Shopsmith Forums

Question, when cleaning up the tables, do you guys do anything with the bottom of the tables? I am working on polishing them right now with Mother's Mag cleaner. They are cleaning pretty good, not sure what more I can do short of sanding or milling them down.

Just wondering if it is worth it to work on the bottoms.

I think that would be primarily cosmetic.

FWIW I have used Citrustrip as a cleaning agent. Put it on, scrub a bit, let it dry, polish it off.

On the 10ER tables I have done I bead blast them with a fine glass media. They are already rough so There is no change in the appearance.

JPG wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2024 11:25 am I think that would be primarily cosmetic.

FWIW I have used Citrustrip as a cleaning agent. Put it on, scrub a bit, let it dry, polish it off.

Do you do that top and bottom?

jsburger wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2024 11:27 am On the 10ER tables I have done I bead blast them with a fine glass media. They are already rough so There is no change in the appearance.

Same question, top and bottom?

Looking at the top of the Table's condition I would guess that the underside has corrosion too. As JPG and John have already said doing the underside of the table would be cosmetic but if corrosion is present, I would clean it up. I have used wire wheels to do cleaning on the underside of tables. Different sizes and shapes to reach all the corners. John's glass bead blasting does a better job and is less work if you have access to a bead blaster. I have used crushed walnut shells with some success. Not as good of a job as glass bead blasting though. JPG's suggestion would work too. This is a case where there are different options to choose from.

The corrosion is what I was worried about most. I will take it out to the shop and media blast the bottom and then paste wax all of it.

Thanks, for the suggestions.

I do all parts with the glass medium. What I use is fine enough that the smooth parts polish out just fine.

I have a question on hardware. I purchased one of the stainless steel kits off of ebay. Has anyone had issues with galling using those? I know when I assemble an antenna for Amateur Radio, they always recommend some kind of copper anti-seize compound.

I haven't purchased one of that guy's stainless steel kits so I cannot comment directly on his kit. Generally I use, as much as possible, the original OEM hardware in my restorations and purchase similar parts when needed for missing or damaged hardware. I did replace all the hardware (set screws, etc.) on my Model 10ER R64000 with stainless steel hardware. I haven't had any problems with the stainless steel hardware. I believe the recommendation for using an anti-seize compound is that the Antenna is going to be exposed to weather. Hopefully that is not the case for a Shopsmith although I have seen some for sale that have been stored outside.