Shopsmith Forums

"as soon as I touch a tool to the wood, there is no resistance and it stops turning" - these are words from Johns' first post on this subject. Followed by "Around this time the circuit breaker usually trips too".

If the belts are not slipping (and if they were I doubt that it would cause the circuit breaker to trip) then the problem is with the motor circuit.

Verify the condition of the switch, power cord and power plug. If these are good - prepare to repair/replace the motor.

Slightly different approach:
Measure the resistance from the gold pin on the power plug to the silver pin (AC Hot to AC Neutral) with the Shopsmith power switch turned on. The resistance should be in the range of 1.5 ohms. My bet is that the resistance will be a lot higher.

wa2crk has some good suggestions. Before you tear into the Shopsmith, make sure it has a problem. Check your power source first. For best operation, you want a dedicated 20amp circuit feeding it. A 15 amp circuit will work, but if there is anything else on that circuit, you will likely trip the breaker.
Put the Shopsmigh on a dedicated 20 amp circuit first. If it still drops the breaker, you have a problem in the Shopsmith. Then troubleshoot the Shopsmith.