Shopsmith Forums

Finally got a chance to pick up the second Mark 2 this evening. It was for sale around Wichita, KS and the guy brought it to the Kansas City area for me to meet him. Still an hour drive but it was better than just getting a few parts and paying the shipping. Here is a picture of the one I picked up.
The main thing wrong with it that I can find is that somehow the support for the table has gotten busted up really badly. The wheels don’t want to raise and lower that well right now so I’ll have to clean them up and see if I can get them to work. I haven’t plugged the motor in to see if it runs but it does spin very easily so I’m guessing it should be okay. You can tell on the saw blade, it hasn’t been sitting for an extremely long time.

This is a picture of the one we started with. It isn’t all put together because we hauled it home in the back of our Explorer.
I do like the metal instead of the wood and I know our headstock isn’t wanting to turn very easily right now but I haven’t looked at it real close. I’m not sure if we’ll take the table support from ours and put it on the second one we got or try to take the motor off and move it over. After looking at all the pieces my Uncle sent, we have two arbor for the saw, I believe everything for the lathe, the chuck for the drill press, and the sanding disc. I feel I can make one out of the two.

So I do have one more question, when did they change the color? After looking at the serial numbers, the one I picked up today is older than ours and it is more of a green color. Ours is kind of a grey color. I didn’t realize they changed colors and I figured the wood rails were used on the older models and not the newer ones…

Now to just find the time to go through them and make one that we can use.

The Mark 2 started out green just like the Mark 5 at the time and later changed to gray. Keeping your Mark 2 gray with your Great-Grandfathers Headstock and other parts will make painting it easier. You could use Shopsmith gray (early formula) or Charcoal Gray Rustoleum paint like I use for Model 10 restorations. I follow the gloss gray with a clear matte finish. It is very close to Shopsmith gray and much cheaper.

I do not know when the metal bench tubes changed to wood rails. Using the metal bench tubes instead of the wood rails would make it non-standard for when it was made but I still believe a better choice. You will notice in my thread about my Mark 2 I used a different Headstock than the original one.

It is not that surprising the Drive Sleeve and Quill turn a bit stiff. This is a problem you may have to overcome. The one bearing on the Drive Sleeve Assembly has a ring attached to it that clamps the assembly in the Headstock. I didn't find a replacement for it yet. Out of the three I have one worked pretty well but I need to do something for the second Mark 2. Probably going to set up pressing new grease into it. I saw something on doing that.

Getting the Retractable Casters for the Mark 2 is a plus and you should be able to get them working smoothly again.

You said

somehow the support for the table has gotten busted up really badly.

As long as the one on your Great-Grandfathers Mark 2 is okay than no problem but I am curious which part you are referring to. Is it the Tie Bar under the table or the Carriage mounted on the Way Tubes? Something I talked about in my thread was how cheaply parts were made for the Mark 2 and the thinner castings.

Both parts are broken, the Tie Bar and Carriage mount. It look like it was maybe dropped at some point or someone put something heavy on the table. I’m kinda leaning toward putting the motor on the gray one and switching the wood and pipe tubes around.

I am surprised the Table Tie Bar on your second one is damaged as these are one of the stouter parts on the Mark 2. I believe the tie bar is the same one used on the Mark 5 but with the Mark 2 posts attached.

The second Mark 2 I have to restore looks like it may have been dropped somehow or knocked over as the fence bar on the table is bent and the carriage is cracked around the rear table post hole. When I do restore it, I will likely use a Mark 5 Table and Carriage on it. This will also mean adding a Mark 5 Fence and possibly a Mark 5 Extension Table. A Mark 5 Tailstock will replace the Mark 2 Tailstock part. These are extra parts I already have. This is a restoration I know I will lose money on, but I do enjoy working on the Shopsmith tools. There was a Mark 2 Table and Carriage for sale not that long ago but would have added a lot to the restoration cost.

While I am thinking about it, you can substitute a Mark 5/V Tailstock as opposed to using the Mark 2 Tailstock part mounted on the Extension Table for actual Lathe work. Using the Mark 5/V Tailstock means aligning it once whereas the Mark 2 Tailstock has to be aligned each time you use it. It is what I would do if I was going to use my Mark 2 for Lathe work.