Incra V120 with Shopsmith Safety Grip

[RFGuy]

Does anyone have the Shopsmith Safety Grip (505625) mounted on an Incra V120. I just received these from Shopsmith and both came with installation instruction sheets. Neither set of instructions speak to pairing the V120 with the Safety Grip and I have not been able to achieve that.

The Safety Grip mounts easily on the Shopsmith Miter Gauge.

Dusty,

Can you tell me what part number you ordered from Shopsmith for this? When I look on Shopsmith's website for this, it shows it is not available any more (see first link below). However after hunting around the website, I found something called "Incra v120 Package 2" that is Shopsmith part # 556131 (link 2 below) which can be ordered. Can you confirm what part number you ordered from Shopsmith for the V120? I also checked on Incra's website and they still sell the Shopsmith version of the V120, but there is a warning that says it won't work with the Shopsmith Safety Grip Handle (link 3 below). Did they change the V120 design preventing the Safety Grip from being used?

I am finally considering getting one of these because I have never been happy with my Shopsmith miter gauge. There is too much width variation in my miter slots. If I adjust the miter bar to be snug in the middle of the table, then it sticks at the front of the table, i.e. there is no happy medium where it slides freely down the entire miter slot. Adjusting the bar to be as tight as possible and still moveable results in significant slop (side to side movement) in the center of the table. My table was purchased new and has been this way for years which is why I hate doing crosscuts on my Mark V. I know the problem is the table and not the miter bar, but I am hoping that the Incra miter bar with its nylon rollers may permit a tighter fit and still slide through the entire miter slot.
https://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cat ... rav120.htm

https://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/ite ... tem=556131

https://www.incra.com/miter_gauges-mite ... smith.html

[dusty]

It is important to note that I have successfully paired the V120 (Shopsmith version) with the Safety Grip. This is a contradiction of what I had said earlier. My issue was procedural.

A FOOT NOTE ON THE INCRA SITE: Shopsmith Safety Grip Note: This model is NOT compatible with the Shopsmith Safety Grip handle. The V120 must be ordered directly from Shopsmith to be compatible with their Safety Grip

If I read correctly, Incra offers the miter gauge with the miter bar to fit the Shopsmith miter track but does not offer the safety grip or a version kit.

Shopsmith offered a package deal that included the V120 with their Safety Grip and the parts to adapt the two. Part # 556100 Incra Miter Kit. This is what I ordered and received in November 2020. I paid $118.22.

I see a note in the Shopsmith online catalog that this is currently not available and is listed at a higher price.

Incra may still sell their miter bars separately. I have one that I keep in one of the miter tracks because of its magnetic characteristics. I also use it occasionally for its threaded bolt holes.

PS: The Incra part number for the miter bar is PV12-700150
https://www.incrementaltools.com/Produc ... -MITERV120

[dusty]

When using the Shopsmith Miter Gauge to perform tasks that need to be more accurate than can be achieve with miter bar slop, I use a piece of household aluminum foil in the miter track. This firms it to what I consider no slop and is suitable for tasks like table to blade alignment being done with a dial gauge.

[RFGuy]

Dusty,

Thanks. I appreciate it. I reached out to Shopsmith and Incra in order to find out if these will be sold again. If I get any info I will share it here. Curiously, the weblink below worked yesterday and today it requires a password to access. Coincidence or are they cleaning up old weblinks because this tool is out of production, I wonder...

http://www.incrementaltools.com/INCRA_M ... erv120.htm

UPDATE: Just heard back from Incra and it looks like they stopped making them and don't intend to produce any more.

[dusty]

I suggest that you not read anything into your recent experience. I ordered Incra Pro parts from them today and I looked at the V120 page(s) at the same time. In fact, that previous quotation about the Safety Grip came from them today.

The Incra Pro has been an obsolete item for years but they still support it. Now part of that is due to the fact that many of those parts are interchangeable with current product.

I do have to log in with a password to order but that is not new.

[reible]

I too have the shopsmith version of the V120. I don't automatically use it all the time as I'm pretty happy with the shopsmith one for most things. When I need to do a lot of angle switching then the V120 comes in to play. If I want some thing even more accurate then I have the Incra Express with a 1000 HD mounted on it. The 1000 HD doesn't work in the shopsmith main table slots but works in the shopsmith edition Express.

I have not checked my miter slots for a while but I seem to recall having somewhere in the .006" slop. Since the shopsmith miter gauges do not have a method of correction for this I started looking in to how much error this causes. Turns out almost none for normal operations.

Do keep in mind that the set screw in the "center" of the miter bar is not for taking out play in the slot, it is for locking the miter bar in place.

If Incra has decided to stop making the shopsmith v120 version I hope they are not planning to do away with all things shopsmith.....

Ed

[RFGuy]

Thanks guys. Unfortunately, the engineer that I talked to at Incra seemed to make it clear that they are out of these. They sold the last one a few days ago and don't intend to produce any more. The linchpin is the smaller size miter bar for the Shopsmith table. In fact, if you check the weblink listed below it doesn't even work any more so you can't see what could have been ordered before. Incra went ahead and took this page down after I reached out to the engineer. I didn't get an answer for why these went out of production and his answer seemed to be clear that they don't intend to make these any more, though his responses were brief so perhaps I am reading too much into it. Still, the fact that they are purging webpages related to it does make me wonder...

Looks like I have no choice but to consider going the Miter Express + 1000HD route or similar because I have never seen a Shopsmith version of the V120 come up for resale on eBay or Cragislist in the past.

https://www.incra.com/miter_gauges-mite ... smith.html

[dusty]

Yup. It does look as though Shopsmith is being purged from the Incra online catalog. The only thing I was able to find was the I-Box. I did order parts from Incra yesterday and some of them were Shopsmith specific but I have yet to receive confirmation of order.

[sehast]

"Looks like I have no choice but to consider going the Miter Express + 1000HD route or similar because I have never seen a Shopsmith version of the V120 come up for resale on eBay or Cragislist in the past."

Boy I am really glad I got one a few years ago, so much better than the stock Shopsmith miter gauge. If you are patient I am sure that some will come up on Ebay but it could be a long wait.

[RFGuy]

"Looks like I have no choice but to consider going the Miter Express + 1000HD route or similar because I have never seen a Shopsmith version of the V120 come up for resale on eBay or Cragislist in the past."

Boy I am really glad I got one a few years ago, so much better than the stock Shopsmith miter gauge. If you are patient I am sure that some will come up on Ebay but it could be a long wait.

Steve,

Thanks...Guess I waited too long. I have been woodworking off/on for 30+ years (often work/life would intrude). I have been doing more projects the past 1-2 years so I figured I had put up with the Shopsmith miter gauge long enough and thought about upgrading finally (largely based on many positive reviews of the V120 on this forum). I had moved my Porter Cable miter saw out of my shop to gain back some much needed space, but it looks like that was a mistake.

I am just debating if it is worth taking an aftermarket miter gauge to a machine shop to try to have the miter bar milled down to fit or not. I really hate that the miter slot doesn't match what most of the rest of the industry supports. When you look at other woodworking brands, often there is a healthy aftermarket of accessories that can be readily purchased. However, when it comes to Shopsmith there are fewer options it seems...dwindling more now that Incra has decided to stop supporting it. Just disappointing.

I doubt one will come up for purchase any time soon. Either they are in very short supply or more likely their owners never want to part with them.