Headstock with plain black power switch

[edma194]

I picked up a carriage with double tilt, lift assist, and a PowerPro headstock, kinda like a Mark 7 except no table system. The headstock doesn't have the red safety switch, just a plain black switch as shown below. The whole machine is pretty clean. The guy I got it from gets tools from estate auctions, he has no idea of it's history. Anyone ever seen a black switch like that in a headstock, PowerPro or conventional?

black switch.jpg (75.06 KiB) Viewed 472 times

[jsburger]

Don't think it SS. A PO probably just replaced a bad switch with one like that off the shelf.

[DLB]

I agree with John. I have one like that except the rocker is red. I bought it from eBay, there were numerous options including black. Jacob A also advocated non-SS switches of similar design. Kind of surprising it has been replaced though, the PowerPro is pretty gentle on switches, and can't be much more than 10 or 12 years old. For sure, I would be cautious about using it on 230V without verifying it is still wired correctly.

- David

[edma194]

I figured it to be replacing a bad switch, but it appears to have little usage. Perhaps it was changed just prior to sale. I have to be suspicious of this machine, don't know how it started in life. If the switch failed early on I would expect a ShopSmith replacement, so I have to worry about what caused a problem later. I think this was a good deal, for $500 it's a like new base with double tilt and lift assist, plus the PowerPro head which seems to work fine so far, so even if the PowerPro fails it wasn't an awful deal.

[chapmanruss]

Ed,

It does sound like a pretty good deal. Just curious as to what the serial number/date code is which could tell more about the Headstock's history.

[edma194]

Ed,

It does sound like a pretty good deal. Just curious as to what the serial number/date code is which could tell more about the Headstock's history.

It only has a date code, maybe there were known issues from that time period or something like that but with just a date code I assume Shopsmith can't tell me anything about it specifically. You might be the best source of information for this.


ETA: I just realized the model number, 556187, tells me how the machine was initially sold, as a Mark 7 with PowerPro. Don't know when the Lift Assist was added, possibly as an original option. I don't know if it has a quick disconnect on the piston yet, haven't looked that close. It came disconnected and I took off the upper part on the way tubes to put a table carriage on.

name plate.jpg (64.95 KiB) Viewed 408 times

[DLB]

I figured it to be replacing a bad switch, but it appears to have little usage. Perhaps it was changed just prior to sale. I have to be suspicious of this machine, don't know how it started in life. If the switch failed early on I would expect a ShopSmith replacement, so I have to worry about what caused a problem later. I think this was a good deal, for $500 it's a like new base with double tilt and lift assist, plus the PowerPro head which seems to work fine so far, so even if the PowerPro fails it wasn't an awful deal.

Great deal, I'd say. Probably a pretty good deal for three times that. I'm not a big fan of the lift assist (yet) but think either version would be in demand in the used stuff market. I've been thinking about a back up main electronics module, it costs more than that by itself. I have one with some undesirable traits, thinking it's more likely to get worse than better.

- David

[edma194]

Great deal, I'd say. Probably a pretty good deal for three times that. I'm not a big fan of the lift assist (yet) but think either version would be in demand in the used stuff market. I've been thinking about a back up main electronics module, it costs more than that by itself. I have one with some undesirable traits, thinking it's more likely to get worse than better.

- David

Not a fan of lift assist either, and since I have a drill press don't need it for now. I might like to try some under-table operations on this but I don't have two-sided table legs. I had already pieced together a 510 carriage and table to upgrade the drill press so I might reverse the legs on that table and I'll have one normal table and one reversed. However, the lift assist is really not useful on the other end of the bench, IIRC it does nothing when the headstock is that close to the left side. I might end up selling it.

I have thought about backups for the PowerPro. My first one was a DIY upgrade, but it still cost a bundle. I like it, but I'm not sure it was worth the cost. This used one will be worth the cost, as you say just for having parts backup. There's just three significant parts to a PowerPro motor system and each of them is very expensive to replace.

[DLB]

I might like to try some under-table operations on this but I don't have two-sided table legs. I had already pieced together a 510 carriage and table to upgrade the drill press so I might reverse the legs on that table and I'll have one normal table and one reversed. However, the lift assist is really not useful on the other end of the bench, IIRC it does nothing when the headstock is that close to the left side. I might end up selling it.

When I got Double Tilt my main table legs were messed up and I had to revert to the old ones for a while awaiting resolution. Easiest workaround for me was pull the table and carriage off and reverse both together. It might be easier for you to reverse legs in one table though, you can work out a way to use that table for both dedicated DP and Under Table by also semi-permanently reversing the DP carriage.(?)

You are correct that the lift assist is not useful for reverse tilt. It's the opposite. You have to tilt to DP position, disconnect the cartridge, then go back horizontal, then reverse tilt. Then reverse that to hook it back up. I tried one that was for conventional headstock, so all of that plus no quick disconnect. Not for me yet, but works well as advertised. I'd use one on traditional (non-DT) machine, which is what it was originally designed for.

- David

[edma194]

When I got Double Tilt my main table legs were messed up and I had to revert to the old ones for a while awaiting resolution. Easiest workaround for me was pull the table and carriage off and reverse both together. It might be easier for you to reverse legs in one table though, you can work out a way to use that table for both dedicated DP and Under Table by also semi-permanently reversing the DP carriage.(?)

That's what I was trying to say before getting lost in my own word soup. I'll reverse the legs on the table normally on the drill press and leave the other one alone. This will allow me to reverse the carriage on the drill press so the handles are on the right side, and that table will get modified for better use in drilling, routing, and shaping which should apply to it's use on the other machine in under-table mode.

You are correct that the lift assist is not useful for reverse tilt. It's the opposite. You have to tilt to DP position, disconnect the cartridge, then go back horizontal, then reverse tilt. Then reverse that to hook it back up. I tried one that was for conventional headstock, so all of that plus no quick disconnect. Not for me yet, but works well as advertised. I'd use one on traditional (non-DT) machine, which is what it was originally designed for.

- David

If it has any use in reverse tilt mode I would move the whole mechanism to the other end. As far as I can tell it works either way on a double tilt machine. But there is not much use to it, in reverse tilt mode the headstock would start close to the left side already.