I also inherited an old Greenie

[UncleLarry]

Hi Everyone,
My Uncle Larry bought a Greenie many years ago. After he died, his son Mark, my cousin, inherited it. Mark restored/rebuilt old wooden frame aircraft using the Shopsmith. After Mark died, his sister gave the SS to me. It had been in storage for many years. Now it's in my basement and I want to make it go again.
By the numbers it was built in 1959, so it has the Gilmer belt and single bearing quill. It turns freely by hand, but I have never plugged it in yet because I didn't want to damage anything inside. The tubes are a bit rough and things don't slide around very well. The speed control is tight and hard to turn. It doesn't look like new, but it looks good for its age and all the accessories are with it. Where do you recommend that I start?
Danny in Missouri.

[rpd]

Welcome aboard,

Start by reading the thread in this link. https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/main ... t7092.html

[john_001]

The speed control is tight and hard to turn.

Since you haven't run it yet, I hope you didn't try to turn the speed control without the spindle turning.

[chapmanruss]

Danny,

Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum. Two things you said has me wanting to point out this important information. First you said

It turns freely by hand, but I have never plugged it in yet because I didn't want to damage anything inside.

And you also said

The speed control is tight and hard to turn.

Never try to turn the Speed Control Dial without the Shopsmith running and/or the belts turning. If you did not have the Shopsmith running that could be the only reason the Speed Control Dial was hard to turn. The Speed Control moves a sheave that makes up half of the pulley on the idler shaft. Without the belt from the motor turning you can either open the pulley further or push the sheave into the belt closing the pulley when trying to turn the Speed Control Dial. This is a bad thing without the belt from the motor moving and will cause damage to the Speed Control Assembly. During some maintenance work the Speed Control Dial is turned without the motor running. To do so the Spindle must be turned manually by hand which in turn, turns the Idler and Motor Pulleys. Attaching the Sanding Disk to the Spindle works well for this operation.

Follow the maintenance procedures for the headstock. Get the Motor and Idler Shaft Pulley Sheaves lubricated along with the Speed Control Assembly gears. After the maintenance is done, if there isn't any problems with the power cord or switch such as cracking from age for the power cord, try running it and adjusting the speed up and back down.

[UncleLarry]

Thanks to all for your replies. You have pointed me in the direction for a lot of useful info. I have already been reading a lot and watching videos. I knew that you shouldn't turn the speed control without the belts turning so I had the sanding disk on and rotating the motor by hand when trying the speed control, as I have seen others do in the videos. Is that a bad thing?
Since the machine is 60 years old and I suspect it still has the original belts and bearings, I thought I might tear it down and rebuild it before I run it. That way I would be familiar with how it's build and how it operates.
Thanks for your help, Danny in Missouri.

[chapmanruss]

Using the Sanding Disk to turn the belts and pulleys while turning the Speed Dial is not a bad thing. It is something that is done while doing maintenance. You only need to be careful not to turn the Speed Dial to fast. Hopefully you have a owners manual for your Shopsmith. If not, you can download a PDF of the 1955 manual at the link below.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... SZLh9CHCsv

That one is the closest one for your Mark 5 and can help with operations which will be the same. The parts lists and exploded diagrams will be slightly different than your 1959 Mark 5. More manuals are coming as Everett get the time to add them. Eventually we hope to have all the pre Shopsmith Inc. Mark 5 manuals available there. There is also a summary manual available here on the Shopsmith website at the link below you may find helpful.

https://www.shopsmith.com/getting_start ... Manual.pdf

[UncleLarry]

Thanks Russ. I do have the original manual, its in rough shape but I can read every page. The guy on the cover even reminds me of Uncle Larry because he always had that pipe in his mouth. Do you think that my idea of rebuilding the headstock is the best way to start, or do you think I should oil it and try it?

[chapmanruss]

Doing maintenance and trying it first may be a good starting point. That way you will know if there are any specific problems you need to address as you restore it. Even basket cases can be made like new again. Below is a Mark 5 Greenie I restored a few years ago.

IMG_0220cr.jpg (181.63 KiB) Viewed 2402 times

It looked like this when I picked it up.

3.jpg (99.93 KiB) Viewed 2402 times

There was rust inside the headstock too. The Quill had rust pitting so it needed to be replaced. There was quite a number of damaged and missing parts that needed to be repaired or replaced. What you see in the before picture is the same parts as in the after picture except the Quill and some hardware.

[UncleLarry]

WOW! That's a good looking machine! You have given me confidence because what I'm starting with is in pretty good shape. I think I can make it run well and look well. I want to do that because it belonged to family. I already have many wood and metal working machines, so I don't need to make it a primary tool. But I'm anxious to have a lathe and drill press.
Thanks for your help and encouragement. I'll try to post pictures as I go along.

[UncleLarry]

Oh, Russ, by the way, those caster wheels on the machine you restored... are they original? Mine does not have them. Is there somewhere I could buy them?