ride as pushed thru the saw. Feather boards on the top and on the side are a must. Feather board on the side should be positioned just before the work piece will contact the saw blade so that it will not cause the saw blade to bind on the piece being cut and removed.

There are a variety of feather boards on the market that you can buy or make if you don't have any. My setup is a 500, but here is a quick sketch and an equipment mock-up of how I would be set up. Imagine the table being raised and a blade being installed too. I use my plywood fence attachment with a dado in it to have a place to attach the feather boards I use.

You haven't mentioned your non-Shopsmith woodworking experience ... what ever you do, be sure you have a good understanding of the method being used, and remember it is only a piece of wood.

[BigJohn]

Wpw!, That's perfect! It pretty much what I had planned on doing initially, but your suggestion of adding a small sacrificial strip to the edge for stability makes great sense.The new 520 fence system has featherboards that can be easily mounted as you suggest and I can probably use some small screws or brads to attach the sacrifice strip.

My experience is in R/C model aircraft building. There is a lot of woodworking there but on a smaller and more precise scale...and the final product has to fly at 100 mph and land safely:-) I have a small 3 inch(!) table saw, scroll saws, routers, etc here and a very healthy respect for large machines with sharp and rapidly moving parts (trust me, a propeller is far faster than a sawsmith and much more efficient at removing body parts)

I am still overwhelmed by the support from the SS community.

I'm awaiting the 5/8" saw arbor adapter from shopsmith since all the blades I inherited have that size hole and the 520 upgrade kit only has the 1 1/4 arbor. My limited experience suggests that Shopsmith back-orders can take weeks to arrive.

[reible]

Two really quick things that come to mind. One is this wood or some composite? And is it pre-finished?

When you cut this you might have some chip out that is going to be hard to control. The use of ZCI might help but the main thing will be have a fine cut blade and it will have to be sharp. You may have to sand and touch up the cut edge so if it is pre-finished this could be an issue. This is especially true if it is a composite material.

The easier thing to do is check the store for a contrasting color/tone strip of the right kind. I have seen people use a darker strip most often.

Ed

[thunderbirdbat]

Wpw!, That's perfect! It pretty much what I had planned on doing initially, but your suggestion of adding a small sacrificial strip to the edge for stability makes great sense.The new 520 fence system has featherboards that can be easily mounted as you suggest and I can probably use some small screws or brads to attach the sacrifice strip.

My experience is in R/C model aircraft building. There is a lot of woodworking there but on a smaller and more precise scale...and the final product has to fly at 100 mph and land safely:-) I have a small 3 inch(!) table saw, scroll saws, routers, etc here and a very healthy respect for large machines with sharp and rapidly moving parts (trust me, a propeller is far faster than a sawsmith and much more efficient at removing body parts)

I am still overwhelmed by the support from the SS community.

I'm awaiting the 5/8" saw arbor adapter from shopsmith since all the blades I inherited have that size hole and the 520 upgrade kit only has the 1 1/4 arbor. My limited experience suggests that Shopsmith back-orders can take weeks to arrive.

If you are going to use screws or brads to attach the workpiece to a board, do not use the small piece that BR549 suggested. Instead attach a piece between the workpiece and the fence. Using BR549's photo, just attach the flat side of your workpiece to the block of wood that is used as an example. This will move your screws/brads out of the area where you are going to cut. I would strongly suggest not using the screws/brads instead I would use tape. I would apply painters tape on the flat side of the workpiece then use double sided tape to attach to a larger board to ride against the table and fence. Make sure to press firmly on the painters tape for good adhesion. The painters tape will release from the workpiece easier than the double sided tape will preventing any tear out when removing the tape.