Which to choose...?

[beeg]

#2 less $$$ plus two SPTs.

Sorry, but what are SPTs?

Special Purpose Tools.

[RFGuy]

Examples of SPT's are the Shopsmith jointer and bandsaw that come with option #1 or #2 that you are looking at.

[chapmanruss]

nduanetesh,

SPT's are Special or Single Purpose Tools like the Bandsaw and Jointer. Originally called Add-A-Tool. That's the beginning of the history lesson. The use of Mark 5 or Mark V has that change beginning with the formation of Shopsmith Inc. in 1972 who restarted the Shopsmith tool line. Mark 5 continued on the tool itself until early 1980 but Mark V was being used in advertising prior to that. When it was introduced in 1954 it was the Mark 5. All Mark 5's unless upgraded have the original Table/Fence system. When the Mark V 510/505 was introduced in 1985 the original Table/Fence system was then called 500. The Mark V 520 has a different Fence system called the Pro Fence than the 510. The Mark V 505 is the same as the Mark V 510 without the floating tables, connector tubes and telescoping legs. Hopefully I haven't confused you too much yet. More of the history of the Mark 5 can be found in the thread Shopsmith Mark 5 What When and Where at the link below.
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viewtopic.php?t=24963
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I haven't used the Mark V 510 fence system, so I don't have an opinion on it. I do use the Mark V 520 Fence system and do like it. It is on both of my Mark tools, one a 520 and the other an upgraded to a Mark 7. Now I mention that I upgraded my Mark V to a Mark 7 because it is something you would have the option to do. The Power Pro upgrade is currently $1,959.00 for the do-it-yourself kit or $2,419.00 for a new Power Pro Headstock. Compare that to the difference between the choices you have for buying the Mark V 510's with SPT's or the Mark 7. The Fence system for the Mark V 510's can be upgraded at some point as well as adding the Double Tilt Upgrade which would make the Mark V 510 an upgraded Mark 7.

[nduanetesh]

Thanks very much for all of the info, everyone. Shortly after I posted this, an Option 4 appeared. It's a 50th Anniversary Edition Mark V, 510, with a belt sander, jointer, and bandsaw (all NEW OLD STOCK!). When I say NOS, the original paper safety tags are on it, and the legs are included but not assembled onto the machine (leg hardware still in its plastic bag). Manuals were present for the bandsaw and belt sander, with hardware in the original bags. It appeared in the photos that all of the parts were there, though the accessories had some surface rust. The asking price was $400.

Needless to say I got in touch with the seller immediately. He said he buys storage units and this was in one of them. He didn't know much about Shopsmiths and just wanted to get rid of it. I arranged to go see it this morning.

It was a two hour drive, but absolutely worth it. The machine itself is in great shape. We plugged it in and it seems to run as it should. There is some very light rust spotting on the tubes, that should easily clean off. The bandsaw is in perfect shape (but missing the table). The jointer is quite rusty but the blades turn very smoothly, so that will just take a little elbow grease to clean up. The belt sander also looks great.

There was a large plastic tub that had the extension tubes, the floating tables, sanding disk, table saw guard, all of the push sticks, and a ton of little items. In the bottom of that tub, still in the original boxes were TWO mortise and tenon attachment sets (four boxes total, all parts fairly rusty), and two sets of dado blades, NOS

I talked with the seller about the missing parts, and offered him $300. He accepted $350, and I couldn't be happier.

There are a couple of negatives that I'm currently aware of, but they are pretty minor:
1. There is no manual for the Shopsmith itself, or the jointer.
2. There are no casters for the legs (though the caster mounting/retracting mechanism is present)
3. There is no table for the bandsaw (though the fence, table extension, and circle cutter are present)
4. The serial number tag seems to be gone. I assume this is one of those that just had a sticker for the serial number, and it is nowhere to be found.

There are a couple of items that were included that I cannot identify, but I'll make a separate post about them.

Thanks again for the info and advice, everyone. My Shopsmith adventure has begun!

[DLB]

Option 4 is definitely the best! Congratulations. All of those 'issues' are easily solved. Make sure you look for an Aluminum bandsaw table, the older cast iron one isn't compatible with those accessories.

- David

[chapmanruss]

nduanetesh,

Option 4 was a great deal. The rust can be taken care of as can the missing Aluminum Bandsaw Table. A really good deal when considering what little cost you will have to put into it to get things cleaned up and running when compared to the other options. For the Bandsaw Table replacement consider the Bandsaw Table Retro-Fit Kit (Table Only) part number 555487 which is currently $129.77. You will need to get the Bandsaw Fence Notched Bar part number 516687 for it also. The bolts and washers to attach it are standard hardware.

Replacement casters are easy to get and you may consider the 3" upgrade casters. The larger casters will move easier over rougher surfaces. The regular 2" casters are good and original replacements are available from Shopsmith too.

The 50th Anniversary edition lasted for several years. Since the sticker with the date code is missing it makes it a bit harder to identify when it was made. This is only really important to know if it was made before or after 10-01-2001 in case you need any paint for touch-ups. The paint formula changed at that time. Repainting is something I would recommend on the Universal Lathe Tool Rest after removing the rust from the painted areas. The Date Code Sticker was first placed on the end of the Belt Cover between the two shafts. In 2002 it was moved to the bottom of the Warning Sticker on the front side of the Belt Cover. The bottom of that Warning Sticker had a blank spot for the Date Code Sticker. Older Warning Stickers did not.

Replacement Manuals can be purchased from Shopsmith or used but be sure to get the correct ones for your era of tools if buying used. There is a Summary Manual available for the Mark V 510 available at the link below to get you started.

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

[chapmanruss]

To better help in locating the Date Code Sticker the pictures below show what I was describing in my previous post. A they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

The picture below shows the most common placement of the sticker when it was between the Idler Shaft Vent Plate and the upper Drive Shaft. Some stickers were below the Vent Plate.

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Date Code Sticker Placement 11-14-01.jpg (94.6 KiB) Viewed 1986 times

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Below is the later location for the Date Code Sticker at the bottom of the Information/Warning label on the side of the Belt Cover.

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Date Code Sticker Placement 09-04-02.jpg (113.01 KiB) Viewed 1986 times

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If the Information/Warning Sticker has the extra "tab" space at the bottom the sticker, like the one shown above, the Date Code Sticker would have been there.

It is interesting that the Date Code Sticker is missing and has me wondering about the tool's history. It is not something that would easily fall off.

In my previous post I mentioned you will need to get the Bandsaw Fence Notched Bar part number 516687 along with the Aluminum Bandsaw Table. It does not come with the table itself but would come with the Fence Kit. That bar looks the same as the Extension Table bar for the Bandsaw except it has a notch for the Miter to pass over which aligns with the Miter slot in the Aluminum Table. If I remember correctly there were early Fences for the Aluminum Table that did not use a Fence Bar. If your Bandsaw Fence looks like the one pictured below you would need the Fence Bar to use the Fence on your Bandsaw.

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SS Picture

bandsaw fence and acc.jpg (19.21 KiB) Viewed 1986 times

[dusty]

If this label must be a "paper sticker", I would prefer it be on the end of the headstock. What I would really prefer is an aluminum plate with the data stamped in and attached "permanently" with rivets. Sorta like someone thought it might last for decade or two!

After thought. Since screws and washers now cost $3 each maybe I can't afford am aluminum ID plate.

BTW...these hardware prices are not driven by Covid or transport issues or labor shortages.

[DLB]

If this label must be a "paper sticker", I would prefer it be on the end of the headstock. What I would really prefer is an aluminum plate with the data stamped in and attached "permanently" with rivets. Sorta like someone thought it might last for decade or two!

After thought. Since screws and washers now cost $3 each maybe I can't afford am aluminum ID plate.

BTW...these hardware prices are not driven by Covid or transport issues or labor shortages.

There's some unused space on the vent plate.

- David

[nduanetesh]

Looks like the date sticker is definitely gone. I'm attaching some photos of the headstock (sorry for the poor quality, it's dark in my garage right now), and no signs of a sticker. Wherever this thing was stored, it definitely had some moisture issues. There's some light surface rust here and there on the Shopsmith itself, and some of the accessory parts are pretty well rusted. The jointer in particular is quite bad, and the mortise and tenon boxes are particularly water damaged and the parts very rusty. I have parts of the jointer in a bath of Evaporust right now, and it's working wonders. Anyway, I assume the machine lived in a fairly damp (and maybe hot?) environment and the sticker just fell off. You can see the other sticker on the headstock has partially come loose.

I'm fairly certain it actually is NOS, though. You can see the caution tag on the speed control, and there was a paper tag on the end of the power chord (which I pulled off so we could plug it in and be sure it worked before I bought it). The legs are in perfect shape with the bag of hardware zip tied to them, and there are no witness marks anywhere of it having been assembled. Many of the accessories are in their original boxes, and all of the hardware is in stapled plastic bags. If it isn't NOS, somebody worked really hard to make it look like it.

I suspect I probably have the band saw fence notched bar. I have an unopened box that contains the bandsaw fence, so I will assume it's in there. (Probably going to leave the box unopened until the table gets here--harder to loose pieces that way). I appreciate the heads up on that, though.