Shopsmith Forums

RCTaylor wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 8:28 pm So today I bought my first Shopsmith. I did a little research over the last week and now I have a few questions before I dig to far into upgrading/restoring. I know it’s a 1985 model (two years older than I am,) by the serial number chart on the mothership’s website. What I can’t seem to figure out is if it’s a 510 or just a 500. I’d like to update the table/fence to the 520 and I’m still on the fence about a double tilt/Mark 7 upgrade. Also, it came with a 6 inch jointer... I know it’s not an real SS jointer, but I’d like to know where it did come from in order to get replacement knives. Any help and just general pointers or tips would be deeply appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I can’t get the photos to upload from my iPhone soooo... the serial number on my head unit is 204711.

I bought my 1st one yesterday, and joined in here just now lol. So, I take it you're using it for more of an actual carpentry station than a lathe? Of so, what kinda turning stuff do you have that you'd trade for all the regular carpentry stuff I have? I've got the small table, the miter clamp handle, a table saw blade and you can have the arbor to, a saw table fence (id like to keep the adjustable table but the fence is yours) and all the books that I don't need and would love to trade them for a tool rest post and tool rest arm (just the post ill build the tools myself, tailstock, and if you had a 4 inch chuck I'd toss you the big part of the table to, js. I got mine yesterday and when I got it home I realized I was missing the dang post and tailstock so now I've got a toy I cant play with cause I have a box full of brand new literally never been used turning tools and nothing to rest them on or a to hold the other end of a piece of wood up lol. Thing is in great condition tho, looks and sounds brand new!! Got it off this girl yesterday thats had it in her basement since 94 when her dad died and left her the house. He bought it new, bought it in 80/81 and made all kinds of stuff around the house but never took it out of the basement and only did light kitchen and living room type stuff till he decided he wanted to learn how to use the lathe aspect of it. Bought a set of ss lathe tools and a pack of ss drill bits in 94 and dies out of nowhere like the next day she said, then a few months later her mom goes to and nobody had been back down there since. So from 94 till yesterday its sat in the dark waiting on me to find out it was there and tell her that nothing that cool should be lonely sitting in the dark when it could be making someone happy playing with it. I gave her $300 and a guarantee that there's not a dad on earth or in heaven that would want their cool toy left and forgotten in a basement forever when it could pay this months light bill, and make some other dad grin ear to ear playing with it lol. I know as a dad myself, I wouldn't want my neat stuff left to ruin over pure sentiment. So now I'm tryn to getter spinnen spinnen spinnen!!!

Burlhunter wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:56 pm

RCTaylor wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 8:28 pm So today I bought my first Shopsmith. I did a little research over the last week and now I have a few questions before I dig to far into upgrading/restoring. I know it’s a 1985 model (two years older than I am,) by the serial number chart on the mothership’s website. What I can’t seem to figure out is if it’s a 510 or just a 500. I’d like to update the table/fence to the 520 and I’m still on the fence about a double tilt/Mark 7 upgrade. Also, it came with a 6 inch jointer... I know it’s not an real SS jointer, but I’d like to know where it did come from in order to get replacement knives. Any help and just general pointers or tips would be deeply appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I can’t get the photos to upload from my iPhone soooo... the serial number on my head unit is 204711.

I bought my 1st one yesterday, and joined in here just now lol. So, I take it you're using it for more of an actual carpentry station than a lathe? Of so, what kinda turning stuff do you have that you'd trade for all the regular carpentry stuff I have? I've got the small table, the miter clamp handle, a table saw blade and you can have the arbor to, a saw table fence (id like to keep the adjustable table but the fence is yours) and all the books that I don't need and would love to trade them for a tool rest post and tool rest arm (just the post ill build the tools myself, tailstock, and if you had a 4 inch chuck I'd toss you the big part of the table to, js. I got mine yesterday and when I got it home I realized I was missing the dang post and tailstock so now I've got a toy I cant play with cause I have a box full of brand new literally never been used turning tools and nothing to rest them on or a to hold the other end of a piece of wood up lol. Thing is in great condition tho, looks and sounds brand new!! Got it off this girl yesterday thats had it in her basement since 94 when her dad died and left her the house. He bought it new, bought it in 80/81 and made all kinds of stuff around the house but never took it out of the basement and only did light kitchen and living room type stuff till he decided he wanted to learn how to use the lathe aspect of it. Bought a set of ss lathe tools and a pack of ss drill bits in 94 and dies out of nowhere like the next day she said, then a few months later her mom goes to and nobody had been back down there since. So from 94 till yesterday its sat in the dark waiting on me to find out it was there and tell her that nothing that cool should be lonely sitting in the dark when it could be making someone happy playing with it. I gave her $300 and a guarantee that there's not a dad on earth or in heaven that would want their cool toy left and forgotten in a basement forever when it could pay this months light bill, and make some other dad grin ear to ear playing with it lol. I know as a dad myself, I wouldn't want my neat stuff left to ruin over pure sentiment. So now I'm tryn to getter spinnen spinnen spinnen!!!

Don't feel guilty. Many a Shopsmith has been had by someone with no conscience.

The lathe tools are likely worth half of that. No, maybe not. They are probably not carbide tipped being that "old".

dusty wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 5:33 pm

Burlhunter wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:56 pm

RCTaylor wrote: Wed Feb 03, 2021 8:28 pm So today I bought my first Shopsmith. I did a little research over the last week and now I have a few questions before I dig to far into upgrading/restoring. I know it’s a 1985 model (two years older than I am,) by the serial number chart on the mothership’s website. What I can’t seem to figure out is if it’s a 510 or just a 500. I’d like to update the table/fence to the 520 and I’m still on the fence about a double tilt/Mark 7 upgrade. Also, it came with a 6 inch jointer... I know it’s not an real SS jointer, but I’d like to know where it did come from in order to get replacement knives. Any help and just general pointers or tips would be deeply appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I can’t get the photos to upload from my iPhone soooo... the serial number on my head unit is 204711.

I bought my 1st one yesterday, and joined in here just now lol. So, I take it you're using it for more of an actual carpentry station than a lathe? Of so, what kinda turning stuff do you have that you'd trade for all the regular carpentry stuff I have? I've got the small table, the miter clamp handle, a table saw blade and you can have the arbor to, a saw table fence (id like to keep the adjustable table but the fence is yours) and all the books that I don't need and would love to trade them for a tool rest post and tool rest arm (just the post ill build the tools myself, tailstock, and if you had a 4 inch chuck I'd toss you the big part of the table to, js. I got mine yesterday and when I got it home I realized I was missing the dang post and tailstock so now I've got a toy I cant play with cause I have a box full of brand new literally never been used turning tools and nothing to rest them on or a to hold the other end of a piece of wood up lol. Thing is in great condition tho, looks and sounds brand new!! Got it off this girl yesterday thats had it in her basement since 94 when her dad died and left her the house. He bought it new, bought it in 80/81 and made all kinds of stuff around the house but never took it out of the basement and only did light kitchen and living room type stuff till he decided he wanted to learn how to use the lathe aspect of it. Bought a set of ss lathe tools and a pack of ss drill bits in 94 and dies out of nowhere like the next day she said, then a few months later her mom goes to and nobody had been back down there since. So from 94 till yesterday its sat in the dark waiting on me to find out it was there and tell her that nothing that cool should be lonely sitting in the dark when it could be making someone happy playing with it. I gave her $300 and a guarantee that there's not a dad on earth or in heaven that would want their cool toy left and forgotten in a basement forever when it could pay this months light bill, and make some other dad grin ear to ear playing with it lol. I know as a dad myself, I wouldn't want my neat stuff left to ruin over pure sentiment. So now I'm tryn to getter spinnen spinnen spinnen!!!

Don't feel guilty. Many a Shopsmith has been had by someone with no conscience.

The lathe tools are likely worth half of that. No, maybe not. They are probably not carbide tipped being that "old".

Ohh I definitely dont feel guilty over it, well, maybe a little for having known her as long as I have and didn't know she had a wood lathe laying in hibernation right under my feet the whole time. But other than that, nah lol. Im a welder and machinist by trade so if I'd have known, I'd have been all over it before now!! I've all but scrapped the idea of getting an ss tailstock tho and starting putting together a custom tray to hold a tailstock from a south bend 10k metal lathe instead of the ss one. That should be way more solid than the factory one and being telescopic will just be better. I'm gonna take the legs off of it and use U bolts to bolt it to my shops counter top. I've got my eyes on 2 more in NC and KY that's about a 2 hour drive from home thats cheap to to use as a drill press and power a sander or bandsaw. I'll end up having to have a special shed to house all my shopsmiths from going overboard like I do on everything else haha. Speaking of sanders and bandsaws tho. I just harvested an oak burl that weights about 150 pounds that I'd trade someone thats reading this for a sander and bandsaw, js. Having said that, I guess I need to get back to my tape measure and cut some more stuff up so I can weld this tray together to hold that tailstock. So far this site has already taught me a lot about these SS systems so I'd imagine ill be reading a lot more in here so thanks to everyone that shares their knowledge of woodworking and turning!! Yall kids be careful out there and watch them sore fingers .. edit* btw, no, they're not carbide, they're high speed steel tools. Which is great for real cause I can get my hands on lengths of that in pretty much any diameter from work for free lol. Or I can just make a multi tool handle out of cold roll and swap out carbide inserts which would be neat so I might just do that anyway so thanks for planting that idea seed in my head lol.

I am interested in your ideas about a home brew tailstock. I'm sure many will be watching the progress.

Burlhunter wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 4:03 pm
I've got my eyes on 2 more in NC and KY that's about a 2 hour drive from home thats cheap to to use as a drill press and power a sander or bandsaw. I'll end up having to have a special shed to house all my shopsmiths from going overboard like I do on everything else haha.

I think you''re gonna love Shopsmiths. You can pick up Model 500 machines for $300 and under easily and adapt them to your needs. If you are short on space you get one Shopsmith, if you have the space get multiples. These machines are like Legos, you can swap parts between all the models. I have a 510 with a Powerpro motor upgrade mounted in a 1954 Greenie headstock, currently using legs from a 1980s Model 500. I have another machine converted to a dedicated drill press using the original 510 headstock, and the 1954 Greenie for the rest of it. I'm assembling a 'Shortie' from a mid-80s Model 500 that will be dedicated to sanding, and I have other machines on the shelf that I need to refurb or part out. So sure, get that Shopsmith shed and enjoy it!

Ohhh absolutely!!!^^^^. I already dig the PP out of them just on design alone, and the power heads are definitely built to last a few lifetimes for real. Add on's are kinda crazy expensive in my personal opinion but that probably cause im a cheapskate that likes to build everything myself tho more than anything lol. But from the bottom rails up, I love mine. I like the legs to tho, not gonna lie. I really like that mid 50s nuclear family yard art look they have, It screams simplistic quality to me for real.

dusty wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 4:25 pm I am interested in your ideas about a home brew tailstock. I'm sure many will be watching the progress.

Ill have to take a few shots of it as I go then lol. Ive been on it all day finding pipe, bar stock, and just thinking how I can make it slide on the rails like the rest of it does. Im thinking about buying a 510 carriage and tig welding an inch thick plate to it with drilled and tapped hols to just bolt the tailstock to. Mines kinda round but the 510 520 with the round wheel handle is nice and flat on top so welding to it might work but idk, its cast. But, I could bold a mounting plate to it through the bottom into the plate then build a riser tray out of aircraft aluminum or aluminum square tube. Idk, but it should be a fairly neat finished product lol. I was actually thinking about drilling a second hole in the saddle and putting a worm feed on it lol. That would definitely be one of a kind there I bet and haha

Can someone measure the tool rest post and shoot the measurements to me for the total length, how far down the countersink is, how wide the countersink is, and how far down the threads start please? I don't have one so im just going to make one and thread it myself. Thanks, all..

Burlhunter wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 1:06 pm Can someone measure the tool rest post and shoot the measurements to me for the total length, how far down the countersink is, how wide the countersink is, and how far down the threads start please? I don't have one so im just going to make one and thread it myself. Thanks, all..

Why not just obtain the missing stuff from SS or e-bay?
BTW you in TN,VA,WV???

JPG wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 11:53 pm

Burlhunter wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 1:06 pm Can someone measure the tool rest post and shoot the measurements to me for the total length, how far down the countersink is, how wide the countersink is, and how far down the threads start please? I don't have one so im just going to make one and thread it myself. Thanks, all..

Why not just obtain the missing stuff from SS or e-bay?
BTW you in TN,VA,WV???

Ahhh, cause im hard headed and I like to make things lol. Plus, I have access to pretty much any machine shop tool or machine one can imagine so its really not a problem to just do it myself. The way I figure it, why pay anything for it when I can pull it out of the scrap bin, run a die over it, turn the groove, and wallah, there it is finished product. Not to mention, not only did I get it for relatively nothing, I got it without waiting and it probably only took me an hour or 2 to set up and machine it. The only real problem was finding a die that big, I had to borrow one from a buddy of mine that owns an offset printing press erecting and maintenance business cause id have never got it done without it lol. Im from Tennessee over here btw. Just outside of Bristol in bluff city. You in the south to?