Another 'Newbie with questions'.

[theplummer]

Thanks To everyone for the advice so far, I really appreciate the opinions.

I research everything to the Nth degree, especially with something I don’t really have much knowledge about.

But I will, before long.

Keep ‘em coming!

So far, I’m going to look for a 520s, but would take a 520 to f the price is right, as it appears that I have the ability to make it a double tilt feature, fairly easy. Along with the improved rip fence & extruded aluminum rails.

Also, it seems that you can’t get enough extra floating tables, for in/out feed tables.

[RFGuy]

Am I the only one confused by the original post? The comments in red seem to be spoken by a different person, and/or a different perspective from what was said before it? Already some great advice from other forum members. I love my Shopsmith equipment, but I also have a different perspective on it today from when I bought it 2-3 decades ago. So, my feedback will be different from others here. Know that I got started in woodworking nearly 4 decades ago when my Dad bought a crappy Sears Craftsman tablesaw, but fortunately he switched to a Mark V model 510 not long after this. I grew up on this platform and when I graduated college and could afford it, I bought my own model 510 to use in my house. So, please understand that I speak with love and sentimentality when I speak of Shopsmith...however A LOT IMHO has changed over these intervening years so it isn't ALL love anymore. There are LOTS of good options out there from other manufacturers, even for small woodworking shops (see YT video below for ideas on what can be done in a small one car garage workshop using standalone tools instead). I lament the high cost of a new Mark 7, or the high cost of the PowerPro upgrade, as I buy all of my tools new. I cherish my tools and never loan them out so I always know their condition. Often means I have to wait to acquire a new tool and hence I scrutinize every dollar spent. Some love to wrench on their Shopsmith equipment and buy used instead, some even do immaculate restorations and I adore those people who do this. I would just rather spend my time woodworking in my shop...I have spent enough time wrenching on cars over the years.

With all of that pretext, I would recommend buying used if you want to get on the Shopsmith platform and cost is a concern. Buying a 520 is imperative in my opinion. The fence is awesome on it and I love it compared to the 510 fence I had before it. The double tilt upgrade is overrated, in my opinion, unless you intend to do routing on it, which I don't recommend. Get a standalone router table instead. I call it a platform, because it is that, or it was before they started dropping SPT's like the planer and scroll saw from their product list as but two examples. I have the Shopsmith planer (one that mounts on the waytubes) and I love it. It cost A LOT new and honestly today you are better off value-wise buying a DeWalt lunchbox planer, but I still love my Shopsmith planer, though I hate lugging it on/off my Mark V. It is VERY heavy and awkward on the lower back to do this. The jointer is well built, but it is out of place (outdated), especially in today's marketplace. I have written about the deficiencies of the Shopsmith 4" jointer many times on this forum. I highly recommend reading the links below for more information. It is very well built, but is only a narrow width, short bed length jointer. IF you are only doing small crafting projects, it may be perfect for you. However, if you want to mill any sizeable lumber, e.g. for building furniture then you will be disappointed with it IMHO. To understand my comments you need to understand the difference between edge jointing and face jointing as well as why these are needed - also dependent on what kind of lumber you choose to purchase. The links below will help, but ask any questions you might have on this. Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck on your decision and I hope you find what you are looking for.

Links to some of my past forum posts on the Shopsmith 4" jointer:
viewtopic.php?p=317205#p317205

viewtopic.php?p=312055#p312055

[chapmanruss]

RFGuy,

You're not the only one wondering about the original posts having what appears to be answers in red. They were not there when I copied the questions quoted in my post. The strange thing is that there is no edit notation to that original post. I'm glad you commented on the Jointer to give theplummer another point of view.

theplummer,

Don't hold your breath waiting to get a used 520S as opposed to a 520. The Mark V 520 was introduced in 1999. It changed the Fence system of the 510 to what they called the Pro Fence System. It has only been around a year since the 520 changed to the 520S adding the Double Tilt of the Mark 7.

RFGuy comments about the Double Tilt saying,

The double tilt upgrade is overrated, in my opinion, unless you intend to do routing on it, which I don't recommend.

As I said I upgraded my Mark V 520 with the Double Tilt but also upgraded to the Power Pro 1.0 Headstock. I agree with RFGuy about only adding the Double Tilt. Here is why, the Conventional Headstock of the Mark 5/V's has a high speed of 5200 RPM's while the Power Pro Headstock has a high speed of 10,000 RPM's which is a better, but still not a great, speed for shaping and routing.

Adding the Double Tilt feature to a Mark V is simply changing the Base & Arm end and the Headrest end with the Double Tilt ends plus changing the Table Posts to the double-sided gear tooth ones for raising (out) and lowering (in) the Table. It is not as simple to do it with an early Mark 5 that has the 1-7/8" diameter Bench Tubes. In that case the Bench Tubes have to be replaced with 1-3/4" Bench Tubes.

So why did Shopsmith change the 520 to have the Double Tilt feature? I believe it was more economical for them to have only one type of Bench Ends and Table Posts for the Mark V 520 (the only Mark V model left), Mark 7 and the recently introduced Mark 4.

Before you get excited about another Mark model to look at, know the Mark 4 is the same as the Mark V 520S except the Bench and Way Tubes are 16" shorter making it a slightly more compact unit. Being shorter it suffers when it comes to the Lathe having a shorter spindle capacity by about half. The Drill Press has a shorter Headstock to Table range also but may not be a problem in most Drill Press uses. It probably didn't sell well since they no longer have it listed for sale. Short lived like the Mark 1.

[edma194]

So why did Shopsmith change the 520 to have the Double Tilt feature? I believe it was more economical for them to have only one type of Bench Ends and Table Posts for the Mark V 520 (the only Mark V model left), Mark 7 and the recently introduced Mark 4.

This is probably the case.

A drawback to using double tilt is that you can't leave an SPT mounted on either end casting when you tilt it up into vertical mode. Many owners leave a bandsaw or joiner mounted on the left end all the time because with the conventional single tilt mode you can still tilt the way tubes up into drill press mode with an SPT attached there.

[theplummer]

Am I the only one confused by the original post? The comments in red seem to be spoken by a different person, and/or a different perspective from what was said before it? Already some great advice from other forum members. I love my Shopsmith equipment, but I also have a different perspective on it today from when I bought it 2-3 decades ago. So, my feedback will be different from others here. Know that I got started in woodworking nearly 4 decades ago when my Dad bought a crappy Sears Craftsman tablesaw, but fortunately he switched to a Mark V model 510 not long after this. I grew up on this platform and when I graduated college and could afford it, I bought my own model 510 to use in my house. So, please understand that I speak with love and sentimentality when I speak of Shopsmith...however A LOT IMHO has changed over these intervening years so it isn't ALL love anymore. There are LOTS of good options out there from other manufacturers, even for small woodworking shops (see YT video below for ideas on what can be done in a small one car garage workshop using standalone tools instead). I lament the high cost of a new Mark 7, or the high cost of the PowerPro upgrade, as I buy all of my tools new. I cherish my tools and never loan them out so I always know their condition. Often means I have to wait to acquire a new tool and hence I scrutinize every dollar spent. Some love to wrench on their Shopsmith equipment and buy used instead, some even do immaculate restorations and I adore those people who do this. I would just rather spend my time woodworking in my shop...I have spent enough time wrenching on cars over the years.

With all of that pretext, I would recommend buying used if you want to get on the Shopsmith platform and cost is a concern. Buying a 520 is imperative in my opinion. The fence is awesome on it and I love it compared to the 510 fence I had before it. The double tilt upgrade is overrated, in my opinion, unless you intend to do routing on it, which I don't recommend. Get a standalone router table instead. I call it a platform, because it is that, or it was before they started dropping SPT's like the planer and scroll saw from their product list as but two examples. I have the Shopsmith planer (one that mounts on the waytubes) and I love it. It cost A LOT new and honestly today you are better off value-wise buying a DeWalt lunchbox planer, but I still love my Shopsmith planer, though I hate lugging it on/off my Mark V. It is VERY heavy and awkward on the lower back to do this. The jointer is well built, but it is out of place (outdated), especially in today's marketplace. I have written about the deficiencies of the Shopsmith 4" jointer many times on this forum. I highly recommend reading the links below for more information. It is very well built, but is only a narrow width, short bed length jointer. IF you are only doing small crafting projects, it may be perfect for you. However, if you want to mill any sizeable lumber, e.g. for building furniture then you will be disappointed with it IMHO. To understand my comments you need to understand the difference between edge jointing and face jointing as well as why these are needed - also dependent on what kind of lumber you choose to purchase. The links below will help, but ask any questions you might have on this. Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck on your decision and I hope you find what you are looking for.

Links to some of my past forum posts on the Shopsmith 4" jointer:
viewtopic.php?p=317205#p317205

viewtopic.php?p=312055#p312055

Absolutely amazing home shop in that video. Some really great ideas.

[JPG]

Re the red in the OP!













Guilty


Edited rather than quoted.

[JSwift]

So I am dusting off my Mark V that I purchased new between 1982 and 1984 as best as I can recall. So far in my reading I don’t see reference to a Mark V B as shown on my serial number plate on the power head. The serial number is 192838. Where does this unit fit regarding adding a router/ shaper assembly and other upgrades?

Thanks. And Happy Thanksgiving

[chapmanruss]

JSwift.

Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum.

Mark V serial number 192838 was made in November 1984. In September 1984 the Two Bearing Quill replaced single bearing quill in headstocks for Serial number 190000 & above. The Mark V-B appears on those with the Two Bearing Quill. The Vent/Serial Number Plates I have seen follow that change.

You can use the Router/Shaper Fence made for the Mark 5/V with the original Table system AKA 500 on any Mark 5/V/V 500 like yours. The Router/Shaper Fence for that Mark 5/V came out in 1954 with the introduction of the Mark 5. That Fence even fits the Model 10E and 10ER made prior to the Mark 5. See that fence on my Model 10ER below. The Mark VII from the 1960's uses a Router/Shaper Fence specific to it. The Mark V 510/505, 520, 520S, Mark 4 and current Mark 7 all use a different Router/Shaper Fence than the Mark 5/V with the original Table System. Now having said all of that you can do over the table routing and shaping with your Mark V-B. Do know that the maximum speed of the Mark V is much slower than actual Router and Shaper systems. I have done it successfully. Care must be used including a very slow feed rate into the cutters. If you wanted to do under table Routing or Shaping, you would need either the Speed Increaser which will bring the maximum speed up to 10,000 RPMs or change table systems and add the Double Tilt upgrade.

_

Shaper Fence P-N 11 700 on 10ER.jpg (108.17 KiB) Viewed 28983 times

,
All the SPT's like the Bandsaw or Jointer for example can be used on your Mark V-B. Upgrades made to the Mark 5/V over the years can be added to older Mark 5/V's. If you wanted to upgrade your Table System or add the Power Pro Headstock, for example, no problem.

You may be wondering why I use Mark 5/V throughout my text. It is how the Shopsmith tool has been labeled over the years. With its introduction in 1954 it was the Mark 5. In the beginning of 1980, the Vent/Serial Number Plate was changed to Mark V, It is simply how the tool was labeled just like yours saying Mark V-B. Shopsmith is the name of the tool, but it has not always been the name of the company making it. Mark V-B, in your case, is the model of the tool.

I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.

[JSwift]

Thanks Russ. Looking forward to more sawdust soon!