Shopsmith Forums

putttn wrote:... Is the SS as easy to use in the table saw setup as a regular TS? I'm really challenged in both experience and room to work. .... I don't have the room for a dedicated table saw and not sure I even need one since I have the SS.

Yes, The Mark V is as easy to use for ripping as a stand alone table saw. In fact it may be easier and more exact than many of them. The models 510 and 520 have a very good fence. Both fences lock on both the front and rear of the table and are very stable.

I think maybe you are concerned about short stock ripping. Using the Shopsmith Fence Straddler and the upper saw guard/splitter, short stock can be ripped very easily.

There are limits however. If you wanted to rip a board shorter than the length of the exposed blade (7 to 9 inches), the only force holding the workpiece up to the fence will be the side of the blade and the downward pressure from the straddler. This is definitely not an ideal situation and you should be clear of the kickback zone.

If you want to rip a narrow strip from a short board there is an additional issue. If the Fence straddler will pass through the space between the rip fence and the upper blade guard - you are O.K. If the straddler won't fit then you must set the fence so the desired piece is the portion cut off.

The complaints I have read dealing with ripping on the Shopsmith are related to ripping long stock. Here you are advised to have some type of support for the outfeed length of the board.

charlese wrote:The complaints I have read dealing with ripping on the Shopsmith are related to ripping long stock. Here you are advised to have some type of support for the outfeed length of the board.

Doesn't the same problem exist for a regular table saw? I guess it would be easier to have a permanent outfeed table set up for a regular saw, but I for one would not want to give up so much room in my shop.

Paul

Yes, Paul!! I agree 100%

As I read it, the folks with a permanent saw have permanent (semi permanent) outfeed tables and use much more space. The easy thing for them is the outfeed table can remain at the same height, where ours has to be adjustable at least up and down.

Still,- I wouldn't trade mine for theirs.

Thanks Charlese, I'm pretty new at this so gonna ask a dumb question...is the shopsmith fence straddler the red plastic push apparatus the fits over the fence?

If I was going to rip a small piece and the fence straddler wouldn't fit would I be better off using the band saw attachment I have?

Ripping long pieces is really simple with the Festool and that seems to be what most of my woodworking has amounted too. Going to be building shop cabinets to expand my storage in my garage and want to utilize the Shopsmith. Wish I had everything set up so I could go from machine to machine but that's not the case so SS and FT work well for me.

putttn wrote:...is the shopsmith fence straddler the red plastic push apparatus the fits over the fence?

If I was going to rip a small piece and the fence straddler wouldn't fit would I be better off using the band saw attachment I have? ....

Answer to your first question - Yes! http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/505to520.htm

Second question - Don't know of any piece of wood the fence straddler won't fit. It is adjustable from 1/8" to as high as the fence. You can also use the band saw if you wish.

charlese wrote:Yes, Paul!! I agree 100%

As I read it, the folks with a permanent saw have permanent (semi permanent) outfeed tables and use much more space. The easy thing for them is the outfeed table can remain at the same height, where ours has to be adjustable at least up and down.

Still,- I wouldn't trade mine for theirs.

Some of us have the best of both worlds.

If you are tired of adjusting your Shopsmith out feed apparatus up and down when you change table height, there is a guy on Ebay that makes a kit of parts (you supply the wood) for an out feed table that, for the most part, moves up and down with the table. Works great and much better than separate rollers, stands, or whatever. His Ebay name is hawkeyebee and the kit of parts sells/sold for $18 plus shipping. It isn't perfect but it is an improvement. Check it out.

a1gutterman wrote:Some of us have the best of both worlds.

TIM: Are you the 'person' on the left or the one ending upside down in the 'can'?

anmius wrote:If you are tired of adjusting your Shopsmith out feed apparatus up and down when you change table height, there is a guy on Ebay that makes a kit of parts (you supply the wood) for an out feed table that, for the most part, moves up and down with the table. Works great and much better than separate rollers, stands, or whatever. His Ebay name is hawkeyebee and the kit of parts sells/sold for $18 plus shipping. It isn't perfect but it is an improvement. Check it out.

There is a guy here on this forum that has designed and built his own "adjustable outfeed table". It tilts with the tilting table and goes up and down with the main table. It is very close in design to a table designed and built by Nick Engler and is featured in one of the Sawdust Sessions.

You really don't have to go to "a guy on ebay". This was a real fun diy project.

http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... #post17876

The following is used only when I have large sheets of thinner, light weight material to deal with (ie, 1/4 ply and veneers). This one does not lit=lt of adjust well. The weight of the cantilever binds the main table vertical tubes.

http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... feed+table

dusty wrote:There is a guy here on this forum that has designed and built his own "adjustable outfeed table". It tilts with the tilting table and goes up and down with the main table. It is very close in design to a table designed and built by Nick Engler and is featured in one of the Sawdust Sessions.

You really don't have to go to "a guy on ebay". This was a real fun diy project.

http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... #post17876

The following is used only when I have large sheets of thinner, light weight material to deal with (ie, 1/4 ply and veneers). This one does not lit=lt of adjust well. The weight of the cantilever binds the main table vertical tubes.

http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... feed+table

Come on Dusty give us a hint who that guy might be.

By the way I love your outfeed tables and I wish I was motivated enough to build one. But I'm not so I keep using my Ridgid Flip Top stands, complaining each time I have a height adjustment where I must run around my SS and adjust my outfeed support.