Shopsmith Forums

If it ain't broke.....

I am not in the habit of replacing functional stuff but the last time I had the switch out of the headstock I recall that one of the corners were broken, I think the body of the switch is made out of Bakelite or some other brittle plastic so it chips easily. I will be replacing the switch though regardless of condition just because once I do the upgrade I do not want to have to pull the headstock apart again to replace a 10 dollar part. I would rather know that all of the internals are new and less likely to fail any time soon. I also like the ability to disengage the whole headstock with the newer switch as I have curious kids running around in the garage. Why do I not want to modify the casting to accept the newer style switch?

I gotta do some research to get all of the details but be aware that some of the newer switches that you are talking about have a "disabling feature". I don't remember exactly but if you pull the safety lock with the switch in one position (on or off) it works normal when you reinsert the safety lock but if you do this in the other (on/off) position the switch no longer works.

Now that would be a real bummer and it is something that I am likely to do.

I'll try to find where I read this. If I do, I'll post it here.

In the meantime, if I had to pull the safety lock, I would do it with the switch turned "off".

Looks good to me!

Notice they ship down south.

What is 7.99 $Can in $US. Or am I behind the times?

Then there is customs.

Mailing FROM Can seems $$$$$.

At one time holes were added to the casting 'wings' on each side of the 'silver' switch that allowed putting a long shackle padlock through the holes and thus prevent flipping the switch to on.


IMHO a better(easier????) alteration than that rectangular hole etc.

JPG wrote:Looks good to me!

Notice they ship down south.

What is 7.99 $Can in $US. Or am I behind the times?

Then there is customs.

Mailing FROM Can seems $$$$$.

I was going to order one of these (just because) but decided not to. Actually, I initiated an outline order for two but canceled without ordering any because of shipping costs. These folks do not show you shipping costs up front. When I became aware of the shipping cost (nearly $20) I changed my mind.

What frustrates me though is that I have already given them mailing information, username and my telephone number. I do expect some 'unexpected email'.

dusty wrote:

JPG wrote:Looks good to me!

Notice they ship down south.

What is 7.99 $Can in $US. Or am I behind the times?

Then there is customs.

Mailing FROM Can seems $$$$$.

I was going to order one of these (just because) but decided not to. Actually, I initiated an outline order for two but canceled without ordering any because of shipping costs. These folks do not show you shipping costs up front. When I became aware of the shipping cost (nearly $20) I changed my mind.

What frustrates me thought is that I have already given them mailing information, username and my telephone number. I do expect some 'unexpected email'.

There is an e-bay seller in Canada that is really at a disadvantage.
I think we pay both Canadian postal fees and US postage for shipments from there. Four connector tubes cost almost $25 to get from there to here.

superpop wrote:So it sounds like I will need to cut out the hole for the new switch if I want the newer style switch when I do my upgrade. I would like to replace the old switch as it looks pretty well shot when looking at the back side of it.

If you are going to go to a powerpro you will get a new switch in the package. You need to tell them which one.

On the general topic, I have all toggle switches and see no reason why I would want to change. All of my newer machines are B headstocks and have the holes for a padlock. Once you have the powerpro you can set a password so the need for a mechanical locking system goes away.

Ed

Is there a way to work around a password-locked PowerPro to get it unlocked? I can easily see myself forgetting or losing my password. Worse still, I can see owners passing away without telling anyone what the password is. If there's no workaround, in about 20 years I can envision a lot of craigslist/ebay ads for permanently password locked PowerPro/Mark 7s.

reible wrote:

superpop wrote:So it sounds like I will need to cut out the hole for the new switch if I want the newer style switch when I do my upgrade. I would like to replace the old switch as it looks pretty well shot when looking at the back side of it.

If you are going to go to a powerpro you will get a new switch in the package. You need to tell them which one.

On the general topic, I have all toggle switches and see no reason why I would want to change. All of my newer machines are B headstocks and have the holes for a padlock. Once you have the powerpro you can set a password so the need for a mechanical locking system goes away.

Ed