Shopsmith Forums

When I got back from the Owner's Weekend, I checked all my joiners. None of them has the casting lip on them. I took a piece of 3/4" "L" shaped bracket 6" long (2" extends out on the drive couplin side) and drilled 4 1/4" holes in it. I drilled 2 5/16" holes in the end of the outfeed table and 2 1/4" holes in the extension table to match the holes in the "L" bracket. I countersunk the holes in the "L" bracket to outfeed table and the holes in the extension table and used 1/4" flat head hex socket screws to hold and align the "L" bracket to the outfeed table amd the extension table to the "L" bracket. I made a new extension fence board as one piece so I could adjust the angle of the fence. I used a 45 degrees curve bracket and fastener to attach the end of the fence and end of the 6" wide extension table. I followed Nicks video in the contruction and support of the extension table.

nuhobby wrote:Hi All,

When I was at the Owners Weekend in July I saw a slick extended-outfeed jig on Nick's 4" jointer.

It turns out there was a Shopsmith Video on it that I must have missed.... check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxAd-t2VBV0

Just finished watching the video on youtube with Nick doing a demo on the joiner with the jig he made. I like it. I have the fence he is talking about but does anyone have any plans for making the out-feed jig? Sure would be nice to have. Definitely can see where it makes it so much easier to run longer material through.

Ron:

When I was in Dayton last month for the owner's week-end, I saw Nick's jointer outfeed jig. It attaches to the auxillary fence (555655). I even made a rough sketch of it. Nick said that it would be OK to make one, if it is for my own use only. However, I'm uncomfortable with that, so I have destroyed the sketch. Nick said that Shopsmith was "considering" this idea.

That being said, I purchased a 50 inch aluminum straight edge (177036) from Highland Woodworking, and a real heavy duty roller stand from Rockler (43399). With a careful set-up, this does the job. I have jointed and glued 100 inch long boards.

I came up with the jig in question a few months back, cut the video tip, and Bob asked me to hold up doing anything in a public way until we investigated the possibility of manufacturing the jig as an accessory -- which we have yet to do for all the other things we have yet to do. Anyone remember the John Wayne flick called "The Searchers?" There's a line in that movie that pretty well describes our situation most days: "We are too many and not enough."

With all good wishes,

If anyone has been to the Traveling Academy in the last eight years, check the paperwork that was handed out.

There is a small drawing in the paperwork (along with other drawings of jigs) that show a jointer extension table. It looks easy enough to make. I'll try and scan it in and post it here as soon as I can. It just bolts right to the jointer's fence. The only problem is that you will loose part of the valuable 4" inches of knife space. That is not a problem if you're doing edge jointing though.

I just looked at my handout from this May 08 TA. Just a very small 1"x2" sketch. Very little detail, no dimension. By watching Nick's Video, you'll get more detail

It seem a waste to buy a SS jointer or bandsaw, Stand alone units form others are less expensive, in many cases have better capacity and are without a doubt less trouble to use than having to set up the SS to use them.

A Delta Jointer or Planer would seem a much better alternative than to burden the SS with yet another add on that takes time to set up for use each time.

One common reason to buy ShopSmith versions of tools is space. The ShopSmith system can be thought of as tools, motor and stand. Being able to remove the tool components and store them on a shelf makes the ShopSmith system able to fit in a smaller space than stand alone equipment.

While the ShopSmith system is more expensive than standalone tools, they often are of better quality and have more features. Also, if you factor in the reduced cost of space requirements they are very cost effective. Not having to build a 20x20 shop to house a tablesaw, drillpress, jointer, lathe and router table saved me a lot of money.

Also, ShopSmith equipment has a longer lifespan than many of the tools now sold to the casual woodworker. Repair parts are available as well as good maintenance manuals and support. This (and other) forums contain tons of helpful advice and information to use and maintain the ShopSmith system.

All tool purchases are tradeoffs. Every woodworker is looking to have some experience in the craft - and they differ from each other. So, what is just plain unthinkable to one woodworker is a big win for another. We're not all looking to have the biggest, fastest, most time saving equipment known to man. Some of us get pleasure from, as Nick said, doing 3 dimensional problem solving using wood as a medium and the ShopSmith system as the tool. Much like there are powerboats and sailboats - let's enjoy the diversity of woodworking experiences and perhaps enrich our own by learning about others.

Jim

As far as the jointer being expensive, I found a used, slightly rusted one on ebay for $100, plust $40 shipping. I bought some high grit wet/dry sand paper and some of that marine jelly stuff and scrubbed all the rust off. Took apart the whole thing, cleaned it, had to buy some new blades and now it runs like a new one. I also expect it to last a lot longer than most stand alones since the moving parts are limited and easily replaceable. If I ever win the lottery and can get a bigger shop, I'll think about getting a bigger one. In the mean time, this works just great.